Ceratophila Tang, Skelley & Pérez-Farrera, 2018

Tang, William, Skelley, Paul & Pérez-Farrera, Miguel Angel, 2018, Ceratophila, a new genus of erotylid beetles (Erotylidae: Pharaxonothinae) inhabiting male cones of the cycad Ceratozamia (Cycadales: Zamiaceae), Zootaxa 4508 (2), pp. 151-178 : 153-154

Genus Ceratophila Tang, Skelley & Pérez-Farrera , new genus

Type species. Ceratophila (C.) picipennis n. sp., here designated.

Diagnosis. Ceratophila is distinguished from other currently known cycad-associated genera of Erotylidae by the presence of the supraocular line, the thickened lateral pronotal carina, lack of a basal marginal bead on the elytra, the narrowly separated stridulatory files on the head, and by the male genitalia with median lobe and tegmen held upside down in body, median lobe arched in lateral view, flagellum <length of penile struts and not coiled.

Description of adult. Length 3.03–5.25 mm, width 1.26–2.04 mm. Body form elongate, not strongly parallel sided; dorsoventrally flattened, weakly convex; widest anterior to or at middle of elytra; color pale to dark reddishbrown with or without variously sized dark macula on elytra; dorsal punctation fine, evenly distributed; setae yellow to gold colored.

Head with dorsal surface flat or with a pair of shallow longitudinal furrows on the frons and/or a transverse interocular furrow; clypeus flat, apically truncate. Eye globular with large black facets, projecting laterally, bordered dorsally with long supraocular line reaching anterior angle of eye. Vertex with supraocular line basally meeting and continuous with transverse occipital ridge (vertexal line) situated where retracted head meets anterior pronotal margin; occipital surface immediately posterior to transverse occipital ridge medially smooth and without punctures; stridulatory files posterior to transverse occipital ridge on occipital surface present, one on each side of the midline, closely spaced, weakly divergent anteriorly, distance between files <½ width of scutellar shield. Frons with short, dark, subcuticular suture on each side, approximately 1/4 width of frons in length, extending obliquely to lateral margin anterior to antennal insertion. Eye ventrally encroaching upon gular area, interocular distance> width of single eye in ventral view; lacking lateral temple behind eye. Antennomeres I–VII length subequal to width, moniliform in most, slightly elongate in others; antennomere VIII transverse or similar to antennomere VII, antennal club with 3 antennomeres; with some species variation, antennomere relative lengths approximately 18:13:10:10:10:10:10:10:15:15:15. Mouthparts: maxillary palp 4-segmented, palpomere I very small; II, III and IV longer than wide; IV cylindrical, elongate oval, 2× longer than preceding palpomere, acuminate apically, apex densely papillate; relative lengths of II– IV approximately 4:3:7. Labial palp with 3 palpomeres; palpomere I small, elongate; II transverse; III large, elongate-oval; terminal labial palpomere flattened, roughly oval in shape, 2/3–3/4 length of terminal maxillary palpomere. Mentum pentagonal with large triangular base defined by carina, projecting medially; lateral pockets in front of carina not evident; juncture of submentum and gula with shallow depression weakly circular or semicircular.

Thorax. Pronotum quadrate or transverse; anterior marginal bead distinct laterally, reduced to row of fine punctures medially (weakly present only in C. chemnicki ); anterior pronotal margin near eyes weakly to moderately emarginate, anterior angles slightly to moderately projecting, narrowly rounded; pronotal lateral carina in dorsal view arcuate, lacking modifications, medially convex, straight or slightly emarginated; lateral pronotal carinae in lateral view thickened anteriorly. Scutellar shield transverse, posterior margin clearly projected, pentagonal. Elytra finely setose, setae indistinct; base of elytra without marginal bead. Prosternum mostly flat near margins, convex and arched in center anterior to coxae, depressed posterior of coxa; prosternal process expanded apically, truncate and convex at apex; procoxal cavities externally closed or narrowly open posteriorly; hypomeron apparently impunctate laterally (except C. chemnicki ), with longitudinal striations medially. Protibia apically angularly truncate and moderately to strongly dilated distally, with disto-lateral tooth. Tarsi with 5 tarsomeres, tarsomeres I–III distinctly widened, length often less than width, never longer than wide; tarsomeres I–III lobed beneath, pubescent ventrally with long, fine, dense, distally directed setae; tarsomere IV narrow and inconspicuous, without dense ventral setae; tarsomere V elongate, approximately length of tarsomeres I–IV combined.

Abdomen with 5 visible ventrites; lacking internal calli; visible ventrite I lacking coxal line.

Male genitalia with median lobe and tegmen laterally compressed or not; held at rest upside down in abdomen; penile struts not fused, separate entire length, 1.15–2.41× longer than median lobe; struts not coiled; internal sac when fully retracted <length of penile struts, flagellum absent or minute and not visible; spiculum gastrale symmetrical.

Female genitalia with gonocoxites triangular, gradually narrowing posteriorly; apices of gonocoxites laterally with concave impression and setae. Gonostylus inserted at the concave impression of the gonocoxite, with several short setae. Valvifers expanded posteriorly. Spermatheca elongate, C-shaped.

Etymology. The generic epithet reflect the genus name of the host. The name Ceratophila is formed from the words “kerato”, Greek for horn and referring to the pair of horn-shaped spines on the sporophylls of Ceratozamia cones in which this genus inhabits and “philia”, Greek for affection. Gender feminine.

Remarks. With the addition of Ceratophila there are now seven genera in Pharaxonothinae . The relationship of Ceratophila to other pharaxonothines, particularly with the two other genera that inhabit cycad cones, Cycadophila and Pharaxonotha , has been explored with analysis of the 16S rRNA gene ( Skelley et al. 2017). In that study samples D0257 and D0284 correspond with Ceratophila and the Ceratophila lineage is sister to that which includes Cycadophila and Pharaxonotha . Morphological characters distinguishing Ceratophila from these other genera are discussed below. Ceratophila is divided into two subgenera, the nominal subgenus Ceratophila and the subgenus Vovidesa and a total of seven species are recognized herein. All specimens of Ceratophila studied herein were collected from male cones of the New World cycad, Ceratozamia spp. Adults of two species and two larval morphotypes are typically found within one cone. The two larval morphotypes have been assigned to each subgenus and will be described in a later paper.