Hypsilara breweri, Jr, Fedor Čiampor, Laššová, Kristína & Čiamporová-Zaťovičová, Zuzana, 2013

Jr, Fedor Čiampor, Laššová, Kristína & Čiamporová-Zaťovičová, Zuzana, 2013, Hypsilara breweri n. sp. from Venezuela: description of new species with notes on the morphology and phylogenetic relationships of the genus (Coleoptera: Elmidae: Larainae), Zootaxa 3635 (5), pp. 591-597 : 593-594

Hypsilara breweri n.sp.

Type locality: small stream ca 5m wide, with orange-brown coloured humic water, slowly flowing in degraded forest, with submerged roots, logs and leaf litter.

Type material: holotype male (NMW): “ Venezuela, Gran Sabana, Sierra de Lema env., small stream ca 5m wide with sand and submerged roots and wood, 1410 m a.s.l., 05°57'46,8'' N, 061°25'30,8'' W, 19.11.2011, Čiampor Jr & Čiamporová-Zaťovičová lgt.”, paratypes (CCB, CKB): 11 specimens with the same locality data as holotype.

Diagnosis. H. breweri n.sp. is externally very similar to H. royi . It differs in smaller size, produced elytral apices, and different shape of aedeagus as follows: a) phallobasis longer, ca 0.6 times as long as main lobe (0.45 in H. royi ), b) parameres shorter, ca 0.67 times as long as main lobe (0.85 in H. royi ). Both species are also well characterized by differences in cox1 gene.

Description. Habitus as in Fig. 1 . Body elongate, (CL: 3.96–4.15 mm), 2.28–2.44 times longer than wide (CL/ EW), dorsum moderately convex, dorsal surface with very dense short recumbent setae and more sparse longer, dark, semierect setae. Coloration of head dark brown, antenna paler. Body dark brown dorsally, venter reddishbrown, coxa and trochanter light reddish-brown, tibia and tarsus brown.

Head partly retractable into prothorax. Labrum short, partly concealed by clypeus, shiny, with large punctures and short fine setae, lateral angles rounded; clypeus shorter and wider than labrum, about 2.5 times as wide as long, densely setose; frontoclypeal suture visible, straight. Eyes well developed, protruding from head outline, suboval in lateral view, bordered with long setae along upper margin, ID 0.50 mm; cranial surface not raised near dorsal margin of eyes. Antennae eleven segmented; scape long, curved; pedicel shorter; both densely setose; remaining segments forming club, nearly as long as scape and pedicel combined.

Thorax. Pronotum widest behind middle, PW: 1.24–1.27 mm, PL: 0.95–0.96 mm; disc convex, with narrow median longitudinal groove in posterior half (not reaching posterior margin), widely V-shaped transversal depression before middle and pair of deep admedian prebasal punctures; sublateral grooves slightly curved, well developed from base, reaching middle of pronotum; sides of pronotum slightly convex in posterior 2/3, subparallel in anterior third; lateral margins explanate (wider anteriorly); anterior angles rounded, slightly protruding; posterior angles orthogonal. Hypomeron slightly narrowed posteriad, anteriorly with transverse groove, anterior depression shallow. Prosternal process twice as long as prosternum in front of coxae, narrow, triangular; apex rounded; mesal line raised. Surface of prosternum with sparse shallow punctures, densely setose, in males with mesal tuft of dark setae anteriorly. Mesoventrite short and wide, between coxae with distinct transverse darkened carina, mesoventral cavity large and deep, mesoventral discrimen absent. Metaventrite slightly depressed anteriorly; discrimen thin, present from anterior 0.25 to posterior margin; disc flat, densely pubescent, sides with larger punctures, separated by a puncture diameter, prebasally with row of punctures, in males stripe of longer dark setae on each side of disc. Elytra 3.00– 3.20 mm long (EL), 1.70–1.74 mm wide (EW), subparallel in anterior 0.55, then tapering toward feebly produced apices; disc moderately convex, posterior third and lateral margins strongly declivous; surface densely pubescent; elytral margin dark brown to black; anterolateral portions rounded; epipleuron glabrous, widest anteriorly, narrowed posteriad. Each elytron with ten rows of deep punctures, striae slightly narrowly impressed; striae 3 and 4 fused before apex. Scutellum flat, wider than long, sides arcuate. Legs moderately long, tibiae not flattened, hind tibiae longest; metacoxae transverse prebasally with distinct short transverse carina ( Fig. 2 —yellow arrows).

Abdomen. Intercoxal process of first ventrite triangular, surface with deep punctures separated by 1–2 puncture diameter; longer than wide, lateral sides raised, continuing in carinae reaching posterior margin of ventrite, apex subacute; second ventrite with small punctures; fifth ventrite slightly emarginated subapically on both sides. The ninth segment and spiculum gastrale as in Fig. 6 . Aedeagus ( Figs. 3–5 ) elongate, fibula absent, corona membranous; parameres shorter than median lobe, widest at base, moderately narrowed in basal half, distal half narrow, subparallel, apices subacute; median lobe subparallel in basal 5/6, apical sixth distinctly narrowed with acuminate apex (ventral view); in lateral view parameres subparallel, median lobe curved, slender except widened base. Median lobe and parameres with sparse fine spines. Ovipositor ( Fig. 7 ) with terminal segment short, cylindrical; preterminal segment elongate 8.1 times as long as terminal segment, bearing several small spines and sensilla; basal segment ca. 1.1 times as long as preterminal and distal segments combined.

Sexual dimorphism. Generally, the external morphology of both sexes is very similar. Males can be distinguished by slightly smaller size and patches of darkened setae on prosternum and disc of metaventrite ( Fig. 2 —white arrows).

Distribution. H. breweri n.sp. is known only from the type locality.

Habitat (sampling site). The specimens were collected by kick sampling and individual collecting in a slowly flowing stream with no riffles, near Sierra de Lema on Gran Sabana. The stream at the sampling site was about 5 m wide, with sandy substrate and characterized by submerged roots and wood and slowly decomposing leaf litter packs ( Fig. 8 ). Water was naturally humic with pH 4.84, contributing to very orange to brown colour of the water. The measured conductivity was 5 µS, total dissolved solids (TDS) 2 ppm and water temperature 19.7 °C.

Etymology. The species is dedicated to our good friend Charles Brewer Carias.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Habitus of the Hypsilara breweri n. sp. (holotype). Scale bar: 1 mm.

FIGURE 2. Hypsilara breweri n. sp. (holotype) ventral view.

FIGURES 3 – 6. Hypsilara breweri n. sp. (holotype): 3) aedeagus ventral view; 4) aedeagus dorsal view; 5) aedeagus lateral view; 6) segment 9 and spiculum gastrale. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.

FIGURE 7 – 9. 7) ovipositor of Hypsilara breweri n. sp. (paratype), scale bar: 0.1 mm; 8) type locality of Hypsilara breweri n. sp.; 9) map of the distribution of Hypsilara species (Hypsilara royi Maier & Spangler 2011, Hypsilara breweri n. sp., Hypsilara sp.).