Parapucaya amazonica Prell, 1934

Paucar-Cabrera, Aura & Moore, Matthew Robert, 2018, New tribal placement and review of Parapucaya Prell and Pucaya Ohaus (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Dynastinae), ZooKeys 805, pp. 127-158 : 141-142

Parapucaya amazonica Prell, 1934 Figs 31, 32

Parapucaya amazonica Prell, 1934: 162 (original combination).

Redescription.

Length 13.0-16.3 mm; width 6.3-8.0 mm. Head: Frons with sparse, small punctures, mostly on sides. Frontoclypeal suture complete, sinuate, deeply impressed. Clypeus sparsely, minutely punctate. Interocular width equals 2.7-3.0 transverse eye diameters. Antennal club subequal in length to antennomeres 2-7. Pronotum: Surface sparsely punctate; punctures minute on disc, small on sides. Two minute tubercles present just behind apex either side of midline, tubercles often reduced to a subapical declivity. Elytra: Surface with rows of small to moderate, ocellate punctures. Pygidium: Surface with disc sparsely punctate, punctures small. Base and lateral angles with moderately dense punctures; punctures small to moderate in size, base with transverse row of small setae appressed to surface (hence, difficult to see). In lateral view, surface strongly convex in males, weakly convex in females. Legs: Protibia strongly tridentate, basal tooth removed from other two teeth. Protarsus in males enlarged, larger claw strongly curved and incised at apex; females with protarsus simple. Metatibia with 7-8 short, thick spinules. Venter: Prosternal process moderate in length; apex transversely oval, with anterior 1/3-1/2 convex, posterior 2/3-1/2 flat. Parameres: Fig. 32.

Distribution.

Parapucaya amazonica is found from Costa Rica to Peru and Brazil ( Endrődi 1969, 1985; Ratcliffe 2003). In Ecuador, it is widely distributed and has been recorded in thirteen provinces: Bolívar, Carchi, Cotopaxi, Esmeraldas, Loja, Los Ríos, Manabí, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Pichincha, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, and Sucumbíos.

Diagnosis.

Parapucaya amazonica is invariably mistaken for species of Cyclocephala because of its similar appearance. The subapical declivity of the pronotum (or two tubercles in well-developed specimens), in combination with the raised basal margins of the clypeus and the raised clypeal surface along the frontoclypeal suture, will distinguish this genus from Cyclocephala species.

Parapucaya amazonica and P. nodicollis can be separated from each other by the shape of the mentum (concave from disc to apex in P. amazonica , evenly convex in P. nodicollis ), the pronotal tubercles (subtle in P. amazonica , conspicuous in P. nodicollis ), the presence or absence of pygidial setae (base and lateral angles of pygidium setose in P. amazonica , glabrous in P. nodicollis ); size (in general, P. amazonica is larger and stouter than P. nodicollis , although some individuals overlap); and their parameres (Fig. 32).

Natural history.

In Ecuador, P. amazonica occurs at elevations ranging from sea level to 2,450 m in the coastal, Andean, and Amazon regions. Based on label data, adults can be collected throughout the year but in higher numbers in February and December. Nothing is known of the immature stages of this species.