Chrysina donthomasi Monzón and García, 2011

Sierra, José Monzón & Morales, Leccinum Jesús García, 2011, Two new species of Chrysina Kirby (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae) from Mexico, Insecta Mundi 2011 (195), pp. 1-8 : 5-8

Chrysina donthomasi Monzón and García , new species

( Figures 3, 4 , 6, 8, 9, 12 , 18 , 22 , 28, 34, 40 , 44 )

Type material. Holotype male ( Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México ( UNAM)) labeled “ MEXICO, Nuevo León, 6 Km NW Laguna de Sánchez, N 25°21.28´W100°20.32´, El. 1927m; 4 September 2006, D. C. Robacker & M. J. Massa ” . Allotype female ( UNAM) labeled as holotype except “ 30 July 2005, D. Thomas & J. Blackaller ” . Paratypes (22 males and 14 females) with data as follows: Same data as holotype (9 males and 5 females) ; same data except “ 6 August 2005, D. Thomas & D. Robacker ” (9 males and 6 females) ; same data except “ 9 July 2005, D. C. Robacker ” (1 male) ; same data except “ 8 June 2005 ” (1 female) ; same data except “ 22 July 2006 ” (1 male and 1 female) ; same data except “ 13-22 July 2007, D. C. Robacker ” (1 male); same data except “ 22 July 2008 ” (2 females); same data except “ Sierra potrero de Abrego, 2km W de El Cilantrillo, (8km SW de Laguna de Sánchez). Bosque de pino-nogal y encino. Luz hg, 30-31/07/2005. 1922 msnm. EPE 5 mts, CG N25°21.279’ W100°20.321’ D. Thomas, B. Warfield, D. Robacker & J. Blackaller cols, Colección J. Blackaller ” (4 males and 4 females) . Paratypes deposited in the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala Collection of Arthropods ( UVGC), Florida State Collection of Arthropods ( FSCA), Instituto Tecnológico de Ciudad Victoria (Tamaulipas, Mexico) and the private collections of Donald Thomas (Texas, U.S.A.), David Robacker (Texas, U.S.A.), Julian Blackaller (Veracruz, Mexico), Thierry Porion (France) and José Monzón (Guatemala).

Description. Holotype male. Length 30.0 mm; width at elytral humeri 13.0 mm; maximum width (middle of elytra) 15.0 mm. Color of dorsum yellowish green; ocular canthi golden green, antennal segments brown with scape, first and last segments and scape darker, dorsum of scape with pink and green iridescence; elytra with internal and external margins green with faint yellowish tint; scutellum with lateral margins yellowish green; pygidium yellowish green with margins golden. Color of venter dull yellowish green with golden reflections. Legs with femora and trochanter pinkish iridescent green, tibiae iridescent pink and tarsi golden pink. Head dorsal surface slightly convex with punctures small and moderately dense, sparser and smaller towards anterior margin. Clypeus ( Fig. 6 ) free margins semiparabolic in dorsal view, surface slightly depressed, margins weakly reflexed; interocular distance 2.0 times wider than antennal club length. Mentum ( Fig. 8 ) subquadrate; anterior depression wide; lateral depressions absent; posterior depression wide; surface setigerously punctate, punctures sparse. Pronotum at base 2.3 times as wide as interocular distance; surface similar to frons except punctures deeper and wider towards lateral margins. Lateral margin completely beaded except effaced on basal margin in front of scutellum and anterior margin between inner border of eyes. Elytra punctate striate; striae well marked with deep punctures; interstriae weakly convex with abundant deep punctures. Elytron 19.5 mm long and three times as long as pronotum; lateral margin with complete bead. Pygidium punctate; apical margin with scattered pale setae and metallic shine; surface moderately convex and prominent before apex ( Fig. 22 ). Penultimate sternite widely sinuated; apical sternite indented. Venter with mesometasternal protrusion short, apex rounded and slightly depressed ( Fig. 18 ). Metepisterna and metasternum laterally setigerously punctate, setae fine and white. Legs with protibia clearly tri- dentate; dorsal and ventral surface with scattered setigerous punctures, setae stout and sharp ( Fig. 12 ). Genitalia with parameres fused, apically asymmetrical and deeply and widely notched; ventral plates gradually narrowing towards fine and sharp apex; length of genital capsule 9.0 mm ( Fig. 28, 34, 40 ).

Allotype female. Similar to male except as follows: width at elytral humeri 12.5 mm; maximum width (middle of elytra) 16.5 mm; interocular distance 2.5 times wider than antennal club length; pronotum at base 2.4 times as wide as interocular distance; dorsal surface more convex; tarsi less robust; epipleural border wide; last sternite without apical depression. Inferior genital plates subsymmetrical, moderately convex with very sparse short pale setae ( Fig. 44 ).

