Agra ce Erwin, 2010

Erwin, Terry L., 2010, Agra, arboreal beetles of Neotropical forests: pusilla group and piranha group systematics and notes on their ways of life (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Lebiini, Agrina), ZooKeys 66, pp. 1-28 : 15-16

Agra ce Erwin sp. n. Fig. 11

Holotype:

Perú: Madre de Dios, 30 air km SW Puerto Maldonado, 205m, "12.8368°S, 69.2933°W," 10 September 1984 (T.L. Erwin, et al.)(NMNH: ADP 093837, female).

Derivation of specific epithet.

The epithet " ce " is a combination of pronounceable letters that when joined with the last three letters of the genus name, Agra , spells "grace," for the Peruvian Ornithologist, Grace Servat, who has shared the lowland Amazon and the high Andes with me for many years, including the known localities of this species.

Proposed English vernacular name.

Graceful Elegant Canopy Beetle.

Diagnosis.

With the attributes of the genus and species-group as described above and elytra and prothorax metallic blue, legs unicolored, frons laterad slightly rugose, prothorax markedly setiferous both laterally and ventrally, and elytra barely constricted at apical third, side margin slightly arcuate.

Description.

Size: Small, ABL = 8.04 - 9.21 mm, SBL = 7.09 - 8.07 mm, TW = 2.36 - 2.78 mm. Color: Head black with bluish reflection posteriorly, body and legs metallic blue; antennae and mouthparts piceous, scape with slight metallic blue reflections. Luster: Shiny metallic. Head: Labrum moderately elongate and rounded apically. Frons medially raised and smooth, laterally depressed and rugose. Gena almost squared to constricted neck in females. Genae and occiput moderately densely punctate, each puncture setiferous. Prothorax: Slightly broader medially, flared basally; surface with dense and coarse setiferous punctures; lateral elongate callous with single row of setiferous punctures along middle. Pterothorax: Elytron markedly convex, inte rvals moderately costate, interneurs of rows of somewhat laterally ovate punctures, apex truncate, barely lobate, apical dentation asymmetric, lateral tooth small, acute, sutural apex slightly produced, narrowly pointed. Metasternum sparsely setiferous in female. Legs: Normal in female. Abdomen: Abdominal sterna III to VII of female moderately and bilaterally setiferous; sternum VII of female barely emarginated, corners rounded. Male genitalia: Unknown. Female ovipositor: Stylomere 2 as in Agra piranha ( Fig. 9 ).

Dispersal potential.

These beetles are macropterous and are capable of flight; they are swift and agile runners.

Way of life.

Adults of other Agra species are found in the canopy of rainforest trees; larvae of this genus are found under the bark of the these trees, however they must also roam on the surface, as they have been collected by insecticidal fogging techniques in the very early morning before first light. Members of Agra ce occur at lowland altitudes in the Amazon Basin. Adults are active in September, the late dry season. The holotype was collected in an Erwin Plot at the type locality; the forest of this plot is designated as a Swamp Forest with internal drainage ( Erwin 1985) and is dominated by the palm Mauritia flexuosa L. and the hardwood tree Lueheopsis hoehnei Burret. The holotype was fogged from the later named species. The paratype was attracted to MV light.

Other specimens examined.

Perú: Madre de Dios, Pakitza, Trocha Uno /14, 324m, "11.9352°S, 71.3039°W," 8 September 1989 (R.A. Faitoute, et al.)(NMNH: BIOLAT 017465, female paratype).

Geographic distribution.

( Fig. 11 ). This species is currently known only from two localities in southeastern Perú.

Figures

Figure 11. Distribution map of the species of the piranha group.

Figures 8 - 9. 8 Agra piranha Erwin, sp. n., male genitalia (dorsal, ventral, left lateral aspects) (ADP 087440) 9 Agra piranha Erwin, sp. n., female stylomeres (dorsal aspect) (ADP 117227).