Baconia carinifrons, Caterino, Michael S. & Tishechkin, Alexey K., 2013

Caterino, Michael S. & Tishechkin, Alexey K., 2013, A systematic revision of Baconia Lewis (Coleoptera, Histeridae, Exosternini), ZooKeys 343, pp. 1-297 : 239-241

Baconia carinifrons sp. n. Figs 71 C–DMap 21

Type locality.

ECUADOR: Orellana:Res. Ethnica Waorani [0.67°N, 76.43°W].

Type material.

Holotype female: "ECUADOR: Depto. Orellana:Res. Ethnica Waorani, 1km S Onkone Gare Camp, Trans. Ent., 0°39'26"S, 76°27'11"W, 216m, 21 June 2006, T.L. Erwin, M.C.Oimienta et al." / "Insecticidal fogging of mostly bare green leaves, some with covering of lichenous or bryophytic plants in terra firme forest. Project MAXUS Lot 3115 Trans. 2 Sta. 6" / "Caterino/Tishechkin Exosternini Voucher EXO-00413" (USNM).

Diagnostic description.

Length: 2.9mm, width: 2.7mm; body broadly oval, convex, glabrous; head and pronotum metallic greenish-blue, elytra slightly bluer, venter rufopiceous with faint metallic blue coloration; frons with strong, oblique anterolateral carinae extending from above antennal bases onto middle of epistoma, deeply depressed between, frontal disk with dense ground punctation and numerous coarser secondary punctures nearly throughout, frontal and supraorbital striae absent; labrum about 3 ×wider than long, weakly emarginate apically; antennal scape short, club asym metrically oblong; pronotal sides increasingly arcuate to apex, marginal stria complete along lateral margin, anterior portion narrowly detached behind eyes; lateral submarginal pronotal stria complete, pronotal disk narrowly depressed along its inner edge, more broadly so anteriorly, ground punctation of pronotal disk rather conspicuous, sparsely interspersed with small secondary punctures almost throughout, sparser mediad, denser to sides; elytra with two complete epipleural striae, outer subhumeral stria represented by basal and median fragments, inner subhumeral stria nearly complete, slightly abbreviated apically, dorsal striae 1-3 complete, 4th stria barely visible at base, 5th stria represented only by basal puncture, sutural stria complete, elytral disk with coarse punctures in apical third; prosternum narrow, convex, keel emarginate at base, carinal striae convergent, abbreviated anteriorly; prosternal lobe about two-thirds keel length, apical margin rather narrowly rounded, marginal stria fine, obsolete at sides; mesoventrite very weakly produced at middle, marginal stria complete, mesometaventral stria arched forward, crenulate, broadly interrupted at middle; lateral metaventral stria extending posterolaterad toward inner corner of metacoxa, outer lateral stria parallel to basal two-thirds of inner stria, metaventral disk impunctate at middle; abdominal ventrite 1 with single lateral stria curved mediad, abbreviated apically, middle portion of disk with few small punctures along basal margin; protibia very weakly 2-3 dentate, marginal spines very small, outer margin serrulate; mesotibia with few weak submarginal spines; outer metatibial margin smooth; propygidium without basal stria, discal punctures generally small and dense along basal margin, larger but sparser toward apical margin; propygidial gland openings small, close to basal margin, about one-fourth from lateral corner; pygidium with ground punctation very fine, denser toward apex, interspersed with small secondary punctures mainly in basal two-thirds. Male: not known.

Remarks.

This species is related to Baconia micans and Baconia fulgida , sharing the oblique frontal ridges, which are most strongly developed and distinctly carinate in this species (Fig. 71D). In addition to the frontal carinae, Baconia carinifrons can easily be distinguished by its lack of a basal arch of the 5th stria (Fig. 71C), complete lack of frontal stria, very weakly metallic ventral coloration, and more conspicuous frontal punctures. It would be very desireable to find a male of this species to see if it shared the very distinctive pygidial and genitalic characters of Baconia fulgida .

Etymology.

This species is named in reference to its distinct, oblique frontal carinae.