Scaptolenus zuritai Martínez-Luque, 2022

Martínez-Luque, Erick Omar, Jones, Robert Wallace & Niño-Maldonado, Santiago, 2022, New species, notes on the biology of Scaptolenus LeConte (Coleoptera: Elateridae) and a key to the “ vagans-group ”, Zootaxa 5169 (3), pp. 267-278 : 271-276

Scaptolenus zuritai Martínez-Luque sp. nov.

( Figs. 6–10 , 12, 14, 16, 18–20 ).

LSID. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:E0A7E85D-D79F-4444-BD65-4B273C778153 .

Scaptolenus sp. : Martínez-Luque, 2014:78 -79,108, male (photographs), Mexico.

Scaptolenus sp. : Martínez-Luque et al., 2016:959-964, male (list), Mexico.

Material examined. Holotype (male) (COL-TIP-03722): MÉXICO, Jalisco, La Huerta, Estación de Biología Chamela. 6- 9.09.2012, Cols. Erick Omar Martínez Luque and Oscar Pérez Flores. (specimen deposited in CNIN-IBU- NAM) . Paratypes. Three males, MÉXICO, Jalisco, La Huerta , Estación de Biología Chamela , 6- 9.09.2012, Cols. Erick Omar Martínez Luque and Oscar Pérez Flores (specimens deposited in CNIN-IBUNAM) (COL-TIP-03723; COL-TIP-03724; COL-TIP-03725) ; one male, MÉXICO, Jalisco, Estación de Biología Chamela , 1.08.1978, Col. Gorrola (specimen deposited in CNIN-IBUNAM) (COL-TIP-03726) ; one male, MÉXICO, Jalisco, La Huerta, Biology station Chamela , 24.05- 23.06.2014, Col. Carlos Balboa Aguilar (specimen deposited in CNIN-IBUNAM) (COL-TIP-03727) ; one male, MÉXICO, Jalisco, Estación de Biología Chamela 12- 19.04.2013, Cols. Oscar Pérez Flores and Gabriela Aguilar (specimen deposited in CNIN-IBUNAM) (COL-TIP-03728) .

Locality type. MÉXICO, Jalisco, La Huerta, Estación de Biología Chamela 19°29’55.536’’N; 105°2’35.4834’’W, 116 m.

Description. Male. Holotype. Body 13.6-15.7 mm long (x̄= 14.5, n=6), 4.9-6.6 mm wide (x̄=5.5, n=6); This species has a brown, black and fuscus-ferruginous coloration. Head fuscus-piceus to black, with medium-sized setae, decumbent and with fulvus coloration. Eyes prominent and black. Antennae fuscus in base with the first antennomere with lighter fulvus-aeneous tones posteriorly, with small and moderately abundant, fulvus colored setae. Pronotum, fusco-ferruginous to light brown in color, with a dark brown to black outer margin with medium-sized setae and fulvus color, with short decumbent, thin and black setae. Legs, coxa and femur light brown to testaceous, with long setae on coxa and medium-sized, decumbent setae on femur, femur with short fuscus-piceus to black setae. Tibiae fuscus-rufous in color with fuscus to black margins with short, erect, thick marginal setae compared to thinner more decumbent setae of the mid-region, both black; tarsi of fuscus-rufous color with medium-sized, decumbent, fulvus-aeneous setae, marginal setae in the lower part of greater thickness than those present in all the tarsi, and with a fuscus-piceous color; claws ranging from fuscus-piceus to black color. Elytra, fuscus in color, with setae of medium size and thickness, generally fuscus-rufous, abundant in the external marginal portion from the base to the apex.Abdomen light brown to testaceous for all segments, and all with a margin of dusky to black, short, thin, moderately abundant setae.

Head 1.0-1.6 (x̄= 1.3, n=6) mm long, 1.1-1.4 (x̄=1.3, n=6) mm wide; punctation simple and with setae. Maxillary palps, length of the penultimate maxillary palp 0.4-0.6 (x̄=0.5, n=6) mm and length of the last maxillary palp 0.5-0.7 (x̄=0.6, n=6) mm with the last and penultimate segment almost equal in length, last segment is longer ( Fig. 18 ). Antennae closely serrate, antennomeres 4-10 with apices almost angulated ventrally; with moderate length, length of the 2 to 11 antennomeres 0.2:0.3:0.6:0.6:0.6:0.6:0.5:0.5:0.5:0.6. Pronotum 1.6X times wider that long; width of the pronotum 3.4-4.6 (x̄= 4.11, n=6); length of the pronotum 2.0-3.0 (x̄= 2.4, n=6) mm; anterior margin superficially arched, lobed at midline; lateral margins rounded, without carina, widely arched on dorsum. Moderately denser punctation than on head with more widely spaced punctures; posterior angles, moderately divergent and attenuated; posterior margin lobed, anterad of scutellum. Scutellar shield subtriangular with moderately arched anterior margin. Elytra length 10.4-11.6 (x̄= 10.7, n=6) mm; width (humeral region) 4.9-6.6 (x̄= 5.5, n=6) mm; moderately punctured, puncture diameters <0.5 mm with uniform distances between the punctation on the discal portion and apically with superficially and slightly marked striae, narrowing anteriorly and ending before apex. Abdomen with five small ventrites with truncated posterior margins, with scant punctation, each puncture with a moderately long and decumbent seta. Prosternum, length 0.7-0.9 (x̄= 0.8, n=6) mm; width of prosternum 0.8-0.9 (x̄= 0.8, n=6) mm; very short not reaching coxae, narrowing anteriorly and truncated; strongly arched between the coxae with scattered setae within shallow punctures ( Fig. 12 ). Mesoventrite and metaventrite with shallow punctures, each puncture with a long decumbent seta. Metacoxal lamina, broad medially, narrowed laterally, with the presence of two rounded projections apically and two acute projections basally, connected by an arch laterally ( Fig. 14 ). Metepimeron triangular in shape, narrowing anteriorly, connected to the metacoxa. Tibiae of prothoracic legs without border medially, with flat appearance, ectal border with an apparent carina, with a very short angular tooth at the apical, length of the ectal tooth 0.4 -0.5 (x̄= 0.4, n=6) mm. Protibial spur, length of left spur 0.7-0.9 (x̄= 0.7, n=6) mm; length of right spur 0.6-0.8 (x̄= 0.7, n=6) mm; both arched, the right spur smaller than the left; apical margin of spur slightly blunt ( Fig. 16 ). Tarsi, average length of tarsomeres 1 to 5 (2.2:1.2:0.9:0.7:1.0 mm); slender, sub-cylindrical, each ventrally with brush of short and stiff pubescence.

