Archicorynus kuscheli Anderson and Marvaldi, 2013

Anderson, Robert S. & Marvaldi, Adriana E., 2013, Finding Unexpected Beetles in Odd Places: Archicorynus kuscheliAnderson and Marvaldi, a New Genus and Species Representing a New Tribe, Archicorynini, of Oxycoryninae (Coleoptera: Belidae) from Nicaragua, The Coleopterists Bulletin 67 (2), pp. 61-71 : 61-71

Archicorynus kuscheli Anderson and Marvaldi , new species

( Figs. 1–13 )

Material Examined. Types : holotype, male, NICARAGUA, Matagalpa, RN Cerro Musún, 12.96966 -85.23341 ± 300m, 1090m, 3 May 2011, LLAMA # Go-D-01-1-01, montane wet forest, beating vegetation ( CMNC); paratypes (6), same data as holotype 1m, 2f ( CMNC), same data as holotype except LLAMA # Go-D-01-1-02, 1m, 1f ( CMNC). Same data as holotype except 1 May 2011, 12.96094 -85.23268 ± 10m, 750m, LLAMA #Wa-

D-01-1-15, tropical wet forest, ex sifted leaf litter, 1m ( IADIZA).

Etymology. This species is named after Guillermo (‘Willy’) Kuschel, the outstanding expert on Curculionoidea, for his work on the ancient lineages including Oxycoryninae .

Diagnosis. This species is easily recognized by the generic characters, especially by the carinate form of elytral interstriae 3 and 5 and the raised pronotal sculpturing. The fine, erect hairs fringing the elytra are also distinctive.

Description. Male, length 3.1–3.8 mm, width 1.2–1.3 mm; female, length 4.0– 4.6 mm, width 1.3–1.4 mm. Cuticle brown, mostly obscured by dense, fine, appressed to erect pilosity (and trapped dirt and debris). Head concave between eyes (sulcus covered by dense vestiture), eyes widely separated by distance subequal to basal width of rostrum. Rostrum short and robust, straight, approximately twice longer than wide in dorsal view in male, approximately 3–4 times in female, finely densely pilose throughout length.

Natural History. Six of the seven specimens were collected by breaking open dead twigs in an upper montane, wet, evergreen forest at around 1,000 m elevation. One specimen was collected in a Winkler-processed sample of leaf litter at a slightly lower elevation (750 m) but in the same general forest type.

Distribution. Archicorynus kuscheli is known only from Reserva Natural Cerro Musún (12.96°N, 85.23°W). Cerro Musún is an isolated mountain located in central Nicaragua (Departamento Matagalpa) east of Matagalpa and northeast of Managua. The entrance to the reserve is from the small town of Río Blanco (4–6 hours drive from Managua). The official reserve includes 4,142 ha of protected area with good secondary and primary forest starting at about 600 m elevation and continuing up to the peak at 1,438 m. The land at the base of Musún has been converted mostly to pasture and agricultural fields. Going up the mountain, habitats include humid tropical forest, riparian forest, montane wet forest, cloud forest, and dwarf forest (nebliselva) at the peak. The park is administered by the Ministerio del Ambiente y los Recursos Naturales in Matagalpa, which maintains a small station at the edge of the forest. We used this station as our base of operations during our stay. From the station there are two main trails, the “Sendero El Mojón” and the “Sendero Golondrina.” The Mojón trail runs from the station to the peak of Musún (2–3 hours to reach the peak). The Golondrina trail is a loop trail that borders one of the main streams near the station and passes by a series of picturesque waterfalls.

Remarks. As the title of this paper suggests, one is often surprised by unexpected findings in places where we would never had searched for them. This is certainly the case for Archicorynus . It underscores the importance of continued field collections and to extend this fieldwork into areas that may not have previously been sampled. Certainly this is more difficult logistically (and sometimes physically), but the rewards are worth the extra effort.

Figures

Figs. 1–2. Archicorynus kuscheli, male. 1) Dorsal habitus; 2) Lateral habitus.

Figs. 3–4. Archicorynus kuscheli, female. 3) Ventral view; 4) Legs: A) Front, B) Middle, C) Hind.

Figs. 5–7. Archicorynus kuscheli, genitalia. 5) Female; 6) Aedeagus and tegmen, dorsal view; 7) Aedeagus and tegmen, lateral view.

Figs. 8–13. Archicorynus kuscheli. 8) Male, ventral view; 9) Ventral surface of elytra, male (PLR = pocket-like cavity); 10) Female genitalia (BC = bursa copulatrix; HLE = hook-like extensions of T VIII; HS = gonocoxites; S = spermatheca; SD = spermathecal duct; SG = spermathecal gland; S VIII = sternite VIII; T VIII = tergite VIII); 11) Aedeagus, lateral view (PN = penis; PE = pedon; TC = tectum; TG = tegmen); 12) Penis (a) and tegmen (b), separated; 13) Hindwing, male.