Golofa limogesi Ratcliffe and Le Tirant, 2017

Ratcliffe, Brett C. & Tirant, Stephane Le, 2017, A New Species of Golofa Hope, 1837 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae) from Peru, The Coleopterists Bulletin 71 (4), pp. 781-785 : 782-785

Golofa limogesi Ratcliffe and Le Tirant , new species

( Figs. 1–4 , 6 )

Type Material. Holotype male, allotype female, seven male paratypes, 10 female paratypes all with same data, labeled “ PERU: Piura / Ayabaca , 3000 mts, / 1-5.III.2015 / Local collector” and with our red holotype, red allotype, and yellow paratype labels, respectively . Holotype and allotype deposited at the University of Nebraska State Museum (Lincoln, NE, USA) and paratypes deposited in the Insectarium de Montréal ( Montréal , QC, Canada; 2), US National Museum of Natural History (Washington, DC, USA; 2), Museo de Entomolog´ıa Klaus Raven Büller ( Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina , Lima, Peru; 2), Stephane Le Tirant Collection (Terrebonne, QC, Canada; 7), and Brett C. Ratcliffe Collection (Lincoln, NE, USA; 4) .

Description. Holotype male. Length 43.5 mm; width 18.8 mm. Color of pronotum and elytra dark reddish brown with fuscous and black margins and black longitudinally along center of pronotum (including horn) ( Fig. 1 ). Head, horns, scutellum, elytral suture, pygidium, and legs black. Head: Frons densely, coarsely rugopunctate and with moderately dense, long, pale yellow setae. Frontoclypeal region with moderately long (9.3 mm), slender, strongly recurved horn with acute apex ( Fig. 3 ); basal half of horn posteriorly with sparse, moderately long setae. Clypeus tapering to narrow, emarginate apex; surface with small, dense punctures. Interocular width equals 1.8 transverse eye diameters. Antennal club subequal in length to antennomeres 2–7. Mandible with apex distinctly notched. Pronotum: Center of disc with short (4.5 mm), parallel, slightly curved horn or elongate knob ( Fig. 3 ) projecting forward and only slightly upward at about 22° from plane of pronotal disc, apex simply, bluntly rounded; anterior surface of horn with dense, moderately long, pale yellow setae, and a narrow sulcus extending from anterior base of horn to anterior margin of pronotum. Pronotal surface either side of horn finely shagreened, with moderately large, moderately dense, round and crescent-shaped punctures, punctures becoming denser along lateral margin. Base with complete marginal bead. Elytra: Surface finely shagreened, weakly shiny either side of suture and with large, moderately dense, shallow punctures; surface elsewhere dull, with small punctures in rows. Sutural stria a strongly impressed line. Propygidium: Stridulatory ridges converging towards apex. holotype; 2) Female allotype. Lateral habitus: 3) Male Pygidium: Surface on basal third with small, dense, setigerous punctures; setae long, dense, tawny. Surface on apical 2/3 glabrous, shagreened, with small, moderately dense punctures. In lateral view, basal third weakly convex, apical 2/3 nearly flat and almost “retracted” beneath apical third. Legs: Protibia tridentate, basal tooth distinctly removed from others. Basal tarsomere of protarsus shorter than next 2 tarsomeres combined. Mesotibia at apex with 2 small, sharp teeth; 2 transverse carinae at middle of tibia obsolete. Basal tarsomere of meso- and metatarsi with apex extended into small spine. Venter: Prosternal process laminate, tapering, partially obscured by long, tawny setae, apex narrowly subtruncate. Parameres: In caudal view, form asymmetrical with left paramere broadly emarginate at center on inner surface ( Fig. 5 ). Apices with long, dense, tawny setae. In lateral view, basal piece noticeably flattened on ventral surface.

