Brachiacantha truncata, Nestor-Arriola & Toledo-Hernández, 2017

Nestor-Arriola, Jorge Ismael & Toledo-Hernández, Víctor Hugo, 2017, New species of Brachiacantha Dejean, 1837 (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) from Mexico and Central America, Zootaxa 4365 (1) : -

Brachiacantha truncata sp. nov.

( Figs. 9‒12 )

Diagnosis. Male with four spots on elytron, females with three spots on elytron. Male with a triangular cusp on each side of the midline of the third ventrite, cusps rounded at apeX. Basal lobe of male genitalia shorter than the paramere, oblique at apeX, almost truncate ( Fig. 10 ).

Description. Holotype: Male: Length 4.0 mm, width 3.2 mm; body oval. Dorsal color black eXcept head pale yellow; pronotum with anterolateral angles and the anterior border pale yellow; each elytron with four orange spots: a small pale subtriangular humeral spot, a rounded middle-lateral spot, a rounded discal spot and a subapical spot ( Fig. 9 ). Ventral surface with head, prosternum, metaventrite and abdomen black; mouthparts yellow, antenna yellow with the two apical articles dark brown. Legs yellow. Head punctures small, separated by one diameter, each puncture as large as an eye facet; pronotal punctures as large as head punctures, separated by one diameter; elytral punctures larger than pronotal punctures, separated by one diameter; metaventral punctures as large as pronotal punctures, separated by one diameter. Clypeus not emarginate, almost truncate, lateral angles slightly emarginate. Pronotum narrowed from base to apeX, sides curved. Protibial tooth large, protibia flanged. Prosternal carinae almost as long as the half of the prosternum, straight, parallel, not joined. Epipleuron narrow, emarginate for reception of femoral apices. Abdomen with postcoXal line on basal abdominal ventrite lightly flattened along posterior ventrite margin, ventrite with sparse, short pubescence and dense, small punctures; ventrites 2‒6 pubescent throughout, punctures dense and fine; ventrite 3 with large, curved, apically rounded cusp on each side of middle; ventrites 4, 5 and 6 emarginate and depressed. Genitalia with the basal lobe shorter than the paramere, asymmetrical, sides almost parallel, slightly narrowed at the apical third, strongly angled to a side at apeX, almost truncated at apeX without apical hook ( Fig. 10 ); paramere scimitar shaped, wide, curved, long, rounded at apeX, with a small tooth on the concave margin and abundant long bristles on the conveX margin, apical margin and the apical third of the concave margin ( Fig. 11 ); sipho with lateral, short, rounded alae at the apeX; siphonal capsule heavily sclerotized, crested, inner arm large and wide, rounded at apeX ( Fig. 12 ).

Female. Unknown.

Variation. Length 3.2 to 5.3 mm, width 2.5 to 4.2 mm. The mid-lateral and discal spots can be joined into a transverse band.

Distribution. MeXico and Honduras.

Type material. Holotype: MEXICO: “ OaXaca, 20 miles south of Juchatengo, Rt. 131, 6000 ', 30-V-1971, col. F. H. Howden” ( USNM) (1♂).

Paratypes: HONDURAS: “ Francisco Morazán, El Rincón , 15-X-1993, col. R. Turnbow ” ( FSCA) (1♂) ; same data, col. F. W. Skillman ( FSCA) (1♂) ; “ Francisco Morazán, Zamorano, Escuela Panamericana , 15-XI-1982, on guajava, det. Passoc as B. spp.” ( FSCA) (1♂) ; “ Francisco Morazán, same location, 10-XI-1982, on guajava” ( FSCA) (1♂) . MEXICO: “ Colima, 11.3 miles south of Colima , 20-VII-1984, col. B. K. Dozier ” ( FSCA) (1♂) ; “ Guanajuato, 21.6 miles south of Guanajuato , 23-VI-1987, col. B. K. Dozier ” ( FSCA) (1♂) ; “ Guerrero, s. TemiXco-TaXco de Alarcón , M. A., 18°49'41.9" N, 99°53'14.8" W, 2543 m, 13-X-2012, 13:10, col. E. Aguilar, sobre enredadera, JFTH2760 ” ( CCFES-Z) (1♂) ; “ Guerrero, Taxco de Alarcón, Coamazac , 18°36'7.7" N, 99°29'6.9" W, 1123 m, 12-VII-2007, 09:33, col. N. Acebedo, en hierbas, selva baja caducifolia, SHPI0167 ” ( CCFES-Z) (1♂) ; “ Jalisco, Estación Biológica Chamela , 29-VII-1986, col. M. Sánchez and T. Martínez, trampa malaise” (EBCh) (1♂) ; “ Jalisco, 2 km west of Cocula , 28-IX-1991, col. Morris, Wappes and Giebert ” ( FSCA) (1♂) ; “ Morelos, Amacuzac, Rancho Nuevo , 18°32'47.2" N, 99°22'9.72" W, 980 m, 24-V-2012, 18:30, col. T. Escalante, arbusto, selva baja caducifolia, SHCO0496 ” ( CCFES-Z) (1♂) ; “ Morelos, Cuernavaca, 13-X-1984, col. A. Marín, jarilla, donado por Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias del Bajío ” ( CIUM) (1♂) ; “ Morelos, Tepalcingo, El Limón , 18°32'33.5" N, 98°56'18.9" W, 1282 m, 18-VIII-2011, 16:17, col. P. Romero,hierbas , SLCO334 ” ( CCFES-Z) (1♂), same location, “ 19-VIII-2011, 19:21, col. M. Ordoñez, s/rama, selva baja caducifolia , SHCO0339 ” ( CCFES-Z) (1♂); “ Morelos, Tepalcingo, El Unicornio , 18°33'42.2" N, 98°56'39" O, 1438 m, 03-IX-2010, 17:02, col. M. Ordoñez, arbusto, selva baja caducifolia , SHCO0078” (CCFES- Z) (1♂); same data, “ SHCO8787 ” ( CCFES-Z) (1♂) ; same data, “ SHCO8676 ” ( CCFES-Z) (1♂) ; “ Oaxaca, 3 miles north of Huajuapan de León , 07-VII-1992, col. B. K. Dozier ” ( FSCA) (1♂) ; “ Sonora, 5 miles east of Alamos , 11- VIII-1973, col. K. Stephan ” ( FSCA) (1♂) .

Type locality. 20 miles south of Juchatengo , OaXaca, MeXico.

Remarks. This species is very similar to Brachiacantha bistripustulata and B. angulata . The male ventral cusps are slightly larger and more apeX rounded than in bistripustulata . The male genitalia with a shorter and almost truncate basal lobe separate it from angulata . Based on the cusps and the asymmetrical genitalia this species belongs to the dentipes group.

Etymology. From Latin “truncates” (“short” or “mutilated”). The name truncata refers to the basal lobe of the male genitalia shorter than the paramere and strongly angulated to one side.

Figures

FIGURES 9‒12. Brachiacantha truncata. 9) dorsal habitus; 10) tegmen, concave side vieW; 11) tegmen, lateral vieW; 12) sipho.