Variation. Males length 26.0 to 33.0 mm; width at elytral humeri 12.0 to 15.0 mm; maximum width (middle of elytra) 15.0 to 18.0 mm. Females length 28.5 to 35.0 mm; width at elytral humeri 12.5 mm to 15.0 mm; maximum width (middle of elytra) 15.5 to 18.5 mm. Except for size, venter metallic sheen and elytral punctation, all the specimens form a uniform series.

Etymology. It is a great honor to name this species for Donald Thomas who has been of invaluable help to the study of the fauna of Mexico.

Diagnosis. This species is a medium sized green Chrysina in the Peruviana group (sensu Hawks 2001). It is most similar to C. beyeri and C. nogueirai (Morón 1992) from which it can be separated by the following combination of characters in the males: Genitalia with parameres short ( Fig. 40 ) compared to C. beyeri and C. nogueirai ( Fig. 41, 42 ) and slanted towards the left significantly in dorsal view ( Fig. 28 ) compared to being subsymmetrical in C. beyeri and C. nogueirai ( Fig. 29, 30 ), ventral plates drop shaped without internal margins produced into saddle ( Fig. 34, 35, 36 ); propleura ( Fig. 9 ) with rugose punctures and metallic shine compared to C. beyeri ( Fig. 10 ) but not as rough or saturated as in C. nogueirai ( Fig. 11 ); ventral side of protibiae smooth with scattered large punctures ( Fig. 12 ) compared to having dense rough punctures in C. beyeri ( Fig. 13 ) and C. nogueirai ( Fig. 14 ); mesometasternal protrusion with apex ( Fig. 18 ) parallel sided with rounded tip, in C. beyeri ( Fig. 19 ) and C. nogueirai ( Fig. 20 ) triangular and reduced; pygidium external margins straight not concave ( Fig. 22, 23, 24 ). Elytral sculpture intermediate between the rougher and more densely punctured C. nogueirai and the smoother C. beyeri . Female inferior genital plates simply rounded with slight serration ( Fig. 44 ), setae short and sparse compared to widely serrated with long setae in C. beyeri ( Fig. 45 ) and shouldered with wide serration and long setae in C. nogueirai ( Fig. 46 ).

Distribution and remarks. Chrysina donthomasi is currently known from the Sierra Potrero de Abrego in the highlands of the Sierra Madre Oriental of Nuevo León state, northeastern Mexico (approximately 35 air kilometers south of Monterrey) around the town known as “El Cilantrillo”. According to Don Thomas and Dave Robacker, this species seems to be more abundant in areas where walnut trees occur with oak and pine.

Figures

Figures 1-4. Dorsal and ventral habitus of adultChrysina specimens (1.5x).1-2) C. blackalleri male holotype from La Esperanza, Oaxaca, Mexico. 3-4) C. donthomasi male holotype from Laguna de Sánchez, Nuevo León, Mexico.

Figures 5-14. Chrysina spp. structures.5-6) Clypeus of male.5) C. blackalleri. 6)C. donthomasi. 7-8)Mentum of male.7) C. blackalleri.8) C. donthomasi. 9-14) Propleura and underside of male foretibiae.9) C. donthomasi. 10) C. beyeri. 11) C. nogueirai. 12) C. donthomasi. 13) C. beyeri. 14) C. nogueirai.

Figures 15-20.Ventral view of mesometasternal protrusion of male Chrysina spp. 15) C. blackalleri. 16) C. dianae. 17) C. taylori. 18) C. donthomasi. 19) C. beyeri. 20) C. nogueirai.

Figures 21-24.Pygidium of male Chrysina spp.21) C. blackalleri. 22) C. donthomasi. 23) C. beyeri.24) C. nogueirai.

Figures 25-42. Male genital capsule of Chrysina spp. 25-30) Dorsal habitus. 25) C. blackalleri. 26) C. dianae. 27) C. taylori. 28) C. donthomasi. 29) C. beyeri. 30) C. nogueirai. 31-36)Ventral habitus. 31) C. blackalleri. 32) C. dianae. 33) C. taylori.34) C. donthomasi.35) C. beyeri.36) C. nogueirai. 37-42) Lateral habitus. 37) C. blackalleri. 38) C. dianae. 39) C. taylori. 40) C. donthomasi. 41) C. beyeri. 42) C. nogueirai.

Figures 43-46. Female inferior genital plates of Chrysina spp. 43) C. blackalleri. 44) C. donthomasi.45) C. beyeri. 46) C. nogueirai.