Azotoctla dasygastra, Cardona-Duque, Juliana & Franz, Nico M., 2012

Cardona-Duque, Juliana & Franz, Nico M., 2012, Description and phylogeny of a new Neotropical genus of Acalyptini (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Curculioninae) associated with the staminodes of Cyclanthaceae, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 166 (3), pp. 559-623 : 606-610

AZOTOCTLA DASYGASTRA CARDONA- DUQUE & FRANZ SP. NOV. ( FIGS 29–31 )

Diagnosis: Dark brown; rostrum slightly rugulose between antennal insertion and eyes; abdominal vestiture dense, more dense than on metaventrite; sternites 1 and 2 centrally concave, concavity surrounded by long, erect hairs; aedeagus slightly wider near apical third, without paired lateral, longitudinally orientated plates, apically opened, laterally sclerotized, apical ends pointed, curved, upturned; endophallus medially with two subtriangular-elongate sclerites and one inverted Y-shaped sclerite; aedeagal apodemes in lateral view subrectate, apically straight; female coxites basally strongly widened. Azotoctla dasygastra is distinguished from the remaining Azotoctla species by the dense abdominal vestiture; by the long, distinctly erect hairs on the male sternites 1 and 2, which surround the abdominal concavity; by the distinctly convex elytra in lateral view; by the apically opened aedeagus that lacks paired lateral plates – a trait that differs markedly from the remaining congeners and in turn resembles some species of Staminodeus – and finally by the apically straight aedeagal apodemes.

Description: Male ( Fig. 29A ): small, length 1.6– 2.0 mm, width 0.9–1.2 mm, oval l/w = 1.7–1.8 (N = 2). Colour dark brown; vestiture long, golden, most conspicuous on pronotum, elytra, mesepimeron, metanepisternum, femora, and tibiae. Rostrum short, 0.4– 0.5 mm; r/p = 1.1–1.2, brown, apex dorsally slightly flattened; in dorsal view slightly rugulose between antennal insertion and eyes; antennal insertion near apical third, scrobe subrectate, basally deep. Antennal club oval, I similar to two times length of II + III, II and III similar. Head ventrally reddish brown, glabrous; dorsally darkened, pilose. Eyes distant from pronotal margin by nearly one third of their diameter. Pronotum l/w = 0.7–0.8, brown, in dorsal view subquadrate, anterior margin 0.7¥ width of posterior margin, lateral margins basally parallel, greatest width at midpoint, vestiture long; posterior margin bisinuate; in lateral view conical. Mesepimeron ventrally not projected. Prosternum glabrous; procoxal cavities subcontiguous, inserted on posterior three quarters; prosternal process rounded; metaventrite sparsely pilose, punctulate; metacoxal cavities separated by distance similar to two times the mesocoxal diameter. Ventral vestiture dense. Prothoracic legs reddish brown; procoxa slightly pilose; profemur f/p = 1.1–1.2; protibia t/f = 0.9. Metathoracic legs slightly longer than mesothoracic; meso- and metatibiae anteroventrally pubescent along apical third. Scutellum pentagonal, brown. Elytra semicircular l/w = 1.3, anterior margins rounded; lateral margins slightly rounded, uniformly converging; in lateral view distinctly evenly convex; striae narrower than intervals; strial punctures small, dark brown, subcircular; intervals dark reddish brown, vestiture long. Abdomen nearly two times length of lateral margin of metaventrite, vestiture dense, much denser than on metaventrite, longer in sternite 1; sternites 1 and 2 centrally concave; concavity surrounded by long, erect hairs ( Fig. 29C ); 1 slightly longer than 2; 5 slightly longer than 2; sutures between sternites 2–5 deep. Tergites 1–4 incomplete; tergites 5–7 complete; tergites 5–6 lateroposteriorly and tergite 7 lateroanteriorly with paired strigate-sculptured regions. Tergite 8 completely covered by elytra; slightly wider than long, posterior margin straight, plicate, laterally rounded. Sternum 9 ( Fig. 30A ) with basal portion of basal plate suboval, Y-shaped; apical portion subquadrate, plicate, mesally emarginate; apodeme two times width of aedeagal apodemes. Tegminal plate reduced, basal piece Y-shaped; tegminal apodeme deflexed, nearly half length of aedeagus. Aedeagus ( Fig. 30B ) slightly wider near to apical third, medium, l/w = 3.0– 3.2 (N = 2); simple (as opposed to with paired lateral, longitudinally orientated, variously shaped plates); basal margin widely rounded, apex opened, laterally sclerotized, apical ends pointed, curved, upturned; tectum mesally partly sclerotized with two convergent, small, triangular sclerites (base and apex opened), apically with papillate tissue, papillae sparse; endophallus medially with one lobed elongate sclerite continuous with one inverted Y-shaped sclerite; in lateral view wide, ventral margin subrectate, apex upturned; aedeagal apodemes in lateral view subrectate, apically straight.

