Parapucaya nodicollis (Kirsch, 1873)

Paucar-Cabrera, Aura & Moore, Matthew Robert, 2018, New tribal placement and review of Parapucaya Prell and Pucaya Ohaus (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Dynastinae), ZooKeys 805, pp. 127-158 : 143

Parapucaya nodicollis (Kirsch, 1873) Figs 33, 34

Cyclocephala nodicollis Kirsch, 1873: 344 (original combination).

Redescription.

Length 11.8-13.0 mm; width 5.4-5.8 mm. Head: Frons rugulopunctate, punctures dense, moderate in size. Frontoclypeal suture complete, biarcuate. Clypeus subquadrate, surface rugo-punctate at base, shagreened at margins and disc; apex broadly truncate, slightly reflexed. Interocular width equals 2.5-3.0 transverse eye diameters. Antennal club slightly shorter than antennomeres 2-7. Pronotum: Surface moderately to densely punctate, punctures moderate in size, ocellate. Pygidium: Surface moderately to densely punctate, punctures moderate in size; glabrous. In lateral view, males with surface evenly rounded, females with surface nearly flat. Legs: Protibia tridentate, teeth subequally spaced. Protarsus in male weakly enlarged, median claw large, cleft at apex; protarsus and claw simple in female. Venter: Prosternal process moderately long, columnar; apex densely setose, flattened, and with large, raised, round “button” covering most of apex; setae long, tawny. Parameres: Fig. 34.

Distribution.

Parapucaya nodicollis is known from Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru ( Endrődi 1985). In Ecuador, it is recorded in five provinces in the coastal, Andean, and Amazonian regions: Esmeraldas, Morona Santiago, Napo, Pastaza, Pichincha, and Sucumbíos.

Diagnosis.

Parapucaya nodicollis is usually mistaken for species of Cyclocephala because of its similar appearance. The two small tubercles on the pronotum, in combination with the raised basal margins of the clypeus and the raised clypeal surface along the frontoclypeal suture, will distinguish members of this genus from Cyclocephala species.

Parapucaya nodicollis and P. amazonica can be separated from each other by the shape of the mentum (evenly convex in P. nodicollis , concave from disc to apex in P. amazonica ); the pronotal tubercles (conspicuous in P. nodicollis , subtle in P. amazonica ); the presence or absence of pygidial setae (glabrous in P. nodicollis , present across the base of the pygidium in P. amazonica ); size (in general, P. nodicollis is smaller and thinner than P. amazonica , although some individuals overlap); and their parameres (Fig. 34).

Natural history.

In Ecuador, it occurs at elevations from 300 to 1,800 m on both sides of the Andes. Based on label data, adults can be collected in Ecuador throughout the year and in higher numbers in February, June to July, and in November. Nothing is known of the immature stages of this species.