Selenophorus dessalinesi Ball & Shpeley

Shpeley, Danny, Hunting, Wesley & Ball, George E., 2017, A taxonomic review of the Selenophori group (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Harpalini) in the West Indies, with descriptions of new species and notes about classification and biogeography, ZooKeys 690, pp. 1-195 : 42-44

Selenophorus dessalinesi Ball & Shpeley Figs 25B, 27 D–F, 29A, 30

Selenophorus dessalinesi Ball & Shpeley, 1992: 102.- Ball 1992: 85.- Lorenz 1998: 355.- Lorenz 2005: 377.- Perez-Gelabert 2008: 79.

Type material.

Complete label data for type material (holotype (MCZC), allotype and 5 paratypes) are provided in the original description.

Type locality.

Just north of Dessalines, Artibonite Department, Haiti, Hispaniola.

Diagnosis.

This species is readily separated from the other three West Indian members of the hylacis species group on a combination of: larger size and subcordate pronotum with nearly rectangular posteriolateral angles.

Descriptive notes.

Data for SBL in Table 1. Habitus as in Fig. 25B. Clypeus with anterior margin moderately concave. Labrum with anterior margin shallowly concave. Antennae and mouthparts testaceous; legs testaceous to rufo-testaceous. Dorsal surface dark brunneous to brunneo-piceous, lateral bead of pronotum paler. Ventral surface rufo-brunneous to dark brunneous. Elytra with very faint iridescence. Head and pronotum shiny, microlines not visible at 100 ×. Elytra with mesh pattern slightly transverse, sculpticells about 3 –4× wide as long. Pronotum with posteriolateral impressions punctate; posteriolateral angles rectangular. Elytral striae impunctate, except the standard setigerous punctures in striae 2, 5 and 7. Both males and females with adhesive vestiture on tarsomeres 1-4 of fore- and mid-tarsi. Tarsomere 1 of fore-tarsus of females expanded, about 2 × the width of tarsomere 2, adhesive vestiture dense, not biseriate. Tarsomere 1 of mid-tarsus of females less expanded, about 1.5 × the width of tarsomere 2, adhesive vestiture dense, not biseriate. Both males and females with four terminal setae near the posterior margin on sternum VII.

Male genitalia. Fig. 27 D–F. Apical portion of phallic median lobe moderately long, narrowly tapered, symmetrically rounded in dorsal/ventral aspect, with dorsal flange; endophallus, apicad of medial, with two rows of short, stout spines, three spines on the left and four spines on the right, without darkened microtrichial fields; without lamina; ostium anopic. Ventral surface of shaft with two rows of basad directed fine saw-toothed ridges.

Ovipositor and female reproductive tract. Fig. 29A. Gonocoxite 2 (gc2) moderately thick, falcate. Bursa copulatrix (bc) moderately short; spermatheca (sp) long, with apical portion coiled, spring-like, originating near base of common oviduct (co); markedly long spermathecal gland duct (spgd) originating well above base of spermatheca. Spermathecal gland (spg) small, bulbous, without swelling of duct basad gland.

Geographical distribution.

Fig. 30. This species is known only from the type locality in Haiti and Monte Cristi in the northwest corner of the Dominican Republic.

Chorological affinities and relationships.

Within the hylacis species group, the range of S. dessalinesi is overlapped only by the range of S. clypealis . Relationships of S. dessalinesi are not postulated beyond species group membership.

Material examined.

In addition to type material, we have seen a total of 9 specimens (8 males, 1 female). See Appendix for details.