Cylindera (Cylindera) acompsa

Moravec, Jiří & Šafránek, Ondřej, 2025, Taxonomic revision of the current concept of Cylindera morio and allied taxa (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 65 (1), pp. 105-147 : 124-125

Cylindera (Cylindera) acompsa

( Chaudoir, 1852) comb. nov.

( Figs 102–147 )

Cicindela acompsa Chaudoir, 1852: 27 .

Cicindosa inaequalis Motschulsky, 1864: 174 , syn. nov.

Cicindela morio acompsa : CHAUDOIR (1865: 39).

Cicindela morio syn. acompsa : FLEUTIAUX (1892: 68).

Cicindela morio var. acompsa : HORN (1892: 213).

Cylindera morio syn. acompsa : HORN (1915: 405).

Cicindela morio “phase ” acompsa : BLACKWELDER (1944: 18). Cicindosa acompsa : SCHILDER (1953: 561).

Cicindela (Cylindera) morio syn. acompsa : FREITAG & BARNES (1989: 320).

Cylindera (s. str.) morio syn. acompsa : WIESNER (1992: 185) – as a junior synonym of Cylindera morio (the synonymy followed by all subsequent authors until the present revision).

Type locality. Cicindela acompsa : Brazil, “les bords du fleuve des Amazones ” [= the banks of the Amazon River]; Cicindosa inaequalis : “De l’Amérique equatoriale” [= from Equatorial America].

Type material. Cicindela acompsa : HOLOTYPE: ♀ ( MNHN), lacking any label yet selected in MNHN because of its characters corresponding to the original description, and as standing in the first line along the ochre-tarnished collection label with black frame: “acompsa / Chaud. / Amér. tropic / 49 Melly”, labelled: “ Holotype by monotypy / Cicindela acompsa / Chaudoir, 1852 / design. Jiří Moravec 2024” [red label, printed] // “ Cylindera (s. str.) / acompsa ( Chaudoir, 1852) / det. Jiří Moravec 2024” [printed].

Cicindosa inaequalis . LECTOTYPE (here designated): J ( ZMUM), labelled: “Amaz.” [dark green label, handwritten] // “ Cicindosa / inaequalis / m./ Am.aeq.” [green label, handwritten] // “= C. r [illegible] morio / Klg. / Dr.W. Horn det.1426” [handwritten] // “ Lectotype / Cicindosa / inaequalis / Motschulsky, 1864 / design. Jiří Moravec 2025 ” [red label, printed] // “ Cylindera (s. str.) / acompsa ( Motschulsky, 1864) / det. Jiří Moravec 2025 ” [printed]. PARALECTOTYPE: 1 ♀ ( ZMUM):“ Cicindosa / inaequalis / Motsch./ Am. aeq.” [dark green label, handwritten] // small square plain green label // “ Paralectotype / Cicindosa / inaequalis / Motschulsky, 1864 / design. Jiří Moravec 2025 ” [red label, printed] // “ Cylindera (s. str.) / acompsa ( Motschulsky, 1864) / det. Jiří Moravec 2025 ”.

Other material examined. HISTORICAL SPECIMENS: 1 J 1 ♀ ( MNHN), standing in the same line with the holotype of C.acompsa , lacking labels except for one ♀ with small square plain ochre label. 1 J ( MFNB):“Hist. - Coll.( Coleoptera ) / Nr 3719 / Cicindela morio Kl. / Brasil Freireiss / Zool Mus . Berlin” [green printed] // “ Cylindera (s. str.) / acompsa ( Motschulsky, 1864) / det. Jiří Moravec 2025 ”. 1 ♀ ( BMNH): “ Para ” // “ Cicindela / morio / var.” // “named by Dr. W. Horn / G.J.A.” [on opposite side of the label]. 2 JJ ( BMNH): “ Para ” // “Bowring / 63.47*”. 1 J ( BMNH): “ Para ” // “49/” [on opposite side]. 1 J ( BMNH): “[illegible] / Para ” // “denticulata Kl. / t. Horn” // “F. Bates Coll. / 1911–248”. 1 J ( BMNH): “Amazons” // “morio / Klug” // “denticulata / t. Horn”. 1 J ( BMNH): “181” // “ Para ” // “46/33” [on the opposite side].1 J 1 ♀ ( BMNH): “ Brazil / Santarem” // “52/96” [on the opposite side]. 1 ♀ ( SDEI): “Staudinger / Cuyaba”. 1 J ( SDEI): “Ap. / Amaz.”. 1 J ( SDEI): “Jatahy / Goyaz”. RECENT SPECIMENS: 1 ♀ ( MZSP):“Dianópolis / GO, Brasil / 16-22.I.1962 / J. Bechyné” [Bechyně] // “MZSP62732”. 1 J ( MZSP), with the same labels except for: “MZSP62745”. Other 15 syntopic adult specimens in MZSP examined by Gabriel Biffi (pers. comm.).

