Wattius emmabaconae Smith & Sanchez

Smith, Aaron D. & Sanchez, Lucio A., 2015, Revision of the West Indian Wattius Kaszab (Tenebrionidae, Toxicini, Eudysantina) with lectotype designations for Pascoe's South American species, ZooKeys 537, pp. 111-130 : 118-122

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Tenebrionidae

Wattius emmabaconae Smith & Sanchez sp. n. Figures 7, 10-11, 12-13

Type material.

HOLOTYPE (male) labeled: (a) "DOMINICAN REP: Prov / Barahona, nr.Filipinas. / Mt. Tutu; 26-VI-7-VII- / 1992; P.E. Skelley / day catch, beating"; (b) " OSUC524311"; (c) "Tenebrionid Base / Aaron D. Smith / Catalog # 13781"; (d) on red paper, "HOLOTYPE/ Wattius / emmabaconae / Smith & Sanchez 2015". (OSUC). ALLOTYPE (female) labeled: (a) "DOMINICAN REPUBLIC/ Dajabon Prov. Los Cerezos./ 14km NW of Rio Limpio / 608-Fresh cut wood/ 19°18 ’42.9” N 71°36 ’36.6” W / 29 June 2010 S.Lingerfelter"; (b) "Tenebrionid Base / Aaron D. Smith / Catalog # 13780"; (c) on red paper, "ALLOTYPE / Wattius / emmabaconae / Smith & Sanchez". (SEMC) Paratype (male) labeled: (a) "DOMINICAN Rep.:Prov / Barahona. nr. Filipinas. / Larimar Mine: 26-VI-7- / VII-1992: Woodruff & / Skelly. at light"; (b) " OSUC524312"; (c) "Tenebrionid Base / Aaron D. Smith / Catalog # 13779"; (d) on yellow paper, 'PARATYPE / Wattius / emmabaconae / Smith & Sanchez 2015". (OSUC)

Diagnosis.

Wattius emmabaconae can be separated from the other West Indian members of the genus based on the following character combination: flight wings fully developed, meso- and metacoxae separated by more than mesocoxal width; pronotal horn strongly produced, apex strongly expanded and bifurcate in males; femora with smooth rounded callosities; outer margins of tibia with two distinct rows of elongate smooth callosities, males lacking apical spine.

Description

(Male). Length 8.0-8.4 mm, width 2.8-3.3 mm (n = 2 specimens). Body, excepting antennae, eyes, underside of head, scutellum, tarsi, and coxae generally coated with thin shellac, often capturing debris on surface. Color ferruginous to black. Head: Frons and clypeus with dense shallow foveae, shallow to absent on clypeus, each fovea with one decumbent scale-like setae near center. Sharp setose tubercle with minute pit at apex present above eye, setae curved towards tubercle apex; one or more similar tubercles present between apex of eye and frontoclypeal margin. Frontoclypeal suture distinct, deeply impressed; clypeus with sharp lip along anterior margin, margin straight. Epistoma between eye and clypeus raised, with one or more sharp tubercles. Deep impression pre sent around eye from epistoma to apex. Eye reniform; emarginate at epistoma anteriorly, ventral lobe larger than dorsal, with micro-granulate triangular callus posterior to middle of eye. Labrum with transverse medial ridge, long golden setae present from ridge to anterior margin on dorsal surface, margin straight with setae on vertical surface. Mandible bifid at apex; maxillary palp four segmented, apical segment securiform; mentum trapezoidal, widest at anterior margin, medial longitudinal ridge present, forming anteriorly facing tooth near front margin. Antenna with distinct three segmented club, club lighter than preceding segments and tomentose, antennomeres 10 and 11 fused, with sinus visible near lateral edges, segment 9 darker at base and lightening towards apex and lateral margins; antennomere 3 approximately 1.2 × length of antennomere 4, antennomeres 4-8 subequal in length. Prothorax: Pronotal disc weakly convex, widest anterior to middle; densely, nearly confluently, shallowly foveate, each fovea with one decumbent scale-like setae near center; moderately tuberculate, forming irregular V-shaped pattern from near scutellum to anterior fourth, each tubercle bearing apical minute pit and covered in scale-like setae curved towards apex; anterior fourth of pronotum giving rise to raised medial horn, horn gradually sloping towards head, strongly expanded and bifid in apical third of length; posterior fourth of pronotum with slight medial depression, lacking tubercles, near scutellum; lateral margin distinct and crenulate; anterior apices strongly produced and acute, posterior apices acute, not projecting. Hypomeron densely shallowly foveate, each fovea with one decumbent scale-like setae. Prosternum anterior to coxa approximately as long as coxal cavity, medially nearly level with prosternal process; prosternal process raised between coxa, apex acute, projecting behind coxa. Pterothorax: Wings fully developed. Elytron parallel sided to posterior fourth, before sharply sloping and tapering caudad; stria weakly indicated by deep rounded punctures, interstria with somewhat regularly spaced tubercles and decumbent scale-like setae, tubercle structure as described for those on head and pronotum; 4th, 7th, and 10th interstria with tubercles forming weak costae, tubercles between 4th and 7th interstria and elytron suture occasionally forming irregular transverse costae. Scutellum glabrous and impunctate, width approximately 1.4 × length, nearly V-shaped. Mesoventrite short, sparsely setose, anteriorly weakly emarginate behind prosternal process with submedial rows of rounded tubercles anterior to mesocoxal cavities, mesocoxal cavities open. Metaventrite long, separating meso- and metacoxal cavities by more than mesocoxal cavity length, sparsely setose with decumbent scale-like setae, impunctate. All other ventrites on the pterothorax micro-granulate, often obscured by shellac, with decembent scale-like setae. Legs: Mesotrocantin exposed; femora lacking spines or other protrusions, sculpturing finely transversely rugose with irregular smooth callosities on distal laterad half, decumbent scale-like setae emerging from shallow folds throughout; tibia clothed in decumbent scale-like setae, outer margins with two distinct rows of elongate smooth callosities, inner apical margin with socketed spurs and apical spine vestigial to absent, small patch of golden setae present near anterior apex of all tibia; tarsal formula 5-5-4, venter of distal tarsomere on all legs with sparse golden setae, venter of all other tarsomeres clothed with dense long golden setae. Abdomen: Ventrites smooth, clothed in sparse decumbent scale-like setae; abdominal intercoxal process subequal in width to prosternal process, anterior margin with small medial projection; intersegmental membranes concealed; ventrite 5 lacking submarginal groove; abdominal defensive reservoirs present; sternite viii weakly sclerotized and setose, deeply medially emarginate, emargination V-shaped; parameres fused, weakly acuminate to apex and curved ventrad.

Female. Similar to male, horn very weakly expanded and bifid at apex.

Distribution.

Known from only two localities in the Dominican Republic on Hispaniola.

Etymology.

The specific epithet is in honor of Emma C. Bacon and was chosen by her loving partner Christiaan Harden, a generous contributor to the authors’ ongoing biodiversity studies.