Operclipygus iheringi (Bickhardt, 1917)

Caterino, Michael S. & Tishechkin, Alexey K., 2013, A systematic revision of Operclipygus Marseul (Coleoptera, Histeridae, Exosternini), ZooKeys 271, pp. 1-401 : 367-368

Operclipygus iheringi (Bickhardt, 1917) Figs 103 A–B104A–EMap 34

Phelister iheringi Bickhardt, 1917: 215; Operclipygus iheringi : Mazur (1984: 258).

Type locality.

BRAZIL: São Paulo: Rair da Serra [exact location unknown].

Type material.

Lectotype, here designated: "Rair da Serra, São Paulo" / “Type” / “9968” / "LECTOTYPE Phelister iheringi Bickhardt, 1917 M.S. Caterino & A.K. Tishechkin des. 2010" (ZMHB). Paralectotype: same data as lectotype (ZMHB). This species was described from an unspecified number of specimens, and the lectotype designation fixes primary type status on one of the two known syntypes.

Other material.

BRAZIL: Paraná: 1: Piraquara, Mananciais da Serra, 1000m, i.2007, P. Grossi (UFPR); 1: Piraquara, Sanepar, 18.vii.2001, P. Grossi (UFPR); 2: Guartelá, Campo São Paolo, 24°32'S, 50°17'W, 900m, xi.2007, pitfall, E. Grossi (UFPR).

Diagnostic description.

Length: 3.21-3.46 mm, width: 2.56-2.87 mm; body piceous, large, elongate, subdepressed; frons weakly depressed at middle, finely punctate; frontal stria rounded at sides, with a short, detached fragment in front, supraorbital stria complete, connected to sides of frontal; epistoma convex; labrum wide, weakly emarginate; both mandibles with bifid basal teeth; antennal club markedly elongate with basal and middle annuli interrupted; pronotum with lateral margins slightly convergent in basal half, weakly curved inward to apex; pronotal disk with distinct narrow prescutellar impression about as long as scutellum, disk finely punctate throughout, with few barely coarser lateral punctures; marginal pronotal stria complete or narrowly interrupted behind head; submarginal stria continuous from sides across front; central portion of anterior pronotal margin faintly projecting at middle; anterior pronotal margin with a single pair of glands, behind eye on each side; elytron with two complete epipleural punctures, outer subhumeral stria nearly complete, sinuate at middle, frequently abbreviated at base, inner subhumeral stria present in middle, variously abbreviated basally and apically, striae 1-3 complete, 4th stria present in apical third, 5th stria present in apical fourth, sutural stria present in apical half to two-thirds; elytra with broad band of small punctures present along apical margin; prosternal keel broad, flat, weakly emarginate at base, carinal striae convergent to apex, rarely connected by arch; mesoventral margin sinuate, median projection small, acute, marginal stria complete or narrowly interrupted; mesometaventral stria arched to subangulate at middle, reaching anterior half of mesoventral disk; lateral metaventral stria extending posterolaterad to middle of metacoxa; 1st abdominal ventrite with two complete lateral striae very close together, central part of disk with numerous small punctures near these striae; propygidium uniformly covered with small, round punctures separated by slightly less than their diameters; pygidium lacking dense ground punctation, with small punctures diminishing toward apex; marginal pygidial sulcus fine, variably abbreviated at sides, never attaining base. Male genitalia (Figs 104 A–E): accessory sclerites present, small; T8 with sides subparallel at middle, slightly divergent basally, desclerotized at apicolateral angles, convergent to apex, basal emargination shallow, reaching less than halfway to basal membrane attachment line, ventrolateral apodemes evenly rounded, distant beneath; S8 with unique median longitudinal sclerite, inner edges of lateral halves strongly divergent, apical guides strongly developed apically, with weakly hooked inner edges; T9 widest near apex, narrowed to basal apodemes, with strongly dentate ventrolateral apodemes, apices narrowed, blunt; T10 completely divided; S9 narrow at middle, weakly widened to narrowly rounded base, apex distinctly emarginate, apical flanges separate; tegmen with sides subparallel in basal half, rather abruptly narrowed to apices, medioventral process narrowly ‘U’ -shaped, projecting strongly beneath, about one-fourth from base; basal piece about one-third tegmen length; median lobe about one-half tegmen length, proximal apodemes not obviously differentiated.

Remarks.

This is a very distinctive species of rather obscure relationships. It is much larger than average, with the lateral submarginal pronotal stria close to the margin (Fig. 103A), an unusually elongate antennal club, and a broad band of apical marginal elytral punctures. The median ventral sclerite on the 8th sternite of the male genitalia (Fig. 104B) is unique in the genus. A few characters suggest relationships to the Operclipygus farctus group, including the desclerotized apicolateral angles of the male 8th tergite. But the many other unique features, particularly the presence of only a single pair of anterior pronotal gland openings, preclude a confident placement at present.