Paxillus leachi MacLeay, 1819

Mattos, Ingrid & Mermudes, José Ricardo M., 2013, Synopsis of Paxillus MacLeay, 1819 (Coleoptera: Passalidae): distributional records and descriptions of four new species from Brazil, Zootaxa 3652 (3), pp. 327-342 : 329-330

Paxillus leachi MacLeay, 1819

( Figs. 1–5 )

Paxillus leachi MacLeay, 1819: 106 ; Boucher, 1986: 507; Fonseca & Reyes-Castillo, 2004: 13 (list).

Type locality. MacLeay (1819: 105) mentioned South America, but not a specific locality.

Diagnosis. Body flattened. Length 16–20 mm. Head ( Fig. 1 ): anterior frontal area punctate; punctures coarse, uneven, sparse or dense; with anterior margin almost straight. Median frontal area with or without elevation, smooth; anterior and posterior frontal ridges elevated. Medial frontal tubercles almost connected the anterior angles of head. Inner tubercles feebly developed and smaller than medial frontal tubercles. Lateral frontal area slightly uneven; lateral post frontal punctate; post frontal groove deep; bridge (epicranial fossae) smooth or finely punctate; central tubercle not free, almost depressed; base larger and connected with lateral posterior tubercles. Antennal club ( Fig. 2 ) with anterior margin straight or almost straight (when closed). First antennomere very reduced. Pronotum: anterior margin almost straight; anterior angles slightly protracted; anterior marginal groove punctate ( Fig. 1 ), reaching at least part of the anterior margin. Lateral margin almost straight, lateral marginal groove narrow and abundantly punctate. Pronotum sparse or densely punctate at sides, with indistinct or absent scar. Prosternal process and scutellum flat and smooth. Elytra: humerus with or without setae, lateral striae with coarse punctures, dorsal striae with fine punctures. Mesosternun smooth; sides with irregular scar somewhat elongate, depressed, and opaque; behind the scar not depressed and opaque. Metasternun: lateral area with punctures variable (fine to coarse), confluent, with some sparse setae; disc strongly depressed, evident. Posterolateral area of metasternum with deep and sparse punctures. Mesotibia: dorsally pubescent, with 1–2 lateral median spines. Aedeagus ( Figs. 3– 5 ): slightly longer than wide and feebly sclerotized in medium dorsal region. Phallus slightly longer than the parameres and phallobase combined. Parameres and phallobase fused, lacking obvious suture. Parameres very slightly dilated before the apex (lateral view) and rounded at the apex (dorsal view); ventral distal margin of phallobase with moderately deep and round notch.

Sexual dimorphism. Doesburg (1974) and Reyes-Castillo & Fonseca (1997) described the presence of the sexual dimorphism in P. l e a c h i, in which the female has pubescent humeri, with long setae (male with short setae). We observed that many males with glabrous humeri only have the setae within puctures. The sex of these specimens was confirmed by dissection.

Distribution. Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, West Indies, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil (Roraima, Amapa, Amazonas, Acre, Pará, Mato Grosso, Goias, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Espirito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Santa Catarina), Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina. Luederwaldt (1931: 70) cited Paramaribo ( Suriname).

Material examined. Brazil. Espírito Santo: Santa Teresa 1 male, 1 female, 23.I.1964. 1 male, 19.II.1964; 1 male, 13.XI.1966; 1 male, 7.XII.1964, Elias leg. (DZUP). Rio de Janeiro: Angra dos Reis ( Ilha Grande, Vila Dois Rios) 1, 9–12.X.2008, Proj, Coleoptera leg.; 1, 25.VII. 2009, Exp. Zoo. leg. (DZRJ); Itatiaia (Parque Nacional de Itatiaia), Exp. MNRJ leg. (DZRJ); Rio de Janeiro (Floresta da Tijuca), 1 female, 26.I.1968, Moura & Seabra leg. (DZUP); 2, 8.III.2008. Rio Grande do Sul: Porto Alegre (Manresa), 1 male, 29.III.1982, C. Tirelli leg. (MAPA).

Remarks. Paxillus leachi is widely distributed from Mexico to Argentina, but it differs from the other species of the genus by the characters given in the key. See other remarks under P. borellii , P. chapadensis new species and P. uaupesensis new species.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 5. Paxillus leachi, male: 1, head and anterior margin of pronotum, dorsal. 2, antennae, dorsal. 3 – 5. Aedeagus: 3, dorsal; 4, lateral; 5, ventral (ph, phallus; pp, parameres; phb, phallobase). AFA, anterior frontal area; MFA, median frontal area; MFT, medial frontal tubercle; LFT, lateral frontal tubercle; CT, central tubercle; LPT, lateral posterior tubercle; FF, frontal fossae. Scale bars = 0.5 mm (Figs. 3 – 5 to the same scale).