Brachiacantha steineri Gordon and Canepari, 2014

Gordon, Robert D., Canepari, Claudio & Hanley, Guy A., 2014, South American Coccinellidae (Coleoptera), Part XVI: systematic revision of Brachiacantha Dejean (Coccinellinae: Hyperaspidini), Insecta Mundi 2014 (390), pp. 1-76 : 57

49. Brachiacantha steineri Gordon and Canepari , new species

Description. Female holotype. Length 3.4 mm, width 2.8 mm; body rounded, slightly oval, convex. Dorsal surface weakly alutaceous, slightly shiny. Color black except head yellow with vertex, basal and inner margin of eye black, pronotum with narrow, black basomedian macula extended to anterior pronotal margin at middle, macula abruptly narrowed medially; elytron with lateral border narrowly yellow from humeral angle nearly to apex, 1 narrow, yellow vitta extended obliquely inward nearly to suture just anterior to middle of elytron, another narrow, yellow vitta extended obliquely inward nearly to suture on apical declivity ( Fig. 265 ); ventral surface with antenna, mouthparts, legs yellow; abdomen with ventrites 1–2 dark brown in median 1/3, remainder of abdomen yellowish brown. Head punctures small, dense, separated by a diameter or less, each puncture about as large as 2 eye facets; pronotal punctures slightly larger than head punctures, separated by less than to about a diameter, elytral punctures larger than on pronotum, separated by 1 to 3 times diameter; metaventral punctures present only in lateral 1/2, larger than on elytron, separated by about a diameter. Clypeus emarginate apically, lateral angle rounded, surface with sparse, long pubescence. Eye canthus about 6 eye facets long, angled forward, apically rounded, yellow. Pronotum narrowed from base to apex, basal and anterior angles abrupt, lateral margin rounded, basal margin without trace of bordering line medially. Epipleuron narrow, grooved, slightly descending externally, deeply emarginate for reception of femoral apices. Protibia narrowly flanged, flange less than width of remainder of protibia, outer margin straight, smooth, basal tooth short, length about 1/10 width of tibia at base, sponda extended beyond protibial flange. Carinae on prosternal process narrowly separated at apex, convergent toward base, joined at base of prosternum. Abdomen with postcoxal line on basal abdominal ventrite flattened along posterior ventrite margin, extended forward apically, ventrite with sparse, long pubescence and small, dense punctures; ventrites 2–6 pubescent throughout, punctures fine, dense; ventrites 4–5 flattened in median 1/3. Genitalia lost.

Male. Unknown.

Variation. Unknown.

Type material. Holotype female; Ecuador, Napo, Limonchocha , 3 June 1977, W. E. Steiner. ( USNM).

Remarks. This is perhaps the most distinctive species of Brachiacantha thus far known because of the 2 transverse, long, obliquely narrow vittae on each elytron.

Etymology. The species is named for the collector, Warren Steiner, an accomplished coleopterist at the Smithsonian Department of Entomology, Washington, D. C, and a longtime colleague.

Figures

Figures 259–265. 259. Brachiacantha bilineata. 259) Habitus. 260–262. Brachiacantha egae. 260) Habitus. 261) Protibia. 262) Female genitalia. 263–264. Brachiacantha sicardi. 263) Habitus. 264) Female genitalia. 265. Brachiacantha steiner. 265) Habitus.