Carcinops wenzeli Reese and Swanson, 2017

Reese, Ellen M. & Swanson, Alexander P., 2017, A Review of the CactophilicCarcinopsMarseul (Coleoptera: Histeridae) of the Sonoran Desert Region, with Descriptions of Six New Species, The Coleopterists Bulletin 71 (1), pp. 159-190 : 182-184

Carcinops wenzeli Reese and Swanson , new species

( Figs. 2E , 6 , 9J , 21 )

Type Series. HOLOTYPE. Male. “ USA: AZ: Santa Cruz Co. / Sycamore Cyn. 31.40946°N / 111.15423°W, 1400m, 11.XI.2006 / ex. decaying Dasylirion wheeleri / A. Swanson, APS173 ( FMNH; DNA voucher: APS173 ) . PARATYPES. 5 specimens. Same data as holotype ( APS, 1; MCZ, 1; CASC, 1; UNAM, 1; USNM, 1) .

Diagnosis. Ground punctures: Micropunctures clustered in groups of 3 or 4 ( Fig. 6 ). Head: Frontal stria continuous with marginal epistomal stria ( Fig. 4B, C ). Pronotum: Marginal stria moderately divergent from anterior edge along midline ( Fig. 4A ). Elytra: Dorsal stria 5 and sutural stria subequal in length to dorsal striae 1–4, fading into a row of punctures basally but reaching or nearly reaching proximal base of elytra ( Fig. 7 ); internal subhumeral striae present and strongly impressed; external subhumeral stria present as strong punctures. First abdominal ventrite: Lateral disc

tristriate ( Fig. 2E ). Aedeagus: Parameres straight and sharply pointed at tips ( Fig. 9J ).

Description. L: 2.10 mm; W: 1.56 mm; E/Pn L: 1.85; E/Pn W: 1.12; Pn W/L: 1.90; E L/W: 0.87; Sterna: 0.64, 0.15, 0.61 mm. Form oval, moderately depressed; color black, shiny; ground punctation on all surfaces consisting of a compact cluster or row of 3 micropunctures. Frons slightly convex, moderately coarsely, densely punctate; frontal stria continuous with marginal epistomal stria.

Pronotum convex, widest at base and converging anteriorly; marginal stria complete, strongly impressed, subparallel to anterior edge of pronotum— not widely separated from anterior edge behind head; anterior angles acute, projecting; pronotal disc finely, densely punctate in lateral thirds to lateral margins, lateral fields of dense punctation sharply defined with internal boundaries diverging posterad; posterior margin gently rounded, marked by a row of coarse, widely separated punctures; antescutellar puncture weakly impressed.

Prosternal lobe coarsely, densely punctate anteriorly; marginal stria complete; prosternal keel convex; carinal striae slightly inwardly arcuate, united posteriorly.

Elytra finely, densely punctate; coarse punctures densely distributed along apical margins and extending basad to about apical third along elytral suture; epipleuron strigose-punctate in basal half, coarsely punctate in apical half; epipleural marginal stria slightly less outwardly arcuate than elytral striae, striae gradually converging from elytral base to apex; outer edge of elytral stria cariniform, inner edge lined with coarse punctures; external subhumeral striae represented by 2–3 coarse punctures; internal subhumeral striae complete, strongly impressed, punctate at regular intervals; 1 st –4 th dorsal striae complete, strongly impressed, also punctate at regular intervals, 5 th dorsal and sutural striae represented by dense rows of strong punctures apically, fading basad but nearly reaching elytral base where 5 th dorsal stria curves slightly inward to meet sutural stria.

Mesosternum finely, moderately densely punctate; anterior margin strongly emarginated to receive posterior prosternal projection; marginal stria complete, deeply impressed, continuous with lateral metasternal stria; mesometasternal suture represented by a fine line; intercoxal disc of metasternum finely, moderately densely punctate with coarse punctures distributed along inner edges of lateral metasternal striae; lateral metasternal stria strongly sinuate, strongly impressed, nearly reaching extreme outer edge of metacoxal cavity; posterior mesocoxal stria parallel to internal but distinctly shorter; lateral disc coarsely, densely punctate.

