Liogenys schneiderae Cherman, 2021

Cherman, Mariana A., Basílio, Daniel S., Mise, Kleber M., Frisch, Johannes, Smith, Andrew B. T. & Almeida, Lúcia M., 2021, Liogenys Guerin-Méneville, 1831 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae Diplotaxini) of northern South America and Central America: taxonomic overview with four new species, Zootaxa 4990 (2), pp. 201-226 : 221-224

Liogenys schneiderae Cherman , new species

Figs. 8 , 9 .

Type material. Holotype male, labeled: [green, handwritten] “4-dens Fbr / 4-dentata / kl. / Pg.[?] / Col. [ Colombia]”, [white, typeset and handwritten] “MLU Halle / WB Zoologie / S. –Nr. 8/3/11”, [red typeset and handwritten] “ LIOGENYS / SCHNEIDERAE / HOLOTYPE / Cherman M. A.” ( MLUH) . Paratypes (81), all bearing the label [yellow, typeset and handwritten] “ LIOGENYS / SCHNEIDERAE / PARATYPE / Cherman M. A.”. One female with the labels: [white handwritten] “ Venezuela ”, [white typeset and handwritten] “ Liogenys quadri- / dens / F det. G. Frey, 1968” ( ZMHB) . One female with the label: [green typeset] “ Venezuela / F. Kummerow S.” ( ZMHB) . Two females and one male with the following label: [white handwritten] “ Guyana ” ( ZMHB) . Two females and two males with the label: [green, outlined, typeset] “Hist. Coll. ( Coleoptera ) / Nr. 24131 / Liogenys quadridens Burm. / Columb., Moritz. / Zool. Mus. Berlin” ( ZMHB) . One male with the labels: [white typeset] “24131”, [dark green handwritten] “ Amphicrania / 4 dentata Nr / Columb. Moritz”, [white handwritten] “quadridens / Burm / Melol. 4 dens Fab.” ( ZMHB) . Two males bearing the labels: [white handwritten] “ Colombia / Mus. Ber. / 4-dentata / Kl.”, [white typeset] “Mus. Western” ( ZMUC) . One male bearing: [white typeset] “ Coll. Kraatz ”, [white typeset] “ Moser det”, [white typeset] “Dtsch. Ent. Inst. / Eberswalde”, [white outlined green, handwritten] “quadridens. / Guyana /F.”, [white handwritten] “ Liogenys . /Guerin.”, [white handwritten] “ Liogenys / quadridens Fab ”, [white, typeset and handwritten] “ Liogenys quadri- / dens / F det. G. Frey, 1968”, [white handwritten] “ Liogenys /quadridens / F.”, [light green typeset] “DEI Münchenberg / Col – 03566” ( SDEI) . One male with the following data: [white typeset] “CARIACO / (Edo. SUCRE)”, [white typeset] “ Bordon leg.” / [handwritten] “10-IV-59” [white handwritten] “4”, [white, outlined, typeset] “H. & A. HOWDEN/COLLECTION / ex. A. Martinez coll.” ( CMNC) . One female with the data: [white typeset] “QUIAMARE[Libertad] / (BARCELONA)”, [white typeset] “5-4-58/BORDON LEG.”, [white, outlined, typeset] “H. & A. HOWDEN / COLLECTION / ex. A. Martinez coll.” ( CMNC) . Two females with the data: [white, typeset] “ Aragua / Venezuela / V.1978 ” ( USNM) . One male with the data: [white, typeset] “Chaguarramas / (Edo. Guarico)”, [white typeset] “13-3-60 / BORDON LEG.”, [white, handwritten and typeset] “ Liogenys quadridens ♂ / (Fab.) / A MARTINEZ-DET. 1974”, [white with black border, typeset] “H. & A. HOWDEN / COLLECTION / ex. A. Martinez coll.”, genitalia mounted ( CMNC) . Two males and four females with the data: [white, typeset] “West Indies: / Tobago: / Scarborough. / 16. vi. 1914. / W.E. Broadway. ” and “Brit. Mus. / 1920–487.” (1 male and 2 females at BMNH; 1 male and 2 females at CMNC). One male with the data: [white, typeset] “West Indies: / Tobago: / Scarborough. / 17. vi. 1914. / W.E. Broadway. ” and “Brit. Mus. / 1920–487.” ( BMNH) . One female with the data: [white, typeset] “West Indies: / Tobago: / Scarborough. / 10. vi. 1914. / W.E. Broadway. ” and “Brit. Mus. / 1920–487.” ( BMNH) . One female with the data: [white, typeset] “West Indies: / Tobago: / Scarborough. / 12. vi. 1914. / W.E. Broadway. ” and “Brit. Mus. / 1920–487.” ( BMNH) . Two females with the data: [white, typeset] “West Indies: / Tobago: / Scarborough. / 15. vi. 1914. / W.E. Broadway. ” and “Brit. Mus. / 1920–487.” ( BMNH) . Two females with the data: [white, typeset] “West Indies: / Tobago: / 9. vi. 1914. / W.E. Broadway. ” and “Brit. Mus. / 1920–487.” ( BMNH) . One male with the data: [white, handwritten] “quadridens / Fabr. / 4-dentata, / Klug. / Columbia”, [white, typeset] “So named / in Reiches / Collection. / C.W.”, [green, handwritten] “ ♂ ”, [white, handwritten] “nov. sp.”, [light blue, handwritten] “2258.”, [white, typeset] “67.45” ( BMNH) . Sixteen males and 15 females with the data: [white, typeset] “ VENEZUELA: Guarico, Hato / Masaguaral, 45kmS Calabozo / 8.57N, 67.58W, GalryForest / #28, 75m, 3-5 June 1988 / uv light, M. Epstein ” (eight males and eight females at USNM, four males and three females at CMNC, two males and two females at DZUP, two males and two females at CEMT) . Paratypes of DZUP with the sequence of voucher numbers: [white typeset] “ DZUP / 402753 ” to “ DZUP / 402756 ”. One male and eight females with the data: [white, typeset] “ VENEZUELA: Guarico, Hato / Flores Morades, 45 km S / Calabozo , 8.57N, 67.58W / Galry Forest #2, 75 m / 24-26June 1989, uv light / M. Epstein & M. Rodiguez ” ( USNM). One male and two females with the data: [white, typeset and handwritten] “ex? / intercepted / at Miami Fla / 1 May 1964 ” ( USNM). One male and two females with the data: [white, typeset and handwritten] “ VENEZUELA: BOLIVAR / Guri, 16.VI.1996 / H.&A. Howden Lt / Wet forest ” ( CMNC). One female with the data: [white, typeset and handwritten] “ VENEZUELA: GUARICO / 12km W Valle de la / Pascua, 21-22.VI.96 Lt / H.&A. Howden ” ( CMNC). One female with the data: [white, typeset] “VEN: Bolivar, 20km / SW Ciudad Bolivar / 19. VI. 1987, S&JPeck / woodland on sand, UV” ( CMNC). One female with the data: [white, typeset] “VENEZ: Anzoategui / 18 km E Pariaguan / 24JUN 1987, 240m / M.A. Ivie, beating” ( CMNC) .

