Baconia lescheni, 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 : 165-167

Baconia lescheni sp. n. Figs 46 E–H, K–L47A–CMap 14

Type locality.

ECUADOR: Orellana: Yasuní Research Station [0.674°S, 76.398°W].

Type material.

Holotype male: "ECUADOR:Napo, Yasuní Res. Stn. on mid. Rio Tiputini. 0°40.5'S, 76°24'W, FIT#3. 5-12 Jul 1999 AKT#068 A.Tishechkin" / “LSAM0012906” (FMNH). Paratypes (3): ECUADOR:1: same locality as type, 12-20.vii.1999, FIT, A. Tishechkin (LSAM); 2: Est. Biodiv. Tiputini, 0.6376°S, 76.1499°W, 2-9.vi.2011, FIT, M. Caterino & A. Tishechkin, DNA Extract MSC-2125, EXO-00642 & MSC-2127, EXO-00629 (MSCC, FMNH).

Other material.

1: PERU: Loreto: Teniente Lopez, 2°35.66'S, 76°6.92'W, 210-240 m, 9.vii.1993, FIT, R. Leschen (SEMC).

Diagnostic description.

Length: 1.0-1.1mm, width: 0.8-0.9mm; body narrowly elongate oval, sides weakly rounded, subdepressed, glabrous; color rufescent to rufobrunneous; head with frons transversely elevated between antennal bases, weakly depressed medially, ground punctation fine and sparse, with small secondary punctures sparsely and uniformly interspersed, frontal stria at most present as very short fragment near upper edge of eye, supraorbital stria present at middle, detached; antennal scape short, club oblong, slightly expanded apically; epistoma faintly emarginate; labrum about 3 ×wider than long, apical margin straight; both mandibles with small, acute basal tooth; pronotum with sides weakly convergent in basal two-thirds, arcuate to apex, lateral marginal stria weak to absent, lateral submarginal stria extending around anterior corner, detached from anterior marginal stria which diverges from margin behind eyes; pronotal disk with ground punctation very fine and sparse, with few coarse secondary punctures in lateral fourths; elytra with single epipleural stria, outer and inner subhumeral striae absent, dorsal striae 1-4 complete to base, slightly progressively abbreviated apically, 4th stria not curved mediad at base, 5th dorsal stria present only in middle one-third, sutural stria slightly longer than 5th, more broadly impressed anterad, elytral disk with few coarse punctures along apical margin and scattered in posterior one-third of interstriae; prosternal keel flat, moderately broad, weakly convex, shallowly emarginate at base, carinal striae slightly divergent anterad; prosternal lobe about one-half keel length, apical margin bluntly rounded, with marginal stria obsolete at sides; mesoventrite produced at middle, with marginal stria interrupted for width of prosternal keel; mesometaventral stria subangulately arched forward to near mesoventral margin, continuous with inner lateral metaventral stria which extends obliquely posterad toward outer third of metacoxa, outer lateral metaventral stria short, oblique; metaventral disk moderately coarsely punctate at sides, impunctate at middle; abdominal ventrite 1 with single inner lateral stria, lacking coarse punctures on middle part of disk, ventrites 2-5 with sparse punctures at sides, 4th ventrite with a few deep punctures across middle, the others sparsely punctate medially; protibia tridentate, the outer margin finely serrulate; mesotibia with single prominent marginal spine; outer metatibial margin smooth, lacking spines; propygidium lacking basal stria, with fine, sparse ground punctation and few slightly larger, ocellate secondary punctures irregularly scattered, propygidial gland openings inconspicuous; pygidium with fine, sparse ground punctation and few slightly coarser secondary punctures scat tered in basal one-third. Male genitalia (Figs 46 E–H, K–L): T8 with base narrowly, rather deeply emarginate, ventrolateral apodemes subparallel from base, with inner apices separated by about one-third T8 width, projecting beneath just beyond ventral midpoint, obsolete apically, apical margin shallowly emarginate; S8 with halves fused along midline, basal emargination shallow, basal apodemes broad, obliquely truncate, sides subparallel, weakly rounded to apices, apices narrowed, subacute, setose, moderately widely separated by deep apical emargination, S8 with weakly defined apicoventral velum; T9 with very short, subacute basal apodemes, halves narrowly separated dorsally, ventrolateral apodemes elongate, nearly meeting beneath near base, apices narrowly rounded, with a couple short, subapical setae on each side; T10 elongate, apical emargination weak; S9 with long narrow stem, head subtriangularly widened, apices acute, narrowed slightly, apical emargination broad, sinuate; tegmen with sides subparallel to just beyond midpoint, narrowed to apex, apices narrowly rounded, tegmen evenly but not strongly curved in lateral aspect, with eversible subapical denticles ventrally; median lobe about one-fourth tegmen length; basal piece about one-fourth tegmen length.

Remarks.

Recognizing this species among others of the Baconia aeneomicans group is relatively straightforward. The most distinctive character is the frons, which is transversely elevated above the antennal bases and uniformly sparsely punctate throughout (Fig. 47A). It is also unusual in having the lateral marginal pronotal stria obsolete, a single epipleural stria (Fig. 47B), an anteriorly subangulate mesometaventral stria (Fig. 47C), and having the base of the 4th elytral stria not curving mediad at the base. A single specimen from Peru agrees in all these characters, but shows some variation in elytral striation otherwise and is therefore excluded from the type series.

Etymology.

We have named this species in honor of Dr. Richard Leschen, of New Zealand Landcare Research, to recognize his excellent Neotropical collections that have enhanced this and other histerid studies.