Liogenys calcarata Frey, 1970

Cherman, Mariana A., Basílio, Daniel S., Mise, Kleber M., Frisch, Johannes, Smith, Andrew B. T. & Almeida, Lúcia M., 2020, Liogenys Guérin-Méneville, 1831 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) from the southern South American Transition Zone and boundaries: taxonomic overview with four new species, Zootaxa 4896 (1), pp. 46-84 : 52-54

Liogenys calcarata Frey, 1970

Figs. 2 , 13E , 14

Liogenys calcaratus Frey, 1970: 283 ; Krajčík 2012: 144 (checklist).

Liogenys calcarata: Evans 2003: 207 (checklist); Evans & Smith 2009: 176 (checklist); Cherman et al. 2016: 759 (systematics); Cherman et al. 2017: 16 (taxonomy).

Type material. Male holotype of Liogenys calcarata (NMHB) : [white, typeset] “ ARGENTINA / 20 km N. La Rioja / 24.9.68 leg. Pena”, [red typeset] “ TYPE ”, [white typeset and handwritten] “Type / Liogenys / calcaratus / n. sp. / det. G. Frey, 1970 ”, genitalia mounted. One male paratype ( NHMB), five males and one female paratypes ( AMNH) with the same data of the holotype. Male paratype ( ZMHB): [white, typeset] “ ARGENTINA / 20 km N. La Rioja / 24.9.68 leg. Pena”, [red typeset] “ PARATYPE ”, [white, typeset and handwritten] “ Liogenys / calcaratus / n. sp. / det. G. Frey, 1970 ”. Four male and two female paratypes ( CMNC): [white, typeset] “ ARGENTINA / 20 km N. La Rioja / 24.9.68 leg. Pena”, [yellow handwritten and typeset] “ LIOGENYS / CALCARATUS / FREY / PARATYPE ”, [white, typeset and handwritten] “ Liogenys / calcaratus / det. G. Frey, 1970 / n sp”, [white, typeset] “H. & A. HOWDEN / COLLECTION / ex. A. Martinez coll.”.

Non-type material (12). ARGENTINA. San Juan: El Baldecito, Valle Fertil , XII.1964, A. Martínez, 1 male ( CMNC) ; Buenos Aires: Estancia Barraú (30 km SW Villa Iris), XII.1946, A. Martínez, 1 male ( CMNC) ; Puán, Felipe Solá , XII.1953, A. Martínez, 1 female ( CMNC) ; San Luis: Arizona (18 km S), 250 m, 18–23.I.1982, H. & A. Howden, 1 female ( CMNC) ; Mendoza: San Rafael , 6.XII.1988, L. Peña, 4 females ( INPA) ; Río Negro: Coronel Gómez , I.1958, A. Martínez, 2 females ( NHMUK) ; Chubut: Dolavon, Angostura , 1. V.2011, 43°18’36’’S, 65°42’36’’W, D. Rojas Lanus, 1 female ( VMDC) .

Diagnosis. Body elongate; dull yellow ( Fig. 2A ), pronotum shiny, unicolored with elytra; elytra shiny or semiopaque, with bristles, inconspicuous bristles throughout the elytron and also on frontoclypeal surface; clypeal emargination deep, wide and rounded; clypeal lateral margin convex, blunt projected; antenna with 10 antennomeres; pronotal posterior corners rounded ( Fig. 2B ); protibia with three teeth, distance between basal and middle teeth longer than the distance between middle and apical teeth; mesotibia quadrate in cross section ( Fig. 2D ); pygidium flat; subtrapezoidal; pygidial disc smooth, inconspicuous bristles throughout, bristles longer towards the apex ( Fig. 2C ); in males inner margin of metatibia weakly carinate towards apex; metatibial apical spurs of different lengths and shape, the longer spur equal to the diameter of the tibial apex, the shorter spur wider and projected laterally ( Fig. 2E ); protarsomere II very wide; inner margins of parameres concave; parameres three times the length of the apex; apex lanceolate, outer margins expanded in a plane below at the base ( Fig. 2F ).