Allotype Female. Length 38.5 mm; width 16.8 mm. As holotype male except in the following respects. Color of head and pronotum black ( Fig. 2 ). Head: Frons and clypeus densely, coarsely rugopunctate; frons with a patch of long, reddish brown setae on both sides of middle. Horn absent ( Fig. 4 ), but frons with low, transverse tubercle. Clypeus tapering to narrowly subtruncate apex. Interocular width equals 2.1 transverse eye diameters. Pronotum: Horn absent. Surface with large, dense (mostly confluent on apical half), deep, round punctures. Pygidium: Surface on apical 2/3 not as strongly “retracted” beneath apical third. Legs: Protibia quadridentate, all teeth subequally spaced from one another. Basal tarsomere of protarsus slightly longer than tarsomere 2. Mesotibia at apex with 2 large, sharp teeth; 2 transverse carinae at middle of tibia distinct.

Paratypes. Males (n =7). Length 37.0– 42.9 mm; width 17.3–20.0 mm. Very nearly identical with holotype except in the following respects. Body length varies slightly. Color of pronotum dark reddish brown with black as type or only on horn and a spot on lateral margin at widest point. Head: Frontoclypeal horn 4.9 mm in smallest male to 14.1 mm in largest male. Interocular width equals 1.5 transverse eye diameters. Pronotum: Horn varies in length from 2.5 mm in smallest male to 8.3 mm in largest male and varies in angle from projecting forward and only slightly upward at about 20° from plane of pronotal disc in minor male to projecting at 45° from plane of pronotal disc in major male. Pygidium: Surface on apical 2/3 not shagreened. Legs: Protibia tridentate, basal tooth only slightly removed from others. Mesotibia at apex with 1 large and 2 small, sharp teeth; 2 transverse carinae at middle of tibia distinct. Females (n = 10). Length 37.0– 42.9 mm; width 17.3–20.0 mm. The female paratypes do not differ significantly from the allotype. Two specimens have reddish brown on the basal half of the pronotum, while the remainder is black. Tubercle on the frons varies from virtually obsolete to pronounced, conical to slightly, transversely curved.

Etymology. We are pleased to name this species for René Limoges in grateful recognition of his skill and generosity in providing superb images of beetles over the years to both of us for our work.

Distribution. Golofa limogesi is, at present, known only from above the town of Ayabaca in Ayabaca Province in the Piura Region of northwestern Peru ( Fig. 6 ). Ayabaca is the highest town in the region at 2,700 m. Most, though not all, species of Golofa live at elevations higher than 1,500 m but usually less than 2,500 m. This locality is adjacent to Loja Province in Ecuador where BCR, Ronald Cave, and Aura Paucar are engaged in a biodiversity inventory of the Dynastinae of Ecuador. Accordingly, G. limogesi will be sought after in nearby southern Ecuador.

Diagnosis. Golofa limogesi males are distinctive because of the forward projecting pronotal horn or knob that is shorter than or equal to (in major males) the frontal horn, notched mandibular apex, elytra shiny next to the suture but dull elsewhere, black scutellum, and form of the parameres. The low, forward-projecting, curved pronotal horn resembles that of the South American Golofa pelagon Burmeister and the Central American Golofa obliquicornis Dechambre , but the parameres are different from those species. The parameres are nearly identical to those of the common and sympatric Golofa eacus (Drury) , but the form of the pronotal horn is different. In G. limogesi , the pronotal horn is stout, knob-like, and projects forwards in all but the most developed males where the horn projects forwards and slightly upwards ( Fig. 3 ), whereas in G. eacus the pronotal horn is slender and erect (even in minor forms) ( Fig. 7 ). Both males and females of G. limogesi may be distinguished from G. eacus by the color of the scutellum (black in G. limogesi , reddish brown in G. eacus ), and the stridulatory bands on the propygidium (converging in G. limogesi but parallel in G. eacus ).

Figures

Figs. 1–4. Golofa limogesi. Dorsal habitus: 1) Male holotype; 4) Female allotype.

Fig. 6. Golofa limogesi, distribution.

Fig. 5. Golofa limogesi, parameres, lateral and caudal views.

Fig. 7. Golofa eacus, lateral habitus.