Suphisellus shorti, García, Mauricio, Benetti, Cesar João & Camacho, Jesús, 2012

García, Mauricio, Benetti, Cesar João & Camacho, Jesús, 2012, A new species of Suphisellus Crotch, 1873 (Coleoptera: Noteridae) from “ Los Llanos ”, Venezuela, Zootaxa 3298, pp. 62-68 : 63-67

Suphisellus shorti sp. n.

( Figs 1 6 )

Type locality. Venezuela, Apure State, Biruaca Municipality, Fundo La Guama, 20 km northwest of San Fernando ( Fig. 6 a).

Type material. Holotype: 3 ( MALUZ): “ Venezuela, Estado de Apure, Biruaca, Fundo La Guama, 20 Km NW of San Fernando, 60 m., 20.VIII.2006, leg. M. García”. Paratypes: 80 exs. ( MALUZ) same data as holotype; 70 exs. ( MALUZ) same locality as holotype, but 22.V.2007; 50 exs. ( MALUZ) Venezuela, Guarico State, Miranda Municipality, Puerto Miranda, 24.XII.2004, leg. M. Garcia; 50 exs ( Fig. 6 b). (CEUVIGO), same as previous paratypes, but 24.XII.2005, leg. M. Garcia.

Diagnosis. Suphisellus shorti can be distinguished from other species of Suphisellus by the following characteristics: Body oval, almost round, robust, dorsally convex, lateral margins continuous and elytra rounded apically ( Fig. 1 ); dorsal and ventral colouration homogeneous brown, dorsally with a regularly reticulate surface, ventrally slightly concave on metaventrite; crease at posterolateral angle of pronotum weakly marked, extending anteriorly but reaching less of third of pronotum ( Fig. 2); numerous setae covering entire surface of prosternal process and medial part of prosternum (Fig. 3); shape of male ( Fig. 4) and female ( Fig. 5 ) genitalia distinctive.

Description. Measurements. TL = 1.8 1.9 mm, GW = 1.2 1.25 mm, PW = 1.0 mm, HW = 0.7 mm, EW = 0.35 mm, TL/GW = 1.5 1.52, HW/EW = 2.0.

Habitus. Body ( Fig. 1 ) oval, almost round, broadest near middle of elytra, robust and dorsally convex, lateral outline continuous between pronotum and elytra, anteriorly and posteriorly rounded. Head broad with front rounded; noterid platform forming a concavity in ventral view.

Colour. Head, pronotum, elytra and ventral surface homogeneous brown.

Structure and sculpture. Head, pronotum and elytra evenly covered with scattered punctures; surface between punctures rough with faint microreticulation, consisting of fine, irregular cells. Elytra evenly covered with punctures strongly marked; surface between punctures with microreticulation, much more impressed than on head and pronotum, consisting of irregular cells. Antennomeres 7 10 expanded. Pronotum broad, with lateral bead narrow, faint and not serrate, with fine, weakly marked crease at posterolateral angle extending anteriorly but reaching less of third of pronotum ( Fig. 2). Prosternum slightly sinuous in anterior margin. Prosternal process and medial part of prosternum with numerous setae covering entire surface, but lacking a prominent series of stiff setae (Fig. 3); prosternal process longer than wide, basally narrow, apically truncate, laterally sinuous and with a median longitudinal depression; noterid platform anteriorly extended on metaventrite, narrow and short at middle and very wide at distal end, with very sinuous sides and with a cluster of setae on the apex of each metacoxal lobe (Fig. 3). Protarsus attached to protibia laterally; apical protibial spur robust, broad, strongly curved, protibia with fringe of short setae along dorsal and anterior apical margin. Metatibia elongated, apically pointed, with several long setae at apical angle; anterior spur curved, very thick and serrate. Hind leg with a linear series of close setae at anteroventral angle. Abdomen with rough surface, apex of last ventrite rounded, forming longitudinal vertex in the middle; abdominal tergum VIII with deep longitudinal depression and retractable hook, as described in Miller (2009).

