Metadorcinus ranki Grossi

Grossi, Paschoal C. & Vaz-De-Mello, Fernando Z., 2007, A new species of Metadorcinus Kriesche from Brazil with notes on the genus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Lucanidae), Zootaxa 1478, pp. 49-59 : 50-56

Metadorcinus ranki Grossi & Vaz-de-Mello, new species

Type material. Holotype ɗ: BRASIL, Santa Catarina, São Bento do Sul, Estação Rio Vermelho, XI– 2002, 850 m., I. Rank legit. Allotype Ψ: same data as holotype. Holotype and allotype ex. coll. E. and P. Grossi, deposited in the Coleção Entomológica Padre Jesus Santiago Moure, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. Paratypes: 19 ɗɗ, 13 ΨΨ: 2 ɗɗ and 1 Ψ same data as holotype; 1 ɗ and 3 ΨΨ same data, XI-2004; 3 ΨΨ same data, XII-2003; 1 Ψ same data, 28-I-1998; 1 Ψ same data, 15-I-1999; 2 ɗɗ same data, I-2006 and 9 ɗɗ same data, I-2007, in Everardo and Paschoal Grossi collection, Nova Friburgo, Brazil; 1 ɗ and 1 Ψ same data, XII- 2003 in Fernando Z. Vaz-de-Mello collection, Lavras, Brazil; 1 ɗ and 1 Ψ same data, I-2006, at Museum für Naturkunde der Humboldt Universität, Berlin, Germany; 1 ɗ and 1 Ψ same data, at The Natural History Museum, London, UK; 1 ɗ and 1 Ψ same data, I-2006, at Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada; 1 ɗ, labeled: Rio Vermelho, SC [Santa Catarina], BRASIL, Dezembro 1956, A. Maller legit., ex Coll. Campos Seabra, in Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Holotype. ɗ ( Figs. 1–8 , 12–15 , 20–21 ). Length 13 mm (including mandibles), width at elytra 4 mm. Color: Body completely black, dull, with mandibles, antennae, legs, scutellum , pronotal process, and ventral part of the body shiny; base of mandibles reddish-brown. Head: Shorter than wide, weakly depressed, with scattered punctures; punctures more dense and coalescent laterally; frons wide and smooth. Canthus triangular, projecting laterally; posterior margin rounded, protruding halfway into eye. Mandibles gradually upturned, as long as head; ventrally with row of yellow setae; apices weakly bifurcated, with a dorsal excavate projection; bent inside, with a flat inner bifurcated process; basal tooth horizontal and obtuse. Labrum trilobate, central lobe larger with small punctures and long setae. Gena with large scattered punctures and short setae. Gula weakly depressed with small, non-contiguous punctures. Labium oblong, laterally rounded, with large separated punctures. Mentum trapezoidal with small, separated punctures. Antennae small with ten antennomeres; all antennomeres with short setae; scape curved, wider apically; club segments distally tomentose. Prothorax: Pronotum transverse, subrectangular, as wide as head, with complete border; surface with small, distinct punctures; anterior angles sharply pointed, posterior angles rounded; an elevated bituberculate median process is presented anteriorly; process smooth and shiny, medially with a longitudinal rhomboidal depression. Scutellum: Scutellum glabrous, anteriorly concave, with sparse scattered punctures. Elytra: Striae indicated by parallel lines of punctures; interstriae with many much smaller, scattered punctures (mainly anteriorly); humeri acute; elytral margins almost parallel in basal half. Legs: Protibiae with 8–9 external, welldeveloped teeth increasing in size distally; serrate between teeth. Protibiae with inner margin basally sinuate, distally bearing many setae. Mesotibiae with a strong median tooth and a smaller proximal one on the outer margin; three smaller apical spines, one dorsal and two ventral; small scattered spines are also present. Metatibiae with a submedial acute tooth and 2 distal spines with dorsal spine bifurcated. Base of all tarsomeres densely setose. Ve n t e r: Epipleuron with scattered setose punctures, punctures more dense posteriorly. Prosternum with elongate punctures and short setae; prosternal apophysis conical and obtuse with scattered setae, smooth and shiny apically. Mesosternum punctate, punctures small and setose; mesepisternum granulate with large punctures. Metasternum with small punctures and metasternal suture visible along the whole disk, posteriorly with some small punctures; metaepisternum with large punctures medially. All abdominal ventrites with small irregular setose punctures; pygidium semicircular, densely granulose, with dense yellow setae, mainly laterally and medially. Genitalia: Genital capsule ( Figs. 6–8 ) symmetric and complex, dorsal sclerite glabrous and wider basally. Apex of ventral sclerite with many long setae and a medial rectangular process, process whose length is 1/5 of its width; narrowed basally. Aedeagus ( Figs. 3–5 ) almost symmetrical. Phallobase laterally lobed and narrowed basally. Parameres apically rounded with minute lateral setae and a sharp spineshaped basal process, curved inside. Median lobe sclerotized medially; apically widened, membranous with many small lateral and ventral spiculae.

