Callytron monalisa (W. Horn, 1927) from the Arabian Peninsula (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae)

Callytron monalisa was described by Horn (1927), based on a single male specimen from Bandar Abbas in southern Iran, along the Strait of Hormuz. It was at first thought to represent a distinct genus (Achemenia Rivalier, 1950) by reason of several characters such as the particular inner sac of the ma...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Zoology in the Middle East 2012-01, Vol.55 (1), p.137-138
Main Authors: Cassola, Fabio, Gardner, Drew, Feulner, Gary R., Howarth, Brigitte
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cicindelidae
Coleoptera
Online Access:Get full text
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Description
Summary:Callytron monalisa was described by Horn (1927), based on a single male specimen from Bandar Abbas in southern Iran, along the Strait of Hormuz. It was at first thought to represent a distinct genus (Achemenia Rivalier, 1950) by reason of several characters such as the particular inner sac of the male aedeagus. However, later research (Rivalier 1961) showed it to be a member of the genus Callytron Gistl, 1848, an Indo-Malayan group, and apparently closer to C. gyllenhalii (Dejean, 1825) from coastal Pakistan and India (Cassola 1976, Acciavatti & Pearson 1989) and to C. nivicinctum (Chevrolat, 1845) from Korea, China and Vietnam (Hori & Cassola 1989). C. monalisa is apparently a very rare species in entomological collections and, because of its beautiful deep blue-green colour, it was considered by some, as its name suggests, to be one of the most exquisite tiger beetle species in the world. Its unmistakable elytral pattern was drawn by Horn (1938, plate 58, fig. 3) and a photograph was usefully published by Werner (1992).
ISSN:0939-7140
2326-2680
DOI:10.1080/09397140.2012.10648931