Redescription. Length: 8.2–9.5 mm; width: 3.4–4.8 mm. Dull yellow. Head. Distance between eyes twice the width of one eye; frons swollen, longer than the clypeus, frontoclypeal surface with inconspicuous bristles; clypeal emargination deep, wide and rounded; outer sides of anterior teeth subparallel; clypeal lateral margin convex, blunt projected; canthus exceeding the outer margin of the eye; distal maxillary palpomere, maximum width slightly wider than the apex; fovea deep, very small, only at the base; antenna with 10 antennomeres, club lighter in color than funicle. Thorax: anterior margin of pronotum slightly produced medially; pronotal disc with punctures fine and sparse; posterior corners rounded; hypomere with short bristles; mesepisternum, sides of metaventrite and metacoxae with bristles; disc of metaventrite with abundant spine-like bristles; distance between mesocoxae and metacoxae twice the metacoxa length; scutellum ogival, smooth. Elytra: shiny or semiopaque, inconspicuous bristles throughout the elytron, a row of short bristles on the fourth ridge; elytral suture and elytron unicolored, slightly elevated; all four elytral ridges barely noticeable. Legs: procoxa with bristles, weakly scaly and punctate; protibia with three teeth equal in size; distance between basal and middle teeth longer than the distance between middle and apical teeth; mesofemur with thick, erect bristles along the inferior margin; mesotibia quadrate in cross section, mesotibial surface smooth; mesotibia with two transverse carinae present posteriorly; metafemur with thick, erect bristles along the inferior margin; males with inner margin of metatibia weakly carinate towards apex; surface finely sculptured, almost smooth; metatibia with two transverse carinae present posteriorly; males with metatibial apical spurs of different lengths and shape, the longer spur equal to the diameter of the tibial apex, the shorter spur wider and projected laterally; metatarsomere I shorter and equal in width to tarsomere II; protarsomeres and mesotarsomeres I–IV enlarged, protarsomere II very wide; protarsomeres less than twice wider than the mesotarsomeres; claw bifid, symmetrical, superior tooth of claw longer and wider than the inferior tooth; distance between teeth longer to the length of inferior tooth. Abdomen: ventrites with erect bristles at the disc, more abundant on ventrites II and III; propygidium with few bristles; pygidium flat; subtrapezoidal; pygidial width not exceeding distance between spiracles of propygidium; pygidial disc smooth, inconspicuous bristles throughout, a few longer bristles towards the apex; pygidial apex subquadrate. Parameres: basal region slightly wider than both sections of the parameres at its maximum width, parameral split at 2/3 the length of the basal region; inner margins concave; three times the length of the apex; apex lanceolate, outer margins weakly expanded in a plane below at the base; parameres in lateral view convex, coplanar ( Fig. 2G ).

Type locality. ARGENTINA. 20 km N La Rioja [near El Cantadero, 29°14’28.9’’S 66°51’20.3’’W] .

Geographical distribution. ARGENTINA (La Rioja, San Juan, Buenos Aires, Mendoza, San Luis, Río Negro, Chubut) .

Remarks. Liogenys calcarata resembles L. flaveola in the body color, size, and in the shape of tibiae and pygidium. Liogenys calcarata differs from L. flaveola (in parenthesis) in the clypeal emargination deep (shallow); pronotal punctures finer; pygidial disc with bristles (glabrous); males with metatibial spurs uneven, the shorter spur wider and asymmetrically projected (truncate but not projected). The parameres of both species have apex lanceolate, in L. calcarata the outer margins are expanded in a plane below (in one plane). This species also resembles L. kuntzeni in the shape of the apex lanceolate, and at its base the outer margin is also expanded in a plane below. In the case of L. calcarata , the expanded portion at the base of the apex is very narrow.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Liogenys calcarata Frey, 1970, male holotype views: A) dorsal, B) clypeus and pronotum, C) pygidium, D) lateral, E) metatibia, black arrow indicating short, modified spur, and parameres views: F) dorsal, G) lateral.

FIGURE 13. Liogenys maxillaricuspis Cherman, new species: A) head in ventral view, C) labium, G) right maxilla; L. brachyclypeata Cherman, new species: B) head in ventral view, D) labium; L. calcarata Frey, 1970: E) left maxilla; L. xanthocera Harold, 1869: F) right maxilla. Legends: A, B) CLP: clypeus, LBM: labium, LBR: labrum, MXL: maxilla, MXLP: maxillary palp. C, D) LGL: ligula, LPLP: labial palp, MTM: mentum, PMTM: postmentum.

FIGURE 14. Geographical distribution of known Liogenys species occurring in the STZ and its boundaries: A) general, B, C, D) detail. Image legend: shaped points: already known species; colors: provinces of Neotropical, South American Transition Zone (STZ), and Andean regions.