Amithao cotopaxicus Ratcliffe, 2017

Ratcliffe, Brett C., 2017, The Fourteenth Amithao Thomson, 1878 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae: Gymnetini): A Remarkable New Species from Ecuador, The Coleopterists Bulletin 71 (4), pp. 655-660 : 656-658

Amithao cotopaxicus Ratcliffe , new species ( Figs. 1–4 )

Type Material. Holotype male labeled:“CUADOR” [ ECUADOR] “ 1800m / OTOPAXI” [COTOPAXI] / “ TONGA ” [ OTONGA] / “ OCT 1993 / ONORE ” [ G. ONORE] // “ QCAZ I / 224528 ” and with my red holotype label . Allotype female labeled: “ Ecuador / Cotopaxi / Las Pampas / x-1981 / lg. G. Onore // QCAZ I / 224527 ” and with my red allotype label . Paratypes labeled: “ ECUADOR COTOPAXI / SAN FRANCISCO DE LAS / PAMPAS 1500 m / 8DIC1993 GOnore // QCAZ I / 224530 ” (1 male) . “ Ecuador / Rio Tocachi / Tocachi / ix. 1981 / lg. G. Onore” (1 male) . “ ECUADOR Cotopaxi / Las Pampas 1325m / 21Oct1995 LdelaTorre // QCAZ I / 224529 ” (1 female) . “ ECUADOR Cotopaxi / Las Pampas 1325m / 18 APR1996 LdelaTorre // exlarvae3era edad 11FEB1995 / expupae 19Dic1995 / imago 18apr1996 QCAZ I / 224521 ” (1 female) . “ ECUADOR Cotopaxi / Las Pampas 1325m / 7OCT1995 LdelaTorre // ex ovo 11DEC1994 / ex larvae 1ra. edad: 7DEC1994 / ex larvae 2da. edad.: 14DEC1994 / ex larvae 3ra. edad: 14JAN1995 / ex pupae: 8JUN1995 / imago: 7OCT1995 / QCAZ I / 224525 ” (1 female) . “ ECUADOR Cotopaxi / Las Pampas 1325m / 20OCT1995 LdelaTorre // ex ovo 11DEC1994 / exlarvae1raedad: 9DIC1994 / ex larvae2daedad 23DIC1994 / ex larvae3raedad 14JAN1995 / expupae 3JUL1995 / imago 20OCT1995 / QCAZ I / 224531 ” (1 female) . “ Ecuador / Pichincha / El Cortijo 550m / 15-Dec-93 / lg. S. Burneo” (1 female) . “ Ecuador Tinalandia / nr. Santo Domingo de / Los

Colorados / Dec. 7 1981 / E. I. Schlinger” (1 female). “ ECUADOR: Pichincha / Prov., 12 km. E. Sta. / Domingo, Tinalandia / 2000’; 4-6-X-1988 / S. Dunkle” (1 female) .

Holotype and allotype are deposited at the University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln , NE , USA ( UNSM) . Paratypes are deposited at the Museo de Zoolog´ıa de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador ( QCAZ) and the Brett C . Ratcliffe Collection , Lincoln, NE , USA ( BCRC) .

Holotype. Male. Length 21.2 mm; width across humeri 11.8 mm. Head: Color velutinous black except for weakly shiny clypeal apex. Lateral margins of clypeus distinctly elevated. Surface of frons and clypeus with large, moderately dense punctures; punctures on frons with sparse, long, black setae. Clypeal apex broadly subtruncate, weakly emarginate. Eyes large, interocular width equals 4.0 transverse eye diameters. Antenna with 10 antennomeres, club distinctly longer than antennomeres 2–7. Pronotum: Color velutinous black. Surface with large, moderately dense punctures, punctures becoming sparse on center base. Sides with thick, complete marginal bead. Elytra: Color velutinous black and with slender, velutinous pale yellow band extending from behind humerus to elytral suture ( Fig. 1 ). Surface with 2 weakly elevated, parallel costae terminating at weak apical umbone; moderate to large punctures on lateral third of black area and minute, sparse punctures on yellow area. Apices at suture subquadrate. Pygidium: Color dull black with sparse, yellow punctures on each lateral margin. Surface densely, concentrically rugose, setigerous; setae short, dense, black. Venter: Metasternum and metacoxae weakly shiny black with large, dense, yellow and black punctures. Mesometasternal process, in lateral view, short, parallel to ventral axis of body, apex bluntly rounded ( Fig. 2 ). Abdominal ventrites weakly shiny black and with slender, yellow line along anterior margin either side of middle of sternites 2–5. Surface with large, moderately dense punctures on lateral thirds of sternites 1–5; central third with a few sparse punctures; longitudinal depression at center extending through sternites 1–5. Setae of mentum and procoxae black. Legs: Protibia slender, with single, apical tooth. Parameres: Form short, apices subacutely rounded, and curved inwards towards one another ( Fig. 3 ). Basal piece longer than parameres ( Fig. 4 ).

