Oocyclus trujillo Short & García, 2010

Short, Andrew E. Z. & García, Mauricio, 2010, A review of the Oocyclus Sharp of Venezuela with description of twelve new species (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae: Laccobiini), Zootaxa 2635, pp. 1-31 : 28-29

Oocyclus trujillo Short & García sp. n.

( Figs. 3 B, 5E, 7)

Type material. Holotype: VENEZUELA: Trujillo State: male, “ VENEZUELA: Trujillo State/ 9°27.795’N, 70°25.136’W, 1100 m / 21.i.2009; Seep, E. of Pampan/ leg. Short, García, & Camacho/ VZ09-0121- 05X; rock seep”, “[barcode]/SM0844435/ KUNHM-ENT”, “ HOLOTYPE / OOCYCLUS / trujillo sp.n. / des. Short & García 2010 ” ( MIZA). Paratypes (398 exs.): VENEZUELA: Barinas State: 24 km NW Barinitas, 23.ii.1969, leg. P. & P. Spangler (143 exs., USNM); Mérida State: Along road between Jaji & Mérida, wet rock and cement at river crossing, 8.58570°N, 71.29927°W, 1730 m, 16.i.2006, leg. A. Short & P. Torres, AS- 06-033 (13 exs.); Along road between Jaji & Mérida, small waterfall and stream pools, 8.58515°N, 71.30103°W, 1750 m, 16.i.2006, leg. A. Short & P. Torres, AS-06-034 (11 exs.).; ca. 2 km S. La Azulita, Cascada la Palmita, 21.vii.2009, leg. Short et al., VZ09-0721-01A (94 exs.); Táchira State: Chorro el Indio National Park, 7°43’23.81”N, 72° 11.31.13 ”W, 1225 m, 16.vii.2009, leg. Short & García, wet rock and rock seeps, VZ09-0716-01A (26 exs.); Chorro el Indio National Park, stream road crossing, 7°43.887’N, 72°11.713”W, 1330 m, 16.vii.2009, leg. Short & Gustafson, wet cement next to stream, VZ09-0716-02A (50 exs.); Trujillo State: El Chorreron, road to Bocono, 500 m, 10.xi.2002, leg. M. García (2 exs., CIBC), same data but 12.ix.2002 (5 exs., CIBC); same data as holotype (29 exs.); E. of Pampan, 9°27.416’N, 70°25.590’W, 1100 m, rock seep along road, 21.i.2009, leg. A. Short, M. García, J. Camacho, VZ09-0121- 06X (25 exs.)

Diagnosis. Smaller sized species ( Fig. 3 B). Posterolateral corners of pronotum spinose. Procoxae strongly spinose. Elytra with interrupted rows of larger systematic punctures, bearing dense short rows or clumps of erect setae. Elytral suture not raised in posterior third. Elytral margins not explanate, and with a marginal fringe of setae on posterior third.

The smaller size (less than 4.0 mm) and spinose posterior pronotal corners will separate the species from all other Venezuelan taxa except O. pico , which does not have clumps of erect setae on the elytra and is much more rarely collected in the Andes.

Description. Size and form. Body length = 3.0– 3.9 mm. TL/GW= 1.52. Body oval, moderately convex.

Color. Dorsum of head, pronotum, and elytra black, usually with iridescent green reflections. Anterolateral margins of pronotum with white patch. Elytra sometimes with very faint iridescent green maculae. Maxillary and labial palps yellow, the former slightly darkened at apex of apical segment. Mentum and stipes light to reddish brown, distinctly paler than ventral face of head. Legs, epipleura, lateral margins of prosternum medium to yellowish brown. Abdominal ventrites medium to dark brown.

Head. Ground punctation on labrum, clypeus and frons moderately fine, distance between punctures 1.5– 3.0× the width of one puncture. Systematic punctures on labrum consisting of several indistinct punctures, sometimes bearing short setae. Frons with an irregular row of systematic punctures mesad of each eye, bearing fine setae. Clypeus with a few very indistinct systematic punctures along anterolateral margins, slightly larger than surrounding punctation. Maxillary palps short, slightly shorter than width of labrum; segment 2 slightly bulbous, apical segment slightly longer than penultimate. Labial palps three-fourths as long as width of mentum. Mentum quadrate, smooth, anterior margin very slightly convex, bearing very fine, sparse scattered punctures.

Thorax. Ground punctation on pronotum and elytra composed of very fine, evenly distributed punctures. Pronotal systematic punctures with short fine setae, distinctly larger than ground punctures, anterior and posterior series each forming irregular row. Lateral margins of pronotum densely set with setiferous punctures bearing moderately long yellow setae. Posterolateral corners of pronotum sharply spinose. Sutural punctation on elytra absent or unmodified from ground punctuation except for short row of dense coarse punctures bearing erect setae of same type as systematic punctures, appearing as if short section of row 1 of systematic punctures has migrated mesad between the rest of the row and the suture. Elytra with five very irregular, interrupted rows of systematic punctures; rows 1–3 appearing as either series of short rows of dense erect setae or coalesced into a series of clumps of punctures bearing erect setae. Rows 4–5 represented by broadly spaced punctures bearing fine decumbent setae. Prosternum with defined median carina; slightly elevated anteromedially, the elevation with two very long thickened spine-like setae. Elevated process of mesoventrite elongate, slightly longer than wide; surface nearly flat; set with 5 thickened spine-like setae. Metaventrite with small oval glabrous area posteromedially, slightly longer than wide, length of glabrous area slightly less than one-half length of metaventrite. Procoxae with dense, fine short pubescence and long coarse spine-like setae. Protibiae each with 8–12 spine-like setae on dorsal face.

Abdomen. Ventrites with scattered setae of varying lengths; each ventrite with 2 irregular rows of very long erect setae which are more than twice as long as the longest setae on the metaventrite. Aedeagus as in Figure 5 E.

Etymology. Trujillo , after the Andean city and state of the same name. Treated as a noun in apposition.

Distribution. Widely distributed in the Venezuelan Andes, including the states of Táchira, Barinas, Mérida, and Trujillo ( Fig. 7 ).

Remarks. This fairly common species has been collected at a variety of hygropetric habitats, including along road cuts, the sides of waterfalls, wet cement, and seepages. It frequently co-occurs with O. meridensis and O. andinus .

Figures

FIGURE 3. Dorsal and lateral habitus of Oocyclus species found in the Venezuelan Andes region. A) O. meridensis sp. n.; B) O. trujillo sp. n.; C) O. andinus sp. n.; D) O. pico sp. n. Scale bar = 2.0 mm.

FIGURE 5. Aedeagi of Oocyclus species. A) O. pittieri sp. n., B) O. maculatus Sharp; C) O. s ubstillus Short & Perkins; D) O. floccus sp. n.; E) O. trujillo sp. n.; F) O. andinus sp. n.; G) O. meridensis sp. n.; H) O. sapphirus sp. n. Scale bar = 0.2 mm.

FIGURE 7. Distribution of Oocyclus species in Venezuela.