Cryptognatha shelia González and Hanley, 2019

F, Guillermo González, Hanley, Guy A. & Gordon, Robert D., 2019, South American Coccinellidae (Coleoptera), Part XIX: Overview of Cryptognathini and systematic revision of South American Cryptognatha Mulsant, Insecta Mundi 714 (714), pp. 1-32 : 16

15. Cryptognatha shelia González and Hanley , new species

Description. Male holotype. Length 2.6 mm, width 1.5 mm. Dorsal surface slightly dull, with distinct microsculpture. Color dark brown; head yellow; pronotum with narrow anterior border, lateral 1/4 yellow ( Fig. 82 ); venter entirely yellow. Head without punctures; pronotal punctures small, separated by a diameter or less; elytral punctures slightly larger than on pronotum, separated by a diameter or less, becoming gradually larger toward lateral margin; prosternal punctures large, indistinct, mesosternal punctures large, separated by less than a diameter, nearly contiguous, metasternal punctures large, separated by two or three times a diameter medially, absent in lateral 1/3; basal abdominal ventrite with coarse punctures separated by about a diameter medially, lateral 1/3 of ventrite lacking punctation, ventrites 2–4 finely punctured, punctures separated by about a diameter, ventrite 5 with dense, fine punctation. Head with frons parallel-sided, medially depressed, three times as wide as eye, apex truncate medially, lateral 1/8 slightly retracted, angle acute ( Fig. 83 ); eye canthus long, about 3/4 width of eye. Prosternum with lateral carina on each side extended from apex of intercoxal process 1/2 distance to apex of prosternum, curved laterally. Epipleuron strongly descending externally. Postcoxal line on basal abdominal ventrite evenly curved, extended 3/4 distance to rear margin of ventrite. Genitalia elongate, penis guide about as long as paramere, oval, sides parallel in basal 3/4, curved to rounded apex in anterior 1/4; paramere long, slender, narrow in basal 1/3, widened to rounded apex in apical 2/3 ( Fig. 84, 85 ); penis lost.

Female. Similar to male except head brown, pronotum brown with anterior 1/4 yellowish brown; genitalia lost.

Variation. Length 2.6 to 2.7 mm, meso- and metasternum vary from yellow to dark brown.

Type material. Holotype male; Bahia Brazil. ( USNM) . Paratypes, 2, same data as holotype except 1 paratype with additional label “ Cryptognatha pudibunda Muls. ” Ch’28. ( USNM ).

Remarks. Cryptognatha shelia differs from similar black or dark brown species by a slightly larger size, the male pronotum with a yellow anterior border, and distinctive male genitalia.

Figures

Figures 73–85. Cryptognatha spp. 73–76) Cryptognatha flaviceps. 73) Habitus. 74) Frons. 75) Phallobase ventral. 76) Phallobase lateral. 77–81) Cryptognatha weisei. 77) Habitus. 78) Frons. 79) Phallobase ventral. 80) Phallobase lateral. 81) Penis. 82–85) Cryptognatha shelia. 82) Habitus. 83) Frons. 84) Phallobase ventral. 85) Phallobase lateral.