Brasiella darlingtoniana, Acciavatti, Robert E., 2011

Acciavatti, Robert E., 2011, Taxonomic Revision of Hispaniola Tiger Beetles in the Genus Brasiella Rivalier 1954 (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Cicindelinae), ZooKeys 147, pp. 99-182 : 113-117

Brasiella darlingtoniana sp. n. Figs 34

Holotype.

Male! labeled "Kenskoff to / La Visite& vic / LaSelleRange" [first line handprinted, others typeset, black on white label]; "Haiti / 5000ft / 1934 IX.16 / Darlington" [first and fourth lines, and year, typeset, others handprinted, black on white label]; "C. (Brasiella) / dominicana Mandl / det. R. Freitag / April 1988" [typeset black on white label]; "HOLOTYPE / Brasiella / darlingtoniana / Acciavatti" [typeset black on red label]. [Genitalia in glycerin in a microvial pinned beneath specimen.]

Allotype.

Female! labeled "Kenskoff -- / La Visite& vic / LaSelleRange" [first line handprinted, others typeset, black on white label]; second label same locality data as holotype; "Dr.W.Horn det.1935 / Cic.argenta- / ta F."; [first line typeset, '35' and next two lines handprinted black on white paper]; same Freitag det. label as holotype; "ALLOTYPE / Brasiella / darlingtoniana / Acciavatti" [typeset black on red label].

Paratypes.

Specimens! as follows: 1) 5 males and 3 females same locality data as the holotype and allotype; labeled either with same Freitag det. label or "Cicindela / argentata / Fab." or "argentata / det. F. / Darlington ♂" or "argentata / det. F. / Darlington ♀" or "A. Nicolay / collection / 1950" and "USNM / 2054986"; "PARATYPE / Brasiella / darlingtoniana / Acciavatti" [typeset black on blue label]; [five of these paratypes each also labeled with a CMNH Unique Number (see below)]; 2) 1 female labeled "Auto Rd Furcy- / Kenskoff / Mf.LaSelle / 5000ft IX.23" [handprinted black on white label]; "Haiti / 1934 / Darlington" [typeset black on white label]; "argentata / W.Horn.det" [typeset black on white label]; same Freitag det. label, "PARATYPE / Brasiella / darlingtoniana / Acciavatti" [typeset black on blue label].

Type Depositories.

Holotype, allotype, 2 paratypes (one each sex) at MCZH; 2 male paratypes at NMNH; 5 paratypes (3 males, 2 females) at CMNH. [Five male paratypes at CMNH with Carnegie Museum Specimen Numbers: CMNH-122,066; 530,700; 533,849. Female paratypes at CMNH with Carnegie Museum Specimen Numbers: CMNH-488,300; 495,484. CMNH Unique Number stored in data files at CMNH.]

Type Locality.

HAITI: Département du l'Ouest, Massif de la Selle, Highway 101 below Parc de La Visite, 18°20'45"N, 72°17'19"W, 1755 m. Aerial view in Fig. 18E.

Notes on Type Locality. The type locality, herein established at the above coordinates, was implied from the type labels because the actual location where Darlington collected this new species is uncertain; his label data only generalized his collecting along the route he took during his expedition to Haiti. La Visite is a National Park, Parc de La Visite, located along Highway 101 in a relatively flat, high elevation area along this highway at 6000 feet in the Massif de la Selle south of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. However, Darlington almost certainly did not collect this new species within La Visite National Park based on the discussion presented below under Ecology. In consideration of that information, the type locality for this species is more precisely established above using Google Earth©. The type locality was chosen to be a site adjoining La Visite slightly to the north (Fig. 18F) with the coordinates shown above.

Diagnosis.

Distinguished from other Brasiella species on Hispaniola by the following combination of characters: 1) elytral markings a humeral lunule reduced to its extremities, a middle lunule terminating near the suture in a broad hook, never anteriorly recurved, a narrow apical lunule; 2) eyes prominent, not bulging laterally; 3) males with a long, acutely curved aedeagus apex with an inner sac having a recurve d terminal tip of the stylet; 4) females with a short, wide membranous band anterior to a wide membranous band along posterior margin of 5th abdominal sternum.

Description.

General.Figs 3A, 4A. Body. Formelongate; head wide, eyes prominent, not bulging laterally; pronotum wide, square; elytra slender, slightly broadened distad, apices separately rounded. Size.Males, length 6.4-6.6 mm, width 2.0-2.1 mm; females, length 6.6-6.9 mm, width 2.1-2.2 mm.

