Phelister fraternus, Caterino & Tishechkin, 2020

Caterino, Michael S. & Tishechkin, Alexey K., 2020, Recognition and revision of the Phelister blairi group (Histeridae, Histerinae, Exosternini), ZooKeys 1001, pp. 1-154 : 1

30. Phelister fraternus sp. nov. Figs 19A, B , 20A, B , Map 12

Type material.

Holotype male: " Guyane Française: Matoury, Chemin du Lac des Américains, La Désirée 4°50.8'N, 52°19.8'W [4.8467, -52.33] 8.x.2011. SEAG leg." / "Caterino/Tishechkin Exosternini Voucher EXO-01767 (MNHN).

Other material.

Bolivia: Santa Cruz, 5 km SSE Buena Vista, Flora y Fauna Hotel (-17.4987, -63.6521), 440 m, 12/15/02-12/24/03, FIT, S. & J. Peck, EXO-00375 (CMNC, 1ex.); Brazil: Mato Grosso, Mpio. Cotriguaçu, Fazenda São Nicolau, Matinha (-9.8383, -58.2508), October 2009, FIT, M.S. Gigliotti, EXO-03030 (CEMT, 1ex.).

Diagnostic description.

Length: 3.15-3.43 mm (avg. 3.32 mm); width: 2.76-3.11 mm (avg. 2.98 mm). Body large, rounded, strongly convex, castaneous; most surfaces conspicuously punctate, with small ground punctation and significantly larger punctures rather sparsely intermingled; head with frons depressed along midline, weakly produced above antennal bases; supraorbital stria present, disconnected from frontal stria at sides; frontal stria complete, continued finely above epistoma; epistoma laterally weakly carinate, weakly constricted at base, elevated along anterior margin; labrum short, apex weakly emarginate; left mandible with weak basal tooth; pronotum broad, with punctures larger and denser toward prescutellar area; prescutellar impression absent; median pronotal gland openings annulate, located ~ 2/3 from anterior margin; lateral submarginal stria complete, strongly impressed; lateral marginal stria complete and continuous with anterior marginal; elytron with one complete epipleural stria; outer subhumeral striae complete, inner subhumeral slightly abbreviated from base; all other dorsal striae complete, 1st-3rd subcarinate, 5th arched to sutural stria; propygidium large, midline length equal to that of pygidium; prosternal keel emarginate at base, with primary striae anteriorly connected, posteriorly divergent; secondary striae present along basal 1/2 of keel; prosternal lobe rounded, marginal stria absent; mesoventrite with strong median projection; marginal mesoventral stria complete, postmesocoxal stria short, ending behind coxa; mesometaventral stria weakly angulate at middle, reaching anterior third of mesoventrite, continued by lateral metaventral stria to inner 1/3 of metacoxa; metaventrite and anterior 1/2 of 1st abdominal ventrite conspicuously punctate; 1st abdominal ventrite with single, incomplete lateral stria along inner edge of metacoxa; protibiae weakly expanded, with inner edge weakly rounded, outer edge weakly 5-dentate, each tooth with small spine; meso- and metatibiae not distinctly expanded, tarsi not compressed. Male: basal piece 1/4 length of tegmen; tegmen with sides subparallel in basal 2/3, abruptly narrowed to ventrally curved apices; medioventral process absent; median lobe ~ 1/4 tegmen length.

Etymology.

We name this species fraternus as a reference to the ‘brotherhood’ of three similar but non-identical specimens we have available of the species.

Distribution.

The entirety of material available for this species is three specimens from three disparate locations (the type locality in French Guiana, plus Santa Cruz, Bolivia and Mato Grosso, Brazil).

Remarks.

In having the posterior 1/2 of the pronotum increasingly densely punctate, this species resembles species of Crenulister . This shared character may be informative, although they do not resolve together in preliminary phylogenies. This is true of the following two species newly described here, as well, having some characters of Crenulister , but resolving apart from it in results of analyses to date.

There is some variation among the specimens studied. The Brazilian example has a more nearly complete inner subhumeral stria, while the one from Bolivia has only a few basal fragments. The Brazilian specimen’s pronotum is also faintly explanate.

Figures

Map 12. Collecting records for Phelister geijskesi (circles), P. fraternus (squares), P. conjunctus (star), P. striatinotum (inverted triangles), and P. chabooae (upright triangle).

Figure 19. A, B Phelister fraternus: A dorsal habitus B ventral habitus C, D P. conjunctus: C dorsal habitus D ventral habitus E, F P. chabooae: E dorsal habitus F ventral habitus G, H P. striatinotum: G dorsal habitus H ventral habitus.

Figure 20. Male genitalia A, B Phelister fraternus: A aedeagus, dorsal B aedeagus, lateral C, D P. conjunctus: C aedeagus, dorsal D aedeagus, lateral E, F P. striatinotum: E aedeagus, dorsal F aedeagus, lateral.