Pachymelus ( Pachymelopsis ) armatipes ( Friese, 1911 ), 2025

Wood, Thomas J., 2025, A taxonomic update to Pachymelus (Pachymelopsis) Cockerell, with a new species from Ethiopia (Hymenoptera, Apidae), Contributions to Entomology 75 (2), pp. 339-353 : 339-353

Pachymelus ( Pachymelopsis) armatipes ( Friese, 1911) stat. rev.

Anthophora armatipes Friese, 1911: 660, ♀ ♂ [“ Somaliland ”, ZMB, not examined]

Material examined.

Ethiopia • 2 ♂; Jowaha N. of Debra Sina ; 6,000 ft a. s. l.; 7 Aug. 1946; K. M. Guichard leg.; D. B. Baker det. 1979; NHMUK ; Kenya • 1 ♂; Brit. E. Af., Mtito Andei ; 2,500 ft a. s. l.; 26–28 Mar. 1911; S. A. Neave leg.; D. B. Baker det.; 1982; NHMUK ; • 2 ♀; E of Mwingi ; 14 May 2007; M. Halada leg.; T. J. Wood det.; OÖLM / TJWC • 1 ♀; Taita Hills, Voi river ; 14 Apr. 2007; T. J. Wood det.; OÖLM .

Notes.

The situation surrounding three taxa, P. conspicuus , Pachymelus bettoni ( Cockerell, 1910) , and P. armatipes , has been confused. Brooks (1988) considered all three to be conspecific, but Eardley (1993) treated P. conspicuus (inclusive of P. armatipes ) and P. bettoni as two distinct species. This case requires clarification, as P. conspicuus was described from a single female (Fig. 1 ), P. bettoni from a single male (Fig. 2 ), and P. armatipes in both sexes.

Friese (1911) provided a diagnosis for P. armatipes against P. festivus ( Dours, 1869) , citing the larger size, different female colouration, and long hair fringe on the male fore basitarsus. Eardley (1993: 220–221) argued that the female of P. armatipes was conspecific with P. conspicuus , and since the sexes of the type series were “ apparently ” correctly associated, the male of P. armatipes must therefore be the male of P. conspicuus , as “ no evidence was available for the association of the holotype of P. bettoni with that of P. conspicuus ”.

Eardley’s synonymy of P. armatipes was unjustified, as (1) there are morphological differences in pubescence between the females of P. armatipes and P. conspicuus , and (2) there was no effort to associate sexes across the observed ranges of the possible taxa to provide additional support for or against a particular association. While P. conspicuus females have dense and fine tergal pubescence (Fig. 1 D ), P. armatipes females have thicker hairs on the terga, giving an almost scaly appearance (Fig. 3 D ). The scutal pubescence of P. conspicuus is also finely intermixed greyish and dark brown hairs (Fig. 1 C ), whereas in P. armatipes the pubescence is rich reddish-brown with only a few intermixed black hairs (Figs 3 A , 3 C ). There are also slight differences in body size, with female P. conspicuus measuring around 15–16 mm and P. armatipes around 16–18 mm (see Friese 1911: 661), and in the colouration of the yellow facial markings, which are lemon yellow in P. conspicuus (Fig. 1 C ) and ivory yellow in P. armatipes (Fig. 3 B ).

Concerning males, examination of specimens has found P. conspicuus females with P. bettoni males flying together at the same site on the same day in four locations ( Kenya = 3, Zambia = 1; full material examined listed below under P. conspicuus ). In fact, the specimens from Zambia were critical to understanding the sex association, as males displaying the morphology of P. armatipes have only been examined from Ethiopia (Fig. 4 ) and Kenya, whereas “ P. bettoni ” males have been examined extending south through Tanzania to Zambia, covering the known range of P. conspicuus based on female specimens. Pachymelus bettoni must therefore represent the male of P. conspicuus based on local co-occurrence and overall distributional overlap. The species concepts presented here are consistent with the morphological concepts used by Donald Baker (see listed specimen determinations). Pachymelus bettoni is therefore formally synonymised with P. conspicuus below, and P. armatipes stat. rev. is restored to species status. The males are easily separable, as P. conspicuus has the hind basitarsus apically broadened and thus appearing triangular (Fig. 2 E ), and the mid trochanters are ventrally rounded, whereas P. armatipes has the hind basitarsus parallel-sided (Fig. 4 D ), and the mid trochanters are ventrally produced into long, ventrally projecting teeth (see identification key).

Distribution.

Ethiopia *, Somalia, Kenya * ( Friese 1911; Eardley 1993, as Pachymelus conspicuus partim).

Figures

Figure 1. Pachymelus conspicuus Smith, 1879 holotype female (NHMUK). A. Label details; B. Body, dorsal view; C. Head and mesosoma, anterolateral view; D. Metasoma, dorsal view.

Figure 2. Habropoda bettoni Cockerell, 1910 (= Pachymelus conspicuus Smith, 1879) holotype male (NHMUK). A. Label details; B. Habitus, lateral view; C. Head, frontal view; D. Fore tarsus, dorsal view; E. Hind tarsus, dorsal view; F. Metasoma, dorsal view.

Figure 3. Pachymelus armatipes (Friese, 1911) female (OÖLM). A. Habitus, lateral view; B. Head, frontal view; C. Head and mesosoma, anterolateral view; D. Metasoma, dorsal view.

Figure 4. Pachymelus armatipes (Friese, 1911) male (NHMUK). A. Label details; B. Habitus, lateral view; C. Fore tarsus, dorsal view; D. Hind tarsus, dorsal view.