Head. Figs 3B, 3D, 4D, 4F. Shiny green bronze with copper reflections dorsally and black green ventrally; entire surface glabrous except for two pairs of supraorbital sensory setae. Frons finely and longitudinally rugose. Vertex more coarsely rugose, rugae along anterior margin irregularly arranged, 15-18 more or less complete longitudinal rugae between eyes and middle where rugae merge to form a circular pattern at middle of vertex, rugae transition abruptly into a posterior area with a finely and irregularly granulate surface. Eyes prominent, not bulging laterally. Genae longitudinally rugose. Clypeus finely and irregularly granulate, narrowed mesad. Labrum testaceous with a dark brown margin, rectangular, width to length ratio 3 in holotype male, ratio 3.1 in allotype female; anterior margin nearly straight to feebly protruding mesad with a tiny medial tooth in both sexes; posterior margin broadly arcuate mesad; medial carina distinctly raised with a slight depression on each side near posterior margin; 6 setae symmetrically arranged, anterior setae in a row, lateral setae closer to clypeus. Maxillae and labium mainly testaceous, only distal palpal segments dark brown with metallic blue green reflections. Mandibles sexually dimorphic; in male, surface mainly testaceous, only teeth metallic green; in female, surface only testaceous in basal half, apical half and teeth shiny brown; mandibles symmetrical, four teeth distad of molar, apical tooth longest, first and third tooth coequal in length, second tooth shortest; gaps between three intermediate teeth equally wide in both male and female. Antennae 11 segmented; scape dorsally shiny green, ventrally testaceous with a single subapical sensory seta; antennomeres 2-4 shiny green, glabrous except for a few, short erect setae along their length and distally; antennomeres 5-11 dull brown, sheathed with dense short sensory setae.

Prothorax.Figs 3C, 3D, 4C, 4D. Pronotum shiny, dark copper brown. Proepisterna shiny, dark copper brown, surface wrinkled dorsad. Prosternum shiny green. Pronotum glabrous except for short, decumbent, white setae distributed in several, irregular rows medially directed, originating close to, and lying in a narrow band distinctly removed from lateral suture, in a sparse narrow band transversely and anteriorly oriented within broad anterior margin, and in a sparse narrow band laterally oriented on each side of midline extending only to the middle, surface glabrous from middle to posterior margin and along this margin; transverse submarginal sulci distinct, anterior sulcus shallow, posterior sulcus deeper and deepest at posterior angles; transverse rugae within broad anterior margin irregular and shallow, interrupted at middle by an irregularly arranged pattern, within posterior margin more distinctly and deeply engraved especially medially and extending onto midline; surface sculptured by fine, transverse rugae angled on disc and interrupted by a finely engraved longitudinal midline, and more finely and irregularly sculptured elsewhere. Proepisterna glabrous except for white, erect and appressed setae arising from small setigerous punctures scattered over most of the surface in males, only in ventral half in females. Prosternum glabrous, surface smooth.

Pterothorax.Figs 3C, 4C. Mesepisterna glabrous except for appressed setae near ventral margin, more abundant in male than female; female coupling sulcus represented by a shallow, circular depression medially situated with a slightly deeper center, a distinct groove extends only dorsally from center, surface smooth below center. Mesepimeron with sparse appressed setae. Metepisterna with scattered appressed setae, more abundant in male than female. Prosternum and mesosternum glabrous, smooth to slightly wrinkled; metasternum glabrous except for long, dense white appressed setae laterad, surface smooth mesad and coarsely sculpted laterad where setae originate. Scutellum triangular, cupreous green.

Legs.Figs 3A, 4B. Segmentsmetallic green with copper reflections and testaceous areas. Coxae shiny metallic brown green; trochanters shiny testaceous; femora metallic green with copper reflections except for testaceous distal ends; tibiae testaceous with metallic green reflections; tarsomeres brown with metallic violet reflections; white, appressed setae on front and middle coxae, and laterally on hind coxae; erect setae and suberect closely spaced in several regular and irregular rows on all femora; setae widely spaced in a few rows on all tibiae; middle tibiae with patch of appressed setae dorsally along distal half; tarsomeres with short scattered setae on ventral surface; distal tarsomeres with two asymmetrical rows each with a few to several small, erect setae; an erect subapical seta present only on front trochanter, absent on middle and hind trochanters; males with dense pad of erect setae ventrally on proximal three tarsal segments; tarsal claws small.

Elytra.Figs 3A, 4A. Form narrow in male, broadened distad and broadest at outer apical angle in female; evenly curved along posterior margins with apices separately rounded, more pronounced in female; sutural spine small in female, indistinct in male, feebly withdrawn from apex; posterior margins finely microserrulate. Surface finely granulate, impunctate, numerous small, irregular, shiny green or blue green flecks of various sizes scattered over a dull, dark copper brown background; fully developed elytral pattern of narrow, white markings contrasting with the darker elytral ground color; setigerous punctures with short, erect, transparent setae indistinct in subsutural rows on disc, but distinct at elytral base, and at inner humeral angles, each surrounded by a metallic fleck slightly larger than flecks elsewhere on elytra; surface slightly depressed in humeral area and on disc creating a slight but distinct raised area basally. Elytral markings white forming an broken pattern consisting of partial humeral, complete apical lunules and middle band; humeral lunule reduced to its extremities, discal spot as a small, circular dot; middle band complete, narrow, terminating near the suture in a broad hook only slightly enlarged in most specimens without the posterior end recurved anteriorly, or the lateral end expanded along lateral margin; apical lunule complete and narrow along entire elytral apex to suture. Elytral epipleura testaceous except for narrow, metallic green to copper green band along dorsal margin.

