Operclipygus petrovi, Caterino, Michael S. & Tishechkin, Alexey K., 2013

Caterino, Michael S. & Tishechkin, Alexey K., 2013, A systematic revision of Operclipygus Marseul (Coleoptera, Histeridae, Exosternini), ZooKeys 271, pp. 1-401 : 180-181

Operclipygus petrovi sp. n. Figs 47 F–GMap 17

Type locality.

PERU: Loreto: 20 km NNE Iquitos, Gen Gen [3°37'S, 73°18'W].

Type material.

Holotype male: "PERU: Loreto, 20 km NNE Iquitos, Rio Momón, Gen Gen, 120m, 5-6 Febr 2007, A.V. Petrov"/ "Caterino/Tishechkin Exosternini Voucher EXO-00319" (FMNH).

Diagnostic description.

Length: 1.97 mm, width: 1.65 mm; body rufo-piceous, smooth and shining, ovoid, rather strongly convex; frons depressed at middle, frontal stria divergent between eyes, central portion detached from sides; supraorbital stria fine, more or less complete, connected to frontal stria; epistoma convex, weakly emarginate at apex; pronotal disk strongly flattened across middle of base, but not plicate; disk with very fine ground punctation and few faint coarser punctures at sides; marginal pronotal stria absent behind head; lateral submarginal stria continuous with anterior submarginal stria; anterior pronotal gland openings present behind eye and midway between median opening and anterior pronotal corner; elytron with one complete epipleural stria, outer subhumeral stria present in apical half, inner subhumeral stria absent, the interval between outer subhumeral and 1st dorsal stria strongly swollen, striae 1-3 complete, 4th and 5th striae short, present only in apical one-fifth, sutural striae present in apical two-thirds, more broadly impressed anteriorly; prosternal keel broad, flat, weakly emarginate at base, carinal striae complete, convergent, united in front; mesoventrite weakly projecting at middle, marginal stria interrupted; mesometaventral stria broadly arched forward beyond middle of mesoventral disk, continued at sides by lateral metaventral stria toward outer third of metacoxa; 1st abdominal ventrite with single complete lateral stria, bent mediad at apex; propygidium with faint ground punctation, with large, shallow, elongate oval, punctures separated by about half their diameters; pygidium with dense but rather shallow ground punctation, small, coarser punctures uniformly interspersed; marginal pygidial sulcus fine, weakly crenulate, nearly complete but usually obsolete in basal corners. Male genitalia indistinguishable from those of Operclipygus farctus (see Figs 48 A–D, K).

Remarks.

While this species is very similar to Operclipygus farctus in many characters, it is easily distinguished by its darker, more strongly convex, and rounder body form (Fig. 47F). The large, shallow punctures of the propygidium (Fig. 47G) and the absence of pronotal plicae distinguish it from some of the even more strongly convex species.

Etymology.

We name this species for scolytine specialist Alexander Petrov, in recognition of his numerous contributions of specimens to this study, principally from Peru.