Psephenops spiniparameri, Arce-Pérez, Roberto & Novelo-Gutiérrez, Rodolfo, 2013

Arce-Pérez, Roberto & Novelo-Gutiérrez, Rodolfo, 2013, Two new species of Psephenops Grouvelle from Belize (Coleoptera: Byrrhoidea: Psephenidae), with a key to the known species from Mexico and Central America, Zootaxa 3670 (1), pp. 63-70 : 64-66

Psephenops spiniparameri sp. nov. Arce-Pérez

( Figs 1 a, 2–4)

Description. Holotype Male: Body oval, depressed; integument yellowish-red, with yellow reflections, completely covered with iridescent, yellow-grayish, short setae. Head, pronotum and scutellum dark, yellowishred; antennae and elytra light, yellowish-red; legs with coxae, trochanters, and femora light yellowish-red, tibiae and tarsi dark yellowish-red. Venter dark yellowish-red, vestiture short, fine and dense, grayish-yellow, with yellow reflections. Head: short, transverse; clypeus subrectangular, declivous at an angle of less than 90 degrees from the plane of the frons, distal margin widely emarginate; fronto-clypeal surface with long, stout, dark reddish setae; vertex minutely punctate, with minute setae and a very shallow longitudinal furrow in middle. Antennae moniliform, 11-segmented, scape larger than other segments, pedicel 0.50 length of scape, subglobose; eight flagellar segments small, apical segment acuminate. Eyes lateral, rounded, very prominent, black; with post-ocular area yellow. Labrum similar to clypeus but shorter; maxillary palp 4-segmented, covered with short setae, segment 1 smallest, apical segment largest, relative proportion of segments: 0.4, 0.8, 0.6, 1.0, basal segments 1–3 subconical, segment 4 oval, inflated from the base and gradually narrowing to tip (acuminate). Labial palpi very short, 3-segmented, segments 1–2 globular and wide, segment 3 subconical, slightly longer than preceding ones. Thorax: Pronotum, subtrapezoidal, anterior margin arcuate, posterior margin bisinuate, almost as wide as elytral base, lateral margins straight along anterior half, expanded laterally on posterior half, posterolateral angles lightly round, all margins narrowly rimmed. Pronotal disc with a median longitudinal carina well developed on distal half and wide, shallow, circular depression at each side of carina; in profile view, pronotal disc (except for posterolateral expansions) convex, pronotal surface with punctation coarser than that of the head, covered with short, grayishyellow setae and long dark reddish setae, setae shorter than those of head. Scutellum short, with apex rounded. Elytra: with short grayish-yellow setae intermingled with long, dark, reddish setae shorter than those of head; sides parallel in basal 0.75, then gradually converging posteriorly, base lightly depressed on internal side of humeri. Prosternum short, slightly carinate, with long, lanceolate, slightly carinate prosternal process, which reaches half of mesoventrite. Mesoventrite short, with wide groove for reception of prosternal process. Metaventrite large and bulky. Legs: procoxae globose, mesocoxae conical, metacoxae transverse; femora robust, reddish-yellow (dark reddish-brown in some paratypes); tibiae slender, metatibiae longer than femora, protibiae with distinct apicolateral denticle. Tarsi 5-segmented ( Fig. 1 a), tarsomeres 1 and 2 ventrally lobed, with a thick, sponge-like vestiture, ventral lobe of tarsomere 1 extending distally over basal 0.25 of tarsomere 2, tarsomere 2 twice as long as tarsomere 1, ventral lobe of tarsomere 2 extending distally and completely covering area of tarsomeres 3, 4, and basal 0.90 of tarsomere 5; proportional length of tarsomeres: 0.5, 1.0, 0.1, 0.1, 0.45; a pair of long, curved, slender apical claws, with a small basal tooth. Abdomen: vestiture short, fine, dense, with yellow iridescence, and also with long, sparse, dark reddish setae. Seven visible sterna (ventrites) in relaxed specimens, usually ventrite VI hidden under ventrite V, ventrite II the largest; posterior margin of ventrite I deeply concave at middle, sinuate at sides, posterior margin of ventrite II as in ventrite I but concavity shallow medially, posterior margin of ventrites III and IV straight, ventrite V with a wide, shallow concavity; ventrite VI very short, posterior margin widely concave. Pygidial plate oval, long, narrow and densely covered with long, stiff, dark, reddish setae. Genitalia: aedeagus trilobate ( Fig. 2 ). Parameres robust, subtriangular, strongly divergent in apical third, curved, spine-like, with internal margins fused at basal 0.10 in dorsal view ( Fig. 2 ). Penis visibly longer than parameres ( Figs 2–4 ), in ventral view finger-like, bearing a ventral, longitudinal, long, slender sclerite which is 0.52 as long as penis ( Fig. 3 ). Phallobase, in dorsal view, concave, in ventral view, bulky and subcylindrical ( Figs 2–3 ).

Measurements (in mm) [in square brackets the paratypes variation N=6]: Total length 2.75 [2.54-3.0, mean=2.67]; length of segments of maxillary palpi: 0.04, 0.08, 0.06, 0.10. Pronotum: posterior margin 1.02 [1.02- 1.10, mean=1.06], lateral margin 0.5 [0.5-0.62, mean=0.56]; humeral width 1.2 [1.18-1.24, mean=1.20]; length of tarsomeres: 0.20, 0.40, 0.04, 0.04, 0.18. Genitalia: total length 0.54; parameres 0.36, penis 0.38, phallobase: length 0.22, width 0.17

Type material. Holotype labeled Belize: Cayo District, 1.7 mi E. O. Top. Camp, 9-I-1995, trib to Dr/Creek, WDS-A-1127 (EMEC); Two male paratypes, same data as holotype (IEXA); Toledo District, 35.1 km SE Belmopan, 3-Vlll-1993, unnamed stream, WDS-A-985, 2 3 (EMEC); Cayo Dist., 20 mi SE Belmopan, 2-I-1993, Sibun River, WDS-A-946, 1 3, (EMEC); Cayo Dist., 28.4 km SE Belmopan, 3-VIII-1993, Sibun River, WDS-A- 984, 13 (EMEC).

Type locality. Belize; Cayo District, 1.7 mi east of Over the Top Camp on the Hummingbird Highway, tributary to Dry Creek, 115 m.

Etymology. The name spiniparameri refers to the parameres being spine-like.

Remarks. Psephenops spiniparameri sp. nov. can be separated easily from other known Psephenops species by the following features [other species in brackets]: antennae moniliform [filiform, lupita ]; pronotum without tubercles [with 3 small tubercles, grouvellei ]; protibiae with denticle [without denticle, prestonae ]; tarsal lobes enlarged [tarsal lobes short, grouvellei , lupita , shepardi ]; apices of parameres spine-like, divergent [not spine-like, all other species]. By general morphology and male genitalia P. spiniparameri sp. nov. appears closely related to P. mexicanus . Psephenops spinaparameri sp. nov. is currently known only from lotic region 3 of Belize (sensu Shepard 2004).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Hind tarsi of Psephenops, dorsolateral view: a) P. spiniparameri sp. nov.; b) P. shepardi sp. nov.

FIGURES 2 – 4. Male genitalia of Psephenops spinaparameri sp. nov.: 2) phallobase, parameres and median lobe (penis), dorsal view; 3) same, ventral view; 4) same, lateral view.