Baconia choaspites Lewis, 1901

Caterino, Michael S. & Tishechkin, Alexey K., 2013, A systematic revision of Baconia Lewis (Coleoptera, Histeridae, Exosternini), ZooKeys 343, pp. 1-297 : 86-88

Baconia choaspites Lewis, 1901 Figs 22 A–BMap 6

Baconia choaspites Lewis, 1901: 372.

Type locality.

BRAZIL: Pernambuco: Serra de Communaty [exact locality unknown].

Type material.

Lectotype, sex undetermined, here designated (BMNH): "Serra de Communaty (Pernambuco) Gounelle 1.2.3.1893" / "Baconia choaspites Lewis Type" / "G.Lewis Coll. B.M.1926-369" / "LECTOTYPE Baconia choaspites Lewis, M.S.Caterino & A.K.Tishechkin des. 2010". This species was described from an unspecified number of specimens, and the lectotype designation fixes primary type status on the only known original specimen.

Diagnostic description.

Length: [not measured, ~2.2mm], width: [not measured, ~1.3mm]; body elongate oval, moderately strongly flattened, glabrous; head, prono tum and pygidia slightly greenish-blue, elytra metallic blue, venter rufo-piceous; frons rather broad, very weakly depressed in middle, with few secondary medial punctures, frontal stria weak, present along inner margin of eye, obsolete across front; labrum about 3 ×wider than long, very deeply emarginate apically; antennal scape short, club rounded; pronotal sides weakly but evenly arcuate, convergent to front, depressed in anterior corners, marginal stria complete along lateral and anterior margins, slightly crenulate in front, lateral submarginal stria absent, ground punctation of pronotal disk conspicuous, increasingly interspersed with coarse secondary punctures in lateral thirds; elytra with two complete epipleural striae, outer subhumeral stria absent, inner subhumeral stria present only as short basal fragment, dorsal striae 1-2 complete, 1st stria arched mediad at base, 3rd stria more or less complete but becoming fragmented toward apex, 4th stria slightly shorter than third, similarly fragmented apically, arched toward suture at base, 5th and sutural striae absent, elytral disk with coarse punctures in apical fourth; prosternum moderately broad, weakly convex, keel very shallowly emarginate at base, carinal striae complete, subparallel, separate throughout; prosternal lobe about one-half keel length, apical margin bluntly rounded, marginal stria well impressed at middle, obsolete at sides; mesoventrite faintly produced, marginal stria narrowly interrupted at middle, mesometaventral stria arched strongly forward, lateral metaventral stria slightly sinuate, extending obliquely posterolaterad toward outer third of metacoxa, abbreviated apically, outer lateral metaventral stria short, fragmented, metaventral disk impunctate at middle; abdominal ventrite 1 with single lateral stria slightly abbreviated, curved mediad at apex, middle portion of disk impunctate; protibia tridentate, with 2 additional minute basal denticles; mesotibia with one marginal spine; outer metatibial margin smooth; propygidium without basal stria, discal punctures rather deep, somewhat irregularly separated by about their diameters throughout; pygidium with ground punctation conspicuous, secondary punctures small and sparse, mainly limited to basal half. Male genitalia: not known.

Remarks.

This species is placed in the Baconia godmani group due to overall similarity, but the deeply emarginate labrum (Fig. 22A) is unusual in the group. This feature, as well as the widely separated, parallel prosternal carinal striae (Fig. 22B) will help identify it. The basal curvature of the 1st dorsal elytral stria is unique, but it seems somewhat questionable that it represents more than an individual aberration. Confirmation of these characters would help better define this apparently distinctive species. Discovery of a male specimen to allow study of male genitalia would also help confirm its placement in the Baconia godmani group.