Cryptognatha whitney 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 : 11-12

8. Cryptognatha whitney González and Hanley , new species

Description. Male holotype. Length 3.0 mm, width 2.8 mm. Dorsal surface shiny with faint trace of microsculpture. Color black; head yellow; pronotum yellow with black area restricted to basomedian 1/3, apex of black area sinuate, abruptly indented with yellow medially (Fig. 44); venter black except mouthparts yellow, legs reddish yellow. Head without punctures; pronotal punctures small, separated by a diameter or less; elytral punctures slightly larger than on pronotum, separated by less than a diameter to 4 times a diameter except lateral margin with coarse punctures separated by a diameter or less; prosternal punctures large, separated by a diameter or less; mesosternal punctures larger than on prosternum, separated by less than a diameter, contiguous, metasternal punctures large, separated by two or three 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, slightly less than twice as wide as eye, apex truncate medially, lateral 1/8 slightly retracted, angle acute (Fig. 45); eye canthus long, about 3/4 width of eye. Prosternum with lateral carina on each side extended from apex of intercoxal process nearly to midpoint 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 about 3/4 as long as paramere, parallel-sided with apical 1/8 narrowed to rounded apex; paramere slender, parallel-sided, apex rounded (Fig. 46, 47); penis lost.

Female. Similar to male except head weakly depressed, brownish yellow with dark brown macula on vertex; pronotum black except anteromedian 1/5 of pronotum yellow; genitalia with spermathecal capsule comparatively slender, tapered from wide ramus to acute apex of cornu.

Variation. Length 2.7 to 3.1 mm, width 2.6 to 2.9 mm.

Type material. Holotype male: Colombia, Guateque (B), Oct. 10, 1938, Alt. 1900 m, LM Murillo No. ( USNM) . Paratypes; 10, 8 same data as holotype ; 1, Guyata, Colombia, Boy;18.X.40, altitude 1720 m, Murillo No 5295 ; 1, Colombia, Boy 1720 m, Guayata, Oct. 18, 1940, Murillo No 5296. ( USNM) .

Remarks. This is the only known species of the auriculata group with entirely black elytra. It is distinguished from other entirely black species by its larger size.