Goajiria Ivie and Hart, 2016

Ivie, Michael A. & Hart, Charles J., 2016, Redefinition ofDiastolinusMulsant and Rey, with a Review of West Indian Blapstinoid Genera (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Opatrini), The Coleopterists Bulletin 70 (3), pp. 447-481 : 447-481

Goajiria Ivie and Hart , new genus

( Figs. 43–49 , 53 )

Diastolinus (Goajiria) Marcuzzi 1986: 180 ,

unavailable nomen nudum (no type species des-

ignated, ICZN 1995, Art. 67.4.1), 1989: 355,

1998b: 153, 2002: 399.

Type Species. Diastolinus curtus Mulsant and Rey, 1859 . Gender feminine.

Description. Goajiria is diagnosed by the male genitalia uniquely truncate and flared ( Figs. 45, 46 ) [not verified in D. hummelincki ]; elytra strongly striate, at least intervals 3, 5, and 7 raised and subcarinate, stria 7 ending in the lateral stria and cutting off 8 (i. e., of the Diastolinus type, Figs. 43, 44 ); pronotum widest near middle, narrowed behind ( Fig. 43 ); male mesofemur with patch of golden setae on the underside of basal portion ( Figs. 47, 48 ) [not verified in D. hummelincki ], often with a tooth on interior face of male profemur ( Fig. 47 , not present in D. margaritensis ); and a pair of unique deep pits on the disc of the metaventrite ( Fig. 47, 48 ) [not verified in D. hummelincki ]. These pits, which are far more pronounced in the males, are unique in all blapstinoids we have examined and often filled with a wax-like secretion. All known species are small relative to the average Diastolinus , being 6 mm or less in length.

Distribution. Fig. 53 .

Etymology. The genus name refers to La Guajira Peninsula, which is shared by Colombia and Venezuela, and therefore is considered feminine. The spelling Marcuzzi used is based on “La Goajira,” an archaic form of this name, most famously used in Henri Charrière’ s novel Papillon . We use the generic spelling of Marcuzzi (retaining the “o” and adding an extra “i”) to avoid adding to a confusing proliferation of very similar names. However, Marcuzzi (1954) named a subspecies after the peninsula without the extra “i”, resulting in the baffling combination Goajiria curta goajira (Marcuzzi) .

Remarks. Marcuzzi (1986) tried to describe Goajiria as a subgenus for the Diastolinus from the southern Caribbean islands of the Netherlands Antilles and Venezuela, as well as the coastal region of Colombia and Venezuela’ s mainland. He specifically included D. curtus , Diastolinus curtus goajirus Marcuzzi, 1954 , Diastolinus fairmairei Marcuzzi, 1949 , Diastolinus margaritensis Marcuzzi, 1949 , and Diastolinus chevrolati Marcuzzi, 1959 . He failed, however, to validate the generic-group name, as he did not designate a type species, an action required for the name to be available (ICZN Art. 67.4.1). As far as we can see, no one but Marcuzzi has used the name in a taxonomic paper.

Marcuzzi defined his group on the basis of being small, having unique male genitalia, and the setation of the galea, lacinia, and apex and underside of the labrum. Of these, only the unique male genitalia is of any use, the other characters being shared with various Diastolinus (including the Sellio and Ctesicles groups), Xerolinus , Platylus , Blapstinus , and Cenophorus .

However, we have found the group to be a natural one, allied to Diastolinus by the form of the lateral elytral striae, but separated by a unique suite of characters and geography. Therefore, we here validate the name Goajiria Ivie and Hart new genus, with the type species Diastolinus curtus Mulsant and Rey.

Goajiria is poorly documented, and not the focus of our study. It remains for a future reviser to fully explore its validity. We are simply providing a home for those extra-limital and extraneous elements previously placed in Diastolinus , so that our revision of the newly redefined members of the genus can proceed. The membership and nomenclatural history of Goajiria is summarized as follows:

Figures

Figs. 43–49. Goajiria curta curta: 43) Dorsal habitus; 44) Humeral angle; 45) Aedeagus, dorsal view; 46) Aedeagus, lateral view; 47) Head and thorax, ventral view; 48) Metaventrite pits; 49) Abdominal ventrites.

Fig. 53. Distribution of the West Indian and south Caribbean blapstinoids.