Phanaeus bravoensis, Moctezuma, Victor, Sanchez-Huerta, Jose Luis & Halffter, Gonzalo, 2017

Moctezuma, Victor, Sanchez-Huerta, Jose Luis & Halffter, Gonzalo, 2017, Two new species of the Phanaeusendymion species group (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae), ZooKeys 702, pp. 113-135 : 113-115

Phanaeus bravoensis sp. n. Figs 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Phanaeus halffterorum : Edmonds (1979: 99; partim), Arnaud (2002: 95-96), Edmonds (2003: 61, 65), Edmonds (2006: 31, 34, 36), Deloya et al. (2013: 90-92), Deloya et al. (2014: 77, 206), Edmonds (1994: 39-43, 101), Edmonds and Zídek (2012: 3, 5, 12, 52, 54), Moctezuma and Halffter (2017: 52, 54-55), Lizardo et al. (in press). Non halffterorum Edmonds, 1979.

Type material

(17 ♂♂, 13 ♀♀). Holotype major male pinned with genitalia in microvial (Figs 6-8): "MEXICO: Guerrero, Chilpancingo de los Bravo, entre Amojileca-Xocomanatlán, V-XI/2014, 17°33'41.17"N, 99°36'59.95"W, necrotrampa, bosque de encino-pino, 1860 m, Ernesto L. Huicochea col.". Paratypes: 5 ♂♂, 1 ♀ same data as holotype; 5 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀ labeled "MEXICO: Guerrero, Chilpancingo, Amojileca, 434559 mE, 1941772 nM, 1772 msnm, bosque de Quercus - coníferas, 27/VI/2014, NTP, E. López-Huicochea Col."; 2 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀ ídem except “03/XI/2014”; 4 ♀♀ ídem except "1860 msnm, 10/X/2014"; 2 ♂♂ labeled "MEXICO: Guerrero, Chilpancingo, Xocomanatlán, 432832 mE, 1938117 mN, 2100 msnm, bosque de coníferas- Quercus , 10/VIII/2014, NTP, E. López-Huicochea Col."; 1 ♀ ídem except “04/IX/2014”; 1 ♂, 2♀♀ labeled "MEXICO: Guerrero, Chilpancingo, La Cimaroa, Ejido Amojileca, 431911 mE, 1939239 mN, 2150 msnm, bosque de Quercus magnolifolia, 10/VIII/2014, NTP, E. López-Huicochea Col."; "; 2 ♂♂ labeled "MEXICO: Guerrero, Chilpancingo, Acahuizotla, 28/06/2008 - 31/07/2008, veg. encino-pino, sitio 4, NTP IV, Madora Astudillo M col.".

Type deposition.

Holotype 1 ♂ IEXA; paratypes: 1 ♂ TAMU; 1 ♂ JLSHC; 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀ VMC; 12 ♂♂, 12 ♀♀ temporally deposited in CDINECOL (12 paratypes will be permanently deposited in CNIN and 12 paratypes in FSCA).

Diagnosis.

Pronotal granulate sculpturing; major male lacks a tooth in the middle of anterior pronotal margin, pronotal triangle sides curved (Figs 6, 7); sutural margin of each elytron upturned to form a sharp ridge, which is progressively more elevated posteriorly and prolonged into a small, sharp tooth at apical angle; lamella copulatrix as in Fig. 8.

Description.

Holotype length 17.8 mm, width at bases of elytra 9.8 mm. Head: Clypeus black with metallic green bright, anterior margin weakly bidentate. Genae metallic green with granular rough sculpturing. Frons with a black cephalic horn, curved posteriorly over pronotum; lateral region of frons is metallic green and weakly rough with no evident punctures. Pronotum: Triangular pronotal disc with lateral fossae and dark metallic green coloring, flattened with lateral undulations. Lateral lines of pronotal disc recurved. Granulate sculpturing without punctuation. Posterior pronotal angles very salient, directed posterolaterally and slightly upturned apically. Basal fossae rounded but weakly impressed. Elytra: Striae fine, black colored, with small but well defined and regularly separated punctures, shagreened rough sculpturing. Interstriae of opaque appearance, dark metallic green coloring, weakly flattened, with shagreened sculpturing, small weakly impressed punctures and transverse roughness more evident on the first three interstriae. Sutural margin of each elytron forms a sharp ridge, which is elevated posteriorly and prolonged into a small tooth at the apical angle. Pygidium: Metallic dark green, glabrous, with weakly impressed small punctures and shagreened rough sculpturing. Protibia: Quadridentate with apical spur. Aedeagus: Similar to that of the P. endymion species group. Lamella copulatrix as Fig. 8.

Variation.

Minor male (Fig. 9): Similar to major male, except the cephalic horn smaller or completely reduced to a frontal carina, posterolateral angles of pronotum reduced to small tubercles located on the central part of pronotum and lesser transverse roughness on the interstriae. The tooth on the elytra sutural margin is reduced. Female (Fig. 10): As male except head black with green reflections in frons and genae, cephalic carina trituberculate with middle tubercle more elevated, pronotal sculpturing regularly reticular, most of pronotal disk dull black with a well-impressed coarse midline over posterior half of pronotum, pronotal process trituberculate, with the middle tubercle more elevated. Size of paratypes. Mean length 15.5 mm (13.3-17.1 mm), mean width 8 mm (6.8-9 mm).

Etymology.

Bravo + ensis. Bravo refers to type locality, Chilpancingo de los Bravo.

Remarks.

Phanaeus bravoensis is easily distinguished from the closely related P. halffterorum by geographic distribution and morphological characters: P. bravoensis major male lacks a tooth in the middle of anterior pronotal margin and its pronotal triangle sides are curved (Figs 6, 7), whereas these are straight on P. halffterorum (Figs 1, 2). Differences are observed between the lamella copulatrix (more developed left lobe in P. halffterorum , strongly developed central ridge and right lobe in P. bravoensis ; Figs 3, 8) and shape of female pronotum. In P. bravoensis mayor female pronotal midline is stronger impressed; pronotal tubercles are located in similar position and of equal size in P. halffterorum , while pronotal central tubercle is in anterior position and bigger than lateral tubercles in P. bravoensis (Figs 4, 10).

Type locality.

MEXICO, Guerrero, Chilpancingo de los Bravo.

Distribution and Ecology.

This species occurs in the Sierra Madre del Sur, Guerrero (Fig. 5), in coniferous-oak forest between 750-2150 m. a.s.l. Specimens have been collected with carrion and dung baited pitfall traps, and attracted to light. Therefore, P. bravoensis seems to be copronecrophagous ( Edmonds 1994, Deloya et al. 2013, 2014).