Cleidella silveirai, Roza & Mermudes, 2020

Roza, André Silva & Mermudes, José Ricardo Miras, 2020, A new genus of railroad-worm beetles from the Atlantic Rainforest from Brazil (Coleoptera: Phengodidae, Mastinocerinae), Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia (Pap. Avulsos Zool., S. Paulo) 60 (10), pp. 1-12 : 10-11

Cleidella silveirai sp. nov.

( Fig. 6 )

Type material: HOLOTYPE (♂, DZRJ): BRAZIL. Rio de Janeiro: Teresópolis. Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos. PVE Pt. 5B, 22°28′37.6″S, 42°59′45.5″W, 691 m, IX.2015, R. Monteiro col. PARATYPES: Rio de Janeiro: Teresópolis. Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos. Same data as holotype, XII.2014 (1 ♂, DZRJ, 1 ♂, MZSP) ; PVE Pt. 8A, 22°27′11,3″S, 42°59′33,9″W, 1,071 m, XI.2015, R. Monteiro col.(1 ♂, DZRJ) ; Angra dos Reis.Parque Estadual da Ilha Grande. IG 2 A, 23°09′12.4″S, 44°11′24.1″W, 720 m, XI.2017, (1 ♂, DZRJ), I.2018 (1 ♂, DZRJ), Silveira, Campello, Vaz & Queiroz col.

Diagnosis: Eyes, in lateral view, strongly obliquely projected ( Fig. 6E ). Pronotum 1.4× wider than long, anterior and posterior margins slightly curved to nearly straight ( Fig. 6F ). Body overall light brown, head brown, palpi, thoracic sterna, legs, tergites and sternites pale yellow ( Figs. 6 A-B).

Description, male

Measurements (n = 6): Total length: 3.2-3.6 mm (aver. 3.4 mm). Head length: 0.47-0.53 mm (aver. 0.5 mm). Head width: 0.62-0.67 mm (aver. 0.64 mm). Pronotum length: 0.42-0.44 mm (aver. 0.43 mm). Pronotum maximum width: 0.59-0.63 (aver. 0.6 mm). Elytron length: 1.55-1.6 mm (aver. 1.57 mm). Elytron maximum width: 0.39-0.48 mm (aver. 0.44 mm).

Morphology: Head wider than long, integument glossy, finely punctate, frons slightly concave between antennal insertions, interocular distance occupying half of head in dorsal view ( Fig. 6F ); eyes occupying ¾ of head width, in lateral view, posterior margin strongly obliquely project- ed ( Fig. 6E ); antennomere IV 1.5-2× longer than III, progressively longer from IV to VIII, IX and X progressively shorter, XI cylindrical, 1.5-2× longer than X; IV-X with two symmetrical branches, 2 to 4× longer than antennomere ( Fig. 6 C-D). Pronotum 1.4× wider than long, integument glossy, finely punctate, anterior margin slightly curved, lateral margins weakly convergent, posterior margin slightly curved ( Fig. 6F ). Elytron heavily setigerous punctate, around 3.5× longer than wide ( Fig. 6A ), reaching posterior margin of fourth abdominal segment ( Figs. 6 A-B). Tergites IX and X, sternite IX and aedeagus shows no morphological variation in relation to C. picea sp. nov.

Coloration: Body overall light brown, head brown, palpi, sternum, legs, tergites and sternites pale yellow.

Females and immatures: Unknown.

Etymology: Patronymic. The name silveirai is given in honor of Luiz Felipe Lima da Silveira, a fellow coleopterist graduated from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, currently an assistant professor at the Western Carolina University, USA. Luiz is a Lampyridae specialist which also has interest in other soft-body Elateroid beetles, encouraging the first author to start the studies with Phengodidae . He has also collected extensively in areas of Rio de Janeiro state with Malaise traps.

Biology and distribution: Cleidella silveirai sp. nov. occurs on the Spring and Summer of the southern hemi-

sphere. It inhabits altitudinal areas of the Serra dos Órgãos, in the Serra do Mar mountain range, around 700-1,100 m, in a vegetation type of montane forest, and altitudinal areas of Ilha Grande, around 700 m, in a vegetation type of dense ombrophilous forest.

Remarks: This species can be easily distinguished from Cleidella picea sp. nov. by eyes, in lateral view, strongly obliquely projected (with posterior margin vertical, slightly reniform in C. picea sp. nov.); pronotum distinctly wider than long (slightly wider than long in C. picea sp. nov.); and the body overall light brown, head brown, palpi, thoracic sterna, legs, tergites and sternites pale yellow (body overall dark brown, with head and pronotum from black to dark brown, and mandibles, palpi and internal margin of pro and mesocoxae and femora brown to light brown in C. picea sp. nov.).

Two distinct populations of Cleidella silveirai sp. nov. were found, around 100 km apart from each other. The specimens from Ilha Grande have smaller flabellae in the antennae (2 to 3× the antennomere length) and the antennomere XI 1.5× the antennomere X length, while the specimens from the Serra dos Órgãos have longer flabellae in the antennae (3 to 4× the antennomere length) and the antennomere XI 2× the antennomere X length. However, as this was the only difference found between the populations, they were considered as a single species.

Figures

Figure 6.Cleidella silveirai gen.nov.et sp.nov.,holotype male:(A) habitus,dorsal;(B) habitus,lateral;(C) antenna,specimen from Teresópolis;(D) antenna,specimen from Ilha Grande;(E)head and pronotum,lateral;(F) head and pronotum,dorsal.