Mesonoterus laevicollis Sharp, 1882

Scheers, Kevin & Thomaes, Arno, 2014, A review of the Burrowing Water Beetles of Belize with a key to the species (Coleoptera: Noteridae), Belgian Journal of Entomology 51, pp. 1-17 : 1-17

Mesonoterus laevicollis Sharp, 1882

( Figs 1C , 3C )

TYPE LOCALITY. Guatemala, Escuintla district, Paso Antonio .

MATERIAL EXAMINED. STANN CREEK: Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, Wari Lagoon, 16°46'46,1"N, 88°28'2,4"W, 07.V.2015, Leg. K. Scheers & A. Thomaes (1ex.) TOLEDO: Indian Creek , Lake of former Lodge, 16°18'45,1"N, 88°49'31,4"W, 29.IV.2015, Leg. K. Scheers & A. Thomaes (1ex.) .

Published records from Belize: This species is newly recorded from Belize.

DIAGNOSIS. TL = 2.5–2.9 mm; venter pale yellowish brown, head and pronotum yellowish brown with disc of pronotum distinctly paler, extending nearly to the lateral margins and forming a pale band across the pronotum; elytra brown, distinctly darker than head and pronotum; punctation on elytra coarse and deep ( Fig. 1C ); male genitalia with aedeagus small and indistinct and left paramere large with long setae. The only species of its genus in Belize, easily recognizable from the other species of Noteridae by the rounded prosternal process and by the prominent punctation.

DISTRIBUTION. (NT) Argentina, Belize (first records), Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay.

HABITAT. This species seems to be rare in Belize and was only encountered at two sites, both with only one specimen. Both sites were sunlit permanent ponds with a rich marginal vegetation. In both cases it co-occurred with Hydrocanthus debilis , Suphisellus insularis and S. nigrinus .

Figures

Fig. 1. Dorsal view of the species of Noteridae in Belize. A, Hydrocanthus debilis Sharp, 1882; B, Hydrocanthus marmoratus Sharp, 1882; C, Mesonoterus laevicollis Sharp, 1882; D, Suphisellus insularis (Sharp, 1882); E, Suphisellus lineatus (Horn, 1871); F, Suphisellus neglectus Young, 1979; G, Suphisellus nigrinus (Aubé, 1838); H, Suphisellus varians (Sharp, 1882); I, Notomicrus sharpi J. Balfour-Browne, 1939.

Fig. 3. Distribution maps of the species of Noteridae in Belize. A, Hydrocanthus debilis Sharp, 1882; B, Hydrocanthus marmoratus Sharp, 1882; C, Mesonoterus laevicollis Sharp, 1882; D, Suphisellus insularis (Sharp, 1882); E, Suphisellus lineatus (Horn, 1871); F, Suphisellus neglectus Young, 1979; G, Suphisellus nigrinus (Aubé, 1838); H, Suphisellus varians (Sharp, 1882); I, Notomicrus sharpi J. Balfour-Browne, 1939 (white dots indicate sampled sites and black dots indicate sites where the species is recorded, elevation map as background in which dark shading increases with height).