Cryptophagus coombsi, Esser, 2018

Esser, Jens, 2018, New Cryptophagus H, 1792 (Coleoptera: Cryptophagidae) from Arizona (United States of America), Linzer biologische Beiträge 50 (2), pp. 1067-1071 : 1067-1068

Cryptophagus coombsi nov.sp. ( fig. 1 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype ♂: " Arizona, St. Catalina Mts., Molino Basin , March 7 1970 " [ FSCA] . Paratype: 1♂ " Arizona, St. Catalina Mts., Hollin Cyn. , April 4 1970 / wash-up, K. Stephan leg." [cES] ; 1♀ " Arizona, Santa Rita Mts., Madera Cyn. , Sept. 21, 1968 " [ FSCA] ; 1♂ " Arizona, Cochise Co., Chiricahua Mts. , elev. 5500 ft, Oct. 1968 " [ FSCA] ; 1♀ " Arizona, Pima Co., tucson, March 8 1969, K. Stephan leg." [ FSCA] ; 1♀ " Arizona, Santa Rita Mts., Madera Cyn, Nov. 17 1968 " [cES], 1♂ "J. W. Green , Tucson , Ariz. , III-14-46" [ CAS] .

E t y m o l o g y: Named to the honour of C. W. Coombs, who stated together with G. E. Woodroffe the identity of this species.

D e s c r i p t i o n: Male, 2.1 mm, hind wings absent, humeral callus present, hardly developed. Reddish-brown with legs and antennae slightly paler, eyes of normal size. Punctation of head and pronotum strong and dense, of the elytra less dense (basal third). Covered with yellowish pubescence, on elytra with shorter and decumbent hairs and longer hairs more erected and forming indistinct rows. Pronotum transverse, nearly 1,5 times wide as long. Anterior callosity more short but prominent, forming a hook. Lateral tooth just before the middle, broadest part of pronotum behind the lateral tooth. Margin straight between anterior callosity and lateral tooth, rounded behind lateral tooth and concave before the posterior angles. Elytra hardly rounded. Legs slender, antennae without any features, segment XI and X strongly transverse.

C o m m e n t: WOODROFFE & COOMBS (1961) knew one specimen from Tuscon (AZ) and named it "example 1". They were not sure about the identity and discussed the specimen could be conspecific with C. latens WOODROFFE & COOMBS, 1961 ( fig. 2 ). Indeed, C. coombsi nov.sp. is very similar with C. latens but well distinguishable by the shape of the pronotum. The longer hairs on elytra are standing in rows (not in latens). The body is less convex and more flattened as in latens. So far known latens has hind wings fully developed. C. discendens CASEY, 1900 ( fig. 3 ) and C. fumidulus CASEY, 1900 ( fig. 4 ) differ by their different shape of pronotum and anterior callosity.

Cryptophagus coombsi also resembles to Cryptophagus discendens CASEY, 1900 and C. fumidulus CASEY, 1900. Discendens was described from Arizona, too, C. fumidulus from California.

Figures

Fig. 1-2: (1) Cryptophagus coombsi nov.sp. holotype, male; (2) Cryptophagus latens WOODROFFE & COOMBS, 1961.

Fig. 3-4: (3) Cryptophagus discendens CASEY, 1900; (4) Cryptophagus fumidulus CASEY, 1900 holotype.