Male Genitalia, trilobed aedeagus; phallobase broad, slightly curved throughout length with a rectangular basal notch and a posterior internal V-shaped membranous notch. Width of median lobe equal along its width, 1.1x times longer than parameres, length of the median lobe 1.4-1.7 (x̄= 1.5, n=6) mm, apex curved ventrally. Parameres, length 1.2-1.5 (x̄= 1.3, n=6) mm, obtusely angulated and spindle-shaped; subtruncated at the apex, with a ventral and lateral preapical setal group, with small sclerotized spurs in the first third of the parameres, very close to the genital base, these spurs project towards the base and pass behind the middle lobe.

Immatures and females. Unknown.

Biological Data. The series of specimens collected in 2012 of which the Holotype and three paratypes are designated were collected with a Malaise trap during the months of September in a single location, within the Chamela Biology Station. The dominant vegetation at the collection site was secondary growth of a tropical deciduous forest ( Fig. 20 ).This station is located on the Mexican Pacific coast. Delimited to the south by the Cuixmala River and to the north by the San Mateo ejido, this site has an altitude that ranges from 0 to 500 meters above sea level (MartínezLuque, 2014). The climate is classified as warm subhumid, with an annual precipitation-mean annual temperature ratio of 32 (P/T), with rains in summer, 5.6% of winter rain and with an isothermal regime ( García, 1988). Among the most characteristic species of the station are Jatropa chamelensis, Siadodendron excelsum and Celanodendron mexicanum ( Rzedowski, 1978; Ceballos et al. 1999).

The collection period coincided with the historical observations on the biology of the genus, where the presence of this group of beetles is associated with the dates of intense monsoon rains.

Distribution. MEXICO, Jalisco ( Fig. 19 ).

Etymology. The specific epithet is a tribute to memory and recognition of the work of Martín Leonel ZuritaGarcía, an enthusiastic Mexican taxonomist, who contributed greatly to the knowledge of the Elateridae family in México.

Taxonomic comments and diagnostic characters. This new species is close to Scaptolenus paltingi Johnson, 2013 , however the shape and size of the pronotum, pro-tibiae, prosternum, metacoxae, meta-tarsomeres, tibial spurs and the length and width of antennomeres 2-11 are distinct. The male genitalia is also distinct and differs in the phallobase, in which S. zuritai sp. nov. has a V-shaped anteroventral portion ( Fig. 9 ), whereas that of S. paltingi has a rectangular notch on this portion. Another difference occurs in the width and length of the lateral lobes, as S. zuritai sp. nov. ( Fig.9, 10 ) has the lateral lobes that are smaller in length but wider than the lateral lobes of S. paltingi . Finally, another difference is that the middle lobe of the male genitalia is wider in S. paltingi compared to that of S. zuritai sp. nov.

Figures

FIGURE 19. Distribution of Scaptolenus pacofierroi sp. nov. and Scaptolenus zuritai sp. nov.

FIGURE 20. Collecting site for the species S. zuritai sp. nov. at the Chamela Biology Station in municipality of La Huerta, Jalisco, Mexico.

FIGURE 6–10. Scaptolenus zuritai sp. nov.; Figs. 6, 7, 8 dorsal, ventral and lateral view; Figs. 9, 10 ventral and dorsal view of the aedeagus. PHA: phallobase; PAR: paramerous; ML: median lobe; SG: setation group.

FIGURE 11–18. Scaptolenus pacofierroi sp. nov.; Figs. 11 prosternum, 13 metacoxal lamina, 15 prothoracic tibiae, 17 maxillary palp. Scaptolenus zuritai sp. nov.; Figs. 12 prosternum, 14 metacoxal lamina, 16 prothoracic tibiae, 18 maxillary palp.