Myoplatypus brevicornis ( Wood, 1966 )

Kirkendall, Lawrence R. & Atkinson, Thomas H., 2023, The rare genus Myoplatypus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Platypodinae): three new species, new reports, and first records for South America, Zootaxa 5351 (3), pp. 301-321 : 312-313

Myoplatypus brevicornis ( Wood, 1966)

( Figs 2 , 8 )

New records. This is the only tropical species that has been collected in any great numbers. There are 16 collections made by INBio parataxonomists during their survey of arthropods of Costa Rica (until recently, INBio was Costa Rica’s non-governmental biodiversity institute). These 38 specimens (30 males, 3 females, 5 sex not recorded) were identified by me in earlier years and retrieved from GBIF in October 2021. Details of these collections are available from GBIF.org (GBIF Occurrence Download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.fv4byj) and these records are summarized here ( Table 2 ). INBio collections are now property of the National Museum of Costa Rica.

We have seen 3 other specimens. “ COSTA RICA: Hered [ia] Prov., Volcan Barva , 2600 m, mont[ane] oak forest FIT [flight intercept trap], 11–27.VI.97, S&J Peck 97-20” (1 male, LRKC). “ PANAMA, Chiriqui Prov., 2–3 km E Cerro Punta, 2000–2200 m, 23.V.77, H. & A. Howden ” (2 males, CNC) .

Comments. This species is known only from high elevation forests of southeastern Costa Rica and northwestern Panama. INBio parataxanomists ran Malaise traps or collected by other methods throughout the country for more than two decades, but this species was only collected from a few localities and from a narrow range of elevations (2475–2700 m). Wood’s Costa Rica localities were at 2400 m and 3000 m ( Wood 1966). The overall elevational range is from 2000–3000 m. The only recorded host is Brunellia (Brunelliaceae) , two records by Wood (ibid).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Dorsal, lateral, and angled posterior views of the declivities of four species of Myoplatypus. (A–C) M. biprorus. (D–F) M. prenexus. (G–I) M. connexus. (J–L) M. senexus. For sources of photos, see plates for the respective species; for sizes of species, see Table 1.

FIGURE 8 Myoplatypus brevicornis (Wood), male holotype. (A) dorsal view. (B) Lateral view; the large, slightly backwardpointing spines on ventrite 3 are clearly visible, and a smaller spine on ventrite 4 can be seen in the patch of long golden setae on that segment. (C) Frontal view. (D) Posterior view, showing declivity. Photos: Smithsonian Institution (USNMENT00912001), CC0 license, by S.M. Smith.