Cylloepus whitmanae, Monte, Cinzia & Mascagni, Alessandro, 2012

Monte, Cinzia & Mascagni, Alessandro, 2012, Review of the Elmidae of Ecuador with the description of ten new species (Coleoptera: Elmidae), Zootaxa 3342, pp. 1-38 : 18-20

Cylloepus whitmanae sp. nov.

( Figs. 28–30 )

Diagnosis. Head with dense, round, coarse granules. Pronotal surface granulated with round coarse granules, each one with a long golden seta emerging from lateral points; pronotal base and surface of the transversal elevations glossy and smooth with very sparse granules. Elytral surface with numerous, little, round granules, each one with a long golden seta. Pronotum and prosternal process granulated and tomentose. Male genitalia with parameres strongly curved towards the median lobe, slightly longer than parameres.

Description. Holotype: Male ( Figs. 28–30 ). Total length 3.3 mm, greatest width 1.3 mm. Body elongate, with sub-parallel sides, moderately convex.

Color: Cuticle glossy, black with first two basal antennal articles, mouth-parts and tarsi reddish-brown.

Head: Partly retractable, without distinct impressions. Surface granulated, with round coarse granules, each one with a fine golden seta. Eyes protruding laterally; separated by a distance about twice the eye-width. Antennae 11-segmented, filiform; first two basal articles thicker than the remaining ones; third article narrower at base; apical article long with cluster of apical setae. Clypeus sub-rectangular and short with front-clypeal suture shallow and straight; surface of its anterior margin with granules smaller than those on the head. Labrum sub-rectangular, short, surface glossy with some moderately long golden setae on the anterolateral portions.

Thorax: Pronotum slightly wider than long (1.0 mm and 0.9 mm, respectively), anterior width less than posterior width; anterior margin convex; sides largely convex, lateral margin slightly but fairly regularly crenate with anterior angles produced and slightly acute, posterior ones almost right-angled; base tri-sinuate. Sublateral carinae extending from base to anterior margin, moderately elevated and sinuate mainly on basal third. Disc with median longitudinal groove extending from distal third to nearly the base; groove deeper and broader in the middle, narrower towards the base. Disc in front of the scutellum on basal third with sides of median groove forming each one a narrow, convex and elevated median ridge, missing gradually anteriorly, becoming acute and slightly diverging basally. Surface towards the base between the sublateral carinae and median ridges with a slightly oblique depression followed by a small transversal elevation. Pronotal surface with dense, round, coarse granules, each one with a long golden seta emerging from a lateral point; pronotal base and surface of transversal elevations glossy, smooth with very sparse granules. Elytra more than twice as long as pronotum; nearly parallel sided and regularly less crenated towards the apex; anterior margin convex; humeral angles slightly angled; apex slightly produced and broadly rounded. Each elytra with ten coarse sub-parallel striae formed by a row of well separated punctuations diminishing in size towards apex. Sublateral carinae on the sixth and eighth interstria, outer reaching the declivity of elytra, inner ending slightly before. Intervals moderately convex; third interval notably more elevated at apical third than secondth and fourth. Elytral surface with numerous, little, round granules, each one with a long golden seta. Scutellum obovate, longer than wide, flat and glossy slightly wrinkled. Prosternum distinctly produced anteriorly, in lateral view with the anterior two-thirds slightly bent downwards; sublateral carinae short but evident; surface granulated and tomentose; prosternal process slightly longer than wide with apex slightly acute; surface tomentose, with dense coarse granules. Hypomera wrinkled. Mesoventrite deeply grooved medially for the reception of the prosternal process; narrower anteriorly, largely rounded behind. Metaventrite with the medial longitudinal groove, deeper and broader at its posterior edge; surface of disc and sides with coarse, oblong, dense granules, each one with a golden seta, diminishing gradually in size towards the sides of metaventrite; surface tomentose. Legs thin, covered by dense round granules. Protibiae and metatibiae with a single lateral fringe of tomentum extending from about mid-tibia to nearly the tip. Mesotibiae with two fringes of tomentum, the ventral one shorter than the lateral one.

Abdomen: First ventrite with carinae extending to posterior margin, which delimited an area slightly depressed medially. Ventrite 5 with lateral margins slightly produced; surface of all ventrites tomentose, with dense, round coarse granules, each one with a long golden seta.

Genitalia: Parameres slightly shorter than median lobe. Parameres in dorsal view ( Fig. 29 ) very narrowed towards apex, where they are strongly bent inwards; apex truncate. The apical half of parameres features a small ventral toothlike projection directed obliquely inwards. Parameres in lateral view ( Fig. 30 ) wide at base narrowing towards the apex. Median lobe in dorsal view ( Fig. 29 ) extending little beyond the parameres; surface strongly compressed dorsoventrally towards the apex, slightly concave in the apical half. Near the apex, lateral margins of the median lobe have a slight protuberance on both side directed outwards and slightly forwards; basolateral apophyses very stout. Median lobe in lateral view ( Fig. 30 ) with apex slightly bent downwards. Phallobase ( Figs. 29, 30 ) asymmetrical.

Female. Unknown.

Type locality. Ecuador: Cotopaxi, S. Francisco de Las Pampas, Bosque Integral Otonga.

Type series. Holotype: Male, Ecuador, Cotopaxi, S. Francisco de Las Pampas, Bosque Integral Otonga, Rio Esmeraldas, 1500–1600 m, F. Cianferoni, G. Mazza, C. Monte, C. Tapia, M. Pazmiño, F. Terzani & S. Whitman leg., 26.VI.2009 ( MZUF Collection number 15631).

Etymology. Dedicated to our friend Mrs. Sarah Whitman (MZUF) for her help during the entomological research.

Comparative notes. Cylloepus whitmanae sp. nov. seems to be more closely related to Cylloepus vicinus Hinton, 1940 , from Bolivia, from which it differs in the surface of transversal elevations glossy and smooth with very sparse granules instead of granulated; the disc of first ventrite slightly depressed instead of strongly depressed in the anterior half of ventrite; a differently shaped male genitalia, particularly in the structure of the median lobe.

Figures

FIGURES 28 – 30. Cylloepus whitmanae sp. nov. 28) Holotype, dorsal habitus (total length: 3.3 mm). 29) Male genitalia, dorsal view. 30) Male genitalia, lateral view (total length of the male genitalia: 0.6 mm).