Lycoperdinella Champion

Arriaga-Varela, Emmanuel, Tomaszewska, Wioletta, Huo, Lizhi & Seidel, Matthias, 2018, On Neotropical Merophysiinae with descriptions of a new genus and new species (Coleoptera, Endomychidae), ZooKeys 736, pp. 1-41 : 3-4

Lycoperdinella Champion Figs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 21

Lycoperdinella Champion, 1913: 114. Type species: Lycoperdinella subcaeca Champion, 1913 (by monotypy). - Shockley et al. 2009a: 69; Robertson et al. 2015: 766.

Diagnosis.

Lycoperdinella can be distinguished from other Neotropical Merophysiinae by the following combination of characters: antenna 10-segmented with 1-segmented club (Fig. 1g); antennal grooves on head absent or indistinct (Figs 5a, 6a); pronotum with lateral margins narrowly bordered and distinctly crenulate (Figs 5b, e, 6c); metaventrite without postcoxal lines (Fig. 1f); abdominal ventrite 1 without postcoxal lines (Figs 1j, 2d). Lycoperdinella is most similar to Rueckeria gen. n. and Holoparamecus but from Rueckeria it can be differentiated by the lateral margins of the pronotum being coarsely crenulate (at most weakly crenulate in Rueckeria ), elytron with anterolateral corner with a hooked tooth (Figs 1g, 5e, 6d) (anterolateral corners of elytra simple in Rueckeria ), postcoxal lines absent on abdominal ventrite 1 (postcoxal lines present in Rueckeria ), shorter and stouter antennae (Fig. 1e), the body covered with much longer, suberect setae (Fig. 6d) (short setae in Rueckeria ) and the hind wings present in one of two species. From Holoparamecus , Lycoperdinella can be separated by having lateral margins of the pronotum bordered (smooth in Holoparamecus ), pronotum narrowest near base (Figs 5b, 6c) but not distinctly constricted basally as in Holoparamecus , antenna with 1-segmented club (2-segmented club present in Holoparamecus ).

Redescription.

Length 1.3-1.4 mm. Body elongate, approx. 2.2 times longer than wide, weakly convex, approx. 3.3 times as long as high; shiny, smooth, covered with sparse and long pale setae. Color light brown.

Head (Figs 1e, 5a, 6a, b) deeply retracted in prothorax, slightly wider than long; sparsely and moderately densely punctate. Gular sutures subparallel, widely separated. Eyes very small, oval, coarsely faceted, composed of six or 36 facets (as based on the studied specimens). Antennal sockets concealed by sides of frons, not visible from above; antennal grooves absent. Antenna comparatively short (Figs 1e, 5c), almost reaching base of pronotum, composed of ten antennomeres with club formed by terminal antennomere which is large, inflated, subtriangular, truncate apically. Frontoclypeal suture weakly arcuate (Fig. 6a). Clypeus transverse, flat, convergent anteriorly. Labrum (Fig. 1a) subquadrate, with rounded anterolateral corners, truncate apically, with submembranous apex, punctate, covered with sparse, long setae; tormae with mesal arms recurved posteriorly; labral rods absent. Mandible (Fig. 1c) with two apical teeth, and with four smaller subapical teeth getting subsequently smaller posteriorly; prostheca covered with digitiform setae on anterior third getting thinner and shorter toward posterior 2/3; mola large, sclerotized; submola small, membranous. Maxilla (Fig. 1b) with palpomere 1 and 3 very short; palpomere 2 large and swollen, almost twice as long as palpomere 3; terminal palpomere approx. 1.5 times as long as 2 and 3 palpomeres combined, narrow, tapering, apex obliquely truncate to weakly rounded; galea moderately broad, twice as broad as lacinia, with long, broad, apical spine-like setae; lacinia elongate, with spine-like setae on apical half. Labium (Fig. 1d) with palpomere 1 very small; palpomere 2 largest, oval, inflated; terminal palpomere transverse, truncate at apex. Mentum subquadrate, with produced anterior angles; finely punctate, glabrous. Prementum subquadrate, sclerotized, with apically expanded membranous ligula. Tentorium (Fig. 1e) with anterior arms fused medially and widely divergent anteriorly; corpotentorium absent.

