Atholus coelestis (Marseul, 1857)

Hister coelestis Marseul, 1857, 416, t. 10, f. 59 [China].

Hister (Atholus) coelestis: Bickhardt, 1910, 53 [catalogued]; 1917, 193 [catalogued]; Desbordes, 1919, 399 [Tonkin, Annam, Cochincine]; 1921, 10 [Inde]; Kamiya & Takagi, 1938, 31 [listed].

Atholus coelestis: Lewis, 1906, 402; 1915, 55 [Formosa].

Atholus (Euatholus) coelestis: Hisamatsu & Kusui, 1984, 17 [noted, key]; Hisamatsu, 1985, 228, pl. 41, f. 61 [noted, key, photo].

Hister femoralis Motschulsky, 1863, 449, synonymized by Lewis, 1885, 465.

Atholus coelestis: Ôhara, 1992c, 173; 1994, 137.

Hister (Atholus) coelestis: Miwa, 1931, 57 [Kôshun]; Kamiya and Takagi, 1938, 31.

Atholus coelestis: Lewis, 1915, 55; Ohara, 1992c, 173; 1994, 137.

Ohara (1992c)

Description. Male and female. Body length, PPL: male, 2.57 - 3.81 mm, female, 3.09 - 3.57 mm, PEL: male, 2.14 - 2.67 mm, female, 2.52 - 2.90 mm. Width: male, 1.86 - 2.28 mm, female, 2.17 - 2.57 mm. Biometric data are given in Table 2. Body oval, feebly depressed, black and shining; tibiae, tarsi and antennae reddish brown.

Frontal stria of head (Fig. 3 A) complete and carinate, feebly angulate inwardly at middle on anterior portion; disk densely covered with coarse punctures which are separated from one another by their diameter.

Marginal pronotal stria present on apical third laterally, but absent anteriorly except behind apical angle. Lateral pronotal stria (Fig. 3 B) short, present on middle of each lateral side, and one-third as long as pronotum. Disk densely covered with moderate punctures which are shallow and separated by about their diameter; area behind the apical angle of lateral stria feebly excavated, and sparsely covered with coarse punctures which are separated by two or three times their diameter; posterior margin with a row of coarse, longitudinal and deep punctures. Ante-scutellar area with a short longitudinal puncture.

Epipleural fossette of elytra sparsely clothed with fine punctures. Marginal epipleural stria absent. Marginal elytral stria complete and deeply impressed. External subhumeral stria absent. Internal subhumeral stria (Fig. 3 B) rudimentary, briefly present on middle. Oblique humeral stria lightly impressed on basal third. First - 4th dorsal striae complete, apical ends of 1st to 3rd extending inwardly, the 3rd reaching near apical end of 5th stria. Fifth dorsal stria present on apical two-thirds. Sutural stria present on apical half, the basal end a little before the middle. Disk of elytron evenly covered with moderate punctures which are separated by about twice their diameter.

Pygidia with alutaceous ground sculpture. Propygidium (Fig. 9 B) sparsely and irregularly scattered with coarse punctures which are separated by one to six times their diameter, the punctures becoming sparser apically; interspace among the coarse punctures densely covered with fine punctures. Punctation of pygidium (Fig. 9 G) similar to that of propygidium, though the coarse punctures become finer toward apex.

Anterior margin of prosternal lobe (Fig. 3 C) round, its marginal stria complete and deeply impressed and carinate; disk densely and coarsely punctate laterally. Prosternal keel narrow and without carinal stria; descending lateral stria deeply impressed and complete.

Anterior margin of mesosternum (Fig. 3 D) slightly and outwardly arcuate, but the median portion is slightly emarginate inwardly; marginal stria complete, sparsely crenate and carinate. A short stria present behind antero-lateral angle. Disk of mesosternum sparsely clothed with fine punctures which are separated by two to four times their diameter. Meso-metasternal suture clearly impressed, complete and angulate at middle. Lateral metasternal stria well impressed, extending obliquely and posteriorly, near to but not united with the oblique stria which inwardly extends from the middle of metasternal-metepisternal suture. Punctation of intercoxal disk of metasternum similar to that of mesosternum. Post-mesocoxal stria extending posteriorly and obliquely, attaining to the middle of lateral disk. Lateral disk densely covered with large, round and shallow punctures and without hair; interspace among the large ones sparsely and finely punctate.

Punctation of intercoxal disk of 1st abdominal sternum similar to that of metasternum, but somewhat denser; lateral stria deeply impressed and a little shortened apically.

Protibia (Fig. 3 E & F) with 7 or 8 denticles on lateral outer margin and 5 small denticles on anterior margin, three of these denticles occurring on apical angle. Ventral surface of protibia with a row of 8 small denticles along outer lateral margin. Profemur (Fig. 3 G) almost completely with femoral stria. Meso- and metatibiae each bearing 7 or 8 long spinules.

Male genitalia as shown in Fig. 4 A - F.

Female genitalia as shown in Fig. 4 G.

