Notoptenidium brunneum, Darby, 2020

Darby, Michael, 2020, Eight new species of Ptenidiini and Discheramocephalini (Coleoptera: Ptiliidae) from Ecuador, European Journal of Taxonomy 599, pp. 1-19 : 10-12

Notoptenidium brunneum sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:5E931BD0-8D23-489B-8F74-6FE90ED77F0C

Fig. 5 A–G

Etymology

Named after the dark brown colour of the species.

Material examined

Holotype

ECUADOR • ♀; Napo, Cosanga, Camp BOO; 2100 m a.s.l.; 22 Feb. 2016; ex bamboo; J. McClarin leg.; QCAZM.

Description

SIZE. Habitus length 0.91 mm ( Fig. 5A ).

COLOUR. Head and pronotum almost black, elytra dark brown, legs and antennae dusky yellow.

HEAD. Sparsely pubescent, width across eyes 0.25 mm; antennomeres III–XI length 0.27 mm; mentum almost square, sides slightly convex, prementum with five setae, two being much longer than the others ( Fig. 5D ).

PRONOTUM. Length 0.23 mm, width 0.34 mm, punctured and pubescent, narrowly bordered, lateral margins slightly sinuous before obtuse hind angles, anterior angles visible in dorsal view.

SCUTELLUM. With wide base and two small depressions medially.

ELYTRA. Length 0.56 mm, width 0.42 mm, with overlapping pubescence, lateral margins evenly rounded and narrowly bordered in basal half.

PROSTERNUM. Bordered anteriorly, sparsely pubescent medially and with a series of shallow pits anterior to procoxae, which are contiguous, without keel.

MESOVENTRITE. With strongly reticulate, elaborately sculpted collar and mid-keel unique to this genus; collar extending narrowly onto humeri, with distinct tooth; posterior margins shallowly serrate and sloping strongly anteriorly to lateral margins; mesocoxae not contiguous, separated by keel, which is pubescent ( Fig. 5E ).

METAVENTRITE. Without reticulation, sparsely pubescent, posterior margin between metacoxae convex, without lateral spines, posterior margins of mesocoxae without serrations.

WINGS. Macropterous.

MALE GENITALIA. Aedeagus not known.

FEMALE GENITALIA. Spermatheca ( Fig. 5C ).

Remarks

The genus is immediately distinguishable from all other Ptiliidae by the form of the mesoventrite collar and keel. N. brunneum sp. nov. is only likely to be confused with three of the New Zealand species: N. kuscheli Johnson, 1982 , from which it may be separated by the presence of punctures on the pronotum; N. similatum Johnson, 1982 , which has a larger and simpler spermatheca with fewer coils; and N. lawsoni (Matthews, 1873) , the commonest of the New Zealand species, by its narrower and less rounded pronotum, the lack of punctures on the metaventrite and its proportionately longer elytra.

The wide geographical separation of the Ecuadorian and New Zealand species is difficult to account for, but is most likely explained as the result of a sea-borne passage across the Pacific particularly since Ecuador has a Pacific coastline and no examples of the genus have been recorded from eastern South America or Africa.

Tribe Discheramocephalini Grebennikov, 2009

Figures

Fig. 5. Notoptenidium brunneum sp. nov. A. Habitus. B. Venter ×298. C. Spermatheca. D. Mentum and prementum ×1460. E. Mesoventrite ×595. F. Posterior margin of the metaventrite between the metacoxae ×590. G. Prosternum ×595.