Prothorax. Pronotum (Figs 5b, e, 6c) weakly transverse, widest at anterior 1/4 to 1/3 then roundly narrowing basally; pronotal surface finely and sparsely punctate; lateral edges moderately widely bordered, strongly crenulate; anterior margin curved with slightly projected, rounded angles; posterior angles almost right-angled. Pronotal disc weakly convex. Pronotal base with an impression composed of two longitudinal sharply defined sulci, slightly convergent anteriorly, almost reaching apical fourth, and a pair of deep transverse linear depressions/sulci. Anterior transverse sulcus flanked by one small deep fovea on each side; area between transverse sulci convex; basal sulcus not reaching lateral sulci, with or without large foveate punctures. Prosternal process (Figs 5f, 6e) broad, approx. as wide as coxal diameter, with raised margins; extending posteriorly beyond front coxae. Procoxa circular in outline, its cavity externally open behind, internally closed; trochantin concealed (Figs 5f, 6e).

Meso- and metathorax. Mesonotum sclerotized; scutellar shield small, strongly transverse, widely rounded apically, partially covered by base of pronotum. Mesoventrite (Fig. 1f) carinate at middle; intercoxal process moderately elongate, rather broadly separates mesocoxae (slightly narrower or slightly wider than coxal diameter) reaching half of their length. Mesoventrite (Figs 1f, 5f, 6e) fused with mesanepisternum (trace of suture visible). Mesocoxa weakly oval in outline, its cavity narrowly closed outwardly by sterna; trochantin concealed. Meso-metaventral junction of straight-line type, without internal knobs. Elytron (Figs 4a, c, 6d) elongate, convex, irregularly and moderately finely punctate, with a hooked tooth on anterolateral corner, epipleuron narrow, incomplete at apex. Sutural stria sharply defined, complete, widest at mid length, then weakly converging towards elytral apex. Metaventrite (Fig. 1f) transverse, twice as long as mesoventrite, weakly convex; with postcoxal longitudinal ridges nearly reaching anterior 2/5; anterior margin rather thick; discrimen very short. Metanotum (Fig. 1h) sclerotized. Metacoxae transversely oval, widely separated. Metendosternite with very short stalk and moderately widely separated anterior tendons. Hind wings absent or present and well developed, longer than elytra, with anal, medial and radial fields elongate and narrow, apical field enlarged; margins surrounded with long hairs.

Legs. Trochanter moderately elongate (Fig. 1i); trochantero-femoral attachment oblique. Femur widest near middle of its length, more than twice as wide as tibia, sparsely setose; tibia and tarsus covered with long, dense setae. Tibia narrow, straight or slightly bent inwards, continuously weakly widened distally or with abruptly wider part at distal third, without apical spurs. Tarsal formula 3-3-3 in both sexes (Fig. 5d): tarsomere 1 approx. 1.5 times longer than 2; tarsomere 3 slightly longer than remaining tarsomeres combined. Claws simple. Empodium very small.

Abdomen (Figs 1j, 5g, 6f) with five freely articulated ventrites; ventrite 1 slightly longer than three following ventrites together, without postcoxal lines; ventrites 2-4 almost equal in length; ventrite 5 long, acuminate, nearly as long as ventrites 3-4 together.

Male not known.

Female genitalia (Figs 2e, 3d, e). Ovipositor weakly sclerotized, with coxites elongate; styli vestigial, placed apically. Spermatheca moderately large, submembranous, more or less distinctly two-chambered with at least one chamber rounded; sperm duct moderately long, slender; accessory gland small membranous, elongate or oval.

Distribution.

Central and South America: Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala (Fig. 21).