Plateros milleri Ramsdale and Kazantsev

Ramsdale, Alistair S. & Kazantsev, Sergey V., 2004, A New Species of Plateros Bourgeois (Coleoptera: Lycidae) from Arizona, The Coleopterists Bulletin 58 (3), pp. 345-348 : 347

Plateros milleri Ramsdale and Kazantsev , new species

( Figs. 1–3 )

Description. Male: Possessing all characters of Plateros (Bocáková 2001; Green 1953). Habitus as in figure 1. Coloration dark brown, except with pronotum, hypomera, scutellum, coxae and bases of prothoracic and mesothoracic femora orange-red. Pubescence fine, decumbent, yellowish, short and moderately dense on thorax, legs and abdomen; pubescence slightly more elongate and dense near site of coxal attachments. Head shining, sparsely pubescent, with conspicuous transverse median interocular impression. Eyes relatively large, 0.3 mm in diameter. Interocular width 0.4 mm. Antennal tubercles prominent. Antennae reaching to about one half length of elytra; filiform-subserrate basally, with basal antennomeres strongly flattened, becoming filiform distally with antennomeres less flattened; antennomere 3 about two-thirds as long as antennomere 4; pubescence decumbent on antennomeres 1–2, more robust, erect, and bristling on antennomeres 3–11. Clypeus with anterior margin truncate. Apical maxillary palpomere parallelsided, obliquely rounded at apex. Pronotum trapezoidal, pubescent; anterior margin bluntly rounded, anterior angles obtuse; lateral margins weakly sinuate; posterior margin weakly bisinuate, posterior angles acute, weakly projecting. Scutellum quadrate, with posterior margin weakly emarginate. Elytra elongate, subequal in width to posterior margin of pronotum at humeri, slightly widened posteriorly, with primary costae more prominent than secondary costae, pubescence dark brown, slightly more robust, suberect. Aedeagus asymmetrical, basally slender and apically twisted ( Figs. 2–3 ).

Body length: 4.8 mm; humeral width: 1.1 mm.

Female: Unknown.

Diagnosis. The entirely orange-red pronotum and scutellum and the twisted aedeagus place P. milleri in the sanguinicollis group of Zárágosá-Cábállero (1999), from whose other Mexican members it can be distinguished by the characteristic aedeagus ( Figs. 2–3 ). In Green’s (1953) key, P. milleri will key to couplet 4, where it will fit neither choice. Couplet 4 leads to P. sanguinicollis Horn , P. tumacacori Green and P. knulli Green which have clearly different aedeagi from P. milleri .

Holotype. (#) ARIZONA: Santa Cruz Co., Harshaw Creek , 1,295 m, 7 mi S. Patagonia, 318309540N. 1108429140W, 12 August 1999, col. A. S. Ramsdale [white label with black type]. On herbaceous vegetation, near dry creek bed, 2– 4 p. m., Madrean Evergreen Woodland [white label with black type] . HOLOTYPE, Plateros milleri Ramsdale & Kazantsev [red label with black type]. The three apical antennomeres of the left antenna of the holotype are missing. The holotype will be deposited at the Bishop Museum.

Ecology. The holotype was swept from herbaceous vegetation in an area of Madrean Evergreen Woodland, as defined by Brown (1994).

Etymology. This species is named in honor of the lycid systematist Richard S. Miller.

Figures

Figs. 1–3. Plateros milleri. 1) Dorsal habitus; 2) aedeagus lateral, oriented with dorsum to left; 3) aedeagus ventral. Scale bar ¼ 0.5 mm for figs. 2 and 3.