Pocadius okinawaensis Cline, 2008

Cline, Andrew R., 2008, Revision of the sap beetle genus Pocadius Erichson, 1843 (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae: Nitidulinae, Zootaxa 1799 (1), pp. 1-120 : 94-96

Pocadius okinawaensis Cline new species

(Figs. 34, 75, 118, 161, 202, 241, 261)

Specimens examined. HOLOTYPE ♂ (FMNH): Ryukyu Is.: OKINAWA; Katsudake, IX-28-1945; leg. E. Ray / eating hole; in Lycoperdon ; fungus / Pocadius ; nobilis Rtt ; Kirejtshuk det. 1994 / HOLOTYPE; Pocadius ; okinawaensis; A.R. Cline des. 2004. 12 PARATYPES (10 FMNH, 2 ARCC): same data labels as holotype, but with PARATYPE labels.

Diagnosis. Most similar to P. nobilis from Japan, but can be differentiated from it and the Palearctic fauna by: terminal antennomere slightly longer than preceding two combined, irregularly shaped with distinct centrally located depressed region; elytra with dark markings laterally and apically; head and pronotum with surface smooth and shining; metasternal disc with minute dispersed punctures and smooth shining surface; elytra with alternating rows of semi-erect and decumbent setae; outer apical notch of protibia indistinct; tegmen with double row of inner setae not attaining apex; ejaculatory rods diverging apically and parallel basally; basal piece of internal sac sclerite complex with two deeply cleft lateral arms; ovipositor with short intragonocoxal invagination and 3–4 elongate terminal setae.

Description. Length 3.75mm, Width 2.55mm, Depth 1.5mm. Body moderately convex, surface shining, reddish-brown to dark reddish brown with lateral and apical portion of elytra darker. Pronotum and elytra margins with moderately long fimbriae. Dorsal and ventral pubescence moderately long, golden.

Head surface irregularly punctate with moderately impressed small and large punctures, mostly large ones on vertex, becoming smaller towards orbits and fronotclypeal region. Large punctures 3–4X diameter of eye facet, smaller punctures 1–2X diameter; interspaces smooth, shining. Pronotal surface with large punctures equal to large punctures on head, interspersed with few small punctures, 0.5 diameter large ones; interspaces smooth and shining, 1–2 diameters apart. Scutellar surface with few vague shallowly impressed small punctures, interspaces smooth to finely alutaceous. Elytral surface with serial rows of alternating large and small deep punctures. Small punctures equal to small ones on pronotum, large punctures 2–3X diameter of small ones. Small punctures giving rise to semi-erect long golden setae, large punctures giving rise to decumbent long golden seta; interspaces broad between punctures of a given row and between different rows. Within a row, small punctures separated by 2–3 diameters, and large punctures by 0.5–1 diameter. Large rows separated by 2–3 diameters; interspaces shining but variable from smooth to finely alutaceous. Pygidium densely punctate, punctures equal to large ones on pronotum, interspaces narrow, 0.25–0.5 diameter apart, smooth to finely alutaceous.

Venter with shorter sparser pubescence as dorsum. Mentum with large shallow punctures, equal to large ones on head, interspaces alutaceous with finely microreticulate areas. Prosternum and epimeron shallowly irregularly punctate, punctures on epimeron larger than those on mentum and those on prosternum equal to small punctures on head, interspaces alutaceous to granular with microreticulate areas, prosternal punctures separated by 1–2 diameters, those on epimeron by 0.5–1 diameter. Mesoventrite with moderately impressed punctures, equal to those on epimeron, interspaces alutaceous to granular, separated by 1 diameter and aggregated near metasternal border. Metaventrite irregularly punctate, mostly impunctate on disc with some moderately faint large and small punctures similar to those on head, interspaces smooth on disc becoming alutaceous to finely granular laterally, punctures separated by 1–3 diameters. Abdominal sternite 1 with large faint punctures, punctures equal to large punctures on elytra, interspaces smooth to alutaceous, separated by 0.5–1 diameter. Hypopygidium with moderately deep punctures, similar to those on sternites 2–4, interspaces alutaceous to granular, punctures separated by 0.5 diameter.

Head wider than long (W:L = 1.5:1). Antennal club compact, obovate, slightly asymmetrical with last antennomere slightly longer than previous two combined. Antennomeres 4–8 compact, with 6–8 disc-like, and 4–5 trapezoidal. Antennal scape asymmetrical, somewhat hemispherical, 2X as long as pedicel. Pedicel subcylindrical. Antennal segment 3 subequal to pedicel. Antennal club moderately large, 0.65 length of segments 1–8 combined. Elevated region of mentum with anterior angles obsolete, anterior margin broadly convex, overall hemispherical, in lateral view convex.

Pronotum widest near posterior angles (L:W = 1:1.9), anterior margin shallowly concave, lateral margins slightly arcuate anteriorly. Scutellum large, obtusely triangular, apex rounded. Prosternal process in lateral view with anterior and posterior ends not prominent and slight convexity medially, appearing almost flat; posterior apical wall moderately prominent and oblique. Mesoventrite extending to midway between mesocoxae, evenly concave for reception of metaventrite. Metaventrite wider than long (W:L = 2.9:1). Metepisternum with slight medial constriction, oblique line dividing anterior 0.2. First abdominal sternite with acuminate process between metacoxae. First sternite ~2X’s longer than second. Sternites 2–3 subequal, 4 slightly larger than 2 and 3 combined. Hypopygidium subequal to sternite 1.

Protibia with apical tooth not prominent, equal to 0.5 length of tarsomere 1. Outer apical notch absent. Inner apical spine subequal to tarsomeres 1 and part of 2 combined. Protibia not heavily armed. Mesotibia more heavily armed than protibia with dense stiff setae and row of slender spines along lateral edge. Outer apical process not robust, subequal to protibial process. Inner apical spine equal to tarsomere 1 and part of 2 combined. Metatibia with armature similar to mesotibia.

Male genitalia heavily sclerotized. Anal sclerite with apex fimbriate (Fig. 34). Spiculum gastrale with wide lateral flanges, medial margins deeply concave proximally, few short stiff setae originating from apex (Fig. 75). Tegmen evenly rounded apically (Fig. 118), longer than wide (w:l = 1:2.67), lateral row of setae visible from median fossa to prior to apex, large elliptical shallow concavity in apical 0.33 with double row of inner setae not attaining apex. Median lobe large and robust, 0.66 length tegmen, apex narrowed, apical opening well-developed (Fig. 161). Ejaculatory rods not fused to basal piece or each other, parallel basally and divergent from one another apically. Basal piece of internal sac sclerite with two lateral deeply cleft extensions (Fig. 202).

Female genitalia moderately sclerotized. Paraprocts large with sclerotization along medial margin. Gonocoxite with two basal lateral prominences. Gonocoxal apices with recurved “tooth” present, but reduced. Three to four elongate setae originate from terminal pits on apices. Intragonocoxal invagination shallow (Fig. 241).

Variation. No variation observed.

Seasonality/Habitat. Collected in late September.

Distribution. Known from the type locality.

Notes. Host data includes collection from Lycoperdon puffball.

Etymology. Specific epithet is a derivative of the type locality, i.e. Okinawa.