Neocallotillus intricatus (Wolcott & Dybas, 1947) Wolcott & Dybas, 1947

Burke, Alan F. & Zolnerowich, Gregory, 2016, Taxonomic revision of the New World genus Callotillus Wolcott (Cleridae, Tillinae), with the description of the new genus Neocallotillus, and an illustrated key of identification to species, ZooKeys 617, pp. 65-89 : 77-81

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Cleridae

Neocallotillus intricatus (Wolcott & Dybas, 1947) comb. n.

Holotype depository.

Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, The Netherlands (RMNH). Holotype locality: Farm La Caja, 8 km. west of San Jose, Costa Rica.

Distribution.

Costa Rica, Panama (Fig. 8B).

Differential diagnosis.

Neocallotillus intricatus is most similar to Neocallotillus elegans . The two species can be differentiated based on the fasciae pattern on the elytra disc. Neocallotillus intricatus has the elytral disc decorated with an intricate design of light testaceous fasciae and a pair of maculae arranged in the following manner: Each elytron with one macula situated posterior to the humeral angle; one strongly procurved fasciae located on the anterior half of the elytral disc, this fascia initiates on the elytral suture and do not reach the epipleural fold; and a second fascia situated immediately posterior to the first, this band is strongly oblique, initiating on the epipleural fold and not reaching the elytral suture (Fig. 1E). Neocallotillus elegans has the elytra adorned with a light testaceous to almost whitish median, longitudinal, slightly protruding fascia, and a pair of protruding maculae on the anterior half near the humeral angles (Fig. 1 A–C), these maculae may be absent in some individuals (Fig. 1D). The geographic distribution of these species can also serve to separate them. Neocallotillus intricatus is limited to Costa Rica and Panama (Fig. 8B) while Neocallotillus elegans is found from the United States to Costa Rica (Fig. 8A).

Redescription.

Form: Body elongate; head, pronotum and anterior half of elytra slender, feebly expanded behind second half of elytral margins. Color: Head, pronotum, thorax, abdominal segments 1-4 and femora griscent to fuscous; anterior margin of pronotum, antennae, mouthparts, tibiae, abdominal segments 5-6 and elytral apex light-ferruginous. Elytra adorned with an intricate array of two pale-testaceous fasciae and a pair of maculae of the same color, the position of these elytral markings is as follows: the first fascia is located on the anterior half of the elytral disc, this band is strongly procurved, initiating on the elytral suture and not reaching the epipleural fold; the second fascia is located immediately posterior to the first band and is moderately oblique, initiating on the epipleural fold and not reaching the elytral suture; the two macuale are located posterior to the humeral angles. Elytral pattern not elevated from elytral disc (Fig. 1E).

Head: Including eyes not wider than pronotum; eyes strongly emarginate, taller than wide, feebly bulging laterally, rather small, finely faceted; emargination subtriangular; integument moderately punctate; antennal notch anterior to antennal emargination; frons moderately bi-impressed. Antennae of male consisting of 10 antennomeres; antennomeres 2-3 small, beadlike; fourth antennomere serrate; antennomeres 4-9 pectinate, gradually increasing in size toward distal portion of antenna; last antennomer enlarged, as long as ninth antennomere, ovoid in shape, laterally compressed.

Thorax: Pronotum longer than broad; surface rugulose and strongly, finely punctate; punctations numerous, shallow; sides subparallel in dorsal view, then abruptly constricted on posterior fourth; disc convex. Prosternum feebly convex; surface smooth; conspicuously punctate, punctations shallow. Mesoventrite smooth; surface feebly punctate; finely vested. Metaventrite globate; surface smooth, strongly convex and finely punctate; longitudinal depression and metaventral process absent; metepisternum exposed but profusely covered with short, fine, pale setae observable in lateral view. Scutellum ovoid in shape.

Elytra: Humeri indicated; slender on anterior half and then gradually expanding behind middle; surface convex on first third, then strongly depressed on second third, and then conspicuously convex on last third; elytral sinuosity observable in lateral view; sculpture on elytral disc consisting on abundant, very shallow, irregularly arranged punctations almost imperceptible in some individuals; elytral apices rounded, moderately dehiscent; interstices on elytral base about 2 × the width of punctuation; epipleural fold complete, narrowing toward apex.

Legs: Femora swollen; surface shiny, smooth; vestiture consisting of some semi-recumbent setae, then abruptly vested with numerous pale, semi-recumbent, rather stout setae on distal face. Tibiae more profusely vested than femora; vestiture consisting on stout, pale, short, recumbent setae interspaced with some semierect setae.

Abdomen: Six ventrites; ventrites 1-4 broadly convex, smooth, rugulose, subquadrate, not depressed laterally; posterior margins truncate. Fifth ventrite shiny; lateral margins moderately obtuse; posterior margin broadly, shallowly emarginate. Sixth ventrite small; surface moderately excavated, shiny, feebly punctate, conspicuously broader than long; lateral and posterior margins strongly oblique, nearly semicircularly rounded (Fig. 5E). Fifth tergite sub-quadrate; surface moderately, coarsely punctate; posterior margin broadly, shallowly emarginate. Sixth tergite feebly concave, wider than long; surface smooth; lateral margins moderately oblique; posterior margin trun cate; posterolateral angles subquadrate. Sixth tergite extending beyond apical margin of sixth ventrite, fully covering sixth ventrite from dorsal view.

Aedeagus: Moderately robust; distal portion of phallus petiolate; phallobasic apodeme present; phallus with copulatory piece moderately swollen distally; intraspicular plate present, elongate; phallobasic lobes moderately procurved; tegmen complete, fully covering phallus; phallobasic lobes acuminate distally (Fig. 7C).

Female variation: The antennal shape of females is strongly serrate (Fig. 3F), rather than pectinate, as observed in males (Fig. 3C). Females have antennomeres 1-3 slender, antennomeres 4-5 are moderately serrate, and antennomeres 6-9 are strongly serrate, serrations gradually increase in size toward the distal end. Females also have the lateral and posterior margins of the sixth ventrite subquadrate (Fig. 5F), producing a somewhat semicircular pygidium. All females in the material examined were moderately larger than males.

Remarks.

Wolcott and Dybas (1947) described Callotillus intricatus based on two specimens, one male and one female (Fig. 2B), collected from a single locality 8 km west of San Jose, Costa Rica. This species is here transferred to Neocallotillus based on the pectinate antennae of male individuals (Fig. 3C) and the feebly pectinate to almost serrate antennae in females (Fig. 3F), these antennal shapes are very similar to those observed on Neocallotillus elegans (Fig. 3 A–B, D–E). Other characters that are similar in these species are general body shape (Fig. 1 A–E), elytral sculpturing, and the conical shape of the terminal segment of the maxillary palps.

Material examined.

PARATYPE: 1 male: Farm La Caja, 8 km W San José, Costa Rica, Eing, 12-VI to 20-VII-1924, hand written red label paratype depository: CNHM.

Additional material examined (N=9).

2 females: Costa Rica, Guanacaste, 3 km SW of R. Naranjo, 11-18-III-1992, F. D. Parker; 1 male, 3 females: Costa Rica, Guanacaste, 14 km S Cañas, 2-III-1990, F. D. Parker; 1 male, 2 females: Panama, Coclé province, El Valle [Anton], 19-II-1999, W. E. Wappes.