Kaszabister Mazur, 1972

Degallier, Nicolas, Mazur, Slawomir, Tishechkin, Alexey K. & Caterino, Michael S., 2012, A revision of the genus Kaszabister Mazur (Histeridae, Histerinae, Exosternini), ZooKeys 199, pp. 71-89 : 72-73

Genus Kaszabister Mazur, 1972

Kaszabister Mazur, 1972: 189.

Type species.

Kaszabister mahunkai Mazur, 1972 (now regarded as a junior synonym of Kaszabister rubellus (Erichson, 1834)), original designation.

Diagnosis.

Kaszabister can be easily separated from other Neotropical Exosternini by its strongly carinate frontal stria (Fig. 3); epipleural, subhumeral, and dorsal elytral striae 1 apically carinate and convergent to posterolateral corner (Fig. 1B, 2A); and narrow, edentate meso- and metatibiae which bear only a few small spines (Figs 1B, 2A, 4). The narrowly depressed lateral pronotal margin is also rare in other genera (Figs 1A, 2B).

Description.

Body length 1.7-2.3mm, width 1.3-1.7mm, oval or oblong, more or less convex, reddish brown, glabrous. Head: Frons bordered by a prominent, moderately to strongly carinate frontal stria; antennae inserted under the rim of the frons in front of eyes; antennal scape slightly setose; antennal club oval, tomentose, lacking sutures or annuli, with small oval subapical sensoria on upper and lower surfaces; epistoma flat to convex, bordered by striae or carinae; labrum short, broad, rounded at sides and emarginate at middle; mandibles with strong furrows along lower outer margins and very weak subapical teeth on incisor edge; gena setose and weakly depressed; gular sutures impressed; submentum with numerous fringed setae, projecting slightly between maxillar bases; mentum about one-fourth broader than long, sides rounded, tapering apically, margin faintly emarginate; palpi relatively short, with truncate apices. Pronotum: pronotum widest at base, sides rounded, anterior angles acute; prescutellar impression absent; gland openings annulate, situated about one-third from anterior margin, behind inner edge of eye on each side; with 3 pores along each side; marginal stria complete, continuous with anterior marginal stria; lateral stria absent. Elytra: Dorsal striae of elytra simple or carinate, variously abbreviated; dorsal stria 1, subhumeral striae, and epipleural stria carinate and convergent apically. Prosternum: Antennal cavities of the prosternum visible in ventral view, located in the anterior angles of pronotum; prosternal lobe short, broad, reaching hypomeron laterally, with marginal stria at least medially; base of prosternal keel weakly emarginate; with complete carinate striae diverging anterad and posterad, not joined. Mesoventrite: Disk flat, weakly projecting at middle, with complete marginal stria; mesometaventral stria present, angulate forward onto mesoventral disk. Metaventrite: Metaventral disk with postcoxal and lateral striae, both extending laterad toward metepisternum. Abdomen: Propygidium short, moderately convex, with annulate gland openings in anterolateral corners; pygidium lacking apical stria; abdominal ventrite 1 with one or two lateral striae; ventrites 2-5 with or without posterior marginal striae. Legs: Protrochanter with seta; protibia lacking teeth, but with 8-10 stout marginal spines; protibial spurs short, strong; protarsus with fine ventral spines, pretarsal claws simple and equal; meso- and metatrochanters lacking setae; meso- and metatibiae nearly parallel-sided, the former with few weak marginal spines; meso- and metatarsomeres with single pair of apicoventral setae. Male: Eighth tergite with accessory sclerites, shallowly narrowly incised at subtruncate apex, with basal membrane attachment distad basal emargination; ventral apodemes of 8th tergite broadly rounded, not meeting at midline; 8th sternite approximately parallel-sided, halves not joined along midline, with apical guides gradually more strongly elevated toward apices; 9th tergite with median emargination deep, ventral apodemes situated just behind midpoint, strongly toothed; spiculum gastrale (9th sternite) narrowed in distal two-thirds, with thin apical arms and short median apical flanges; halves of 10th tergite well developed, separated along midline. Female: Eighth tergite forming a single, apically emarginate plate; 8th sternite divided into two lateral plates, with thin, separate basal baculi which are articulated with the disk of S8; 9th sternite present, elongate, connected to apex of S8; tenth tergite present, without basal apodemes; valvifers elongate, enlarged basally; coxites with two strong and one weak inner tooth; gonostyle present, free, setose; bursa copulatrix small; spermatheca short, sclerotized, forming a ventral concave disk over oviduct; spermathecal gland attached at base of spermatheca, elongate, gradually expanded to apex.

Distribution.

The distribution of the species of this genus is interestingly discontinuous, with three species concentrated in subtropical South America, and a single species from Central America, with few records from the northern half of South America.

Key to species