Brachiacantha eleanor Gordon and Canepari, 2014

Gordon, Robert D., Canepari, Claudio & Hanley, Guy A., 2014, South American Coccinellidae (Coleoptera), Part XVI: systematic revision of Brachiacantha Dejean (Coccinellinae: Hyperaspidini), Insecta Mundi 2014 (390), pp. 1-76 : 46-47

37. Brachiacantha eleanor Gordon and Canepari , new species

Description. Male holotype. Length 2.1 mm, width 1.6 mm; body oval, convex. Dorsal surface with head alutaceous, dull, pronotum weakly alutaceous, slightly shiny, elytron smooth, shiny. Color black except head yellow, pronotum yellow with large, oval mediobasal macula extended 2/3 distance to anterior pronotal margin, macula slightly indented with yellow on apex, lateral 1/4 of pronotum yellow; elytron black with 1 small, triangular, yellow spot on humeral angle ( Fig. 211 ); ventral surface with antenna, mouthparts, legs yellow; abdomen brown. Head punctures small, separated by a diameter or less, each puncture about as large as an eye facet; pronotal punctures slightly larger than head punctures, separated by a diameter or less, elytral punctures larger than on pronotum, separated by 1 to 2 times a diameter; metaventral punctures larger than on elytron, separated by a diameter or less. Clypeus emarginate apically, lateral angle rounded, surface with sparse, long pubescence. Eye canthus about 6 eye facets long, angled forward, apically rounded, yellow. Pronotum narrowed from base to apex, basal and anterior angles abrupt, lateral margin weakly rounded, basal margin without trace of bordering line medially. Epipleuron narrow, grooved, not descending externally, deeply emarginate for reception of femoral apices. Protibia narrowly flanged, flange less than width of remainder of protibia, outer margin straight, smooth, basal tooth small, length about 1/10 width of tibia at base, sponda slightly extended beyond protibial flange ( Fig. 212 ). Carinae on prosternal process widely separated at apex, slightly convergent toward base, not joined, ended at basal 1/3 of prosternum. Metaventrite without setal tuft. Basal abdominal ventrite without setal tuft. Abdomen with postcoxal line on basal abdominal ventrite flattened along posterior ventrite margin, extended forward apically, ventrite with sparse, long pubescence and small, dense punctures; ventrites 2–6 pubescent throughout, punctures fine, dense; ventrite 3 without cusp on each side of middle; ventrites 3–5 depressed medially with tuft of setae on each side of emargination, 5th ventrite with apex broadly, weakly emarginate; 6th ventrite depressed medially, apex broadly emarginate. Apical tergite densely punctured, apex emarginate. Genitalia with basal lobe about as long as paramere, slender, symmetrical, slightly “pinched” laterally at basal 1/3, widened in apical 1/2, sides rounded to acute apex; paramere weakly Psc, slender, sinuate in dorsal view, apex rounded ( Fig. 213, 214 ); sipho robust, strongly curved in basal 1/2, without visible lateral alae, basal capsule lightly sclerotized, inner arm short, narrow, apex bifid, outer arm wider and longer than inner arm, with small accessory piece, basal border broadly, shallowly emarginate ( Fig. 215, 216 ).

Female. Similar to male except head entirely black, pronotum with anterior border black. Genitalia with spermathecal capsule short, wide, widened from base to apex; bursal cap without sclerotized arms, apical strut short, base wide, narrow medially, apex minutely enlarged ( Fig. 217 ).

Variation. None observed.

Type material. Holotype male; Paraguay, Sapucay , Zool. Mus. Berlin. ( ZMHB) . Paratypes; 2, same data as holotype ( ZMHB) .

Remarks. This species is highly distinctive because of the black elytron with only a small, triangular spot at the humeral angle. It somewhat resembles B. buckleyi , but that species is much larger and has a yellow ring almost completely around the elytron.

Figures

Figures 211–229. 211–217. Brachiacantha eleanor. 211) Habitus. 212) Protibia. 213) Phallobase ventral. 214) Phallobase lateral. 215) Sipho. 216) Enlarged siphonal apex. 217) Female genitalia. 218–224. Brachiacantha tucumanensis. 218) Habitus. 219) Protibia. 220) Phallobase ventral. 221) Phallobase lateral. 222) Sipho. 223) Enlarged siphonal apex. 224) Female spermathecal capsule and bursal cap. 225–229. Brachiacantha valerie. 225) Habitus. 226) Phallobase ventral. 227) Phallobase lateral. 228) Sipho. 229) Enlarged siphonal apex.