Remarks. This species is easily distinguished from all the other Japanese species of the tribe Histerini by the pronotal lateral stria incomplete and by the apical end of the 3rd dorsal stria of elytra extending inwardly, attaining near to the apical end of the 5th dorsal stria.

Table 2. Biometric data for Atholus coelestis (Marseul).

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Part measured Male Female

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APW 0.76-0.95 (0.89+0.01) 20 0.86-1.05 (0.97+0.01) 20

PPW 1.67-2.05 (1.93+0.02) 20 2.00-2.33 (2.17+0.02) 20

PL 0.86-1.07 (0.95+0.01) 20 0.90-1.19 (1.06+0.02) 20

EL 1.24-1.48 (1.38+0.01) 20 1.43-1.59 (1.54+0.01) 20

EW 1.86-2.28 (2.14+0.02) 20 2.17-2.57 (2.41+0.02) 20

ProW 1.00-1.33 (1.20+0.01) 20 1.24-1.48 (1.35+0.01) 20

ProL 0.45-0.55 (0.49+0.01) 20 0.48-0.67 (0.55+0.01) 20

PyL 0.57-0.76 (0.61+0.01) 20 0.62-0.81 (0.71+0.01) 20

PTL 0.55-0.71 (0.66+0.01) 20 0.67-0.81 (0.74+0.01) 20

MSTL 0.45-0.62 (0.57+0.01) 19 0.57-0.74 (0.67+0.01) 20

MTTL 0.62-0.76 (0.72+0.01) 20 0.71-0.90 (0.83+0.01) 19

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Specimens examined. 21ÅâÅâ, 23ÅäÅä and 63 exs.

[Nansei Isls.] <Tarama Is.> 1Åâ, 1Åä, 3 exs., Tarama Is., 2-X-1984, Y. Kusui leg. <Zamami Is.> 2ÅâÅâ, 1Åä, 2 exs., 27-VII-1987, Y. Kusui leg. <Iriomote Is.> 1Åä, 1 ex., Uehara, 22-III-1975, N. Nishikawa leg.; 2 exs., ditto, 17-III-1985, K. Nakamine leg.; 8ÅâÅâ, 3ÅäÅä, Ôtomi, 17-III-1985, S. Masuda leg.; 8ÅâÅâ, 11ÅäÅä, 26 exs., ditto, K. Nakamine leg.; 2ÅâÅâ, 5ÅäÅä, 24 exs., Iriomote Is., 19 & 20-X-1988, M. Ôhara leg.; 1 ex., ditto, 22-III-1982, M. Kiuchi leg. <Ishigaki Is.> 1Åä, Isobe, 29-III-1984, Yoshida leg.; 4 exs., Hirakubozaki, 24-VIII-1987, H. Tanaka leg.

Japan: [Nansei Isles] Iriomote-jima: Uehara (26 exs., 15/ix/1993, collected from cow dung), M. Ohara; Shiraitani-rindô (1 ex., 13/ix/1993), M. Ohara.

Taiwan: [Proper] Taipei Hsien: Taipei City (9 exs., 14/x/1976), M. Kiuchi. Nantou Hsien: Nanshanchi, Puli (1 ex., 28/xii/1974), K. Masumoto; (1 ex., 30/iii/1977), W. Suzuki; (1 ex., 13/iv/1986), M. Ohara; Puli ( 1 ex., 8/x/1976), M. Kiuchi; Lushan (1 ex., 8/vi/1976), K. Tazoe; Chitou (2 exs., 5/viii/1977), native collector. Chiai Hsien: Chuchi (1 ex., 6/xi/1976), M. Kiuchi. Tainan Hsien: Koupi, Hsinhua (2 exs., 8/xi/1976), M. Kiuchi. Hualien Hsien: Jui-sui (1 ex., 15/xi/1976), M. Kiuchi. Kaoshiung Hsien: Liukuei (4 exs., 30/iv; 17 exs., 1/v; 14 exs., 3­7/v/1986), M. Ohara. Pingtung Hsien: Sizhongchi (8 exs., 11/v; 86 exs., 11/v/1986), M. Ohara; Kenting (2 exs., 3/xi; 1 ex., 9/xi/1986; 2 exs., 5/v/1987), H. Tanaka; (14 exs., 8/v/1986), M. Ohara; (2 exs., 4/iv/1976), K. Tazoe; (3 exs., 5/xi/1986), K. Baba; Kenting Natural Park (10 exs., 26/xi/1990), S. Osawa; Lungluantan, Kenting Natural Park (1 ex., 6/ii/1995), Y.Y. Lien; Henchun (3 exs., 10/v/1986), M. Ohara.

[Lanyu Is.] (3 exs., 9/iv/1978), K. Murakami; (1 ex., 17/iv; 25 exs., 18­22/iv/1986), M. Ohara.

[Lutao Is.] (21 exs., 26­28/iv/1986), M. Ohara.

Remarks. A. coelestis commonly occurs in fresh cow dung in Taiwan.

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