Female: length 1.5–2.1 mm, width 0.8–1.2 mm, l/w = 1.7–1.9 (N = 2). Rostrum ( Fig. 31A ) 0.4–0.5 mm; r/p = 1.2–1.3, brown to dark reddish brown apically, slightly tumescent above antennal insertion; antennal scrobe weakly projected to apex. Head dark brown. Pronotum dark brown, l/w = 0.7–0.8, anterior margin 0.7¥ width of posterior margin; lateral margins basally parallel; in lateral view conical. Pro- and mesoventrite laterally scarcely pilose. Prothoracic legs f/p = 1.1; t/f = 0.9. Elytra l/w = 1.4–1.5. Abdominal suture between sternites 1 and 2 not evident; pilosity of sternites 1 and 2 longer, appressed (as opposed to erect as in males), sternite 5 slightly longer than 3 + 4. Tergites 1–6 incomplete; lateroposterior part of tergites 4–6 and lateroanterior part of tergite 7 with paired strigate-sculptured regions. Tergite 8 semicircular, distinctly punctuate; posterior margin simple; anterior margin widely rounded; lateral margins simple. Sternum 8 ( Fig. 31B ) with lamina mesally emarginate (appearing complete, semicircular); furcal arms short, margin rounded. Coxites nearly as long as apodeme of sternite 8, basally strongly widened, styli apically with two long setae. Spermatheca ( Fig. 31C, D ) with corpus slightly swollen; apex of cornu narrowly rounded, projected; ramus and collum widely separated; ramus slightly protruded; collum strongly protruded, rugulose.

Variation: Several of the examined specimens have comparatively longer elytra that surpass the posterior margin of the abdomen. The males display variation in the opening of the aedeagal tectum and relative distance between the lateral aedeagal sclerites. The females show variability in the length and degree of swelling of the spermatheca (either longer and less swollen or shorter and more swollen); however, the spermathecal cornu is always distinctly projected ( Fig. 31C, D ).

Type material: Holotype male (dissected) ‘HONDU- RAS. Dept. [Departamento] Cortez, P. N. [Parque Nacional] Cerro Azul-Meambar, Los Pinos, N 14°52.4′; W 87°54.7′, 750–900 m, secondary montane forest, on Asplundia sp. flowers, 9.V.2002, RSA 2002-012x, leg. R. Anderson’ ( ASUT) . Paratypes, same label information as holotype male ( ASUT: seven males, 13 females; four dissected) and ( CMNC: eight males, six females; three dissected) ; ‘ HONDURAS. Dept. [Departamento] Cortez, P. N. [Parque Nacional] Cerro Azul-Meambar, Los Pinos, N 14°52.4′; W 87°54.7′, 750–900 m, secondary montane forest, on cyclanth? flowers, 9.V.2002 , RSA 2002-013x, leg. R. Anderson’ ( ASUT: four males, three females; five dissected) ; ‘ HONDURAS. Dpto. [Departamento] Cortez, P.N. [Parque Nacional] Cerro Azul Meambar, Los Pinos, N 14°52.4′; W 87°54.7′, 800 m, 02–03 montane forest FITs, 10–16.V.2002 , S. Peck’ ( CMNC: six males, six females; five dissected) ; ‘ Costa Rica, Heredia, La Selva, 40 m, on Dicranopygium wedelii , leg. N. Franz, III-29–1998 ’ ( ASUT: one male, dissected) ; ‘ Costa Rica, Heredia, La Selva, 40 m, on Asplundia euryspatha , leg. N. Franz, IV- 27–1997 ’ ( ASUT: one male, dissected) ; ‘ Costa Rica, Limón, San Clemente , 9°49′10″ N, 82°54′20″ W, 40 m, on Carludovica palmata , leg. H. Do & N. Franz, VI-5–2003 ’ ( ASUT: one male, dissected) ; ‘ Costa Rica, Puntarenas, Las Cruces, Biological Station Coto Brus , 1100 m, on inflorescence of Carludovica palmata , Ene-94, L. D. Gómez’ ( CMNC: six males, 11 females; six dissected) ; ‘ Costa Rica, Heredia, Estación Biológica, La Selva , 10°26′ N, 83°59′ W, 25 m, on flowers of Carludovica rotundifolia , 6-Mar-98, Luis D. Gómez’ ( CMNC: two females, two dissected) .

Etymology: Named in reference to the erect and long setae of the male abdominal sternites 1 and 2, based on the Greek words dasys, which means ‘hairy’, and gaster, which means ‘belly’ ( Brown, 1956).

Natural history: Azotoctla dasygastra is known from Honduras ( Fig. 36 ), and more specifically from the Cerro Azul-Meámbar National Park in the Department of Cortés, where adults have been taken from Asplundia sp. inflorescences. This species also occurs in Costa Rica and is found at the La Selva and Coto Brus Biological Stations on Asplundia euryspatha Harling , C. palmata , C. rotundifolia H. Wendl. ex Hook. f., and Dicranopygium wedelii Harling (see also Franz, 1999, 2007a). According to the available host records, A. dasygastra visits the greatest number of cyclanth genera, including the primarily riparian genus Dicranopygium Harling.

Figures

Figure 29. Azotoctla dasygastra, male. A, habitus, lateral view; B, head, lateral view; C, abdomen, lateral view.

Figure 30. Azotoctla dasygastra, male. A, sternum 9; B, aedeagus, dorsal and lateral view.

Figure 31. Azotoctla dasygastra, female. A, head, lateral view; B, sternum 8; C, D, spermatheca.

Figure 36. Azotoctla species distributions, II: Azotoctla aecuatorialis, Azotoctla clemmyssa, Azotoctla dasygastra, Azotoctla migueli, and Azotoctla nana.