Abdomen.Figs 4B, 4E. Surface of 1st-5th sterna shiny black with green reflections, sterna 6 entirely shiny black to black brown; posterior margins of male 3rd-5th sterna and female 3rd-4th sterna narrowly black; posterior margin female 5th sternum broadly black; 3rd-5th sterna medially smooth with scattered, fine, erect setae in both sexes; male 1st-6th sterna and female 1st-5th sterna laterally covered with dense, scattered, appressed white setae and roughened from setal punctures; male 6th sternum glabrous medially with a broad, deep concave notch; female 5th sternum with slightly raised transverse wrinkles interrupted by a short, wide membranous band along midline extending anteriorly to middle of sternum from a wide transverse membranous wedge along posterior margin; female 6th sternum entirely glabrous, posterior margin with a row of 6-10 erect spines and a small lateral gibbosity on each side.

Male Genitalia.Figs 3E, 3F, 3G. Shape wide near base, uniformly broad to short wide distal neck, apical hook abruptly rounded, tip long and at acute angle to aedeagus; aedeagus inner sac apical spine field in neck short and wide, forming a distinct pad. Aedeagus inner sac sclerites: stylet tip recurved forming a sharp point; shield rounded distad; large tooth short and rounded at tip with root and dark fields large; arched piece short and thin.

Ecology.

The exact locality, and hence the habitat, where Darlington collected this new species is uncertain. Darlington's labels on his 1934-collecting trip to the Massif de la Selle indicate that he first collected south of Port-au-Prince from "Kenskoff [Kenscoff] to La Visite and vicinity" and then later on his return trip along an "auto road" from Furcy to Kenskoff [Kenscoff]. The auto road he took is most likely the same as current Highway 101 that traverses the Massif de la Selle from Port-au-Prince to near the southern coast of Haiti. Suitable habitats where Darlington collected likely occurred along this road at elevations of roughly 5000 feet. An image from Google Earth© (Fig. 18E), and a geotagged image from http://flickr.com taken in early 2010 along Highway 101 below its summit in the vicinity of Parc de La Visite (Fig. 18F), both show an unimproved rocky road cut into a steep slope with sparse vegetation. The road banks and roadway appear eroded and traversed mostly on foot by local inhabitants. In Parc de La Visite itself, this highway reaches 6000 feet elevations, becomes much more level, and runs through stands of Pinus occidentalis Swartz with grassy openings of Andropogon sp. within the pine forest (Fig. 18E). Darlington (1935) notes that his base camp for collecting at La Visite was in "tall pine forest at 6,000 feet beside the Rivière Chotard" [currently known as Cascade de Seguin]. However, he states that his collecting within the pine stands produced no carabids. Thus, the habitat where Darlington collected this new species is likely situated along the road he took to reach Parc de La Visite, but at a lower elevation than where he camped. The site in Fig. 18F with eroded clay banks along Highway 101 at about 1755 m (5760 ft) has been selected as the type locality for this new species. The only known specimens of this new species were collected during September.

Distribution.

Fig. 22. HAITI: Département du l'Ouest, Massif de la Selle. Kenskoff [Kenscoff], Furcy, and La Visite are localities on the labels of the type specimens collected by P.J. Darlington in 1934. This species likely occurs in suitable habitats from Kenscoff to the northwestern boundary of Parc de La Visite along Highway 101. This highway from Furcy southward to La Visite traverses a series of long ridges at about 5000 feet elevation before rising abruptly to 6000 feet where it crosses over to the southern slopes of the Massif de la Selle.

Etymology.

This Latinized eponym, genitive case, is based on the family name of the late Philip J. Darlington, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The species name acknowledges his contributions as the preeminent American carabidologist during the Mid-20th Century. During his 1934 expedition to Haiti, Darlington was the first coleopterist to collect in the Massif de la Selle, the highest mountains in Haiti. Darlington collected the types of this new species along the autoroute taken by his expedition across the Massif de la Selle in the vicinity of La Visite, now designated as Parc de La Visite, a National Park in this southeastern Haitian mountain range.

Remarks.

This species is most closely related to Brasiella davidsoni from the Massif de la Hotte on the Tiburon Peninsula of western Haiti ca. 185 km to the west of the Massif de la Selle. The four typical sclerites within the inner sac of the aedeagus that characterize Brasiella are very similar for both species especially the unusual form of the recurved terminal tip of the stylet, although this differs in the degree of its curvature for each species. Females of both species possess similar small, paired mediolateral gibbosities on the 6th abdominal sternum. Moreover, the elytral markings of both species are quite similar in pattern with only the extremities of the humeral lunule evident; this marking on all specimens examined consistently was divided into a humeral mark and a discal spot variously reduced or enlarged depending on the specimen. Additionally, the middle lunule always terminates near the suture in a broad hook never anteriorly recurved. However, the distinctiveness of these two species is confirmed by differences between the two in the size of the recurved aedeagus apex of males, as well as, differences in the extent of development of the membranous longitudinal median band and membranous wedge on the 5th abdominal sternum of females.