Piscoperus paracanicola Ratcliffe and Giraldo, 2014

Ratcliffe, Brett C. & Mendoza, Alfredo E. Giraldo, 2014, Piscoperus paracanicolaRatcliffe and Giraldo, a New Genus and New Species of Pentodontini from Peru, with a Revised Key to the New World Genera of Pentodontini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae), The Coleopterists Bulletin 68 (1), pp. 103-110 : 103-110

Piscoperus paracanicola Ratcliffe and Giraldo , new species

( Figs. 1–5 )

Type Material. Holotype male labeled “ PERU Ica Pisco Paracas / Santa Cruz Xeric scrub/ UV Light trap 15 March 2012 / 13°50′S 76°12′W 25 m. / A. Giraldo leg.// UA/061.2012 ” and with our red holotype label ( Fig. 3 ) . Holotype deposited at the Museo de Entomología Klaus Raven Büller ( MEKRB), Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Lima, Perú . Paratype male labeled “ PERU Ica Pisco / Agricultural Valley / 27 December 1984 / 13°42′S 76°12′W 30 m. / A. Tapia leg.// UA/ 776-1984 ” and with our yellow paratype label . Paratype deposited in the B. C. Ratcliffe Collection (Lincoln, NE, USA) .

Holotype. Male. Length 18.8 mm; width across humeri 9.2 mm. Color black, shiny. Head: Frons coarsely rugopunctate; surface near median edge of each eye with several long, tawny setae. Frontoclypeal region at center with large, erect, broadly transverse tubercle; anterior face of tubercle semicircular in frontal view, slightly concave. Clypeus subtriangular, weakly concave, sides emarginate before apex, apex narrowly subtruncate and weakly emarginate at middle, reflexed, anterior edge thick; surface finely, densely rugopunctate. Interocular width equals 5.0 transverse eye diameters. Antenna with 10 antennomeres; club large, broadly suboval, distinctly longer than antennomeres 2–7; scape with long, dense, tawny setae. Mandibles exposed, longitudinally suboval, dorsal surface concave. Pronotum: Surface evenly convex, punctate; punctures on basal half small, moderate in density; punctures on apical half moderately large, dense, transverse, becoming rugopunctate in anterior angles and along lateral margins. Base with marginal bead. Lateral margins and base on venter with long, dense, tawny setae. Elytra: Surface with 5 indistinct rows of punctate striae, punctures small. Sides vaguely, transversely wrinkled. Pygidium: Surface completely, densely rugulopunctate, basal fourth with long, tawny setae. In lateral view, surface weakly convex. Legs: Protibia strongly quadridentate, broad space between teeth 2–3. Mesotibia at apex with 2 strong teeth. Metatibia at apex vaguely trilobed and with 8 unequally sized, small teeth. All femora and tibiae with long, dense, tawny setae. Tarsomeres long, slender. Venter: All thoracic sternites obscured by long, dense, tawny setae. Abdominal sternites 1–4 narrow, compacted; sternites 5–6 each twice as broad as sternite 4. Parameres: Form in caudal view simple, elongate, subparallel, apices subacutely rounded ( Fig. 4 ).

Variation. The single male paratype does not differ significantly from the holotype. Length 16.3 mm; width across humeri 8.2 mm. As holotype except in the following respects: Pronotum: Basal bead obsolete at center in front of scutellum. Pygidium: Surface concentrically rugulose. Legs: Metatibia at apex with 6 unequally sized, small teeth.

Etymology. The specific epithet of paracanicola is derived from paracas, a Quechua word that means “rain of sand” (para, rain; aco, sand) in reference to the sandy, desert habitat of this region, and the Latin colo indicating “living in” or a “dweller”. The epithet is masculine to match the generic name. Hence, rain of sand-dweller. Paracas is also the name of the nearby national reserve, the name of the district where the holotype was found, and also the pre-Columbian civilization that lived in this region.

Distribution. Piscoperus paracanicola is known only from the Ica Region of Peru.

Locality Records. Two specimens examined. PERU (2): ICA Region, PISCO Province (2): Agricultural valley , Paracas .

Temporal Distribution. March (1), December (1).

Diagnosis. The generic diagnosis above should suffice to distinguish this species, but the most salient characters are the large, broadly oval antennal club; exposed mandibles lacking teeth; erect, semicircular tubercle on the head; clypeal apex narrowly subtruncate and feebly emarginate at middle; evenly convex pronotum with basal bead; quadridentate protibia; and thoracic sternites obscured by long, dense, tawny setae.