Intercoxal disc of 1 st abdominal ventrite finely, moderately densely punctate with some coarse, dense punctation confined to posterolateral regions; bistriate on each side medial to metacoxae; lateral disc with 2 parallel striae medial to lateral marginal stria, surface bare in anterior half with coarse sparse punctures in posterior half.

Propygidium hexagonal, coarsely, very densely punctate; punctation of pygidium somewhat less so.

Protibia explanate, roughly triangular; outer margin bidentate in distal half; denticles rounded, clearly projecting beyond tibial margin. Meso- and metatibia roughly cylindrical; outer margins abruptly expanded at distal sixth, forming lateral flanges from which 2 acute denticles project; mesotibia also bearing a single acute denticle at midpoint of outer margin.

Parameres of aedeagus parallel, not converging, each coming to an extremely sharp, hooked point ( Fig. 9J ).

Comparison with Related Species. Carcinops wenzeli is virtually indistinguishable from its close relative C. opuntiae on the basis of external morphology alone. Carcinops opuntiae tends to be larger and slightly more elongate, but there is substantial overlap in these dimensions. Where their ranges overlap in Arizona, C. opuntiae is restricted to the necroses of various cacti, while C. wenzeli is found only on decaying yucca and agave. Carcinops wenzeli and C. opuntiae may be definitively separated only through comparison of the aedeagus. In C. wenzeli , the parameres are straight and sharply pointed at the tips ( Fig. 9J ). In C. opuntiae , the parameres are laterally sinuate and rounded at the tips ( Figs. 9E ).

Geographic Distribution and Habitat. Carcinops wenzeli occurs in the oak-juniper woodland of the lower slopes of the Sky Islands of southeastern Arizona and the Sierra Madre of Sonora, Mexico. It is generally associated with decaying basal stalks of plants in the subfamilies Agavoideae ( Yucca spp. , Agave spp. ) and Nolinoideae ( D. wheeleri ), although APS collected one specimen from a necrotic Opuntia sp. cladode (see Martin et al. 1998 for a brief discussion of this unidentified Opuntia species ) near Alamos, Sonora.

Additional Material Examined. 28 specimens. MEXICO: Sonora: Arroyo Santa Barbara nr. Alamos, 27.11326°N 108.72591°W, 1,350 m, 29.V.2007, ex. decaying Agave sp. , A. Swanson (APS, 24; DNA vouchers: APS137, APS174); Arroyo Santa Barbara nr. Alamos, 27.11547°N 108.70767°W, 1400m, 3.VI.2007, ex. Necrotic Opuntia sp. , A. Swanson (APS, 1; DNA voucher: APS141). USA: Arizona: Cochise Co., Chiricahua Mts., Pinery Cyn, 15.VIII.2006, ex. decaying Agave sp. , A. Swanson (APS, 2); Patagonia, VII.1936, E. S. Ross (CASC, 1).

Derivation of Specific Epithet. Carcinops wenzeli is named for the former curator of histerids at the Field Museum of Natural History, the late Dr. Rupert Wenzel.

Figures

Fig. 2. Variation of the lateral disc of the first abdominal ventrite in Carcinops species. A) Single stria present (C. torquatus), B) Single stria with microsculptures present (C. rugulus), C) Bistriate (C. consors), D) Bistriate (C. yaqui), E) Tristriate (C. wenzeli). Photographs by A. Swanson.

Figs. 3–6. Head morphology of Carcinops kumeyaay, with arrows showing key character states: 3) C. kumeyaay; 4) C. corticalis; 5) C. curtus. Photographs by E. Reese. 6) Ground punctation patterns on the pronotum of species in the subgenus Carcinopsida (Carcinops wenzeli). Photograph by A. Swanson.

Fig. 9. Aedeagal morphology of Carcinops species, with parameres toward the top of the page and basal pieces toward the bottom. A) C. consors, B) C. gilensis, C) C. corticalis, D) C. papagoanus, E) C. opuntiae, F) C. curtus, G) C. rugulus, H) C. torquatus, I) C. yaqui, J) C. wenzeli. Photographs by A. Swanson.

Fig. 21. Carcinops wenzeli morphology. A) Dorsal view, B) Ventral view. Photographs by A. Swanson.

Figs. 7–8. 7) Long elytral striae highlighted on Carcinops kumeyaay; 8) Short fifth and sutural elytral striae highlighted on Carcinops yaqui. Photographs by E. Reese.