Asydates inexpectatus Mayor and Gimmel

Mayor, Adriean J. & Gimmel, Matthew L., 2019, Revision of the Soft-Winged Flower Beetles of the Genus Asydates Casey, 1895 (Coleoptera: Melyridae: Dasytinae: Listrini), The Coleopterists Bulletin (mo 17) 73, pp. 1-71 : 42-47

11. Asydates inexpectatus Mayor and Gimmel , new species

Zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:3026D713-2052-4024-9F7E-05B08CF49034 ( Figs. 6C , 9G , 13E , 17E , 22D , 26F , 29F , 38B , 40 )

Type Material. Holotype ♂ deposited in CAS (holotype #19845), labeled “ 1 mi. N. Hodge \ S. Bd’ no Co. Cal. [white hand written label] //13.vi.79 \ Coll. J. C. Hall [white hand written label] // HOLOTYPE \ Asydates \ inexpectatus \Mayor & Gimmel 2019 [red printed label]”.

Diagnosis. The male abdominal ventrites entirely orange to yellow brown, the broad head with moderately flattened eyes ( Figs. 6C , 13E ), and very short median lobe of the aedeagus ( Fig. 26F ) distinguish A. inexpectatus from all other species of Asydates .

Description. Body elongate, moderately graciliform, shiny ( Figs. 6C , 9G ); microsculpture sparse, inconspicuous on pronotum and elytra, more conspicuous on head. Length 2.4 mm; width 0.94 mm. Body orange to yellow brown; dorsal temporal region of head black; mouthparts, antennae, median base of elytra around scutellar shield, and metathorax ventrally reddish brown. Pubescence dense, reclining, pale, whitish; pronotal and elytral fringe short, not projecting. Punctation with punctures fine, indistinct on head and pronotum, slightly larger, more distinct on elytra. Head: Large, short, male temporal region short ( Fig. 13E ); narrower than pronotum, eyes moderately flattened; 1.50 times wider than interocular distance. Antennomeres 5–10 weakly serrate; antennae short, reaching to near middle of pronotum posteriorly. Thorax: Pronotum slightly wider than long, 0.79 times as long as wide; widest at middle; lateral edges converging to anterior margin, slightly constricted before anterior margin; anterior and posterior angles obsolete, broadly rounded ( Fig. 17E ). Elytra elongate, broadly oval, elytron 3.86 times as long as wide, across humeri slightly wider than pronotum; elytral epipleuron distinct at base, becoming obsolete near apex of abdominal ventrite 4; apical margin broadly rounded to sutural angle, inconspicuously serrulate. All tibiae with fine, white setae along external margin; pro- and mesotibiae with numerous short, inconspicuous, stout spines sparsely arranged along external margin. Abdomen: Male ventrite 1 with indistinct median patch of white setae. Pygidium unmodified ( Fig. 22D ). Median lobe of aedeagus a short, bowed tube with apex straight ( Fig. 26F ); tegmen relatively short, wide, not constricted at base of ring ( Fig. 29F ).

Etymology. The species name is derived from the Latin adjective inexpectatus , based on the totally

unexpected discovery of a new Asydates species in undetermined material of the UCRC collection.

Host Plant Associations. Unknown.

Seasonal Distribution. Known only from the holotype collected on 13 June ( Fig. 40 ).

Geographic Distribution. Known only from a single locality in the western Mojave Desert ( Fig. 38B ).

Material Examined. Known only from the holotype.

Remarks. This beautiful species was totally unexpected, found among unsorted specimens of Dasytinae in the UCRC collection. It occurs in a relatively desolate section of the western Mojave Desert. Known only from the male holotype, A. inexpectatus appears to be most closely related to A. washoe , which differs primarily in the coloration of the body, which is black with the elytral apices pale, and in the shape of the head, which is more elongate with bulging eyes. Asydates inexpectatus is mostly pale orange to yellow brown, the head is shorter, and the eyes are moderately flattened. The median lobe of the aedeagus is similar in the two species but is substantially shorter in A. inexpectatus (compare Fig. 26E vs. Fig. 26F ).

Figures

Fig. 6. Asydates species, dorsal habitus. A. phantasma: A) Male, B) Female. A. inexpectatus: C) Male. Scale bars =

Fig. 9. Asydates species, lateral habitus. A. vandykei: A) Male, B) Female. A. washoe: C) Male, D) Female. A. phantasma: E) Male, F) Female. A. inexpectatus: G) Male. Scale bars = 1.0 mm.

Fig. 13. Asydates species, frontal view. A. washoe: A) Male, B) Female. A. phantasma: C) Male, D) Female. A.

Fig. 17. Asydates species, pronota. A. washoe: A) Male, B) Female. A. phantasma: C) Male, D) Female. A. inexpectatus: E) Male.

Fig. 22. Asydates species, male pygidium and attached abdominal sternite VIII, ventral view. A) A. irwini, B) A. ruficauda, C) A. vandykei (spiculum gastrale is still attached), D) A. inexpectatus. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.

Fig. 26. Asydates species, median lobe of aedeagus, right lateral view. A. ruficauda: A) CA: Riverside Co.: Lake Elsinore, B) CA: Riverside Co.: Sycamore Canyon Park, C) CA: Inyo Co.: Westgard Pass Road, D) UT: Washington Co.: Lytle Preserve. E) A. washoe, NV: Lyon Co.: 7.2 km south of Sweetwater Summit on Highway 338, F) A. inexpectatus, CA: San Bernardino Co.: 1.6 km north of Hodge. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.

Fig. 29. Asydates species, tegmen of aedeagus (apex directed upward). A) A. shoshone, NV: Elko Co.: 43.5 km south of Wells, B) A. ruficauda, CA: Inyo Co.: Westgard Pass Road, C) A. vandykei, CA: Alameda Co.: Irvington, D) A. washoe, NV: Lyon Co.: 7.2 km south of Sweetwater Summit on Highway 338, E) A. phantasma, UT: Emery Co.: Woodside, F) A. inexpectatus, CA: San Bernardino Co.: 1.6 km north of Hodge. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.

Fig. 38. Distribution of Asydates species. A) Localities of examined specimens of A. ruficauda, B) Localities of examined specimens of A. inexpectatus (red triangle) and A. vandykei (black dots).

Fig. 40. Seasonalities of adult Asydates species, by month, based on collection records in the Material Examined sections.