Holotype deposited at MLUH. Eleven paratypes at BMNH. Nineteen paratypes deposited at CMNC. Four paratypes at DZUP, four paratypes at CEMT. One paratype deposited at SDEI. Thirty paratypes deposited at USNM. Ten paratypes deposited at ZMHB. Two paratypes deposited at ZMUC.

Additional material. One male ( BMNH) missing the head and pronotum with the data: [white, typeset and handwritten] “Scarborough, / Tobago. / 15 May 1914. / W.E. Broadway. / 1914-403”.

Diagnosis. Body brown, elongate, sides almost parallel in males ( Fig. 8A ), slightly wider on posterior third in females; elytra brown; pronotum reddish to purplish brown; clypeus quadridentate, clypeal emargination deep, rounded, and narrow; distance between lateral and anterior clypeal teeth slightly longer than basal width of one anterior tooth; right angle between lateral and anterior clypeal teeth; pronotal corners rounded ( Fig. 8B ), appearing obsolete especially in females; mesotibia quadrate in cross section ( Fig. 8C ); pygidium weakly convex; pygidial disc glabrous, with scattered bristles on apex ( Fig. 8D ); ventrites II, III, and sometimes IV undulate on midline, especially ventrite II ( Fig. 8E ); in males protarsomere II up to twice the length of protarsomere I in dorsal view; metatibia subbasally produced towards apex; basal region of parameres strongly narrowed, parameres more than five times the length of their apex; apex harpoon-shaped, lateral spine short, projected almost perpendicular to parameres ( Fig. 8F ).