The examined specimens are labelled: “ Cylindera (s. str.) / acompsa ( Chaudoir, 1852) / det. Jiří Moravec 2024” (“2025” respectively).

Differential diagnosis and brief redescription. Cylindera acompsa differs clearly from C. morio in having mandibles with only three teeth (apart from basal molar) ( Figs 7, 9 , 103 , 111–113 , 117, 119–120, 122–123 , 146–147 ), exceptionally with a little tooth or its rudiment between the second and third tooth ( Figs 9 , 113 ). Moreover, the right terminal tooth in male mandibles is always regularly attenuated towards apex, with smooth outer margin, lacking any outer dilatation ( Figs 8, 10 , 114 , 118, 121 ). Surface of pronotal disc covered with extremely fine sculpture (consisting of striae fragmented into densely vermicular pattern, parallel striae indistinctly present along median line). Body ( Figs 102 , 106–107 , 139, 140 ) 7.10–8.60 (holotype 7.50) mm long, 2.50–2.90 (holotype 2.90) mm wide, notably smaller that in C. morio . White elytral maculation consisting of usually distinct lateromedian, anteapical, or also subsutural-discal macula ( Figs 102 , 106–107 , 124 , 127–131 , 139 ); very rarely elytra almost immaculate with only indicated anteapical spot ( Figs 125–126 , 140 ). Aedeagus ( Figs 132–138 , 143 ) with apical portion abruptly constricted towards small apex.

Cylindera ocskayi shares most of its characters with C. acompsa , yet apart from its prevailingly cupreous dorsal body coloration, it differs in several other characters stressed under that species below (see also “Remarks” below).

Cylindera obliquealba ( Motschulsky, 1864) , in literature considered to be conspecific with C. acompsa (more recently with C. morio ), is immediately distinguished by its primarily conspicuously wide whitish elytral pattern ( Figs 181–182 , 188 , 206–211 ). It is noteworthy that the elytron illustrated by HORN (1938: tab. 84, fig. 26) as for “ Cicindela morio ab. acompsa ” in fact shows the elytron which is characteristic of the examined specimens of C. obliquealba . It was contrary to the original description of C. acompsa by CHAUDOIR (1852), as well as to the elytra in the holotype of C. acompsa in MNHN ( Fig. 102 ). The above cited illustration by HORN (1938) obviously contributed to the subsequent concept of C. acompsa and C. obliquealba , hitherto as synonyms of C. morio .

Distribution. Specimens confirmed as C. acompsa come only from Brazil; the species very probably does not occur in Bolivia, because all specimens recorded from Bolivia by PEARSON et al. (1999) clearly belong to C. morio (see “Distribution and biology” under that species above). Moreover, according to the records and the map of distribution published by FREITAG & BARNES (1989: fig. 156), no specimen of the species-complex was recorded from Bolivia by the authors.

In the original description of his Cicindela acompsa, CHAUDOIR (1852) mentioned “ les bords du fleuve des Amazones ” as the type locality, thus very probably Brazilian Amazonia. He also mentioned that he had received the female holotype from M. Melly, which is in accordance with the large collecting label “acompsa / Chaud. / Amér. tropic / 49 Melly” in the MNHN box with the female holotype placed there in the same line along the above-cited label. Old and historical specimens lack exact locality data on their labels, except for 17 specimens in MZSP, collected by Jan Bechyně (researcher of Czech origin) near Dianópolis in the Brazilian state of Tocantins. As Tocantins was formerly northern part of the state of Goiás (once spelled Goyaz), some historical specimens labelled as “Goyaz” might also come from the state of Tocantins (see the map Fig. 215 ).

