Baconia opulenta, 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 : 84-85

Baconia opulenta sp. n. Fig. 21DMap 6

Type locality.

COSTA RICA: Limon: Sardinas [10.7°N, 83.7°W].

Type material.

Holotype female (head mounted separately on point): "Sardinas, Barra del Colorado, Prov. Limon. COSTA RICA. 15m, 26 ABR-3MAY 1995. F. Araya, L N 291900 565900 #4639 / “INBIOCRI002170110” (INBIO).

Diagnostic description.

Length: 2.0mm, width: 1.7mm; body elongate oval, sides weakly rounded, moderately depressed, glabrous; head, pronotum and elytra uniformly metallic blue, with violet and greenish hints, pygidia and venter rufo-piceous; frons broad, weakly elevated above antennal bases, slightly depressed at middle, interocular margins strongly convergent dorsad, ground punctation fine, with a few secondary punctures at middle and near vertex, frontal stria fine, close to inner margin of eye, curving mediad but interrupted over antennal bases and in middle; supraorbital stria absent; epistoma weakly convex along apical and lateral margins; labrum about 3 ×wider than long, apically depressed, upper edge of depression arcuate and subcarinate; each mandible with acute basal tooth; antennal scape short, club asymmetrically oblong; pronotal sides weakly convergent in basal two-thirds, abruptly arcuate to apex, distinctly depressed in anterior corners, marginal stria complete along lateral and anterior margins, slightly crenulate in front, lateral submarginal stria absent, ground punctation of pronotal disk very fine, with small secondary punctures sparsely interspersed in lateral thirds; elytra with 2 complete epipleural striae, outer subhumeral stria absent, inner subhumeral stria present as short basal fragment, dorsal striae 1-4 complete, 4th stria arched toward suture at base, 5th stria absent, sutural stria present in apical two-thirds, elytral disk with few coarse punctures in apical fifth; prosternum moderately broad, weakly convex, keel very shallowly emarginate at base, carinal striae complete, slightly convergent at middle but separate throughout; prosternal lobe slightly less than half keel length, apical margin bluntly rounded, marginal stria more or less complete (becoming series of connected punctures at sides); mesoventrite sinuate, weakly produced at middle, marginal stria narrowly interrupted, mesometaventral stria weakly arched forward, crenulate, continuous at sides with lateral metaventral stria, which extends posterolaterad toward inner third of metacoxa, outer lateral metaventral stria absent, metaventral disk impunctate at middle; abdominal ventrite 1 with single lateral stria slightly abbreviated, middle portion of disk impunctate; protibia 4 dentate, basal denticle weak, outer margin only faintly serrulate; mesotibia with two weak marginal spines; outer metatibial margin smooth; propygidium without basal stria, ground punctation very fine, discal punctures large and rather deep mediobasally, separated by slightly less than their diameters, smaller and sparser to sides and apical margin; propygidial gland openings conspicuous nearly one-half from anterior and one-fourth from lateral margins; pygidium with ground punctation fine, sparse, secondary punctures small, uniformly separated by about 4 × their diameters. Male: not known.

Remarks.

This species’ rather depressed body form, in combination with non-metallic pygidium, elytral striae 1-4 complete with the 4th arched basally (Fig. 21D), and the triply interrupted frontal stria will distinguish it from all others.

Etymology.

This species’ name refers to its rich, deep blue coloration.