Taxonomic notes on the genus Spinosodus Breuning & de Jong, 1941 are presented. The genus Bulbolmotega Breuning, 1966 is synonymized with Spinosodus, and Bulbolmotega sumatrensis Breuning, 1966 is recognized as a junior synonym of Spinosodus spinicollis Breuning & de Jong, 1941. Additionally, Spinosodus is redescribed, and S. rufomaculatus Breuning, 1973 is formally reported from China, Vietnam, Thailand, and India for the first time.

Bulbolmotega, Lamiinae, new record, new synonym

The genus Spinosodus Breuning & de Jong, 1941 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) was established for Spinosodus spinicollis Breuning & de Jong, 1941 from Java, Indonesia. Subsequently, both the genus and the species were redescribed by Breuning (1963) in a revision of the Asian Pteropliini. The second species of this genus, Spinosodus rufomaculatus Breuning, 1973 was described based on a single specimen from Pakson, Laos. Currently, the genus is recognized as comprising these two species: the insular S. spinicollis from Indonesia and the continental S. rufomaculatus from Laos (Tavakilian and Chevillotte 2024). The monotypic genus Bulbolmotega Breuning, 1966 was described for Bulbolmotega sumatrensis Breuning, 1966 from Sumatra (Indonesia), and no additional species are known to date. Recently, two intriguing individuals of these genera were collected in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. Initial identification suggested that these specimens belong to Spinosodus. However, further comparison revealed striking similarities to Bulbolmotega. This observation triggered us to discuss the relationship between these two genera. Therefore, we aim to verify whether the genus Bulbolmotega should be synonymized with Spinosodus, based on a comparison of the type material.

Specimens from the following collections were examined and/or photographed in this study. The place where the specimens were deposited is indicated in the text.

MNHN Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France;

RMNH Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie, Leiden, Holland;

SNSD Senckenberg Naturhistorische Sammlungen Dresden, Dresden, Germany;

YZU Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China;

CXG Collection of Xavier Gouverneur, Rennes, France.

The photographs of the specimens from Guangxi were taken using a Canon 7D Mark II digital camera equipped with a Canon EF 100 mm f/2.8L IS USM. The photographs of the holotype of S. spinicollis were photographed by Oscar Vorst (RMNH). The photographs of the holotype of S. rufomaculatus were photographed by Antoine Mantilleri and Christophe Rivier (MNHN). The photographs of the holotype of B. sumatrensis were photographed by Olaf Jäger (SNSD). All photographs were edited using Adobe Photoshop 2020.

After examining photographs of the type specimens of both genera, it is clear that the genus Bulbolmotega should be considered a junior synonym of Spinosodus. Consequently, B. sumatrensis is recognized as a junior synonym of S. spinicollis. Additionally, S. rufomaculatus is formally reported here for the first time from China, Vietnam, Thailand, and India based on own observations and the data presented on the Cerambycoidea Forum (Vitali 2024), as well as the materials provided by Xavier Gouverneur.

 Spinosodus spinicollis Breuning & de Jong, 1941

Figs 1, 3a–d, 4a, b, e, f

Chinese common name: 刺球腿天牛

Spinosodus spinicollis Breuning & de Jong, 1941: 96—Breuning 1961: 283; Breuning 1963: 509. Type locality: Java, Indonesia.

Bulbolmotega sumatrensis Breuning, 1966: 124. Type locality: Sumatra, Indonesia. Syn. nov.

Type material examined

Holotype of S. spinicollis (RNMH, INS. 1488475), label details are shown in Fig. 1b. Holotype of B. sumatrensis (SNSD), label details are shown in Fig. 1d.

Figure 1. 

Habitus of Spinosodus spinicollis Breuning & de Jong, 1941 a, b holotype of S. spinicollis c, d holotype of Bulbolmotega sumatrensis Breuning, 1966.

Distribution

Indonesia.

Comments

Based on the comparison of S. spinicollis and B. sumatrensis, we found that there are no significant differences between the two species. For example, in both species, the body colour is predominantly pale reddish brown, the pronotum has a small, rounded, ochraceous pubescent patch on each side of the anterior margin, which is distinctly separated from the outer pubescent patch and the posterior large, rounded pubescent patch, and the elytra that are unevenly scattered with the yellowish brown pubescence. Therefore, we propose that B. sumatrensis Breuning, 1966 is a junior synonym of S. spinicollis Breuning & de Jong, 1941.

As B. sumatrensis is the type species of Bulbolmotega, this genus becomes a junior synonym of the genus Spinosodus.

 Spinosodus rufomaculatus Breuning, 1973

Figs 2, 3e–h, 4c, d, g–i

Chinese common name: 赭斑刺球腿天牛

Spinosodus rufomaculatus Breuning, 1973: 660.

Type material examined

Holotype (MNHN, EC36967), label details are shown in Fig. 2b.

Figure 2. 