Allotype. Female. Length 24.5 mm; width across humeri 13.6 mm. Differs from the holotype in the following respects: Head: Surface of both frons and clypeus with sparse, long, black setae. Clypeal apex subtruncate, broadly, shallowly emarginate. Eyes large, interocular width equals 4.0 transverse eye diameters. Elytra: Velutinous pale yellow band on lateral margin broken into flecks and spots on median edge. Venter: Color entirely shiny black. Metasternum and metacoxae weakly shiny black with large, dense, yellow and black punctures. Abdominal ventrites lacking longitudinal depression at center. Legs: Protibia broad, tridentate.

Variation. Males (2 paratypes).Length 20.1–20.7 mm; width across humeri 11.7–11.8 mm. The paratypes do not significantly differ from the holotype. Females (7 paratypes). Length 20.7–25.3 mm; width across humeri 12.3–14.0 mm. As allotype except in the following respects: Head: Interocular width equals 4.0–4.5 transverse eye diameters. Venter: Abdominal ventrite 5 with slender, yellow line along anterior margin either side of middle in 2 specimens.

Etymology. The gender of Amithao is masculine (see Etymology in Ratcliffe 2013), and the specific epithet is an adjectival descriptor derived from the name Cotopaxi, a province name and a prominent stratovolcano in Ecuador. Most of the specimens in the type series came from the province of Cotopaxi.

Distribution. Amithao cotopaxicus is known from Ecuador ( Fig. 6 ).

Locality Records. Eleven specimens deposited at QCAZ, UNSM, and BCRC. ECUADOR (11). COTOPAXI (7): Las Pampas, Otonga. PICHINCHA (1): El Cortijo. SANTO DOMINGO DE LOS TSÁCHILAS (3). Santo Domingo de los Colorados, Tinalandia (12 km E. Santo Domingo de los Colorados), Toachi.

Temporal Distribution. April (1), September (1), October (6), December (3).

Diagnosis. Only four species of Amithao have a velutinous dorsal surface, whereas all other species are shiny. Amithao incertus (Gory and Percheron) is a small species (less than 17 mm) that occurs only on Hispaniola in the West Indies. Amithao lafertei (Thomson) is black with numerous, small, yellowish white speckles (punctures) on the pronotum and elytra and found in Panama and Colombia. Amithao marginicollis (Burmeister) is another small species (also less than 17 mm) that is found in Mexico and distinctively marked with cretaceous bands and spots as in no other species of Amithao . Only A. cotopaxicus is velutinous black with a distinctive, slender, pale yellow band along the lateral margin of each elytron, which makes it remarkably different from other species in the genus.

Aside from the width and dentation of the protibiae, males and females of A. cotopaxicus differ little from each other. Even the two apical spurs of the metatibiae are similarly acute in both sexes, where normally the spurs of females in other species are bluntly rounded.

Natural History. Little is known of the life history of A. cotopaxicus . Label data indicate that two adults were reared from the egg stage. One specimen molted from the first instar on 7 December, the second instar on 14 December, the third instar on 14 January, and emerged from the pupa on 8 June for a development time of six months. A second specimen molted from the first instar on 9 December, the second instar on 23 December, the third instar on 14 January, and emerged from the pupa on 3 July for a development time of just over six months. These data for laboratory-reared specimens may or may not reflect development times under natural conditions.

Figures

Fig. 1. Amithao cotopaxicus, dorsal habitus.

Figs. 2–5. Amithao species. 2) Short, blunt mesometasternal process (lateral view) of A. cotopaxicus; 3) Caudal view and 4) Lateral view of parameres of A. cotopaxicus; 5) Example of slender, attenuate, mesometasternal process (lateral view) as seen in A. haematopus.

Fig. 6. Distribution map for Amithao cotopaxicus.