Zopherus nodulosus nodulosus Solier 1841

Zopherus nodulosus nodulosus Solier

Zopherus nodulosus Solier, 1841:43.—Champion, 1884:42; 1892:489, tab. 22, fig. 6.

Zopherus variolosus Sturm, 1843:349, tab. 5, fig. 2.—Haldeman, 1852:376.

Zopherus nodulosus var. sallaei Champion, 1884:42; 1892:490.

Zopherus haldemanni var. verrucosus Champion, 1884:43, tab. 2, fig. 5 [new synonymy].

This is a somewhat variable species in several respects and it is understandable that varieties have been named. Specimens are always conspicuously marked in black and white, the lighter individuals being those referred to by Champion as the typical nodulosus. Individuals with a greater proportion of the dorsal surface black in color, Champion called variety sallaei, with variety verrucosus somewhat intermediate between the two.

The formation of the transverse callus at the apex of the terminal abdominal sternum varies from simply emarginate anteriorly to almost completely divided into two distinct lobes. The antennal fossae are appendiculate and the ventral surface of the pronotum is usually smooth, but occasionally may have several rather coarse tubercles.

Several unusual specimens are worthy of special mention. In one from Santo Domingo, Oaxaca (BMNH), there are numerous strong tubercles on the ventral surface of the pronotum as in nervosus Solier; the ventral surface is largely white and the femora are white except at the extreme base and apex. Another specimen exhibiting the same modifications is from 2 miles south of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas (UCal). A specimen from Chilpancingo, Guerrero (MCZ), is almost completely black and the dorsal surface is smooth. This is probably an old abraded individual.

I have studied 16 of Champion’s specimens, including both of the forms which he described, and am convinced that only one species is involved. Champion studied the type of Z. variolosus Sturm and pronounced it identical with this species.

MEASUREMENTS.—Length 14.1–28 mm; width 5.5–11.2 mm.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED.—137 from the localities that follow. MEXICO: El Zapotal, 2 miles south of Tuxtla Gutiérrez in Chiapas; Acapulco, Chilpancingo, 38 miles south of Iguala, Omilteme and Taxco in Guerrero; San Miguel and Zacualtipán in Hidalgo; Ajijic and Guadalajara in Jalisco; Mexico, Distrito Federal; 16 miles south of Arteaga in Michoacan; Cuernavaca and Tejalpa in Morelos; Compostela and Ixtlán del Rio in Nayarit; Calpulalpan, Juquila, Oaxaca, and Santo Domingo in Oaxaca; 82 km northeast of Tehuacán in Puebla; 34.1 miles north and 40 miles south of Tamazunchale in San Luis Potosi; 14 miles east of Landa de Matamoros in Queretaro; Hermosillo in Sonora; Cañon de Santa Anna, Rancho La Mariposa, Muzquiz in Coahuila; Tampico in Tamaulipas; Jalapa, Orizaba, and Presidio in Veracruz. Specimens were collected in every month except November at altitudes of from 5,200 to 6,800 feet.