Habitus of Spinosodus rufomaculatus Breuning, 1973 a, b holotype c the individual from Oudomxay, Laos d, e individuals from Guangxi, China f individual from Phrae, Thailand.

Non-type material examined

China • 2 females (YZU); Guangxi, Fengshan county, Fengcheng town; 24°23'56.78"N, 107°1'30.46"E; alt. 479 m; 24 Apr. 2024; Yitong Fu leg.; captured by light trap • Laos: 1 male (CXG); Oudomxay province, Nam Kat; alt. 750 m; May 2024; Steeve Collard leg.; captured by UV light trap • Thailand: 1 female (CXG); Phrae province, Wangchin, Punjen; alt. 436 m; 16 Apr. 2017; Xavier Gouverneur leg.; captured by UV light trap.

Figure 3. 

Habitus of Spinosodus spp. a, c holotype of S. spinicollis Breuning & de Jong, 1941 b, d holotype of Bulbolmotega sumatrensis Breuning, 1966 e–h Spinosodus rufomaculatus Breuning, 1973 e, g holotype f, h individual from Guangxi, China.

Distribution

Laos, China (new country record), Vietnam (new country record), Thailand (new country record), and India (new country record).

Figure 4. 

Habitus of Spinosodus spp. a, e holotype of Spinosodus spinicollis Breuning & de Jong, 1941 b, f holotype of Bulbolmotega sumatrensis Breuning, 1966 c, d, g–i Spinosodus rufomaculatus Breuning, 1973 c, g holotype d, h, i individuals from Guangxi, China.

Comments

This species is very similar to the type species, S. spinicollis from Indonesia, with the main differences being in body coloration and the shape of pubescent patches on the pronotum. In S. rufomaculatus, the body color is darker, and the premedian pubescent patches on both sides of the pronotum are narrow, transverse, and uniformly ochre-colored, while in the type species, the body color is lighter, and the premedian pubescent patches on the pronotum are nonuniform in color, featuring a distinct, circular ochre spot on the inner side with noticeably lighter pubescence on the outer side.

Previously, S. rufomaculatus was known only from Laos. However, based on our own records presented in this study (Fig. 2d, e), data and images provided by Xavier Gouverneur (Fig. 2c, f), and the Cerambycoidea Forum (Vitali 2024), the range of this species has been extended to Guangxi and Yunnan in China, Cao Bang in Vietnam, Phrae in Thailand, and Kerala in India.

Breuning and de Jong (1941) described Spinosodus spinicollis based on the specimen from Java, Indonesia. Subsequently, the same author (Breuning 1966) described Bulbolmotega sumatrensis from Sumatra, Indonesia. Although Breuning stated in the original description of B. sumatrensis that the lower eye lobe is about five times as long as the gena, compared to four times in S. spinicollis, we found that the difference most likely due to a measurement error. In fact, there are no taxonomically significant differences between the two species.

Spinosodus spinicollis is highly similar to S. rufomaculatus in external habitus, differing primarily in body color and the shape and color of the premedian pubescent patches on the pronotum. However, the available material indicates that S. rufomaculatus shows some intraspecific variability in body color and pubescence distribution, which suggests that the coloration and pubescent patterns are not reliable characters for differentiation of these two taxa. Nevertheless, we treat them here as separate species due to their clearly different geographic ranges. The type species is insular, found in Java, Sumatra, and Borneo in Indonesia, while S. rufomaculatus is a typical continental species, recorded from Laos, China, Vietnam, Thailand, and India.

The genus Spinosodus was originally placed in tribe Pteropliini Thomson, 1860, while the genus Bulbolmotega was classified in the tribe Acanthocinini Blanchard, 1845. However, we show that the mesotibia lacks an external oblique groove near the apex and the mesocoxal cavity opens laterally, which suggests that Spinosodus belongs to Pteropliini rather than Acanthocinini. Breuning and de Jong (1941) indicated that Spinosodus is closely related to Sodus Pascoe, 1865 (= Similosodus McKeown, 1945), but it differs from the latter in the antennae, which are distinctly shorter than the body, and in the pronotum, which is equipped with a short, small lateral spine located posterior to the middle of each side.

We express our sincere thanks to Oscar Vorst (Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie, Leiden, Holland) for taking the holotype photographs of S. spinicollis, to Antoine Mantilleri and Christophe Rivier (Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, France) for taking the holotype photographs of S. rufomaculatus, to Olaf Jäger (Senckenberg Naturhistorische Sammlungen Dresden, Germany), to Yitong Fu (Nankai University, Tianjing, China) for collecting the specimens of S. rufomaculatus, and especially to Xavier Gouverneur (Namkat Yorla Pa Biodiversity Museum, Oudomxay, Laos) for reviewing this paper and providing valuable information, as well as pictures of S. spinicollis. We also express our sincere gratitude to Lech Karpiński (Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland), the subject editor of ZooKeys, for carefully revising and patiently handling the manuscript, to Guofang Jiang (Quanzhou Normal University, China) for his assistance during specimen collection.