Prodilis araguaensis 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 : 106

70. Prodilis araguaensis Gordon and Hanley , new species

Description. Male holotype. Length 2.4 mm, width 2.0 mm; body nearly orbicular ( Fig. 696 ), elytron with side strongly rounded, wider than pronotal base, widest at middle of elytra. Dorsal surface entirely shiny. Color black; head with yellow macula next to eye posterior to clypeus, macula widest behind clypeus tapered to rounded apex a middle of eye ( Fig. 697 ); antenna, mouthparts dark brown with trace of yellow; lateral 1/4 of abdominal ventrites and apical 1/3 of ventrite 5 dark reddish brown.. Head punctures small, separated by less than 1.5 times a diameter; pronotal punctures about as large as on head, separated by less than 3 times a diameter; elytral punctures larger than on pronotum, separated by 2 to 4 times a diameter; prosternal punctures coarse, separated by less than a diameter; mesosternal punctures larger than on prosternum, separated by less than a diameter; metasternal punctures larger than on metasternum, evenly spaced by less than a diameter; abdomen with punctures on ventrites 1– 3 smaller than on metasternum, separated by less than twice a diameter, punctures on remaining ventrites smaller, separated by about a diameter. Head with frons not densely pubescent, strongly widened from vertex to clypeus, eye 1.4 times wider than frons measured at vertex; eye canthus short; apical maxillary palpomere long, narrowed in apical 1/3. Pronotum widest at middle, deeply excavated for reception of head, reflexed lateral margin narrow, equal in width from base to apex; hypomeron deeply excavated. Epipleuron flat, wide in basal ½, as wide as pronotal hypomeron, with wide, feeble depressions for reception of femoral apices. Prosternum longer than wide, longer than mesosternum, base arcuate, lateral carina robust, extended anterior to procoxa. Postcoxal line on ventrite 1 short, arcuate, extended to middle of ventrite. Apex of ventrite 5 arcuate. Genitalia with basal lobe short, about ½ as long as paramere, narrowed from base to weakly emarginate apex; paramere slender, straight, apex rounded, without marginal serrations ( Fig. 698, 699 ); sipho robust, apical 1/8 filamentous ( Fig. 700 ).

Female. Unknown.

Variation. Length 2.3 to 2.4 mm. Male paratype with slight violet tint to black surface.

Type material. Holotype male; VENEZUELA: Aragua, Rancho Grande , 9 May 1973, 110m. Ginter Ekis. ( CMNH) . Paratype; 1, VENEZ: Aragua, Colonia Tovar, 5.VII.13.VII.86, B. Gill 2000 m, Flight intercept. ( USNM) .

Remarks. This mostly black, immaculate species is characterized by male head with 2 yellow maculae, nearly all dark antenna and mouthparts, and form of the male genitalia.

Figures

Figures 696–706. Prodilis spp. 696–700) Prodilis araguaensis 696) Habitus. 697) Frons. 698) Phallobase ventral. 699) Phallobase lateral. 700) Sipho. 701–706) Prodilis bartletti 701) Habitus. 702) Basal abdominal ventrites. 703) Frons. 704) Phallobase ventral. 705) Phallobase lateral. 706) Sipho.