Marmarina parvula Ratcliffe, 2015

Ratcliffe, Brett C., 2015, A Review of the Neotropical GenusMarmarinaKirby, 1827 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae: Gymnetini), with Description of a New Species from Argentina, The Coleopterists Bulletin 69 (2), pp. 183-201 : 193-195

Marmarina parvula Ratcliffe , new species ( Figs. 23–28 )

Type Material. Holotype male, labeled “Argentina/ Salta /D o La Viña/Cabra Corral/ Coll. Martinez /Ene. 991// H &A HOWDEN/ COLLECTION/ex A. Martinez coll.” and with my red holotype label . Allotype female with same data except date of “Marz. 91” and with my red allotype label. Paratypes labeled as follows: 2 males with same data as holotype but with date of “Marz. 91”, and 1 male labeled “ Argentina / Salta /D o La Viña / Ampascachi / Coll. Martinez / Ene. 993”; 1 female labeled “ ARGENTINA, Prov. Salta / Viñaco, 15kmS. El Carril / 12.II.1982 /H & A Howden//Deposit/Ant Refuse”. All paratypes with my yellow paratype label . Holotype, allotype, and two paratypes deposited at CMNC . One paratype deposited each in UNSM and BCRC .

Holotype. Male. Length 11.4 mm; width across humeri 6.1 mm. Ground color and punctures black, weakly shiny, with enamel-like yellowish orange on head and pronotum and enamel-like pale greenish yellow on pygidium and elytra, with opaque yellowish orange marks as follows: Head completely covered except for black spot on center of occiput and on apical rim of clypeus. Pronotum completely covered except for thick, broken, black bands radiating anteriorly from base

26–27) Parameres.

of pronotal lobe ( Fig. 23 ). Elytra each covered except on median half and short, incomplete, oblique black bands on lateral half ( Fig. 23 ). Pygidium intermittently covered on apical half. Venter shiny black with intermittent, enamel-like pale yellowish green on mesepimera, metepisterna, metasternum, and posterior margins of abdominal sternites 1–5. Metacoxae on lateral edge, all metafemora, and meso- and metatibiae each with intermittent, enamel-like pale yellowish green. Head: Frons with punctures small, moderately dense. Clypeus with small, sparse punctures; apex reflexed, subtruncate in dorsal view, emarginate in anterior view. Interocular width equals 7.0 transverse eye diameters. Antenna with 10 antennomeres, club subequal in length to entire stem. Pronotum: Surface with small, sparse punctures on yellow areas, punctures larger, slightly denser on black areas. Lateral margins arcuate with slender marginal line not reaching basal angle. Elytra: Surface similar to that of pronotum except punctures on median half larger, horseshoeshaped. Sutural costa and costae on disc each strongly elevated on apical halves. Apices at suture subquadrate. Pygidium: Black areas densely rugopunctate, with minute, black setae; surface on colored areas usually with sparse, moderately large punctures. In lateral view, surface evenly convex. Venter: Metasternum with large, dense, round, setigerous punctures, setae long, black; mesometasternal process with small, sparse punctures. Mesometasternal process, in lateral view, short with apex projecting slightly downwards from ventral axis of body, apex rounded ( Fig. 24 ); in ventral view, sides tapering to rounded apex ( Fig. 25 ). Abdominal sternites 1–5 longitudinally depressed at center, mostly impunctate, each with small, sparse punctures on extreme lateral margins and with irregular row of small punctures on apical margin of sternites; sternite 6 with more punctures along apical margin. Legs: Protibiae weakly tridentate, basal tooth nearly obsolete. Parameres: In caudal view, form elongate, subrectangular, apices blunt and with small tooth on both mesal and lateral edges ( Figs. 26–27 ).

Allotype. Female. Length 9.9 mm; width across humeri 5.8 mm. As holotype except in the following respects: Head: Clypeus on apical half black; frons and base of clypeus with narrow, longitudinal, black line; clypeal apex barely emarginate. Antenna with club slightly longer than antennomeres 2–7. Venter: Yellowish green color on abdominal sternites reduced. Legs: Protibiae broader, strongly tridentate, teeth subequally spaced.

Variation. Males (3 paratypes). Length 10.6– 10.8 mm; width across humeri 5.5–6.5 mm. As holotype except in the following respects: Head: Clypeus with extended black area near apex in two specimens, frons with extended area of black at center in one specimen. Pronotum: Lateral margins slightly flattened between middle and basal angle. Pygidium: One specimen with surface completely black, rugopunctate.

Female (1 paratype). The specimen (found dead) is in four pieces that are card-mounted. A length measurement is not possible, but all characters are similar to those of the allotype.

Etymology. The epithet is adjectival and from the Latin parvus, meaning little or small, in reference to its small size. Used here in the diminutive to indicate very small.

Distribution. Marmarina parvula is known only from central and northwestern Argentina in Salta Province. At present, there are no other Marmarina collecting records from the type localities, but the collecting data are too fragmentary to say if M. parvula is truly isolated from other species. Di Iorio (2013, figs. 129–132) illustrated four additional specimens from San Luis and La Rioja in western Argentina that could be conspecific with M. parvula . I attempted to obtain these on loan so that I might designate them paratypes if they represented M. parvula , but this was not possible due to the extreme difficulties of securing permits simply for sending specimens from and to Argentina (O. Di Iorio, personal communication to BCR, 27 October 2014).

Locality Records. 6 specimens originally from AMIC and CMNC. ARGENTINA (6): SALTA (6): Ampascachi, El Carril (15 km S), Embalse Cabra Corral ( Fig. 28 ) .

Temporal Distribution. January (2), February (1), March (3).

Diagnosis. Marmarina parvula is unique in the genus because of its small size (less than 11.5 mm), abdominal sternites longitudinally depressed at the center, and the distinctive form of the parameres with small teeth on both the mesal and lateral edges of the apex of each paramere ( Fig. 26 ). These characters and those of the mesometasternal process will distinguish M. parvula from M. tigrina (compare Figs. 24–27 and 32–35 ).

Natural History. The specimens were collected from habitats that are all xeric. One specimen was taken from an ant refuse pile (label data).

Figures

Figs. 23–27. Marmarina parvula. 23) Habitus; 24–25) Mesometasternal process, lateral and ventral views;

Fig. 28. Topotype of Marmarina parvula at Cabra Corral, Salta, Argentina. Photograph by Gonzalo Rivero via Wikimedia Commons.

Figs. 32–35. Marmarina tigrina. 32–33) Mesometasternal process, lateral and ventral views; 34–35) Parameres.