Liodessus santarosita, Balke & Neven & Villastrigo & Ospina-Torres & Prieto & Gutierrez Rubiano & Lotta & Dueñas & Hendrich, 2023

Balke, Michael, Neven, Katja, Villastrigo, Adrian, Ospina-Torres, Rodulfo, Prieto, Carlos, Gutierrez Rubiano, Nicolas, Lotta, Ingrid, Duenas, Luisa F. & Hendrich, Lars, 2023, Eastern Colombian Paramo Liodessus Guignot, 1939 diving beetles are genetically structured, but show signs of hybridization, with description of new species and subspecies (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae), ZooKeys 1143, pp. 165-187 : 165

Liodessus santarosita sp. nov.

Fig. 4A-E

Type locality.

Santa Rosita, Páramo de Guantiva-Rusia, Boyaca, Colombia.

Holotype: Colombia • ♂; Boyaca, Santa Rosita, El Parador de Gallina; 3,200 m alt.; 7.v.2022; 6.1563, -72.7681; Gutierres, Ospina, & Balke leg.; COL_MB_2022_003; UNAL. Paratypes: Colombia • 165 specimens; same data as holotype; UNAL, ZSM. ZSM specimen imaging number for holotype: ZSM-COL-00127.

Description of holotype.

Habitus with slight discontinuity between pronotum and elytra (Fig. 4A ); pronotum widest before base (Fig. 4A ). Total length 2.1 mm; length without head 1.8 mm; maximum width 1.0 mm.

Color. Very dark brown to blackish dorsally and ventrally; lighter on lateral pronotum, and bases of meso- and metatibia (Fig. 4A ).

Surface sculpture. Head with a few setiferous punctures in front of a distinct occipital line; distinct microreticulation present except on middle of head between eyes (Fig. 4A ); posterior to occipital line with distinct microreticulation and a few punctures. Pronotum and elytron shiny, with moderately dense and coarse setiferous punctation (Fig. 4A ).

Structures. Head with distinct occipital line, with rounded clypeus. Antenna stout. Pronotum with distinct lateral bead and distinct, long, deep basal striae (Fig. 4A ). Elytron with short basal striae.

Genitalia. Median lobe of aedeagus with bulbous main body in lateral view, strongly narrowing at tip and with delicate downwards bent hook; gradually narrowing towards a very narrow, needle-like tip in ventral view (Fig. 4B, C ); parameres simple of the " Bidessini " type, 2-segmented (Fig. 4D, E ).

Variation.

Total length 2.1-2.3 mm (N = 20); length without head 1.8-2.1 mm; maximum width 1.0-1.1 mm. In a few specimens, the elytral plicae are fairly obsolete.

Metathoracic wings short, 2/3 of elytral length, venation visible (in one dissected male paratype).

Female. External morphology as in male.

Etymology.

After the village of Santa Rosita, near the type locality. The word “santarosita” is a noun in the nominative singular standing in apposition.

Identification notes.

This species differs from all other Liodessus by the needle-like apical part of the median lobe of the aedeagus. In the COLLI sequence database, the species has 19 diagnostic characters different from the other Andean species of the genus (Table 1 ).

Distribution.

Only known from the type locality in the Páramo de Guantiva-Rusia (Fig. 1 ).

Habitat.

Exposed, densely vegetated peatland swamp.

Figures

Figure 1. Map of sampling localities A overview of northwestern South America showing are of sampling depicted in " B " B colored areas represent districts in Paramo: Santanderes (blue), Boyaca (green), and Cundinamarca (brown).

Figure 4. Liodessus santarosita sp. nov. A habitus B median lobe, lateral view C median lobe, ventral view D, E parameres lateral view. Scale bar: 2 mm.