Male genitalia. Median lobe of aedeagus in dorsal view slender, lateral margins parallel, apex pointed; in lateral view ( Fig. 4 a) curved, with apex narrowly rounded, internal margin with a small protuberance at middle, curved at base and almost straight to apex, external margin straight at base and abruptly curved to apex. Right paramere ( Fig. 4 c) in lateral view short and broad, almost as long as wide, with basal process narrow, and with apex angular, ventral surface slightly curved with a small protuberance at middle, dorsal surface straight. Left paramere ( Fig. 4 b) in lateral view slender, moderately curved, base bilobed, apex pointed, internal margin with a series of large setae in the apical two third, basal third broad and articulate, external margin almost straight at base and slightly curved to the apex.

Female genitalia. ( Fig. 5 ) Laterotergites extremely long and slender, with anterior portion broadly expanded. Gonocoxae broad, with apex simple, sharply pointed, not bilobed and with lateral margin not dentate. Gonocoxosternite broad, almost triangular.

Variability. The new species show little variation in color (homogeneous brown) and size, but a marked variation was observed in the crease at posterolateral angle of pronotum. In some specimens, it is observed that the crease is weaker, almost imperceptible and reaching only a tenth of pronotum.

Etymology. This species is named in honour of our friend and colleague A.E.Z. Short (University of Kansas). It is a noun in the genitive case.

Distribution and habitat. This species is distributed in The Plains region of the Apure and Guárico States, Venezuela ( Fig. 6 ). Most of the specimens were collected using a light-trap. When collecting with a net, specimens were found in sandy pools among macrophytes, especially Juncus spp., cohabiting with Suphisellus sp. and Hydrocanthus sp. This beetle seems to be characteristic of shallow and temporary pools, in sunny areas with few trees in savannah wetlands, typical of “The Plains”.

Systematics. Crease at posterolateral angles of pronotum is the most important diagnostic character of Suphisellus ( Young 1979; Pederzani 1995; Miller 2009), being found only in this genus. In most Suphisellus species, the crease at the posterolateral angles of the pronotum is clearly defined and reaches the middle of lateral side, but not the anterior angle. In S. shorti the crease at posterolateral angle is weakly marked and reaching less of third of pronotum ( Fig. 2).

“Prosternal process medially with numerous setae covering entire surface, but lacking a prominent series of stiff setae” is one of the characters proposed by Miller (2009) to separate Suphisellus and Liocanthydrus from other genera. In Suphisellus shorti the setae cover the entire surface on prosternal process and medial part of prosternum, but lacking a prominent series of stiff setae on prosternum (Fig. 3). Nevertheless it seems like that not all the species of Suphisellus bear stiff setae on prosternum (M. Toledo, personal communication), supporting the fact that the crease on postlateral angles of pronotum is the only consistent character that defines this genus.

S. shorti is distinguished from the other known species of Suphisellus by the following combination of characters: crease at posterolateral angle very short and weakly marked, prosternal process and medial part of prosternum with numerous setae covering entire surface, but without a series of stiff setae and by the different shape of male genitalia. The new species is very close to S. insularis (Sharp, 1882) , which is similar in body shape and in the concavity of noterid platform, but differs from it by body size ( S. shorti is a little shorter than S. insularis ), the absence of stiff setae on prosternum, the crease of pronotum, more developed in the last one, and also by the somewhat different male genitalia.

The new species is also close to S. levis ( Fall, 1909) , but can be separable from it mainly by the smaller body size ( S. levis is larger: TL = 2.2 2.4 mm), the absence of stiff setae on prosternum, the crease of pronotum, more developed in the S. levis , and the shape of male genitalia ( Young 1979; Fall 1909).

Including the new one, the following six species of Suphisellus are at present known to occur in Venezuela:

S. curtus (Sharp, 1882)

S. grammopterus (Régimbart, 1889) S. majusculus (Sharp, 1882) S. nigrinus (Aubé, 1838)

S. shorti sp.n.

S. simoni (Régimbart, 1889)

Figures

FIGURE 1. Suphisellus shorti sp. n.: dorsal habitus. Scale bar: 1 mm.

FIGURE 5. Suphisellus shorti sp. n.: female genitalia, ventral view: a) laterotergites; b) gonocoxae; c) gonocoxosternite. Scale bar: 0.25 mm.

FIGURE 6. Know distribution of Suphisellus shorti sp. n. in Venezuela: (a) Apure, Biruaca, Fundo La Guama; (b) Guarico, Miranda, Puerto Miranda.