Prodilis inez Gordon and Hanley, 2017

Gordon, Robert D. & Hanley, Guy A., 2017, South American Coccinellidae (Coleoptera), Part XVII: systematic revision of Western Hemisphere Cephaloscymnini (Coccinellinae) with description of a cryptic new genus and species of Coccidulini (Coccinellinae), Insecta Mundi 2017 (601), pp. 1-158 : 96-97

57. Prodilis inez Gordon and Hanley , new species

Description. Male holotype. Length 1.6 mm, width 1.0 mm; body elongate oval, elytron with side rounded, wider than pronotal base, widest at middle of elytra. Dorsal surface entirely shiny. Color black; head black except narrow, oval yellow macula on each side adjoining eye ( Fig. 639 ); pronotum black with lateral border narrowly yellow; elytron with median yellow vitta diagonally extended from humeral angle onto apical declivity ( Fig. 637 ); antenna, epipleuron yellow; mouthparts yellowish brown except maxilla dark brown; legs dark yellow; ventral surface reddish brown; abdomen brownish yellow except median portion of basal 3 ventrites brown. Head punctures large, separated by a diameter or less; pronotal punctures much smaller than on head, separated by a diameter or less; elytral punctures larger than on pronotum, separated by a diameter or less; prosternal, mesosternal punctures large, separated by a diameter or less; metasternal punctures on basal and lateral margins as large as on mesosternum separated by less than a diameter, smaller and more widely spaced or absent medially; abdomen with punctures on ventrites 1–3 large, separated by a diameter or less, punctures on remaining ventrites smaller, separated by about a diameter. Head with frons slightly widened from vertex to clypeus, clypeus elongated anterior to antennal insertion, frons slightly wider than an eye measured at vertex; eye canthus short; apical maxillary palpomere very long, longer than remainder of maxilla, feebly widened from base to apex. Pronotum widest at middle, reflexed lateral margin wide, equal in width from base to apex. Epipleuron flat, narrow in basal ½, as wide as pronotal hypomeron, without feeble depressions for reception of femoral apices. Prosternum longer than wide, longer than mesosternum, base arcuate medially, lateral carina slender, extended nearly to base of prosternum. Postcoxal line on ventrite 1 short, slightly angulate, extended to middle of ventrite ( Fig. 638 ). Apex of ventrite 5 truncate. Genitalia with long phallobase, basal lobe longer than paramere, extremely slender, lateral margin straight to acute apex, apex not emarginate; paramere nearly straight, extremely slender, without marginal serrations ( Fig. 640, 641 ); Sipho lost.

Female. Similar to male except head entirely black. Female genitalia with spermathecal capsule short, bent at middle, nearly of equal width throughout, apex of cornu rounded.

Variation. Length 1.3 to 1.6 mm, width 0.9 to 1.0 mm. Vitta on elytron may be nearly straight, not diagonal, yellowish red, and with a tendency to divide into two macula at middle.

Type material. Holotype male; N.E. BOLIVIA: Xylopia sericea Fogging : 16.vii.97, Tree 2B – Tray 1, Oquiriquia forest , Tierra Prometida,, J.G. Davies, BMNH(E) 1998–69. ( BMNH) . Paratypes; 4, 1, same data as holotype except date 1.vii.97, Tree 8B – Tray 3 ; 3, same data as holotype except date 3.viii.97, Tree 10 – Tray 4, Tray 5. ( BMNH) .

Remarks. Prodilis inez is small, elongate, with a distinctive dorsal color pattern, an extended frons, and extremely long, dark brown apical maxillary palpomeres, all of which separate this species from other known species of Prodilis .

Figures

Figures 626–641. Prodilis spp. 626–631) Prodilis lola 626) Habitus. 627) Basal abdominal ventrites. 628) Frons. 629) Phallobase ventral. 630) Phallobase lateral. 631) Sipho, apex lost. 632–636) Prodilis amelia 632) Habitus. 633) Basal abdominal ventrites. 634) Frons. 635) Phallobase ventral. 636) Phallobase lateral. 637–641) Prodilis inez 637) Habitus. 638) Basal abdominal ventrite. 639) Frons. 640) Phallobase ventral. 641) Phallobase lateral.