Murmidius campbelli, Jałoszyński & Ślipiński, 2022

Jałoszyński, Paweł & Ślipiński, Adam, 2022, Revision of the family Murmidiidae (Coleoptera: Coccinelloidea), Zootaxa 5109 (1), pp. 1-102 : 33-35

Murmidius campbelli sp. n.

( Figs 81–87 , 123 , 129 )

Type material examined. Holotype ( Colombia): sex unknown, “ COLOM., Valle / Soladito, VII. / 20.1970,6700 / J.M. Campbell ” ( CNC) . Paratypes (4 exx): 1 ♂ and 1 ex. of unknown sex, same data as for holotype ( CNC, MNHW) ; Panama: 1 ex., “ PAN.: Chiriqui / Prov., Cerro Colora- / do (1290m), 24-I- / 1981”, “ FMHD #81-237 , semi- / dry hillside litter, / W. Suter ” ( FMNH); 1 ex., “ PAN: Bocas del Toro / Prov., 1345m Qda. / Gato , 21-I-1981 ”, “ FMHD #81-72 , log, W. / Suter” ( FMNH) .

Diagnosis. Body circular and strongly convex, dark brown, nearly black; antennal club over twice as long as broad; anterior clypeal margin smooth; pronotum with distinct, sulciform lateral longitudinal impressions, lacking sublateral impressions; frons and pronotum lacking microreticulation, vertex finely, transversely microreticulate, clypeus with isodiametric meshes; pronotum and elytra with very fine, inconspicuous punctures, elytra lacking large punctures arranged in rows; prosternal carinae reaching anterior ~1/3 of prosternum; mesoventral plate with evenly rounded anterior margin and submarginal carina interrupted just at middle, with strongly oblique lateral carinae; elytral epipleura not narrowed at the level of metaventrite and extremely broad, near middle broader than width of mesofemur; metaventrite entirely impunctate; penis stout, in lateral view weakly curved; in ventral view with broadly subtriangular apex; tegmen short and broad, with slightly emarginate apex bearing two pairs of short setae.

Description. BL 1.33–1.60 mm; BL/EW 1.15–1.20. Body circular ( Figs 81–82 ) and in lateral view strongly convex ( Fig. 84 ); pigmentation dark brown, nearly black, legs slightly lighter; dorsum very finely setose and with inconspicuous, fine and sparse punctures; cuticle strongly glossy, only clypeus and vertex finely microreticulate ( Fig. 123 ).

Head ( Fig. 123 ) 0.40–0.50 mm wide; frons weakly convex, with fine, inconspicuous punctures, glossy; clypeus matt and finely microreticulate, vertex with transverse microreticulation but glossy; eyes large, strongly convex, coarsely faceted. Antennal club over twice as long as broad.

Pronotum ( Figs 81–82 , 129 ) strongly transverse, widest at base; PL 0.25 mm, PW 0.88–1.00 mm, PL/PW 0.25–0.29; lateral margins weakly rounded and very strongly convergent anterad, with narrow lateral carinae; mesal corners of antennal cavities distinctly projecting anterad; lateral longitudinal impressions distinct, broad and deep anteriorly and reducing in width and depth toward pronotal base, posteriorly convergent with lateral pronotal margins; sublateral longitudinal impressions lacking; anterior pronotal margin not swollen and with barely discernible marginal carina. Punctures on disc ( Fig. 129 ) very fine, barely discernible, unevenly distributed, those on median area separated by spaces 2–5 times as wide as their diameters, large punctures lacking, surface of disc strongly glossy, lacking microreticulation.

Prosternum ( Fig. 83 ) with barely discernible (even with SEM), superficial transverse microreticulation and with fine, inconspicuous punctures; near middle with pair of small glandular openings; prosternal carinae short, anteriorly nearly reaching 1/3 of prosternum; notosternal carinae weakly sinuate, not reaching anterior prosternal margin, the latter with narrow marginal carina.

Elytra ( Figs 81–82, 84 ) together oval, with strongly rounded sides, broadest slightly in front of middle, EL 1.00– 1.28 mm, EW 1.15–1.38 mm, EL/EW 0.87–0.94. Humerus lacking callus; elytra virtually impunctate.

Hind wings reduced, narrow and about as long as elytra, unfunctional.

Mesoventral plate ( Fig. 85 ) with lateral longitudinal carinae present and strongly oblique, running at 45°-angle in relation to long body axis; anterior margin evenly rounded, with submarginal carina disrupted at middle.

Metaventrite ( Fig. 85 ) entirely impunctate. Discrimen externally not visible.

Tarsi with conspicuously long setae on tarsomeres 1–3 ( Fig. 83 ).

Aedeagus ( Figs 86–87 ) 0.98 mm long, conspicuously stout; penis in ventral view with broadly subtriangular, blunt apex, in lateral view weakly curved and extremely thick; tegmen with shallowly emarginate apex bearing 2 pairs of short setae.

Distribution. Neotropical ( Colombia and Panama).

Etymology. Name dedicated to Dr. Milton Campbell, the former curator of the Coleoptera at CNC and the collector of the holotype.

Remarks. Within this species group, M. campbelli is the only member that lacks any large punctures on elytra, and has a microreticulate clypeus and vertex, but not the frons and pronotum. Its aedeagus is most similar to that of M. panamanus , except for having more subtriangular apex. Externally these two species can be distinguished by the prosternal carinae in M. campbelli nearly reaching 1/3 of prosternum and straight (in M. panamanus reaching median glandular openings and each carina with its anterior end bent mesad at a right angle), the mesoventral plate with strongly oblique, complete lateral carinae (lacking any trace of lateral carinae in M. panamanus ), microreticulate vertex (smooth in M. panamanus ), and elytra lacking any large punctures (in M. panamanus there are ~15 large punctures on sides arranged in two slightly irregular rows).

Figures

FIGURES 81–87. Morphological structures of Murmidius campbelli sp. n. Body in dorsal (81–82), ventral (83) and lateral (84) views; pterothorax in ventral view (85); aedeagus (79) and penis (87).

FIGURES 123–128. Murmidius campbelli group, comparison of microsculpture on heads of M. campbelli sp. n. (123), M. panamanus sp. n. (124), M. araguanus sp. n. (125), M. meridensis sp. n. (126), M. tachiranus sp. n. (127), and M. trujilloensis sp. n. (128).

FIGURES 129–134. Murmidius campbelli group, comparison of microsculpture on pronota of M. campbelli sp. n. (129), M. panamanus sp. n. (130), M. araguanus sp. n. (131), M. meridensis sp. n. (132), M. tachiranus sp. n. (133), and M. trujilloensis sp. n. (134).