Cyclocephala dolichotarsa Ratcliffe and Cave, 2008

Ratcliffe, Brett C. & Cave, Ronald D., 2008, The Dynastinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) of the Bahamas with a description of a new species of Cyclocephala from Great Inagua Island, Insecta Mundi 2008 (24), pp. 1-10 : 3-5

Cyclocephala dolichotarsa Ratcliffe and Cave , new species

Figure 2-3

Type Material. Holotype labeled ‘’ BAHAMAS: Great Inagua, Salt Pond Hill ; blacklight trap; 12-VII- 2007, Thomas, Turnbow & Smith ”. Allotype labeled “ BAHAMAS: Great Inagua, South Bay road; blacklight trap in Coccothrinax forest, 10-vii-2007; Thomas, Turnbow & Smith, colls”. Six male paratypes labeled as holotype; one male paratype with same data but date of 10-VII-2007; 2 male paratypes labeled as allotype; 1 male paratype labeled “ BAHAMAS, Great Inagua, Matthew Town, 16 July 2007, M. C. Thomas ”; 2 male paratypes labeled “ BAHAMAS, Great Inagua, Matthew Town , at light, 9 July 2007, R. Turnbow” . Holotype, allotype, and 4 paratypes deposited at the Florida State Collection of Arthropods ( Gainesville , FL) ; remaining paratypes deposited at the University of Nebraska State Museum ( Lincoln , NE) (1) , U. S. National Museum (Washington, D.C., currently at University of Nebraska) (1), Ronald D. Cave collection ( Port St. Lucie , FL) (1) , and Brett C. Ratcliffe collection ( Lincoln , NE) (3).

Holotype. Male. Length 8.1 mm; width 3.9 mm. Color completely testaceous except for piceous apices of femora, tibiae, and tarsomeres. Head: Surface finely shagreened. Frons with small, sparse punctures. Frontoclypeal suture impressed, slightly arcuate. Clypeus with small, moderately dense punctures; apex broadly parabolic, weakly reflexed, with marginal bead. Interocular width equals 3.0 transverse eye diameters. Antenna with 10 segments, club longer than segments 2-7. Pronotum: Surface sparsely punctate; punctures minute to small. Base with complete marginal bead. Elytra: Surface shagreened, punctate; punctures small to moderate in size, shallow, some in striae with setae; setae sparse, very slender, moderately long, pale, in rows. Pygidium: Surface finely scabrous, setigerous; setae long, pale, moderate in density. In lateral view, surface regularly convex. Legs: Foretibia tridentate, teeth subequally spaced from one another. Both spurs at apex of metatibia with apices acute. Protarsus weakly enlarged: tarsomeres 2-4 each slightly larger than preceding and with small, ventral angulation at apex; 5th barely curved, about 5 times longer than 4th, with elongately oval depression on median side, ventral lobe or teeth absent; median claw enlarged (about three times thickness of lateral claw), apex finely cleft, base with small, rounded lobe. Posterior tarsus almost twice as long as posterior tibia. Claws on meso- and metatarsi long, slender, about 2/3 length of tarsomere 5. Venter: Prosternal process minute, narrowly conical, with long, dense setae. Parameres: Figure 3 .

Allotype. Female. Length 7.7 mm; width 3.9 mm. As holotype except in the following respects: Head: Clypeus densely punctate, almost rugopunctate. Elytra: Lateral margin for almost entire length with sparse row of long, slender setae. Pygidium: Surface finely shagreened, punctate; punctures small, moderately dense. In lateral view, surface less convex than in male. Legs: Foretarsus simple, not enlarged. Both spurs on apex of metatibia with apices rounded. Posterior tarsus only a little longer than posterior tibia. Claws of meso- and metatarsi slightly shorter than those in male.

Variation. Males (12 paratypes). Length 7.1-8.5 mm; width 3.7-3.9 mm. The male paratypes do not differ significantly from the holotype. All but one have a sparse row of long, slender, dark setae on the lateral margin of the elytra (as in the female), thus suggesting that most of these setae were abraded away in the holotype.

Diagnosis. Cyclocephala dolichotarsa appears superficially melolonthine-like because of its slender legs and long tarsomeres combined with an elongate, “soft” body form. This species is recognized by the presence of a marginal line at the base of the pronotum, relatively large antennal club, parabolic clypeus, presence of sparse, dorsal setae in rows on the dorsal surface of the elytra and along the lateral elytral margin, tridentate protibia, slender and elongate tarsomeres and claws of the meso- and metatarsi, small prosternal process, lack of any dorsal pattern, simple epipleuron in the female, and form of the parameres in the male. In Endrödi’s (1985) key to Cyclocephala species, C. dolichotarsa will go only so far as either couplets 143 or 151, depending on how you characterize the elytral setae (absent or sparse versus abundantly present).

The male parameres in caudal view resemble those of C. cubana (Chapin) , but that species is almost twice the size of C. dolichotarsa , has a shorter antennal club, stout meso- and metatarsomeres, an epipleural flange on the elytral margin of the female, and short, blunt parameres in lateral view.

The “soft” body form and very elongate tarsomeres and claws are reminiscent of those characters in C. melolonthida Ratcliffe and Cave from El Salvador. Cyclocephala dolichotarsa and C. melolonthida were both collected from sandy beach habitats and share characters possibly adapted for this relatively harsh environment: small, “soft” body form; reduced prosternal process; presence of at least some long, dorsal setae; and elongate and slender tarsomeres and claws.

Distribution. Great Inagua, at 1544 km 2, is the third largest island in the Bahamas. It is located at the southern end of the Bahamas archipelago, where it is less than 90 km from both Cuba and Haiti. It is one of the driest islands in the Bahamas, with an average rainfall of only 65 cm. The low rainfall, combined with the drying northeast trade winds, contribute to the establishment of xerophytic vegetation over most of the island. The highest point on the island is 33 m. All the specimens of C. dolichotarsa were collected at blacklight traps in a sand habitat. The Salt Pond Hill locale is dominated by buttonwood trees ( Conocarpus erectus [L.]) and mangrove forest with some larger trees, and the South Bay road locale ( Figure 4-5 ) has a widespread, dwarf palm forest of Coccothrinax inaguensis Read.

Etymology. From the Greek dolichos, meaning long, and tarsos, meaning foot. Hence the long-footed

Cyclocephala .

Figures

Figure 2-3. 2) Cyclocephala dolichotarsa Ratcliffe and Cave, n. sp. Scale line = 1.0 mm. 3) C. dolichotarsa parameres.

Figure 4-5. 4) Rocky outcrop in Coccothrinax inaguensis forest along south coast of Great Inagua. Photo by M. C. Thomas. 5) Roadside in Coccothrinax inaguensis forest along northwest coast of Great Inagua. Photo by M. C. Thomas.