Lipancylus cracens Prena

Prena, Jens, 2012, Two New Species Of Lipancylus Wollaston (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Baridinae) From North America, The Coleopterists Bulletin 66 (4), pp. 305-308 : 307-308

Lipancylus cracens Prena , new species

Strongylotes parallelus auctt. [partim] (not Champion 1907).

Diagnosis. Lipancylus cracens has a basal elytral fascia and broadly lamelliform tarsal claws which are basally fused. All other North American and Mexican species with incompletely fused claws lack elytral fasciae. Furthermore, L. cracens differs from L. copelatus in having a prosternal channel, a single apical spine on the protibia, and usually a finely denticulate profemur.

Description. Total body length 3.4– 4.4 mm. Body narrow-elongate, subcylindrical ( Fig. 2 ). Color reddish brown to black, pronotum and head usually darker than elytron, appendages at least partially reddish; white squamiform setae basolaterally and anterolaterally on pronotum, elytral base, mesepimeron, mes- and metepisternum, prosternum (including prosternal channel) and dorsally on femora. Head spherical; eyes short ovate, flush with head contour; frons slightly wider than rostrum at base, frontal fovea absent; rostrum slender, subcylindrical, very slightly curved, somewhat longer than pronotum, transition to frons with feeble transverse depression; mandibles moderately stout and decussate, inner face with 1 small secondary tooth; antennal scrobe descending and reaching ventral margin of rostrum in basal third; antenna inserted before mid-length of rostrum, second funicular segment 3 times longer than wide. Prothorax approximately as wide as humeri, subcylindrical, greatest width in apical third and with frontal section abruptly rounded, punctation moderately deep but absent along median line; base not margined, slightly sinuous; anterior margin nearly straight, laterally with feeble tubular constriction; prosternum with moderately deep channel with simple lateral margins in front of coxae, intercoxal prosternal process slightly tumescent; procoxae separated by width of funicle. Elytral apices simple and conjointly rounded, incompletely covering pygidium up to transverse pygidial fold; humeri developed, subapical elytral callosity weak; striae deep and continuous, finely punctate; interstriae with single row of fine pits, ninth distally incrassate and convex, others flat. Last (distal) external tergite with abruptly depressed, hirsute apical section with median tumidity. Sclerolepidia digitate. Tergite 7 without plectra and ventral surface of elytron without discernible stridulatory files. Legs slender; profemur with fine denticles; tibiae apicodorsally with comb of thick setae, ventrodistal spine spiniform, subequal in length to tarsal claw, hind tibia ventrally slightly sulcate and with short process opposite of ventrodistal spine; protarsus with tarsomere 3 barely wider than rostrum, tarsal claws lamelliform, with basal two-thirds fused. Aedeagus with sides (upward-curved part of pedon) convex to nearly flat in profile.

Distribution. The species occurs in Mexico and reaches the extreme southern tip of Texas.

Material Examined. Holotype male, labeled “ TEXAS, Hidalgo Co./ Bentsen-Rio Grande / Valley State Park / April 20, 1985 / J.B. Wooley 85/005”, “ Strongylotes / parallelus/ Champ./ det. R. S. Anderson

1989”, “ HOLOTYPE / Lipancylus / cracens Prena ” ( TAMU). Paratypes (1 male, 3 females): USA . Texas: Hidalgo Co., Bentsen-Rio Grande St. Pk. , 11.vi.1975, C. L. Smith, 1 male ( CWOB) ; Hidalgo Co., Santa Ana Refuge , 11.iv.1976, B. Tilden, 1 female ( CWOB) . MEXICO. Colima: 7 mi S Colima , 18.vii.1983, Kovarik, Harrison and Schaffner, 1 female ( TAMU) . Guerrero: Hwy. 95, 12 mi S of Río Mezcala, 6.viii.1965, G. H. Nelson, 1 female ( CWOB) .

Etymology. The name is a Latin adjective for graceful.

Figures

Figs. 1–2. Lipancylus species, dorsal and lateral habitus. 1) L. copelatus, male, from near Portal, Arizona (USA);