Platycoelia cochabambensis Smith

Smith, Andrew B. T., 2009, Description of a new species of Platycoelia Dejean (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae: Anoplognathini) from Bolivia, Zootaxa 2105, pp. 66-68 : 66-68

Platycoelia cochabambensis Smith , new species

( Figs. 1–4 )

Type specimens. Male holotype (in the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France) and nine male paratypes (five in the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France; two in the Andrew B. T. Smith personal collection, Ottawa, Canada; and two in the Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada) labeled “ Bolivie / Prov. Cochabamba / P. Germain 1889.” The holotype bears my red holotype label and all paratypes bear my yellow paratype labels. Type locality: Cochabamba Department, Bolivia.

Holotype. Male: Length 14.6 mm, width 8.5 mm. Dorsal and ventral color light brown. Body subelliptical, convex. Head: Dorsal surface of clypeus rugopunctate with sparse, long setae. Frons sparsely punctate (base) to rugose (apex). Frons not depressed. Frontoclypeal suture obscured medially. Clypeus broadly rounded with reflexed apical margin. Eyes separated by approximately 4.3 transverse eye-widths. Labrum densely punctate with moderately large, setose punctures; setae tawny. Apex of labrum with minute, triangular, medial tooth; apex of tooth well separated from apex of mentum. Apex of mentum with small medial notch. Antenna with nine antennomeres; club approximately equal to antennomeres 1–7. Pronotum: Surface setose near lateral edges, glabrous on disc. Surface sparsely punctate. Marginal bead weak, absent adjacent to head and scutellum. Elytron: Surface with some setae along lateral margins; longitudinal striae absent to weakly defined. Suture rounded apically, without spine. Pygidium: Width approximately 2.0 times length medially. Surface weakly convex, rugopunctate, setose near apex. Venter: Thorax densely setose, abdomen sparsely setose. Mesothoracic process greatly reduced nub adjacent to mesocoxa. Apical spiracles not extruding. Legs: Protibia with three teeth in apical half; apical two teeth close together, longer; third tooth shorter. Mesotibia and metatibia widest medially. Protarsomere 4 with stridulatory ridge. Protarsomere 5 without internal tooth. Mesotarsomere and metatarsomere 5 without internal swelling or tooth. Unguitractor plate cylindrical, with two setae. Modified protarsal claw with length approximately equal to protarsomere 5, greatly thickened and elongate when compared with other claw, dorsoventrally flattened, apex unevenly bifurcate (smaller bifurcation worn in holotype but more apparent in some paratypes). Modified mesotarsal and metatarsal claws elongated with ventral tooth, not thickened. Male genitalia: Phallobase approximately 1.3 times longer than length of parameres. Parameres with apex rounded ( Figs. 3–4 ).

Variation. Male (n=9). Length 12.7–15.2 mm, width 7.9–9.0 mm. The paratypes do not differ significantly from the holotype.

Etymology. Platycoelia cochabambensis is named after the Bolivian department in which it occurs.

Diagnosis. This species is distinguished from all other species of Platycoelia by the following combination of characters: dorsal color uniformly light brown; frons sparsely setose laterally; frontoclypeal suture incomplete; apex of the labrum with a reduced, triangular tooth not overlapping the mentum; mentum with a medial notch; antenna with nine antennomeres; pronotum touching eyes, sparsely setose; elytral apices not capable of completely covering the pygidium; apex of the elytral suture without an acute spine; mesothoracic process reduced to nub; apical abdominal spiracle not protuberant; mesotarsomere 5 and metatarsomere 5 without an internal tooth; parameres with the apex rounded, not expanded.

Distribution. Cochabamba Department, Bolivia is the only known locality for this species. Locality data. BOLIVIA (10). COCHABAMBA (10): exact locality unknown. Temporal data. Unknown.

Remark. This species will key to couplet 19 ( Platycoelia ignota Smith ) in the key to Platycoelia species (see Smith 2003). The following modifications to the key will accommodate the new species:

19(10'). Antenna with nine antennomeres. Dorsal color reddish brown (without dark maculations). Frontoclypeal suture not complete ...................................................................................................... Platycoelia cochabambensis Smith 19' Antenna with nine antennomeres. Dorsal color black with green clypeus, pronotum, and pygidium. Pronotum with dark maculations. Frontoclypeal suture complete ................................................... Platycoelia ignota Smith 19'' Antenna with 10 antennomeres ............................................................................................................................ 20

Figures

FIGURE 1, 2. Platycoelia cochabambensis. 1, dorsal habitus; 2, lateral habitus.

FIGURE 3, 4. Platycoelia cochabambensis male genitalia. 3, dorsal view; 4, lateral view.