Baconia irinae, Caterino, Michael S. & Tishechkin, Alexey K., 2013

Caterino, Michael S. & Tishechkin, Alexey K., 2013, A systematic revision of Baconia Lewis (Coleoptera, Histeridae, Exosternini), ZooKeys 343, pp. 1-297 : 138-140

Baconia irinae sp. n. Figs 39 O–T40A–BMap 11

Type locality.

PANAMA: Colón: San Lorenzo Forest [9.28°N, 79.97°W].

Type material.

Holotype male: "PANAMA: Colón Pr., San Lorenzo Forest, STRI crane site. 9°17'N, 79°58'W, F.I.T., 21m. FL-I1C21n. 5-18 June 2004 M.Rapp. IBISCA’04” / "Caterino/Tishechkin Exosternini Voucher EXO-00453" (FMNH). Paratypes (3): same locality as type, 1: FL-I1C28n. 5-18 June 2004, 1: FL-I1C28m, 25.v-5.vi.2004, 1: FL-I1C28o, 25.v-5.vi.2004 (AKTC, GBFM).

Other material.

COSTA RICA:1: Heredia: Est. Biol. La Selva, 10°26'N, 84°01'W, 50-150 m, 14.x.1994, Pentaclethra macroloba (INBI), 1: 17.v.2000, Goethalsia meiantha (INBI), 1: 24.x.1994, Virola koschnyi (MSCC).

Diagnostic description.

Length: 1.3-1.5mm, width: 1.0-1.2mm; body elongate oval, weakly depressed, glabrous; color dull blue metallic, principally on elytra, less conspicuously on other parts of dorsum, shining; head with frons very shallowly depressed at middle, slightly elevated over antennal bases, ground punctation fine, sparse, secondary punctures moderately coarser, interspersed dorsad, frontal stria present only at upper inner edge of eye, supraorbital stria present, meeting or nearly meeting frontal stria at sides; antennal scape short, club approximately circular; epistoma faintly emarginate apically; labrum about 3 ×wider than long, apical margin shallowly emarginate; both mandibles with acute basal tooth; pronotum with sides weakly rounded to apex, lateral marginal stria continuous with complete anterior marginal stria, lateral submarginal stria nearly complete, close to marginal, pronotal disk weakly depressed in anterolateral corners, ground punctation fine, sparse, with coarser secondary punctures uniformly interspersed throughout except for narrow, median impunctate band; elytra with two epipleural striae, outer subhumeral stria absent, fine fragment of inner subhumeral stria present at base, dorsal striae 1-4 complete to base, the inner striae strongly abbreviated from apex, base of 4th stria arched mediad to near scutellum, 5th stria slightly abbreviated basally, sutural stria more strongly so, elytral disk with scattered secondary punctures in apical one-third, extending further anterad toward middle; prosternal keel convex, narrowly but distinctly emarginate at base, carinal striae subparallel to converging slightly anterad; prosternal lobe about two-thirds keel length, apical margin rounded, with marginal stria present only at middle; mesoventrite produced at middle, with marginal stria complete; mesometaventral stria more or less transverse, continuous laterally with inner lateral metaventral stria which extends posterad toward inner corner of metacoxa, curving mediad slightly at apex, outer lateral metaventral stria short, more oblique; metaventral disk moderately coarsely punctate at sides, impunctate at middle; abdominal ventrite 1 with single, complete inner lateral stria, with secondary punctures more or less uniformly distributed on middle portion of disk, ventrites 2-5 with fine but rather deep punctures across entire width; protibia weakly tridentate, the outer margin serrulate between denticles; mesotibia with two very weak marginal spines; outer metatibial margin smooth; propygidium lacking basal stria, with fine ground punctation and slightly coarser, ocellate secondary punctures uniformly interspersed, propygidial gland openings inconspicuous; pygidium with sparse ground punctation becoming slightly denser apically, with secondary punctation denser toward base. Male genitalia (Figs 39 O–T): T8 slightly longer than wide, widest just distad middle, basal emargination deep, narrowly arcuate, apical emargination shallow, ventrolateral apodemes with inner apices separated by about two-thirds T8 width, projecting beneath to about ventral midpoint, obsolete apically; S8 with halves fused along midline, basal emargination strongly bisinuate, trident-shaped, basal apodemes bluntly rounded, sides subparallel in basal two-thirds, widening to apices, apices obliquely subtruncate, bisetose, separated by broad, acuminate apical emargination; T9 with very short, bluntly rounded basal apodemes, halves narrowly separated dorsally, apices narrowly rounded, with single subapical seta on each side, ventrolateral apodemes subacute, projecting mediad nearly to midline beneath; T10 elongate, undivided; S9 with long narrow, medially keeled stem, head abruptly widened, rather broad, apices acute, widely separated, apical emargination broad, shallow; tegmen widest just distad base, very weakly, evenly narrowed to apex, apices subacute, tegmen curved ventrad in apical fourth; median lobe simple, very short, about one-eighth tegmen length; basal piece about one-fourth tegmen length.

Remarks.

This species and the next share numerous external characters with those that follow, including generally rufo-piceous coloration, strongly arched dorsal striae, strongly reduced frontal striae, and punctures across the 1st abdominal ventrite. However, both species lack the characteristic subapical aedeagal denticles found in most of the other species in this group. Baconia irinae can be distinguished from other species in this group by its faintly metallic blue coloration (Fig. 40A), more or less impunctate pronotal midline, pronotal sides which are only weakly rounded, converging weakly toward the front, subparallel prosternal striae, and the inner lateral metaventral stria being curved mediad apically (Fig. 40B). The series of speimens from Costa Rica is slightly larger in body size, but otherwise matches well (including in male genitalic features). These are excluded from the type series.

Etymology.

This species is named for the junior author’s wife, in recognition of her lasting understanding and support.