Allotype. Ψ ( Figs. 9–11 , 22–23 ). Length 12 mm, maximum width 4 mm. As male except for the following characters. Head: Mandibles short with one tooth on the inner side, the tooth on the left mandible larger than the one of the right mandible. Head strongly punctate with many irregular non-contiguous punctures, coalescent at sides and near weak anteromedian depression; vertex concave; gena depressed with large punctures. Canthus dividing the eye for one third. Labrum concave with sparse, setose punctures, ventrally with dense setae. Labium with large punctures, setose anteriorly and laterally. Gula anteriorly smooth. Prothorax: Pronotum convex with weak longitudinal depression; anteriorly with smooth, medial, slightly bilobed process. Surface strongly punctate, sides rugose; pronotal borders setose anteriorly and posteriorly. Scutellum: Scutellum depressed anteriorly with few isolated punctures, basally smooth. Elytra: Elytra strongly punctate anteriorly, each elytron with rows of punctures and 5 smooth longitudinal lines in interstriae, (the third one is the largest), laterally with scattered short setae. Legs: Protibiae with 5–7 large external teeth, serrate elsewhere; dorsally with two longitudinal setose ridges, setae denser distally. Mesotibiae bifurcate apically with 6 external teeth decreasing in size distally; 3 ventral teeth are also present, with the medial one being the smallest. Metatibiae with 1 large external tooth and many smaller spines both dorsally and laterally, apically with a rectangular process and 3 teeth. Ven t er: Mesoepisternum weakly granulate with few scattered punctures. Metasternum with not contiguous setose punctures; metaepisternum with 2 rows of punctures. Genitalia: ( Fig. 11 ) Form symmetrical. Dorsal plate smooth with two rounded basal lobes, styli enlarged apically, ventral plate setose and less sclerotized apically and internally.

Variation. Male length: 10–13 mm, width 3–5 mm. Female length: 8–12, width 3–5 mm. Paratypes similar to holotype and allotype except the following characters: males with less developed mandibles ( Figs. 12– 14 ) with less developed process and outer margin regularly convex, pronotum strongly punctured and less elevated, some females with protibial teeth less developed.

Etymology. The new species is named after Mr. Ivo Rank, an expert collector and butterfly breeder who collected these and other interesting stag beetle specimens.

Remarks. Metadorcinus ranki seems to be closely related to M. neotragus (Westwood, 1855) ( Figs. 16 , 28–29 ), from which it mainly differs in the stronger punctation of head, for the triangular shape of eye canthus, the different mandibular shape and for the absence of a strong pronotal process. Both species seem to be related to the group formed by M. cruentus ( Figs. 18 , 26–27 ), M. auritus Kriesche, 1922 ( Fig. 17 , 30-31 ), and M. ditomoides (Westwood, 1855) ( Figs. 19 , 24–25 ); the main differences are in the mandibles which are strongly upturned, in the more prominent canthus (except for large males of M. auritus and M. cruentus which show well developed canthi), and in the pronotal process which is more elevated. The new species is more robust than M. neotragus , M. cruentus , M. auritus , or M. ditomoides .

Metadorcinus neotragus , M. cruentus , and M. ditomoides are known to occur in the same orographic region as M. ranki . M. neotragus is found in São Paulo and in the more southern Brazilian states, while M. cruentus is known only from Santa Catarina and Paraná, and M. ditomoides is known from Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul. Entomologists have been collecting in the mountains in Santa Catarina for many years, which is undoubtedly why there are an abundance of records of lucanid species here. We hypothesize that more research in other highlands in Brazil will lead to the discovery of many other new species of Lucanidae . Based on the large number of new species and new localities for known species that have been found in the last few years by one of us (PCG), the highest lucanid diversity is in Serra dos Órgãos (Rio de Janeiro), Serra da Mantiqueira (Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Minas Gerais), and Serra Geral (Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 5. Metadorcinus ranki n. sp.: 1 – 2. male habitus: dorsal and lateral views respectively; 3 – 5. Aedeagus: dorsal, ventral, and lateral views respectively. All scale bars = 1 mm.

FIGURES 6 – 11. Metadorcinus ranki n. sp.: 6 – 8. male genital capsule: dorsal, ventral, and lateral views respectively; 9 – 10. female habitus: dorsal and lateral views respectively; 11. female genitalia: ventral view. All scale bars = 1 mm.

FIGURES 12 – 19. 12 – 14. Metadorcinus ranki n. sp.: male mandibles: dorsal view, large, medium, and small specimens. Scale bar = 1 mm. 15 – 19. Metadorcinus spp., right paramere in ventral view: 15. M. ranki n. sp.; 16. M. neotragus; 17. M. auritus; 18. M. cruentus; 19. M. ditomoides. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURES 20 – 31. Metadorcinus spp., dorsal and lateral views: 20 – 21. M. ranki n. sp., male; 22 – 23. M. ranki n. sp., female; 24 – 25. M. ditomoides, male; 26 – 27. M. cruentus, male; 28 – 29: M. neotragus, male. 30 - 31: M. auritus, male.