Platynectes (Platynectes) garciai, Gustafson, Short & Miller, 2016

Short, Andrew Edward Z., Benetti, Cesar J. & Gustafson, Grey T., 2020, New records of Platynectes (s. str.) diving beetles from South America with description of two new species (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae: Agabinae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 60 (2), pp. 437-447 : 443

Platynectes (Platynectes) garciai Gustafson, Short & Miller, ΝΖ1C

New material examined (23 exs). BRAZIL: PΑ Rá: Vale do Paraíso, ca. 55 km N.Alenquer, -1.49292, -54.51566, 150 m, 3.ii.2018, leg. Short & Benetti, pool with rock sand detritus, BR 18-0203-01E (11 exs, INPA, SEMC, including DNA voucher SLE1592); same data but isolated detrital pool, BR 18-0203-01F (1 ex., SEMC). Rο RΑΙΜΑ: Amajari County, 3 47.334’N, 61 42.570’W, Serra do Tepequém, 14.i.2018, leg. A. Short, C. Benetti, & L. Santana, small forested stream, BR 18-0114-02A (6 exs, INPA, SEMC, DNA voucher SLE1590); Caracaraí County, Serra da Mocidade, igarapé (stream), 1.60275 N 061.900044 W, 17.i.2016, leg. K.D. Silva (1 ex., INPA). GUYANA: GY14-0316-01A (1 ex., SEMC, DNA voucher SLE 1594). SURINAME: SΙΡΑLΙWΙΝΙ DΙ SΤRΙCΤ: Sipaliwini Savannah Nature Reserve, Four Brothers Mountains, 2 00.342′N, 55 58.149′W, 337 m, 31.iii.2017, leg.A.E.Z. Short, sandy bottom stream with emergent vegetation at night, SR17-0331-01F (3 exs, SEMC, including DNA voucher SLE1245).

Distribution. Described from a cluster of closely situated localities in southeastern Venezuela and western Guyana, we here extend the distribution south to the Amazon River ( Fig. 12 ). We found one specimen on the summit of the Serra do Tepequem, a low Tepui formation in northern Brazil near the border with Venezuela; this locality is very close to its existing distribution. We were surprised, however, when we found specimens on an inselberg in the Sipaliwini Savannah along the southern border of Suriname, and even more surprised when we encountered it near in a rocky stream in the foothills to the Amazon River in Pará State, Brazil.

Remarks. Despite the large range from La Escalera region of Venezuela to the Amazon River, COI sequences for populations from Brazil, Guyana, Venezuela and Suriname are nearly identical ( Fig. 1 ).

Figures

Figs 12–16. Distribution of Platynectes ‘Clade II’ sensu TƟUඌඌΑιΝτ et al. (2017) in South America. Circles represent previously published localities; stars represent localities newly reported in this paper.

Fig. 1. Maximum Likelihood phylogeny of sequenced Platynectes (s. str.) specimens based on the gene COI.