Natural History. The holotype was collected with a UV light trap at Bosque Santa Cruz ( Fig. 5 ). This site has a xeric scrub vegetation dominated by Geoffroea decorticans (Gillies ex Hook. & Arn.) Burkart (Fabaceae) that is locally known as “Sofaique” and may reach 5 m in height. Beneath the plants, the soil is calcareous with a layer of leaf litter. The terrain is mostly bare with sandy patches that are covered with a mixture of grasses, including Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. (Poaceae) and Sporobolus virginicus (L.) Kunth ( Poaceae ), and Spilanthes leiocarpa DC (Asteraceae) . The only water supply is subterranean, and winter precipitation is low and sporadic. The paratype lacks information about the vegetation or the sampling method used, only that this specimen was collected in an “agricultural valley.” Nothing is known of the life history of P. paracanicola .

KEY TO THE GENERA OF PENTODONTINI OF THE NEW WORLD

The last published keys to the genera of New World Pentodontini were those of Endrödi (1985) and Ratcliffe and Hardy (2005). Since that time, and including this paper, new genera of pentodontines from the Americas have been described to make a total of 29 genera in the New World, One of those genera, Heteronychus Burmeister , is represented by a single species, Heteronychus arator (F.), introduced into Brazil, possibly from Madagascar (Endrödi 1985).

In the key below, Denhezia Dechambre is listed as incertae sedis because 1) we have never seen specimens of this genus, and 2) its description (with images) seems remarkably similar to Parapucaya Prell. We have no evidence to maintain it as a good genus or to place it in junior synonymy with Parapucaya , although we are leaning towards the latter scenario.

1. Antenna with 9 segments......................2

1′. Antenna with 10 segments....................5

2(1). Metafemora greatly thickened. Meso- and metatibia short, greatly expanded apically. Color testaceous. Peru, Bolivia; 1 species ........ Pentodina Endrödi, 1968

2′. Metafemora not greatly thickened. Meso- and metatibia normal in length, not short; mesotibia at apex normal, metatibia at apex expanded or not. Color reddish brown ..................................................................... 3

3(2′). Head in both sexes with short horn. Apical region of pronotum declivous. Argentina; 3 species...... Eremobothynus Ohaus, 1910

3′. Head lacking horns, instead with small tubercle or transverse carina. Apical region of pronotum not declivous.........4

4(3′). Protibia quadridentate. Ecuador (Galapagos Islands); 4 species........................................ ................ Neoryctes Arrow, 1908 (in part)

4′. Protibiae tridentate. SW United States; 1 species ...... Anoplognatho Rivers, 1889

5(1′). Small species, generally less than 15 mm in length. Head lacking carina, tubercles, or horn; Euetheola humilis (Burmeister) and Denhezia caucacola Endrödi usually with weak frontoclypeal carinula. Pronotum lacking tubercle or fovea........................... 6

5′. Larger species, generally greater than 15 mm in length. Head usually with transverse carina (on subapex of clypeus or frontoclypeal region), tubercles, or horn (may be obsolete in some Coscinocephalus specimens). Pronotum either steeply declivous on anterior half or with tubercles or short horn behind anterior margin (rarely obsolete in Aceratus females, Aphonus , Indieraligus , Collagenus , some Tomarus , occasionally Philoscaptus ) and usually with subapical fovea or sulcus...... 9

6(5). Color black.............................................7

6′. Color testaceous or reddish brown, pronotum usually slightly darker........8

7(6). Protibia tridentate, lacking small accessory teeth. Propygidium without stridulatory striae. Southern United States through South America; 7 species ......... ........................... Euetheola Bates, 1888

7′. Protibia tridentate, with small accesory teeth. Propygidium with stridulatory striae. African genus with H. arator introduced into southern Brazil....................... ............. Heteronychus Burmeister, 1847

8(6′). Pronotum usually with minute, double tubercle at apex. Honduras to Brazil and Peru; 2 species ......................................... ............ Parapucaya Prell, 1934 (in part)

8′. Pronotum lacking double tubercle at apex. Colombia; 1 species ............................... .......................... Denhezia Dechambre, 2006 (incertae sedis)