Remarks. As mentioned in “Note on phylogeny” above, FREITAG & BARNES (1989) did not examine type specimens of the taxa of the C. morio species-complex, and overlooked the important diagnostic characters, particularly on mandibles, as emphasized in the present paper (also in “Differential diagnosis” above). When FREITAG & BARNES (1989) inappropriately treated C. acompsa as a junior synonym of C. morio , they argued in line with their above- -mentioned failure: “ adults of the C. acompsa form which have extensive pale maculations on the elytra are not given subspecific status as they are found with conspecific adults which have various elytral patterns ”. However, apart from the distinguishing diagnostic characters overlooked by the authors, all taxa of the species-complex occur sympatrically in the same Brazilian states, and as the old specimens lack exact locality, the authors could not be absolutely sure of their syntopic occurrence (see also under C. obliquealba below).Accordingly, the redescription by FREITAG & BAR- NES (1989) under C. morio evidently comprises other taxa of this species-complex including C. acompsa . This is also clear from their illustrations of the elytra, where in figures 131a–b the authors illustrate larger elytra from Jataí (with acute apex in male) of C. morio , while in figures 131c–d much smaller elytra from Brazilian Dianópolis (MZSP) also with characteristic elytral maculation of C. acompsa , as well as the much smaller aedeagus illustrated by the authors in figs 149 a–b. It is fully in accordance with the same 17 specimens from Dianópolis (originally all with closed mandibles) deposited in MZSP and examined by FREITAG & BARNES (1989). Thanks to the photos kindly sent by Gabriel Biffi (MZSP), the specimens were proved herein to be conspecific with C. acompsa and clearly differing from C. morio in their notably smaller body, their whitish elytral maculation (see Fig. 124 ) and tridentate mandibles (see Figs 122–123 ). The aedeagi were illustrated by FREI- TAG & BARNES (1989) rather schematically and according to the aedeagus apex in its lateral view illustrated by the authors from Brazilian Jataí, it also might be taken from C. acompsa , which occurs sympatrically with C. morio in Jataí and in other Brazilian states.

It must be noted here that despite the above-mentioned several differences, C. acompsa shares a number of its characters with C. ocskayi . Therefore, if these two taxa are proven conspecific in the future (providing that fresh specimens with preserved DNA are available), C. acompsa will become a junior synonym of C. ocskayi .

Figures

Figs 102–105. Cylindera (Cylindera) acompsa (Chaudoir, 1852), ♀, holotype (MNHN). 102 – habitus, 7.5 mm; 103 – mandibles with labrum; 104 – pronotum; 105 – labels. Scale bars = 1 mm (image credit Olivier Montreuil, MNHN).

Figs 106–110. Cylindera (Cylindera) acompsa (Chaudoir, 1852), historical specimens (MNHN) ex collection Chaudoir (standing along with holotype), lacking locality labels. 106 – J, 7.5 mm; 107 – ♀, 7.3 mm; 108 – plain label; 109 – pronotum, J; 110 – its lateral view, showing proepisternum. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Figs 111–116. Cylindera (Cylindera) acompsa (Chaudoir,1852), historical specimens. 111–113 – head: 111 – J, Nr 3719, “Brasil, ex Freireiss” (MFNB); 112–114 – ex collection Chaudoir (MNHN) lacking locality labels: 112 – ♀; 113 – J; 114 – terminal tooth of right mandible in lateral view; 115–116 – labrum, historical specimens ex collection Chaudoir (MNHN): 115 – J; 116 – ♀. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Figs 117–124.Cylindera (Cylindera) acompsa (Chaudoir, 1852), all from Brazil. 117 – mandibles with labrum, J, Santarem (BMNH); 118 – J, Santarem, terminal tooth of right mandible in lateral view; 119 – mandibles with labrum, ♀, Santarem (MNHN); 120 – right mandible with labrum, Para (BMNH); 121 – terminal tooth of right male mandible in lateral view, Para (BMNH); 122–123 – mandibles, Dianópolis: 122 – J (MZSP 62745); 123 – ♀ (MZSP 62732); 124 – elytron, Dianópolis (MZSP 62745). For Figs 122–124 image credit Gabriel Biffi (MZSP). Scale bars = 1 mm.

