This article contains the full text of "Records of individuals resembling *Hikosanegiri* beetles in Osaka Prefecture," which was published in the following magazine. Printed and PDF versions are available for purchase via the link below. Please report any identification or information errors so we can correct them in subsequent issues.
What is the Hikosan Egri Gomimushi Damashi?
Uloma hikosana Nakane, 1956 is a species of beetle belonging to the family Tenebrionidae in the order Coleoptera, distributed in Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu (Masumoto & Nishikawa, 1986; Akita & Masumoto, 2016). Although this species has been recorded in Mie Prefecture (Masumoto & Nishikawa, 1986; Akita & Masumoto, 2016), Nara Prefecture (Masumoto & Nishikawa, 1986: this record is not included in the distribution record compilation by the Nara Prefecture Red Data Book Revision Committee (2017)), and Kyoto Prefecture (Nakahama et al., 2019) in the Kansai region, no records could be found in Osaka Prefecture, despite consulting Masumoto & Nishikawa (1986), Osaka Prefecture (2000), Takahashi (2011), Akita & Masumoto (2016), Hatsushuku et al. (2020), and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (accessed September 16, 2020).
The author's record of an individual similar to *Hikosanegiri* beetle.
On August 27, 2016, at approximately 11:30 AM, the author photographed an individual resembling a male of this species on Mt. Minami-Katsuragi in Takihata, Kawachinagano City, Osaka Prefecture, and reports it here (Figure 8). Numerous species exist in this genus, including similar species such as U. marseuli marseuli Nakane, 1956. However, U. hikosanensis has a reddish-brown body color, strongly punctate elytral intercellular spaces (Masumoto & Nishikawa, 1986; Akita & Masumoto, 2016), a deep depression along the midline of the forehead with nodular protrusions on either side, the absence of small projections at the tip of the inner margin of the 5th-7th antennal segments, and the uncut portion adjacent to the depression on the anterior margin of the pronotum (Akita & Masumoto, 2016). The pronotum has a deep indentation with two distinct pairs of small nodular ridges (Nakajo, 1985), and these features can be confirmed in this individual. However, since the ventral characteristics used for identification (Masumoto & Nishikawa, 1986) cannot be confirmed, it is classified as a similar species. This photograph was taken while the insect was resting on the exposed interior of a decaying log beside a mountain trail. This record was taken during an excursion at the Japan Ant Research Society conference, and because there were multiple participants, the author could not determine whether the interior of the log was naturally exposed or artificially destroyed. Further reports are welcome. Even if it is a Marcel's darkling beetle, there appear to be no reports of male individuals with morphological similarities to the Hikosan darkling beetle, so this is reported here.
References
Akita, Katsumi & Masumoto, Hitoshi (2016) A Comprehensive Illustrated Guide to Japanese Darkling Beetles. Mushi-sha, Tokyo. 302pp. ISBN: 9784943955092, https://www.mushi-sha.co.jp/shopdetail/000000000494/
Nakajo, Michitaka (1985) Tenebrionidae. In: Kurosawa, Yoshihiko, Hisamatsu, Sadashige, and Sasaji, Hiroyuki (eds.), *Color Illustrated Guide to Japanese Beetles*, Vol. 3. pp. 295-341. Hoikusha, Osaka. ISBN: 9784586300709
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (Accessed September 16, 2020) River and Waterfront Census: River Environment Database System, Kinki Region. http://www.nilim.go.jp/lab/fbg/ksnkankyo/dl_86_index.html
Masumoto, K. & Nishikawa, N. (1986) A revisional study of the species of the genus Uloma from Japan, Korea and Taiwan (Tenebrionidae, Coleoptera). Insecta matsumurana. New series: journal of the Faculty of Agriculture Hokkaido University, series entomology 35: 17-43. ISSN: 0020-1804
Nakahama, Naoyuki; Seguchi, Shota; Fujimoto, Masanori; Arimoto, Hisayuki; Ito, Takeo; Fujie, Junpei; and Takayanagi, Atsushi (2019). Beetles collected in the Ashiu Research Forest, Kyoto University from 2008 to 2016. Bulletin of the Osaka Museum of Natural History 73: 91-105. ISSN: 0078-6675
Nara Prefecture Red Data Book Revision Committee (2017) Nara Prefecture Wildlife Catalog. Landscape and Natural Environment Division, Landscape and Environment Bureau, Department of Lifestyle Creation, Nara. 422pp. https://www.pref.nara.jp/46825.htm
Osaka Prefecture (2000) Osaka Prefecture Wildlife Catalog. Green Environment Improvement Office, Department of Environment, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Osaka. 351 pp.
Hatsushuku, N., Yasui, M., Ichikawa, A., Katsura, K., Kawai, M., Nakatani, K., and Yamazaki, K. (2020) The beetle fauna of Osaka City and its changes. Natural History Research 4(3): 41-104. ISSN: 0078-6683
Takahashi, Hiroshi (2011) Catalogue of Coleoptera in the Collection of the Osaka Museum of Natural History (1) Tenebrionidae. Catalogue of the Collections of the Osaka Museum of Natural History 43: 29-123. ISSN: 0389-9047, https://omnh-shop.ocnk.net/product/1342
