Neoapterocis, Lopes-Andrade, Cristiano, 2007

Lopes-Andrade, Cristiano, 2007, Neoapterocis, a new genus of apterous Ciidae (Coleoptera: Tenebrionoidea) from Chile and Mexico, Zootaxa 1481, pp. 35-47 : 37-39

Neoapterocis gen. nov.

( Figs 1–14 )

Type species. Neoapterocis mexicanus sp. nov.

Included species. Neoapterocis chilensis sp. nov., Neoapterocis mexicanus sp. nov.

Etymology. " Neo " means “new”, and “ apterocis ”refers to an apterous Hawaiian ciid genus with a very similar body form. However, this does not suggest any phylogenetic relationship, but just morphological similarities. The noun is masculine.

Diagnosis. The genus may be distinguished by the combination of distinct oval, convex body, small eyes and scutellum, absence of hind wings, short prosternum with short and broad intercoxal process, short metaventrite, and first abdominal ventrite longer than the next two together.

Description. Length 1.11–1.84mm. Body oval, between 1.75 and 2X as long as wide, convex (GD/EW = 0.72–0.86), pubescent, vestiture consisting of small shiny yellowish setae best seen in lateral view. Head, pronotum and elytra punctation single, irregularly distributed; each puncture bearing a short, procumbent to semi-erect seta. Labial palpi ( Fig. 11 ) small, inserted at the apex of prementum; apical segment cylindrical. Maxilla ( Fig. 11 ) with galea small and semioval; lacinia semicircular. Eyes small and prominent, coarsely facetted, each with no more than 20 ommatidia, the individual facets strongly convex. Antennae ( Figs 4 , 10 ) inserted beyond eyes, 10-segmented, third antennomere long and slender; funicle subglabrous; club three-segmented, loose and more setose than funicle; each segment of the antennal club bearing four sensillifers, each formed by a group of small and cylindrical, not well-organized sensilla. Lateral pronotal margins conspicuous, finely crenulate, visible for most of their lengths from above; anterior pronotal angles distinctly produced forward and broadly rounded. Pronotum with anterior margin simple in both sexes; surface densely punctate and setose; punctures small, their diameters smaller than the length of a seta; interstices between punctures microreticulate. Scutellum triangular, indistinct, barely visible at magnifications of less than 60X. Elytra more sparsely punctate than pronotum, hence less setose; punctures similar to those on pronotum; elytra fused to each other, strongly convex, humeri rounded; lateral margins strong, with conspicuous epipleura below wider anteriorly and tapering to apex. Hind wings absent. Procoxae transverse, not projecting below the plane of the intercoxal process of prosternum. Tibiae not expanded to apices, with a row of spines at apex, simple outer edge and outer apical angle rounded ( Figs 5 , 12 ). Tarsi 4-segmented, appearing as 3-segmented at magnifications lower than 100X ( Fig. 12 , arrows). Prosternum short, biconcave, with a broad longitudinal carina at midline; intercoxal process short and broad, as long as the prosternum length at its midline ( Figs 3 , 9 ). Mesocoxae narrowly separated, metacoxae not contiguous. Metaventrite shorter than the first abdominal ventrite at midline; discrimen absent, or around one seventh to one fifth the metaventrite length at midline. First abdominal ventrite as long as at least the next two abdominal ventrites together; male with a distinct setose patch at the midline near the posterior margin. Male genitalia ( Figs 6 , 13 ) with ninth segment V-shaped, its apices lanceolate; anterior margin of eighth sternite broadly emarginate; aedeagus subquadrate, barely sclerotized; tegmen longer than median lobe, with a longitudinal emargination from apex to halfway along its length, forming two lateral lobes; median lobe (penis) cylindrical. Female genitalia ( Fig. 14 ) with a distinct pair of gonostyli at apex; gonocoxites transversely divided into four parts; proximal gonocoxites with a pair of transversal bacula; paraprocts and proctiger as long as gonostyli and gonocoxites together; both paraprocts and proctiger with a pair of distinct longitudinal bacula; spiculum ventrale just slightly longer than gonostyli, gonocoxites and paraprocts together.

Distribution. Known from the state of Oaxaca ( Mexico) and Concepción Province ( Chile).

Comments. The suprageneric classification of Ciidae deserves a revision, but as it stands Neoapterocis gen. nov. would be placed in the tribe Ciini of the subfamily Ciinae . It lacks strongly projecting procoxae and tibiae spinose on outer edge that characterize both Orophiini ( Lawrence 1974) and Xylographellini ( Kawanabe & Miyatake 1996) and the distinctive type of antennal club, prementum and male genitalia found in the latter tribe.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 3. Neoapterocis chilensis sp. nov., male holotype. 1. Dorsal view. 2. Lateral view. 3. Ventral view. Note the small tubercles in the frontoclypeal ridge (arrows).

FIGURES 4 – 6. Neoapterocis chilensis sp. nov. 4. Antenna. 5. From left to right, anterior, median and posterior tibiae and part of tarsi. 6. Male genitalia showing the tegmen (teg) and median lobe (ml).

FIGURES 7 – 9. Neoapterocis mexicanus sp. nov., male holotype. 7. Dorsal view. 8. Lateral view. 9. Ventral view.

FIGURES 10 – 12. Neoapterocis mexicanus sp. nov. 10. Antenna. 11. Part of mouthparts showing the prementum (pm), labial palpi (l. p), lacinia (lc), galea (gl) and maxillary palpi (m. p). 12. From left to right, anterior, median and posterior tibiae and tarsi. Arrows indicate the narrow separation of the first and second tarsomere (dashed line in the posterior tarsus).

FIGURES 13 – 14. Neoapterocis mexicanus sp. nov. 13. Male genitalia showing the tegmen (teg) and median lobe (ml). The dashed line delimits the apex of the median lobe. Arrows indicate the lateral-apical emarginations of tegmen. 14. Female genitalia showing the spiculum ventrale (sv), gonostyli (gs), gonocoxites (gc), paraprocts (pp), proctiger (pt), transverse bacula of basal gonocoxites (b. gc.), bacula of paraprocts (b. pp) and bacula of proctiger (b. pt). The dashed line (arrows) indicates the apex of proctiger.