Figs 125–138. Cylindera (Cylindera) acompsa (Chaudoir, 1852), all from Brazil. 125–131 – elytron: 125 – “Brasil, ex Freireiss, Nr 3719” (MFNB); 126 – J, Santarem (BMNH); 127 – ♀, Santarem (BMNH); 128 – J, ex collection Chaudoir (MNHN); 129 – J, Para (BMNH); 130 – ♀, ex collection Chaudoir (MNHN); 131 – J, “Jatahy, Goyaz” [= Jataí, Goiás] (SDEI); 132–138 – male aedeagus: 132 – Santarem (BMNH); 133 – “Brasil, ex Freireiss, Nr 3719” (MFNB), 134 – the same aedeagus in dorsal view; 135 – Para (BMNH); 136–138 – internal sac in left and right lateral and dorsal view, Para (BMNH). Scale bars = 1 mm.

Figs 139–147. Cylindera (Cylindera) acompsa (Chaudoir, 1852), syntypes (ZMUM) of the synonym Cicindosa inaequalis Motschulsky, 1864. 139–140 – habitus: 139 – J, 7.7 mm, lectotype; 140 – ♀, 7.5 mm, paralectotype; 141–142 – original labels of syntypes: 141 – J, lectotype; 142 – ♀, paralectotype; 143 – aedeagus, lectotype; 144–145 – labrum: 144 – J, lectotype; 145 – ♀, paralectotype; 146–147 – mandibles: 146 – J, lectotype; 147 – ♀, paralectotype. Scale bars = 1 mm. (Image credit A. Matalin and V. Savitsky, ZMUM).

Figs 1–10. Cylindera (Cylindera) morio species-complex, diagnostic characters on male mandibles. 1–2 – C. (C.) morio (Klug, 1834): 1 – with four teeth; 2 – terminal tooth of right mandible in lateral view. 3–6 – C. (C.) amayai sp. nov.: 3 – with three teeth; 4 – terminal tooth of right mandible in lateral view; 5 – with small additional tooth in right mandible; 6 – terminal tooth of right mandible in lateral view. 7–10 – C. (C.) acompsa (Chaudoir, 1852) (and other two species of the complex): 7 – with tree teeth; 8 – terminal tooth of right mandible in lateral view; 9 – with three teeth and additional rudiment of tooth; 10 – terminal tooth of right mandible in lateral view (its outer margin in the three later species is smooth also in mandibles possessing additional small tooth). Scale bars = 1 mm.

Figs 181–187. Cylindera (Cylindera) obliquealba (Motschulsky, 1864), ♀, lectotype of Cicindosa obliquealba (ZMUM). 181 – habitus, 8.2 mm; 182 – elytron; 183 – original labels; 184 – mandibles with labrum; 185–187 – female genitalia: 185 – sternum VIII, ventral view; 186 – syntergum IX–X, dorsal view; 187 – second gonapophyses (stylets), dorsal view. Scale bars = 1 mm. (Image credit A. Matalin and V. Savitsky, ZMUM).

Figs 188–198. Cylindera (Cylindera) obliquealba (Motschulsky, 1864) from Brazil. 188–190 – J, Amazonia, historical specimen Nr 3719 (MFNB): 188 – habitus, 7.7 mm; 189 – pronotum; 190 – thorax in lateral view, showing proepisternum; 191 – pronotum, J, historical specimen ex collection “Bowring / 63.47” (BMNH); 192–198 – male aedeagus or its apex: 192 – Amazonia, historical specimen Nr 3719 (MFNB); 193 – its dorsal view; 194 – ex collection Chaudoir (MNHN, as C. acompsa); 195 – its dorsal view; 196 – Santarem (BMNH); 197–198 – its internal sac in left and right lateral aspects. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Figs 206–213. Two species of Cylindera. 206–212 – Cylindera obliquealba (Motschulsky, 1864) from Brazil, elytron. 206 – J, Amazonia, historical specimen Nr 3719 (MFNB); 207 – J, ex collection Chaudoir (MNHN as C. acompsa); 208–209 – Santarem (BMNH): 208 – J; 209 – ♀; 210 – ex Bowring (BMNH); 211 – J, Santarem (SDEI); 212 – J, Santarem (SDEI), with reduced whitish maculation yet with indicated thin lateral band and well-developed apical macula; 213 – Cylindera confluentesignata (W. Horn, 1915), elytron, J, Paraguay, Salazar (CCJM). Scale bar = 1 mm.

Fig. 215. Distribution of the Cylindera morio species-complex in Brazil and Bolivia, verified records (modified from the map by QGIS Development Team, 2016).