Cratocerus sulcatus Chaudoir, 1852

Grzymala, Traci L. & Will, Kipling W., 2014, Taxonomic review of Cratocerus Dejean, 1829 (Coleoptera, Carabidae) with the description of six new species, ZooKeys 416, pp. 77-112 : 82-83

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Carabidae

Cratocerus sulcatus Chaudoir, 1852 Figs 2, 9b

Cratocerus sulcatus Chaudoir 1852: 77-78; Schaum 1853: 190-191; Gemminger and Harold 1868: 250; Chaudoir 1872: 18; Bates 1882: 91, tab. IV, fig. 18; Csiki 1929: 493; Blackwelder 1944: 34; Reichardt 1977: 407; Lorenz 2005: 248.

Type material.

LECTOTYPE [here designated, male, deposited in MNHN] labeled: "Mexique // Sulcatulus / Chaud // Ex. Musaeo / Miniszech // 6yr coll. Minizech // CHD coll. / #3 // UC Berkeley / EMEC / 654900".

Other material.

1 male, labeled: "PERU: San Martin:Hera, 15 km S.E. Moyabamba 860m, VII-1947 F. Woytkowski Coll. Donor Wm. Procter" (EMEC207958) borrowed from AMNH; 1 male, labeled: "Ega Bates coll" (EMEC207859) borrowed from MNHN.

Diagnosis.

This species is most easily confused with Cratocerus sinesetosus and Cratocerus multisetosus , but is distinguished by the one pair of pronotal apicolateral setae whereas Cratocerus sinesetosus has no setae at this location and Cratocerus multisetosus has two or three pairs of setae at this location.

Description.

Size average for the genus, ABL 5.9-6.1 mm, TW 2.6-2.7 mm. Color. Head and prothorax brunneopiceous, elytra and abdominal sternites brunneous, legs, antennae, and mouthparts rufotestaceous. Head. HL 0.8 mm, HW 0.8-0.9 mm. One supraorbital seta present over each eye. Apices of mandibles slightly curved, apices at less than 45 degree angle to mandibular midline. Apical maxillary palpomere length 5 × width at base. Mentum with triangular lateral lobes. Thorax. Pronotum (Fig. 9b) with distinct median impression, one distinct basal fovea laterad; one lateral setae located on apicolateral pronotal bead; one posterior seta present on posterior bead near hind angle; pronotal anterior margin convex; pronotal width 1.3x pronotal length. Elytral length 1.4-1.5x combined elytral width. Elytral intervals prominent, subtectiform. Legs. Protibia with three distinct, stout spines confined to distal half of lateral margin; distance between spines 1 and 2 slightly less than distance between spines 2 and 3. Genitalia, male. Median lobe curved sharply, between forty-five and ninety degrees, with respect to basal 1/3, remaining 2/3 with continuing curvature; not expanded apically; length average for genus. Left paramere complexly curved into an “S” shape with basal projection, indistinguishable from Cratocerus multisetosus (Fig. 11b). Genitalia, female. Not examined for this species.

Distribution.

Figure 13. The lectotype specimen (here designated) for this species is from Mexico, with the type locality having no further restriction at this time. Only two additional specimens were identified as this species -- one from Peru and one from Brazil. These deviate from the type in having slightly less prominent elytral intervals and in the Brazilian specimen, which was smaller, a broader ninth interval near the bases. However, no decisive differences were found and male genitalia were identical. Without additional specimens to examine from across the range, we have tentatively included all three specimens in Cratocerus sulcatus .

Additional literature.

Emden 1942: 65.