Passalus (Passalus) interstitialis Eschscholtz, 1929

Jiménez-Ferbans, Larry, Reyes-Castillo, Pedro & Schuster, Jack C., 2015, Passalidae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) of the Greater and Lesser Antilles, Zootaxa 3956 (4), pp. 491-512 : 495-496

Passalus (Passalus) interstitialis Eschscholtz, 1929

( Fig. 5 )

Type locality. Rio Janeiro, Brazil.

Diagnosis. 29.0–34.0 mm total length. Clypeus hidden below frons, not visible dorsally, with anterior angles developed. Frons border with two secondary mediofrontal teeth separated by the same distance separating the secondary mediofrontal tooth from its respective mediofrontal tooth. Frontal fossae glabrous. Medio-frontal tubercles small, basolaterally with large interior tubercles. Central tubercle of MFS with apex not free, basolateral tubercles marked. Antennal club tetralamellate. Apex of lacinia bidentate. Mentum with medial base swollen and glabrous. Prosternal process rhomboidal, truncate. Mesosternum glabrous with scars marked and elongate. Anterolateral mesosternum and lateral groove pubescent, disc delimited by punctures excluding apex. Humeri pubescent, epipleura pubescent in two basal third.

Material examined. 26 specimens. CUBA: Prov. Artemisa, Municipio San Cristóbal, Sierra del Rosario, Finca El Cuabalito, 25.II.2012, col. E. Pardi (2 IEXA). GRENADA: Par. St. Andrew, Pearls Airport, 7.vi.1990, M.C. Thomas/ Under bark of hog plum log (2 UVGC). JAMAICA: Bath, 12.VIII.1967, leg. W. Klopp, Passalus (Passalus) interstitialis Esch. Det. : Jiménez-Ferbans 2015 (1 FMNH); same data, 14.VIII.1967 (1 FMNH); same data, 22.VIII.1967 (1 FMNH). Nr. Ewarton. Polyground, E.A. Woodruff Collection, coll. Davenport (3 IEXA); Mandeville, Manchester Par., on doorstep in morning at Howard Franks house, 24.VI.1970, col. P. Drummond (1 IEXA); Mandeville, Collected at light, 20.V.1958, MW Sanderson, Passalus (Passalus) interstitialis Esch. Det. : Jiménez-Ferbans 2012 (1 IEXA); Morant Bay, 28.X.73, Laniz? (1 IEXA); Norant Bay, 28.X.73, Comb., (1 IEXA); 5 mi W Port Antonio, Under Bark, 8.XII.1975, col. C.W. O'Brien (6 IEXA); Portland Parish, 8 miles N on rd. from Ecclesdown. 3.16.1969, coll. Peter Drummond (1 IEXA). TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Trinidad: Arima Valley, 800- 1200 ft., 5–15.II.1965, J.G. Rozen collector (1 IEXA); same locality as before, 22.II.1964, coll. Rozen & Wygodzinsky (1 IEXA); N. Range, Arima-Blanchisseuse Rd., Textel, nr. Morne Bleu 2300, 7.5.1985. C.W. & L.B. O’Brien, Passalus (Passalus) interstitialis Esch. Det. : Jiménez-Ferbans 2012 (3 UVGC).

Distribution. From Mexico to Argentina ( Hincks and Dibb 1935, Reyes-Castillo 1973) and Cuba, Grenada, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago ( Arrow 1907, Reyes-Castillo 1973, Ivie & Gillogly 1998, Peck et al. 2002).

Comments. Sometimes confused with P. punctiger , P. interstitialis differs by its smaller size, flattened body, and apex of central tubercle not free. Specimens from Jamaica are larger than the maximum size of 29 mm reported Reyes-Castillo (1973) for French Guiana specimens. Morffe et al. (2009) and Morffe & García (2010, 2011) described new species and a new genus of Hystrignathidae (Nematoda) parasite from P. interstitialis .

Figures

FIGURES 5 – 8. Head and pronotum, dorsal view. 5. Passalus interstitialis. 6. P. trinesides. 7. P. punctiger. 8. P. unicornis. Scale bars: 1 mm.