Baconia viridimicans (Schmidt, 1893)

Caterino, Michael S. & Tishechkin, Alexey K., 2013, A systematic revision of Baconia Lewis (Coleoptera, Histeridae, Exosternini), ZooKeys 343, pp. 1-297 : 255-257

Baconia viridimicans (Schmidt, 1893) Figs 77 F–G 79

Phelister viridimicans Schmidt, 1893b: 83; Baconia viridimicans : Mazur 1984: 281.

Type locality.

BRAZIL [exact locality unknown].

Type material.

Lectotype male, here designated (ZMHB): “Brasil” / "viridimicans Schm." / “viridimicans” / “Type” / "coll. J.Schmidt" / "Phelister viridimicans Schmidt, 1893, ex. Coll. Schmidt-Bickhardt" / "Caterino/Tishechkin Exosternini Voucher EXO-00423" / "LECTOTYPE Phelister viridimicans Schmidt, M.S.Caterino & A.K.Tishechkin des. 2010". This species was described from an unspecified number of specimens, and the lectotype designation fixes primary type status on the only known original specimen.

Diagnostic description.

Length: 2.2mm, width: 1.7mm; body rather narrowly elongate oval, subparallel-sided, only weakly depressed, glabrous; head and pronotum metallic greenish-blue, elytra slightly contrasting metallic blue, pygidia and venter rufobrunneus; frons rather strongly convex over antennal bases, shallowly depressed along midline, ground punctation rather conspicuous, especially on epistoma, with few secondary punctures within frontal depression, frontal stria present along inner margin of eye, absent across middle; epistoma convex in apical half; labrum about 3 ×wider than long, apical margin straight; both mandibles with acute basal tooth; antennal scape short, apex obliquely truncate, club small, nearly circular; pronotal sides subparallel in basal half, arcuate to apex, disk not depressed in anterior corners, marginal stria complete along lateral and anterior margins, slightly crenulate in front, lateral submarginal stria absent, ground punctation of pronotal disk fine, with conspicuous secondary punctures in lateral thirds, slightly denser toward sides; elytra with two complete epipleural striae, outer subhumeral stria absent, inner subhumeral stria present in basal fourth, dorsal striae -4 complete, 4th stria slightly abbreviated from apex, 5th stria present as short fragment behind middle, sutural stria present in apical half, elytral disk with few coarse punctures in apical fifth; prosternal keel narrow, convex, basal margin truncate, carinal striae complete, united along basal margin, weakly divergent anterad; prosternal lobe about one-half keel length, broadly rounded, marginal stria obsolete at sides; mesoventrite weakly sinuate, marginal stria complete, mesometaventral stria arched forward, weakly crenulate, continued by sinuate lateral metaventral stria posterolaterad toward outer third of metacoxa, more or less complete, outer lateral metaventral stria represented by only fine basal fragment, metaventral disk impunctate at middle; abdominal ventrite 1 with inner lateral stria complete, outer stria present only behind metacoxa, middle portion of disk impunctate; protibia 4-5 dentate, basal denticles weak, outer margin finely serrulate between teeth; mesotibia with two distinct marginal spines and few weak submarginal spines toward base; outer metatibial margin smooth; propygidium without basal stria, propygidium and pygidium almost uniformly covered with small, ocellate punctures separated by slightly less than their diameters, only slightly smaller toward pygidial apex; propygidial gland openings evident midway from anterior margin and almost one-third from lateral margins. Male genitalia (Fig. 79): T8 short, broad, sides rounded, basal emargination very shallow, basal rim well sclerotized, ventrolateral apodemes reaching distad midpoint beneath, widely separated; S8 halves approximate near bases, inner margins diverging apically, sides weakly divergent, apical guides well developed toward apex; T9 with proximal apodemes thin, about one-half total length, dorsal lobes separated, narrow, apices narrowly subacute, ventrolateral apodemes well developed, narrowly, bluntly rounded beneath; S9 stem desclerotized along midline, sides weakly widened to base, apical arms divergent, curving to apices, apical emargination deep; tegmen sides subparallel in basal two-thirds, narrowed to apex, weakly curving ventrad in apical fourth; median lobe simple, one-fourth tegmen length; basal piece one-fourth tegmen length.

Remarks.

Baconia viridimicans is recognizeable by its narrowly elongate body form (Fig. 77F), swollen frontal sides and epistoma, nearly complete elytral striation, and almost uniformly punctate pygidia (Fig. 77G). The species is only known from the type specimen. It is possible that this species belongs near or within the Baconia famelica group, and it has similarities to Baconia cavifrons in particular, especially the short, nearly spherical antennal club. Male genitalia are similar in the two, but they are very generalized and not particularly informative.