Redescriptions, Lectotype Designations, New Synonyms and New Geographic Records for the “Tiger” Species of <i>Mycotretus</i> Lacordaire, 1842 (Coleoptera: Erotylidae: Tritomini)

The Neotropical <i>Mycotretus</i> Lacordaire, 1842 is one of the largest and most widespread genera of the Erotylidae, encompassing more than 200 described species. Among the species with a similar body coloration, there is a &#8220;group&#8222; of six valid species&#8212;cal...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Italo S. C. Pecci-Maddalena, Cristiano Lopes-Andrade
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2018-11-01
Series:Insects
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/9/4/168
Description
Summary:The Neotropical <i>Mycotretus</i> Lacordaire, 1842 is one of the largest and most widespread genera of the Erotylidae, encompassing more than 200 described species. Among the species with a similar body coloration, there is a &#8220;group&#8222; of six valid species&#8212;called here the &#8220;tiger&#8222; <i>Mycotretus</i>&#8212;that possess several pronotal and elytral black spots, as follows: <i>M. tigrinus</i> (Olivier, 1792); <i>M. multimaculatus</i> Taschenberg, 1870; <i>M. centralis</i> Arrow, 1909; <i>M. tigrinoides</i> Mader, 1942; <i>M. tigripennis</i> Mader, 1942; and <i>M. prioteloides</i> Mader, 1942. Different from any other <i>Mycotretus</i> with spots, the spots of the &#8220;tiger&#8222; <i>Mycotretus</i> are numerous and are not bilaterally symmetrical in pattern. Here, new geographical records, diagnoses and redescriptions are provided for <i>M. tigrinus</i>, <i>M. centralis</i>, <i>M. tigrinoides</i>, <i>M. tigripennis</i> and <i>M. prioteloides</i>, including the first descriptions of their male and female terminalia. Lectotypes are designated for <i>M. multimaculatus</i>, <i>M. centralis</i>, and <i>M.</i> <i>leopardus</i>. <i>Mycotretus multimaculatus</i> and <i>M. tigrinus pardalis</i> Crotch, 1876 are proposed as new junior synonyms of <i>M. tigrinus</i>. Additionally, the authorship of the name <i>M. leopardus</i> is attributed to Crotch, 1876, because he was the first author to provide a description for that taxon, and the synonymy of <i>M. leopardus</i> and <i>M. conspersus</i> (Germar, 1824) with <i>M. tigrinus</i> (Olivier, 1792) is confirmed.
ISSN:2075-4450