Linoderus navarretei López-García & Méndez-Rojas, 2014

López-García, Margarita M. & Méndez-Rojas, Diana M., 2014, A new species of the genus Linoderus Sharp, 1885 (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Philonthina) from the Colombian Andes, Zootaxa 3795 (1), pp. 85-90 : 86-89

Linoderus navarretei López-García & Méndez-Rojas , new species

Diagnosis. Linoderus navarretei sp. nov. may be easily distinguished from L. gracilipes by its color pattern and other characters. The new species has legs and body black, except by abdomen apex golden orange and apex of antenna pale yellow. L. gracilipes has head and elytra teal dark; pronotum, legs and abdomen until apex of VII orange red, apex of abdomen black, antenna black with the three basal and the two apical segments yellow. Styli of L. gracilipes are more dilated apically than those of L. navarretei sp. nov. which are thinner; apical segment of maxillary palp twice longer than penultimate in L. gracilipes , while 1.3 times in L. navarretei sp. nov.

Description. Habitus as in Fig. 1 . Body length 7.50–10.0 mm (until apex elytra 3.70–4.29 mm). Head, pronotum and elytra shiny black. Antennomeres 1–3 black, 4–6 dark brown, 7 light brown and 8–11 pale yellow. Abdomen shiny black except posterior 1/4 of VII segment, VIII and XI golden-yellow. Basal half of styli goldenyellow and distal half black. Legs black.

Head slightly longer than wide (HL/HW:1.15–1.20), narrowed behind eyes until neck constriction and slightly wider than pronotum (HW/PW:1.23). Eyes distinctly shorter than temples seen from above (EL/TL:0.43–0.5). Epicranium with four interocular punctures bearing long and black setas, shaping a transverse line between the eyes; postocular region with a few similar punctures dispersed. Postocular ridge rudimentary, reaching the postgenal ridge but not extending beyond it; postmandibular ridge absent.

Antennal insertions separated from anterior margin of frontoclypeus and from eyes by a subequal distance; antennae slender, a bit longer than head and pronotum combined, the three basal segments elongated, segments 1 and 3 longer than 2, segments 4–7 cylindrical, the fourth shorter, segments 8–10 with apex slightly wider than base,, segment 11 dorsally emarginated; segments 1–3 glossy with a few long black setae, 4–11 pubescent and with a few white setae decreasing in length towards apex. Labrum deeply emarginated and bilobulated with two long black setae and six more of moderate length ( Fig. 2 ). Frontoclypeus with anterior edge truncate, with a median longitudinal fovea deeply (some males, Fig. 2 ) to slightly impressed. Maxilar palpi elongated, segment 1 minute, segment 2 more than thrice as long as maximum width and longer than segment 3, last segment subcylindrical, 1.2–1.3 longer than preceding segment; gular sutures fused on its lower half; mentum rectangular and shorter than submentum; labial palpi slender, segment 2 distinctly longer than 1 and 3. Neck no more than 0.4 times as wide as head at widest point (NW/HW:0.33–0.40); transverse carina present.

Pronotum longer than wide (PL/PW:1.30–1.39), widened apically; prosternal carina evident; superior line of hypomeron not completely visible in dorsal view; lateral puncture of pronotum bearing long macroseta separated from superior line by a distance three times as large as diameter of the puncture; dorsal surface of pronotal disk with two medial rows of six to seven punctures each. Legs slender, claws small, hind leg longer than abdomen, anterior femora with two short spines each, tibiae with spines and long hairs, tarsi elongated- nearly as long as tibiae- and with long whitish yellow hairs more abundant on first tarsomere, which is longer than tarsomeres 2 and 3 combined, hind tarsus with first segment longer than the last one (S1/S5=1.57–2.14), S1 a little longer in males (S1=0.70–0.73) than in females (S1=0.50–0.52); front tarsi undilated in both sexes.

Elytra wider (EtW/PW=1.44–1.55) and longer than pronotum (EtL/PL=1.17–1.25), punctuation coarse and denser than that of pronotum, with white microsetae and black macrosetae, transversal distance between punctures shorter near the base of elytra; scutellum with margins glabrous and medial area with deep umbilicated punctuation.