9(5′). Size large (30–35 mm). Color reddish brown (not piceous or tomentose grey). Mandibles lacking teeth on external margin. Head of male with central horn, female with tubercle. Pronotum of male with strong, bifurcate tubercle or short horn, female with pronotum simply convex. Protibia with a small, basal, fourth tooth ................................................................ 10

9′. Not with above combination of characters ................................................................ 11

10(9). Elytra with deeply punctate striae and punctate intervals. Metatarsomere 1 greatly expanded, subtriangular. Argentina, Brazil, Colombia; 1 species................................... .................... Thronistes Burmeister, 1847

10′. Elytra smooth, lacking deep striae. Metatarsomere 1 cylindrical. Peru; 1 species ..................... Heteroglobus Dupuis and Dechambre, 2006

11(9′). Clypeal apex acute, unidentate............12

11′. Clypeal apex bidentate, truncate, or rounded .............................................. 13

12(11). Mandibles large, tridentate. Southern United States, northern Mexico; 2 species .......................... Oxygrylius Casey, 1915

12′. Mandibles smaller, nearly hidden by clypeus, lacking lateral teeth. South America; 11 species .......... Oxyligyrus Arrow, 1908

13(11′). Transverse carina present immediately behind apex of clypeus........................14

13′. Transverse carina absent immediately behind apex of clypeus........................15

14(13). Transverse carina (usually trilobed) just behind apex of clypeus. Pronotum without tubercles. Size generally less than 17 mm. United States west of the Rocky Mountains; 6 species................................ ......................... Aphonus LeConte, 1856

14′. Transverse carina just behind apex of clypeus entire or bilobed. Pronotum tuberculate or not. Size generally greater than 17 mm. Central and SW United States to Costa Rica; 27 species............. ...................... Orizabus Fairmaire, 1878

15(13′). Mandibles only slightly visible from above or hidden under clypeus; outer edge arcuate, not toothed or convexly rounded....... 16

15′. Mandibles distinctly visible from above; outer edge toothed or convexly rounded or lobed................................................20

16(15). Clypeus strongly narrowed toward apex, apex narrowly bidentate. Color castaneous to black. Canada to Chile; 28 species....... ........... Tomarus Erichson, 1847 (in part)

16′. Clypeus not strongly narrowed toward apex, apex broadly truncate. Color fulvous to rufocastaneous.........................17

17(16′). Apex of metatibia with 7–8 nonarticulated, small teeth. Southwestern United States, northern Mexico; 2 species .................... Coscinocephalus Prell, 1936

17′. Apex of metatibia subtruncate, lacking 7–8 non-articulated, small teeth (small, articulated spinules may be present) ..... 18

18(17′). Frontoclypeal suture present, deeply impressed, strongly arcuate either side of middle. Head lacking horns or tubercles. Length 14 mm or less. Honduras to Brazil and Peru; 2 species................................... ............ Parapucaya Prell, 1934 (in part)

18′. Frontoclypeal suture absent. Head with horns, tubercles, or low boss. Length 18 mm or greater ................................................ 19

19(18′). Head with small horn (males) or tubercle (females) present next to each eye. Apex of pronotum declivous with subapex weakly to strongly bituberculate. Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru; 3 species ........ ............................... Pucaya Ohaus, 1910

19′. Paired horns or tubercles absent. Center of head with strong, elevated, transverse carina, carina complete from side to side. Apex of pronotum evenly convex. Venezuela; 1 species ................................ ..... Collagenus Ratcliffe and Hardy, 2005

20(15′). Mandibles entire or weakly sinuate on lateral edge ...........................................21

20′. Mandibles trilobed or tridentate (1 apical tooth, 2 lateral teeth)............................29

21(20). Protibia tridentate.................................22

21′. Protibia quadridentate .......................... 23

22(21). Males with long, recurving head horn and pronotum with bifurcate horn. Color black to grey tomentose (males) to piceous (females), opaque. Brazil, Argentina; 1 species .......... Diloboderus Reiche, 1859

22′. Males lacking horns. Color reddish brown, shiny. Cuba; 1 species................................ ........................... Gorditus Ratcliffe, 2010

23(21′). Clypeus strongly contracted to narrowly bidentate apex. Ecuador (Galapagos Islands); 4 species..... Neoryctes Arrow, 1908 (in part)

