Phelister amazoniae (Lewis, 1898) Caterino & Tishechkin, 2020

Caterino, Michael S. & Tishechkin, Alexey K., 2020, Recognition and revision of the Phelister blairi group (Histeridae, Histerinae, Exosternini), ZooKeys 1001, pp. 1-154 : 1

35. Phelister amazoniae (Lewis, 1898) comb. nov. Figs 21C, D , 22A-F , Map 13

Discoscelis amazoniae Lewis, 1898: 176.

Reninus amazoniae ; Mazur, 1984: 312; 2011: 129.

Brachylister amazoniae ; Bickhardt, 1917: 234.

Type material.

Lectotype, sex uncertain, hereby designated: “Santarem” / "H.H. Smith 1898" / " Discoscelis amazoniae Type. Lewis" / "G.Lewis Coll. B.M.1926-369." / “Type” (NHMUK).

Other material.

Brazil: Mato Grosso, Mpio. Cotriguaçu, Fazenda São Nicolau, Mata Norte (-9.8192, -58.26), 12/8/10-12/14/10, FIT, F.Z. Vaz-de-Mello (CEMT, 28ex.); Mato Grosso, Mpio. Cotriguaçu, Fazenda São Nicolau, Matinha (-9.8383, -58.2508), October, 2009, FIT, M.S. Gigliotti (CEMT, 5ex.); Peru: Cusco, La Convencion, Echarate, CN Timpia (-12.0621, -72.8516) (MUSM, 1ex.); Madre de Dios, Rio Los Amigos, CICRA (-12.5709, -70.1018), 25-150 m, 11/24/06-11/26/06, FIT, A. Asenjo (MUSM Lima, 3ex.); Madre de Dios, Rio Los Amigos, CICRA (-12.5521, -70.1096), 6/9/11-6/11/11, FIT, C. Chaboo (SEMC, 2ex.); Madre de Dios, Rio Los Amigos, CICRA (-12.5526, -70.1101), 6/9/11-6/11/11, FIT, C. Chaboo (SEMC, 2ex.); Madre de Dios, Rio Los Amigos, CICRA (-12.5524, -70.1099), 6/11/11-6/13/11, FIT, C. Chaboo (SEMC, 2ex.); Madre de Dios, Los Amigos Field Station, 12.5624°S, 70.0930°W, 288 m, terra firme forest, pitfall trap, 2-11.i.2007, J. Jacobs (CASC, 5ex.).

Diagnostic description.

Length: 2.72-3.11 mm (avg. 2.95 mm); width: 2.40-2.64 mm (avg. 2.56 mm). Body large, elongate, with sides subparallel, strongly convex, dark rufescent to castaneous; most surfaces densely punctate; head with frons depressed along midline, strongly produced above antennal bases, densely punctate, punctures interconnected by fine reticulations; supraorbital stria present, but disconnected from frontal at sides; frontal stria complete along sides, weakly continued above epistoma, may be finely interrupted at middle, also continued anterad by lateral marginal epistomal striae; epistoma constricted at base, swollen along anterior margin, labrum short, apically emarginate; mandibles with incisor edges rather short, without marginal teeth; pronotum broad, densely punctate, most punctures uniform in size, disk explanate along sides; prescutellar impression smaller than scutellum, weakly defined; median pronotal gland openings distinctly annulate, located ~ 2/3 from anterior margin; lateral submarginal stria complete, deeply impressed; lateral marginal stria complete and continuous with anterior marginal; elytral subhumeral striae and all dorsal striae complete, outer striae deeply impressed and carinate, 4th stria arched to sutural stria; punctures of elytral disk distinctly interconnected by fine reticulations; propygidium large, midline length equal to that of pygidium, with two sizes of punctures (small and smaller) intermingled, intervening surface finely microsculptured; pygidium with deep, complete marginal stria, punctation finer and denser than that of pygidium; prosternal keel deeply emarginate at base, narrowed, with median striae complete, subparallel, connected anteriorly; prosternal lobe short, rounded, with complete marginal stria; mesoventrite rather narrow, with strong median projection; marginal mesoventral stria may be weakly interrupted at middle, continued by postmesocoxal stria to outer 1/4 of metaventrite; mesometaventral stria angulate at middle to midpoint of mesoventrite, continued by lateral metaventral stria to middle of metacoxa, then by recurrent stria anterad to middle of metepisternum; 1st abdominal ventrite with broadly depressed, complete lateral stria along inner edge of metacoxa; all femora and tibiae broadly expanded; protibia with rounded inner and outer edges, with four or five marginal spines, spurs present, small; meso- and metafemora with posterior margin strongly produced; meso- and metatibiae broad and flat, with weak marginal spines; tarsi stout, compressed, together little longer than the tibiae are broad. Male: basal piece just> 1/3 length of tegmen; tegmen with sides subparallel to slightly widened in basal 1/2, abruptly narrowed to ventrally hooked apices; medioventral process absent; median lobe simple, ~ 1/3 tegmen length.

Remarks.

Although this species was described from Pará state, Brazil, all recent material we have seen is from much further south and west, from Mato Grosso to Amazonian Peru. Nonetheless, the distinctive characters are clearly shared with the type specimen.

This species is very similar and closely related to the following one, but the presence of a pygidial stria in the present species will consistently distinguish them. In most specimens of P. amazoniae , the pronotal punctation is simple, comprising consistent-sized punctures, and the elytral punctures are joined by a very fine network of reticulations. Specimens of P. amazoniae from Peru (Madre de Dios, La Convencion) tend to have a doubly punctate pronotum, like P. arcuatus , as well as non-reticulate elytral punctation, but based largely on their possessing a marginal pygidial stria we retain these here. These two species are also very similar to another new species ( P. dilatatus , #23 above), which also shares the large convex, generally punctate body, as well as broadly expanded tibiae. However, remarkably, this appears to be convergence, as the male genitalia are quite different. Phelister dilatatus is also easily distinguished by the non-explanate pronotum and distinctly toothed (not externally rounded) protibia.

This species has previously been assigned to a genus of Haeteriinae . However, it clearly lacks critical characters of that subfamily (fused labrum, pyramidal antennal scape, sclerotized sides of antennal club, lack of tibial spurs), and is only superficially similar to members of Reninus Lewis. Among other characters, its male genitalia clearly ally it to this subgroup of the Phelister blairi group.

Distribution.

Known from Pará and Mato Grosso states in Brazil, and Madre de Dios and La Convencion, Peru.

Figures

Map 13. Collecting records for Phelister amazoniae (white circles), P. arcuatus (black squares), and P. praecisus (stars).

Figure 21. A, B Phelister notandus: A dorsal habitus B ventral habitus C, D Phelister amazoniae: C dorsal habitus D ventral habitus E-H P. arcuatus: E dorsal habitus F ventral habitus G mesothoracic leg H posterior view showing carinate elytral striae.

Figure 22. Male genitalia A-F Phelister amazoniae: A tergite 8 B sternite 8 C tergites 9 & 10 D sternite 9 E aedeagus, dorsal F aedeagus, lateral G, H P. arcuatus (outlines only, to contrast with E and F): G aedeagus, dorsal H tegmen, lateral.