Cylindera (Plectographa) yaguaree Perger & Guerra

Perger, Robert & Guerra, Fernando, 2012, Two new tiger beetle (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Cicindelitae) species from the Tucuman-Bolivian forest in the National Tariquia Reserve, Bolivia, Zootaxa 3434, pp. 49-58 : 52-54

Cylindera (Plectographa) yaguaree Perger & Guerra n.sp.

( Figs. 1 G; 2; 3A, B)

Type material. Bolivia, Tarija, O`Connor province, Tariquia: 1 male, holotype, CBF, 1.4 km south west of Salinas, 0.66 km east of Salinas River, S21°49' 20, W64°14' 45, 1093 m a.s.l., Tucuman-Bolivian subhumid forest, bank of small mountain river, November 2011, F. Guerra and R. Perger; 1 female, allotype, same data; 2 males, 3 females, paratypes, CBF, 3.2 km east of Salinas River, 2.5 km east of road to Salinas, S21°45' 18, W64°12' 32, 1200 m a.s.l., Tucuman-Bolivian subhumid forest, bank of small mountain river, December 2011, F. Guerra.

Derivation of specific epithet. The epithet “ yaguaree ” (pronounced a-wa-ree) is derived from “yaguarete”, which is the original name of the jaguar and means “true beast” in Tupi-Guaraní, a language spoken by the local indigenous Guaraní.

Diagnosis. Cylindera (Plectographa) yaguaree n.sp. is separated from other Neotropical congeners by a combination of the following characters: 1) setose genae and head; 2) posteriorly tapering pronotum, pronotal disc laterally convex; 3) elytral surface completely covered with stiff, appressed setae; 4) three complete narrow elytral maculations; 5) sutural spines reduced.

Three complete narrow elytral maculations and setose gena are also typical of C. (P.) mixtula Horn 1915 , but it lacks the elytral setae and the pronotum tapers in the opposite direction. In C. (P.) sinuosa and C. (P.) suturalis the elytra have three complete maculations, but these are wider and the genae are bare. Cylindera (Plectographa) yaguaree n.sp. shares the posteriorly tapering pronotum and setose elytra with the Argentinean species C. (P.) eugeni Castelnau 1835 ; however, this latter species is distinguished by glabrous head, large subsutural foveae, wide elytral maculations and elytra glabrous in apical half.

Description. General. Relatively large (10.15–10.95 mm), dorsum matte to slightly shining cupreous-dark olive green, elytra with distinct, separate appressed setae covering most of the surface and three complete, narrow pale maculations.

Setation. Dense appressed or suberect setae on body laterally (except area behind genae and on mesepisternum), on pronotal dorsum, on femora and laterally on meso- and metacoxa. Labial palpi and proepisternum with suberect to erect setae. Frons, vertex and elytra with separate, distinct setae. Distal 7 antennomeres, tibia and tarsi longitudinally lined with very fine and short setae. Labrum with 9 to 12 submarginal setae. Antennal scape with 1 erect subapical seta distal, antennomere 4 with three or more setae, apex of front trochanters with a single sensory seta. Apical setae on eighth abdominal sternum short.

Head slightly shining cupreous, vertex rugose, frons and gena striate. Labrum narrower or as wide as clypeus, subrectangular, straight, short, uni- or obtuse tridentate, ferrugineo-testaceous to dark brown. Eyes prominent, not bulging laterally. Mentum tooth well developed.

Mandibular base ferrugineo-testaceous, third terebral tooth shiny green with black tip, incisor tooth black. Antennal socket and antennomeres 1-4 shiny cupreous, with green reflections or completely green, distal 7 antennomeres testaceous, densely pubescent.

Pronotum slightly shining cupreous, broad, widest in the middle, anterior margin noticably wider than posterior, posterior constricted, both margins with deep transverse sulci that are shiny cupreous; pronotal disc laterally convex, rugose, median groove distinct; proepisternum wrinkled, shiny cupreous, coupling sulcus with distinct groove. Scutellum triangular.

Elytra gradually widened to apical 1/4, then narrow until just before apex, sutural spine reduced; color matt brown cupreous with small shallow, weakly reflective green punctures, giving an overall olive impression; subsutural row of large foveae absent, three narrow, pale maculations, laterally connected, anterior G-shaped, median sharply elbowed, bend without additional bracket, not connected to posthumeral spot, sometimes slightly lacerated, mostly continuous, apical maculation U-shaped, apical-sutural arm reduced.

Abdominal sternites dark brown with cupreous-green reflections. Ventral sclerite with two elongate posterior projections.

Coxae shiny cupreous with green reflections; trochanters testaceous, femora cupreous, tibia and tarsomeres cupreous with or without green reflections.

Aedeagus strongly bent in basal quarter, in distal moderately bent; slightly widening distally in basal third, then considerably thickened median to shortly to the base of the apex and finally strongly narrowing on one side to a pointing apex. Laterally longitudinal concavity in distal third.

Geographic distribution. This species is currently known only from the two locations where types and paratypes were collected, in Tariquia, close to its North-western limit. Several collections (see Pearson et al. 1999) in the adjacent Chaco Serrano, the elbow of the Andes and the Bolivian Yungas failed to find this species; therefore we consider it endemic to Tucuman-Bolivian forest.

Ecology. Cylindera (Plectographa) yaguaree n.sp. was observed during November and December on two narrow sand stone banks of a medium forest stream. The activity of adults was apparently triggered by initial rainfalls of the rainy season, as we observed no individuals at the same sites earlier in the drier season of October.

At midday on sunny days, individuals perched on stones close to a moist, relatively steep sloping wall of sandstone. This microhabitat was temporarily insolated, and shaded, with conspicuous and highly localized patches of liverworts and mosses growing on the sand stonewall. This tiger beetle was absent from shady banks of smaller forest rivers and on sunny banks of larger rivers. We assume that humid sand stone microhabitats lined with trees and with sunny patches are the preferred microhabitat. Such habitats are apparently the result of a specific tectonical setting and were only observed twice in the study area. We collected the specimens of C. (P.) yaguaree n.sp. together with Pentacomia (Mesacanthina) cribrata in the same microhabitat. As we approached individuals of C. (P.) yaguaree n.sp. and Pentacomia (M.) cribrata , they quickly flew away from us. Several times we observed C. (P.) yaguaree n.sp. flying to land on stones lying in the river or to the opposite river bank.

Also observed in this habitat of C. (P.) yaguaree n.sp. was Pseudoxycheila tucumana n.sp. between stones and Oxycheila germaini Fleutiaux hiding between and under stones close to the water’s edge.

Figures

FIGURE 1. A, Relief map Bolivia, subhumid Tucuman-Bolivian forest highlighted green, according to Navarro & Ferreira (2007); (+) most southern records for Pseudoxycheila andina Cassola 1997, (*) Pseudoxycheila tucumana n. sp. (coll. MHN- NKM); B, Subandean region of Tarija department, study areas indicated by solid white line, limit of Tariquia by white line; C, study areas, view from the Andes; D, E, surveyed transects (white lines), collection location of Cylindera (Plectographa) yaguaree n. sp. (red points) and P. tucumana n. sp (red lines), (a) S 21 ° 45 ' 18, W 64 ° 12 ' 32, (b) S 21 ° 49 ' 23, W 64 ° 14 ' 35; F, habitat of C. yaguaree n. sp. and P. tucumana n. sp.; Life habitus and preferred substrate, G, C. (P.) yaguaree n. sp.; H, P. t u c u m a n a n. sp.