Holotype. Male. Length: 9.4 mm, width: 4.4 mm. Brown. Head: distance between eyes nearly twice the width of one eye; frons longer than clypeus; clypeus rugose, clypeal emargination deep, rounded, and narrow; outer sides of anterior teeth parallel; outer margin of anterior teeth shorter than the eye in dorsal view; clypeus convex laterally and strongly produced forming a conspicuous tooth-like projection; distance between lateral and anterior teeth slightly longer than basal width of one anterior tooth, distance between lateral tooth and anterior margin of eye longer than one eye length, angle between anterior and lateral teeth approximately 90º; canthus not exceeding the outer margin of the eye; distal maxillary palpomere maximum width slightly wider than at apex; fovea shallow, extending past the transverse midline of the palpomere; antenna with 10 antennomeres, club lighter in color and as long as the funicle. Thorax: pronotal anterior margin slightly produced medially, undulate and flanged ( Fig. 8B ); maximum length of pronotum exceeding the length of tarsomeres I–III combined; disc glabrous, punctures very sparse and coarse, denser towards anterior margin; pronotal posterior corners rounded, appearing obsolete; hypomere with long bristles and thin scales; mesepisternum scaly; anterior portion and sides of metaventrite with bristles; distance between mesocoxae and metacoxae nearly twice the length of the metacoxa; scutellum triangular, few, scattered, fine punctures at the sides. Elytra: shiny, uniform light brown, lighter in color than the pronotum; elytra more than three times longer than the pronotum; elytral suture darker than the elytron and slightly elevated; all four elytral ridges weakly defined. Legs: procoxa scaly, thin scales on outer surface; three protibial teeth, middle and apical teeth equal in size, distance between basal and middle teeth longer than between middle and apical teeth; protibial spur present; mesofemur with a row of long bristles on anterior and posterior margins, mesotibia subquadrate in cross section, surface finely sculptured, mesotibia with two transverse carinae, the apical carina incomplete; metacoxa with bristles throughout, basal articular lobe of metacoxa produced beyond the outer margin of trochanter; inner margin of metatibia carinate and abruptly subbasally produced towards apex, apical inner surface glabrous, metatibial surface coarsely sculptured on outer margin; metatibial transverse carina present posteriorly; protarsomere II very elongate; protarsomeres and mesotarsomeres I–IV enlarged, protarsomeres equal in width to the mesotarsomeres, slightly wider than the metatarsomeres; metatarsomere I shorter than metatarsomere II; claw bifid, outer tooth of a claw longer and narrower than the inner tooth; distance between teeth shorter than the inner tooth. Abdomen: disc of ventrites with sparse bristles; ventrites II–III and sometimes IV with tubercles on disc ( Fig. 8E ); propygidium with bristles, pygidium slightly convex, subtrapezoidal, wide; pygidial width exceeding distance between spiracles of propygidium; pygidial disc glabrous, few bristles on apex, pygidial disc finely punctate; pygidial apex quadrate. Parameres: basal region dorsally narrowed, narrower than both sections of the parameres at its midline; parameral split at 2/3 the length of the basal region; parameres more than five times the length of their apex; inner margins opened, convergent; apex harpoon-shaped, lateral spine thin, short, projected almost perpendicular to parameres (approximately 80º angle). Parameres concave in lateral view ( Fig. 8G ).

Variation. Female length: 9.2–10.2 mm, width 4.5–5.3 mm. females as the holotype except the clypeal anterior teeth wider; canthus exceeding the outer margin of the eye; pronotal corners more marked; metatibia coarsely sculptured, metatibial apical carina complete; ventrite tubercles more noticeable and pygidium wider, more trapezoidal. Male length: 9.0– 9.5 mm, width 4.4–4.8 mm. Males as the holotype except the head and pronotal punctures coarser; pronotal corners more marked, and pygidium flatter and bent downwards.

Etymology. The species is dedicated to Dr. Karla Schneider, biologist and curator of the Zoological Collection of the Martin-Luther-Universität, Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany. Karla made the discovery of this new species possible by loaning the holotype from the MLUH to the ZHMB. This allowed its thorough examination during the visit of M.A.C. to these collections. This name should be treated as a noun in the genitive case.

Type locality: Colombia.

Geographical distribution. TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO (Scarborough), COLOMBIA, GUYANA, VENEZUELA (Anzoátegui, Bolívar, Guaricó, Sucre).

Remarks. Liogenys schneiderae Cherman , new species resembles L. quadridentata mainly in the body shape and size, color of the body and elytra, and in the quadridentate clypeus. However, L. schneiderae differs ( L. quadridentata in parenthesis) in the clypeus being more rugose, with the impressions next to the frons more marked (not rugose); antenna with club shorter; anterior margin of pronotum slightly depressed throughout (not as so); elytral suture medially darker than the elytron (medially unicolored with elytron); metatibia flatter with inner margin abruptly subbasally produced towards apex (produced straight towards apex); ventrites I–IV with tubercles (without tubercles); and pygidium never inflated, with apex quadrate (pygidium convex in both sexes, inflated in females, pygidial apex rounded).

Figures

FIGURE 8. Liogenys schneiderae Cherman new species male holotype views: A) dorsal, B) clypeus and pronotum, C) lateral, D) pygidium, E) ventral of abdomen, black arrows indicate the tubercles at ventrites II–III, and parameres F) dorsal and G) lateral.

FIGURE 9. Geographical distribution of the Liogenys of A) the northern South America and Central America, overlapping records in B) Panama and in C) Venezuela.