Abdomen with few long and black macrosetae near hind margin of each segment, III to V with medial transverse carina. Styli slightly dilated towards the apex and with numerous long and thick black setae.

Male: hind margin of sternum VIII medially emarginated and with disperse black setae ( Fig. 3 ); sternum IX acutely emarginated apically and with inwardly directed short setae on the apical half with proximal portion symmetric ( Fig. 4 ). Aedeagus with parameres long and bilobulated, without pegsetae and shorter than median lobe, internal sac with sclerotized structures ( Fig. 5–7 ).

Female: with no secondary sexual structures. Genital segment with styli of tergum IX similar to those of male; tergum X with six long thick setae at the apical margin and with short and pale setae on the median surface ( Fig. 8 ); second gonocoxites laterally flattened and with a long seta at the apex ( Fig. 9 ).

Etymology. The name is in honor of José Luís Navarrete Heredia, who has been the main contributor to the advancement of Staphylinidae knowledge in Colombia.

Type material. Holotype ♂, with labels: Colombia, Quindío Dept., Filandia, Cruces, Parque Regional Natural Barbas-Bremen, 4°42’6.4” N 75°38’16.3” W, 2000 m, 22.i.2013, López-García M. M. col., manual on forest vegetation, Holotype Linoderus navarretei López-García & Méndez-Rojas 2014 , (ICN-MHN). Paratypes. Eleven paratypes with the same data, ♂ ♀ (ICN-MHN), 1 ♂ ( CIUQ). Two paratypes with the labels: Colombia, Risaralda Dept., La Celia, Parque Regional Natural Verdum, 4°26’13.3” N 75°37’29” W, 1800 m, 22.i.2013, Delgado-Santa L. col., manual on forest soil, Paratype Linoderus navarretei López-García & Méndez-Rojas 2014 , 2 ♀ ( CIUQ). Three paratypes with the labels: Colombia, Quindío Dept., Filandia, Reserva Forestal y de Investigación Bremen- La Popa, 4°40’16.4” N 75°36’57.3” W, 2040 m, 19.vii.2013, Soto-Garzón C. col., manual on leaves of Araceae , Paratype Linoderus navarretei López-García & Méndez-Rojas 2014 , 1♂ 2♀ (ICN-MHN).

Distribution. The new species of Linoderus is known only from Central and Western Cordillera of the Colombian Andes (Departments of Quindío and Risaralda).

Habitat and bionomics. The species was found in riparian areas of montane forest. Most individuals were collected directly from vegetation, during the day. Thirteen individuals were observed on the lower leaf surface that they apparently use for perching behavior ( Fig. 10–11 ). More than two individuals were often found in a same leaf; even six of them were together in two occasions. Only two individuals, a male and a female, were observed on the upper leaf. However, they were covered by a piece of fallen leaf. In addition, a male was observed moving actively on inflorescences of Heliconia venusta Abalo & G. Morales. The only two females of Risaralda were found on a highly moist soil.

Remarks. The color pattern of Linoderus navarretei sp nov. is widely similar to that of Nordus cf. maculiceps (Xanthophygina), which was also found on riparian vegetation in Parque Regional Natural Barbas-Bremen ( Fig. 12–13 ). In Nordus , it has been thought that tail color (yellow) can act with abdomen waving and chemical secretion as a defense mechanism by combination of visual and chemical signals ( Chatzimanolis 2003). It convergences do not reflect a closer phyletic affinity and rather it can be a product of sharing the same habitat or mimicry, but it is necessary to carry out further studies that allow understand which species is model and which is mimic. Similar color patterns have been observed in some species of Belonuchus .

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 9. Linoderus navarretei sp. nov. HOLOTYPE (1), PARATYPES (2 – 9). 1, Habitus; 2, head, 3, male sternum VIII; 4, male sternum IX; 5, aedeagus in dorsal view; 6, aedeagus in ventral view; 7, aedeagus in lateral view; 8, female tergum X; 9, gonocoxite of female genital segment. Scale bars = 0.2 mm.

FIGURES 10 – 13. Habitat of Linoderus navarretei sp. nov. 10 – 11 under leaves (Photos by MMLG); 12, Parque Regional Natural Barbas-Bremen: forest, view from above; 13, riparian vegetation (Photos by O. H. Marín-Gómez).