Phyllophaga (Phyllophaga) gigantea (Bates, 1888)

Vallejo, Luís Fernando & Wolff, Martha, 2013, The genus Phyllophaga Harris (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) in the Colombian Andean Mountains, Zootaxa 3722 (2), pp. 101-142 : 120-122

14. Phyllophaga (Phyllophaga) gigantea (Bates, 1888)

Redescription. Length 31 mm. The species has an elongate, oval body that is wider at the dorsal extreme; dark chestnut-brown in color. The pronotum is wider than it is long ( Fig. 63 ) with surface densely covered in setae and finely crenulate lateral margins. The clypeus ( Fig. 63 ) is wide, slightly sinuous, concave with raised margins and a densely punctate surface; vertex is profusely covered with small setae. Antennae ( Fig. 64 ) have 10 antennomeres with long and compact antennal clubs. Tarsal claws (Fig, 65) are cleft, with a sharp ventral tooth, longer than the average length of the others, and located in a central position. Metatibiae ( Fig. 66 ) are flat, long, cylindrical, with three teeth; the second tooth pronounced and the third tooth smaller, with two sharp spurs, the inner spur being shorter than the outer spur; two transversal carinae are present in the dorsolateral region, one at a mid-position and the other at a basal position. Pygidial plate ( Figs 67–69 ) is convex with abundant erect, short and medium-sized setae on the abdomen.

New geographic record. Departamento de Risaralda: Municipio de Santa Rosa de Cabal, vereda El Jazmín (1,525 m), January 2009, cafetal sombreado. Fernando Vallejo, 2 females.

Bates (1888) refers to this species as Lachnosterna gigantea , from the Chontales region in Nicaragua and Chiriquí, Bugaba, and Volcán Chiriquí in Panama. He cites seven specimens, of which three are black or dark chestnut-brown (including legs and antennae) from Chiriquí and the others from Chontales are chestnut-brown. They differ from other species in that the clypeus is slightly sinuous along the dorsal margin. Blackwelder (1944) recorded Colombia as part of the distribution.

We found two female specimens in a Andean coffee ecosystem in the municipality of Santa Rosa de Cabal in Central Colombia Coffee Region. The description was made from these specimens. We expect this species to be found in other similar localities in Antioquia, Boyacá, Caldas, Chocó, Cundinamarca and Tolima.

Figures

FIGURES 63 – 69. Phyllophaga gigantea adult female. Pronotum, dorsal view (63), right antenna (64), right protarsal claw (65), right metatibia (66), abdomen apex appearance, lateral view (67), frontal view (68), ventral view (69). Scale: 1 mm.