Cryptognatha pam González and Hanley, 2019

F, Guillermo González, Hanley, Guy A. & Gordon, Robert D., 2019, South American Coccinellidae (Coleoptera), Part XIX: Overview of Cryptognathini and systematic revision of South American Cryptognatha Mulsant, Insecta Mundi 714 (714), pp. 1-32 : 9

4. Cryptognatha pam González and Hanley , new species

Description. Male holotype. Length 2.6 mm, width 2.4 mm; Dorsal surface shiny, elytron with faint trace of microsculpture. Color yellow; pronotum with 5 faint brown spots, 2 on disc, 3 along posterior margin, all spots small, round; elytron with single dark brown vitta extended from base across humeral angle to apex at suture on apical declivity ( Fig. 21 ). Head without punctures; pronotal punctures small, separated by less than a diameter; elytral punctures larger than on pronotum, separated by less than a diameter to twice a diameter; prosternal punctures large, separated by less than a diameter; mesosternal punctures larger than on prosternum, separated by less than a diameter, metasternal punctures large, separated by 2 or 3 times a diameter medially, entirely absent in lateral 1/3; basal abdominal ventrite with coarse punctures separated by about a diameter medially, lateral 1/3 of ventrite and ventrites 2–4 lacking punctation, ventrite 5 with dense, fine punctation. Head with frons parallel-sided, medially depressed, twice as wide as eye, apex truncate medially, lateral 1/8 slightly retracted, angle acute ( Fig. 22 ); eye canthus long, about 3/4 width of eye. Prosternum with lateral carina on each side extended from apex of intercoxal process nearly to slightly more than 1/3 length of prosternum. Epipleuron strongly descending externally. Postcoxal line on basal abdominal ventrite evenly curved, extended 3/4 distance to rear margin of ventrite. Genitalia long, penis guide nearly as long as paramere, parallel-sided with apical 1/8 narrowed to rounded apex; paramere slender, parallel-sided, apex rounded ( Fig. 24 ); penis lost.

Female. Similar to male except head weakly depressed; median 1/3 of pronotum entirely light brown; genitalia with spermathecal capsule comparatively slender, tapered from wide ramus to acute apex of cornu.

Variation. None observed.

Type material. Holotype male: Venezuela, Aragua, Ocumare de la Costa, s.n.m, 25-VII-1974, En Aspidiotus sobre Cocofaro. ( USNM) . Paratypes: 2, 1 same data as holotype except collector C. J. Rosales ; 1, San Esteban, Ven. nr. Puerto Cabello, Dec. 1 to 20, 1939, P. J. Anduze. ( USNM) .

Remarks. This species has an extremely distinctive dorsal color pattern unlike any other observed in Cryptognatha . The three specimens available for observation did not show color variation.

Figures

Figures 21–39. Cryptognatha spp. 21–25) Cryptognatha pam. 21) Habitus. 22) Frons. 23) Proleg. 24) Phallobase ventral. 25) Spermathecal capsule. 26–31) Cryptognatha amicta. 26) Habitus. 27) Frons. 28) Proleg. 29) Phallobase ventral. 30) Phallobase lateral. 31) Penis. 32–39) Cryptognatha kellie. 32) Habitus. 33) Frons. 34) Proleg. 35) Phallobase ventral. 36) Phallobase lateral. 37) Penis. 38) Spermathecal capsule. 39) Genital plates.