Dromaeolus comayaguiensis, , Otto, 2017

Otto, Robert L., 2017, Descriptions of six new species of false click beetles (Coleoptera: Eucnemidae: Macraulacinae), with new identification keys for one tribe and two genera, Insecta Mundi 2017 (558), pp. 1-19 : 4-5

Dromaeolus comayaguiensis sp. nov.

Fig. 5–6

Diagnosis. Large size, along with body form and metallic reflections on the pronotum will distinguish the new species from any known Dromaeolus species in Central America.

Description. Male holotype: Length, 9.0 mm. Width, 2.0 mm. Body cylindrical, elongate and tapering towards the elytral apex; uniformly glossy black, with metallic reflections of orange, blue and violet on the pronotum; antennae black; femur and tibiae dark brown-black; tarsi dark brown-black; head, pronotum and elytra clothed with very short, sparse, white recumbent setae ( Fig. 5 ).

Head: Surface evenly punctate on frons, more concentrated near base of frontoclypeal region, shiny, subspherical; frons convex, with median ridge extending from vertex to above frontolclypeal region; interantennal carina narrowly interrupted in middle; apical margin of frontolclypeal region evenly rounded, more than 2.0 times wider than base; mandibles stout, bidentate, densely punctate and rugose.

Antenna: Weakly serrate to filiform from antennomeres III–X, reaching just beyond elytral humeri; antennomere III as long as IV and V combined; antennomere IV shorter than II; antennomere V shorter than VI; antennomeres VI–X each sub-equal, longer than wide; antennomere XI slightly longer than X; antennomeres I–VIII with lateral keel.

Pronotum: Surface shiny, very shallowly punctate; punctures widely separated; longer than wide, with moderate hind angles; parallel-sided, sinuous, slightly arcuate anteriorly; disc convex; base sinuous, with deep median groove extending from base to near center of disc.

Scutellum: Sparsely punctate, short, sub-triangular and distally rounded.

Elytra: Without striae, except along elytral suture; interstices flattened; humeri closely punctate, remaining areas with evenly dispersed punctures; elytral suture area densely punctate to rugose.

Legs: First tarsomere as long as the combined lengths of the remaining four on mesothoracic and metathoracic tarsi; tibiae rounded in cross section; metathoracic tarsomeres I–III simple; metathoracic tarsomere IV excavated and slightly emarginated; metathoracic tarsomere V elongate with simple claws.

Venter ( Fig. 6 ): Densely punctate, with white recumbent setae; hypomeron with medially undefined basally open, deep, lateral antennal grooves; antennal grooves without punctures, shiny; metathoracic episterna parallel-sided; metathoracic coxal plates medially 3.0–6.0 times wider than laterally.

Variation. Two male paratypes were examined. Male paratypes measured 9.0–12.0 mm long and 2.0– 2.5 mm wide. One male paratype is as long as and as wide as the holotype. The other male paratype is larger and wider than the holotype. Lateral carina on antennomere IX is more pronounced in one of the paratypes, absent in the other paratype. Lateral carina is less defined on antennomeres VI–VIII in the larger paratype. Exoskeletal surfaces are similar in both paratypes compared against the holotype.

Type Material. Holotype, ♂: “ HONDURAS: Comayagua: PN Cerro Azul Meambar, 14.86987 -87.89885 ± 10m, 1150m, 20–23-V-2010, Malaise, trap. ridgetop cloud forest, LLAMA10 Ma-C-04-2-01” / “ Dromaeolus , sp. c, Det. R.L. Otto, 2016 ” / “ HOLOTYPE:, Dromaeolus , comayaguiensis, Otto , det. R.L. Otto, 2016 ” (♂ handwritten behind species name on label) [red printed label]. Holotype deposited in SEMC.

Paratypes. 2 ♂♂: “ HONDURAS: Comayagua: PN Cerro Azul Meambar, 14.86987 -87.89885 ± 10m, 1150m, 20–23-V-2010, Malaise, trap, ridgetop cloud forest, LLAMA10 Ma-C-04-2-01” / “ PARATYPE:, Dromaeolus , comayaguiensis, Otto , det. R.L. Otto, 2016 ” (♂ handwritten behind species name on label) [yellow printed label]. Paratypes are deposited in SEMC and GERP.

Distribution. The eucnemid species is known from the type locality in Honduras.

Biology. Three specimens were taken from a Malaise trap placed on the ridgetop in a cloud forest. Larvae and pupae are unknown.

Etymology. Specific epithet is derived from a combination of two words, ‘Comayagua’, a name of the city in central Honduras and ‘-ensis’, a Latin adjectival suffix meaning “pertaining to”, from which the new species has been taken.

Remarks. Dromaeolus comayaguiensis is closely related to two other species in the Neotropical region, Dromaeolus elongatus Bonvouloir and Dromaeolus javeti Bonvouloir. The new species is distinguished from D. javeti by the presence of a median carina on the frons, absent in D. javeti . Dromaolus comayaguiensis is further diagnosed from D. elongatus by its exoskeletal surface of the pronotum; shiny with evenly dispersed shallow punctures in D. comayaguiensis , dull with closely punctate to rugose surfaces in D. elongatus . Many similar species closely allied with the new species are present in eastern Nearctic and Indo-Malaysian regions. Metallic reflections of the pronotum will serve as the best diagnostic feature to distinguish the new species from those distributed in other regions around the globe.

Figures

Figures 5–8. Neotropical Eucnemidae. 5) Dromaeolus comayaguiensis (SEMC), dorsal habitus. 6) Dromaeolus comayaguiensis (SEMC), ventral habitus. 7) Asiocnemis bicolor (SEMC), dorsal view. 8) Asiocnemis bicolor (SEMC), ventral view. (Scale: 6–7 = 5.0 mm; 8–9 = 1.0 mm.)