23′. Clypeus normally subtriangular, apex truncate, acute, narrowly rounded, or weakly emarginate..............................24

24(23′). Pronotum lacking distinct apical fovea, sulcus, or tubercle ................................ 25

24′. Pronotum with distinct apical fovea, sulcus, or tubercle (may be indistinct in small specimens of Barutus )................27

25(24). Base of pronotum lacking marginal bead. Meso- and metatibiae in males with extremely long, dense setae; thoracic sternites with long, sparse setae. Puerto Rico; 1 species......................................... .............. Indieraligus Dechambre, 1979

25′. Base of pronotum with marginal bead. Meso- and metatibiae without long, dense setae; thoracic sternites obscured by long, dense setae ...........................................26

26(25′). Club of antennae subequal in length to antennomeres 2–7. Paraguay; 1 species .................... Heikeianus Endrödi, 1978

26′. Club of antenna large, bulbous, as long as antennomeres 1–7. Peru; 1 species.......... ......................... Piscoperus Ratcliffe and Giraldo , new genus 27(24′). Frontoclypeal suture strongly elevated into a transverse, bilobed ridge. Pronotum with shallow, suboval fovea behind subapical tubercle (male) or with subapical, rounded swelling (female). Mexico;1 species ......................... Gillaspytes Howden, 1980

27′. Frontoclypeal suture with transverse tubercle only. Pronotum lacking shallow, suboval fovea behind apical margin, instead with a median, longitudinal sulcus, or a shallow fovea either side of middle, or with or without faint depression behind anterior margin ...................................... 28

28(27′). Apex of clypeus narrowly rounded, almost parabolic. Pronotum with basal bead. Pygidium in males lacking distinctive patch of long, dense, reddish brown setae either side of midline. Prosternal process long, thick, columnar. Panama, Costa Rica; 1 species ...... Barutus Ratcliffe, 1981

28′. Apex of clypeus narrowly truncate. Pronotum without basal bead. Pygidium in males with distinctive patch of long, dense, reddish brown setae either side of midline. Prosternal process small, narrowly subtriangular. Dominican Republic, Haiti; 2 species...................................... ......... Endroedianibe Chalumeau, 1981

29(20′). Apical segment of maxillary palpus expanded, subtriangular. South America; 6 species ..... Hylobothynus Ohaus, 1910

29′. Apical segment of maxillary palpus normal, cylindrical ................................................. 30

30(29′). Elytra with sparse, minute punctures, appearing smooth.................................31

30′. Elytra distinctly punctate or punctate-striate ................................................................ 32

31(30). Clypeus at base near antennal insertion distinctly constricted. Prosternal process long, columnar, apex anvil-shaped with strong spine on posterior edge. Southern Brazil; 2 species...... Aceratus Prell, 1936

31′. Clypeus at base near antenna normal, not constricted. Prosternal process also long, columnar but apex bluntly rounded and lacking spine on posterior edge. Mexico through South America; 27 species......... ............... Bothynus Hope, 1837 (in part)

32(30′). Clypeal apex rounded or subtruncate, usually weakly emarginate. Frontoclypeal carina, if present, short, less than 1/3 width of base of clypeus. Body form suboval, stout, strongly convex on dorsum.Pronotum coarsely punctate. Argentina, Uruguay, southern Brazil; 2 species............................. ........................ Philoscaptus Bréthes, 1919

32′. Clypeal apex bidentate or quadridentate, if subtruncate then frontoclypeal carina long or represented by 2 tubercles. Body form usually elongate, less stout, not strongly convex on dorsum. Pronotum variably punctate..................................33

33(32′). Propygidium often extended so that pygidium is foreshortened; surface with distinct, transverse, stridulatory bands. Mexico through South America; 27 species .................. Bothynus Hope, 1837 (in part)

33′. Propygidium normal in length so that pygidium not foreshortened; surface granulate or not but lacking transverse stridulatory bands. Canada to Chile; 28 species ....... Tomarus Erichson, 1847 (in part)

Figures

Figs. 1–2. Piscoperus paracanicola, holotype.

Fig. 3. Labels for holotype of Piscoperus paracanicola.

Fig. 4. Piscoperus paracanicola, parameres of holotype.

Fig. 5. The xeric scrub habitat at the type locality of Piscoperus paracanicola at Bosque Santa Cruz in Pisco Province, Ica Region, Peru.