Selenophorus propinquus Putzeys

Shpeley, Danny, Hunting, Wesley & Ball, George E., 2017, A taxonomic review of the Selenophori group (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Harpalini) in the West Indies, with descriptions of new species and notes about classification and biogeography, ZooKeys 690, pp. 1-195 : 71-73

Selenophorus propinquus Putzeys Figs 40C, 43 G–I, 48

Selenophorus propinquus Putzeys, 1874: 118. Species description evidently based on a specimen (or specimens) collected on the Lesser Antillean island of Antigua. In the Chaudoir-Oberthür Collection, are 3 specimens in front of the following box label: // Guadeloupe/ C. Dejean//. The first specimen is a female, labelled //Guad/ [small silver square]//, selected as Lectotype by Ball 1984. Because of their labels it seems doubtful that any of these three specimens are types, though judging from their small size, they all seem to fit the description of S. propinquus auctorum .- Putzeys 1878a: 49.- Csiki 1932: 1200.- Darlington 1934: 114.- Blackwelder 1944: 50.- Erwin and Sims 1984: 440.- Ball 1992: 85.- Lorenz 1998: 356.- Lorenz 2005: 377.- Peck 2006: 176.- Ivie et al. 2008: 238.- Turnbow and Thomas 2008: 14.- Peck 2011: 13.

Type locality.

The Lesser Antillean island of Antigua.

Diagnosis.

This species is readily separated from other members of the opalinus species group by the color of the tibiae, which are darkened apically.

Descriptive notes.

Data for SBL in Table 1. Habitus as in Fig. 40C. Clypeus and labrum with anterior margin of each shallowly concave. Antennae and mouthparts testaceous to rufo-testaceous. Legs dark testaceous to nearly brunneous, tibiae gradually darkened apically, to nearly piceous. Dorsal and ventral surfaces rufo-brunneous to piceous. Elytra with moderate to brilliant iridescence, varying with angles to light source. Ventral surface with moderate iridescence. Head, pronotum and elytra shiny, without microlines visible at 100 ×. Pronotum with posteriolateral angles rounded; posteriolateral impressions and laterally near the bead finely punctate, each puncture bearing a short, fine seta. Base of elytra, intervals 8 and 9 and apical portion of elytra with short, fine pubescence. Elytral striae impunctate, except the standard setigerous punctures in striae 2, 5 and 7. Intervals with coarser micro-punctures. Males with two terminal setae and females with four terminal setae near the posterior margin on sternum VII.

Male genitalia. Fig. 43 G–I. Apical portion of phallic median lobe moderately long, narrowly tapered, symmetrically broadly rounded in dorsal/ventral aspect, extreme apex curved ventrad; shaft sinuous in lateral aspects rather than evenly curved; endophallus without spines or darkened microtrichial fields; without lamina; ostium somewhat anopic-left pleuropic. Ventral surface of distal 1/3 of shaft with two sharp ridges to apex.

Ovipositor and female reproductive tract. Very similar to that of S. opalinus , Fig. 44B. For details, see this topic for S. opalinus , above.

Geographical distribution.

Fig. 48. This species is recorded from Andros Island in the Bahamas, Greater Antillean Jamaica, to the Virgin Islands and St. Croix, and from Anguilla, Antigua, southward through the Lesser Antilles to Martinique.

Chorological affinities and relationships.

The range of this species is overlapped by the ranges of the following members of the opalinus species group: S. fabricii , S. flavilabris (sensu lato) and S. integer . Relationships of S. propinquus are not postulated beyond species group membership.

Material examined.

In addition to type material, we have seen a total of 693 specimens (339 males, 354 females). See Appendix for details.