Guatemalteca Erwin

Erwin, Terry L., 2004, The beetle family Carabidae of Costa Rica and Panamá: Descriptions of four new genera and six new species with notes on their way of life (Insecta: Coleoptera), Zootaxa 537, pp. 1-18 : 12

Guatemalteca Erwin , new genus

(Fig. 7)

Type species. Guatemalteca virgen Erwin , new species

Derivation of genus name. I first collected a member of this genus in Guatemala in May of 1973 along a small brook and even though I didn’t know what it was, I did recognized it as something extraordinary. Hence, the name Guatemalteca , a feminine noun, is a reminder of that collecting event and refers to the fact that at least one species of this new genus is resident in Guatemala.

Diagnosis. (Fig. 7). Labial palpomere 3 acuminate apically; male anterior tarsi with well­developed ventral adhesive setae on basal 3 tarsomeres; elytron with dorsal surface markedly iridescent; legs pale; elytron without ocellate fovea; dorsal surface not green; head and pronotum smooth, without marked punctures; elytron glabrous, with discal (third interval) and lateral umbillicate fixed setae only; venter of female with vestiture on sterna 3–6 only, a pair of ambulatory setae on sternum 3–5 and 4 ambulatory setae on sternum 6; venter of male glabrous except for a pair of ambulatory setae on sterna 3–6. Male genitalia remarkable small for length of adult.

Geographic distribution. Neotropical cloud forests, from México to Perú and can be expected in the Yungas of Bolivia and Argentina.

Notes. This lineage of beetles is without reference in the literature, hence everything about them is reported here for the first time in association with the Costa Rican species. However, many more species are in the cloud forests of Latin America and this could be an important monographic project for the taxonomist who has an interest in cloud forest carabid beetles. In fact, as it turned out, my classmate and later colleague at the NMNH, Donald R. Whitehead, had collected one specimen of this genus in México in 1963. This specimen was placed amongst the Platynini in the collection of G. E. Ball for many years until Ball recognized it as something special, as well. This lineage is probably related to the Eucaerus, Lachnaces, Askelpia lineages of Lachnophorini .