Chrysobothris requensis Juárez-Noé, Barboza & Perales, 2023

Juárez-Noé, Gino, Barboza C., Roger, Perales Ch., Franco & Dávila-Rodríguez, Angela, 2023, A new species of Chrysobothris (s. str.) Eschscholtz, 1829 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) from Lambayeque region, Peru, Revista Chilena de Entomología (Rev. Chil. Entomol.) 49 (2), pp. 377-383 : 378-381

Chrysobothris requensis Juárez-Noé, Barboza & Perales , sp. nov.

( Figs. 1-7 )

Type material. Holotype male // PERÚ, región de Lambayeque, provincia de Chiclayo, distrito de Reque, / Cerro Reque , 06°51’16’’S- 79°47’37’’O, / 40 m, 12-II-2023, colecta manual, R. Barboza leg. [ MUPRG] . Paratypes. 1 female, 1 male // PERÚ, región de Lambayeque, provincia de Chiclayo, distrito de Reque, / Cerro Reque , 06°51’16’’S- 79°47’37’’O, / 40 m, 12-II-2023, colecta manual, R . Barboza leg. [ MUPRG]. 1 male // PERÚ, región de Lambayeque, provincia de Chiclayo, distrito de Reque, / Cerro Reque , 06°51’17’’S- 79°47’34’’O, / 40 m, 18-II-2023, colecta manual, F. Perales leg. [ MUPRG] . 1 female, 1 male // PERÚ, región de Lambayeque, provincia de Chiclayo, distrito de Reque, / Cerro Reque , 06°51’17’’S- 79°47’34’’O, / 40 m, 18-II-2023, colecta manual, F. Perales leg. [ GJNC] . 1 female, 1 male // PERÚ, región de Lambayeque, provincia de Chiclayo, distrito de Reque, / Cerro Reque , 06°51’23’’S- 79°47’23’’O, / 40 m, 19-II-2023, colecta manual, F. Perales leg. [ MUPRG] . 2 males // PERÚ, región de Lambayeque, provincia de Chiclayo, distrito de Reque, / Cerro Reque , 06°51’17’’S- 79°47’34’’O, / 40 m, 19-II-2023, colecta manual, R . Barboza leg. [ MUPRG]. 1 female // PERÚ, región de Lambayeque, provincia de Lambayeque, distrito de Lambayeque, / campus de la Universidad Nacional Pedro RuÍz Gallo , 06°42’25’’S- 79°54’27’’O, / 15 m, 28-III-2023, colecta manual, R . Barboza leg. [ MUPRG].

Description. Male holotype ( Figs. 1-5 ). Length: 7.10 mm; width: 3.10 mm. Shiny, moderately convex; frons black with coppery-gold reflections; vertex black with green reflections; margins along eyes green; clypeus with coppery-gold and green reflections along margin; antennomeres black, antennomeres 1-3 with faint green reflections, antennomeres 4-11 with coppery-gold reflections; pronotum with dark bronze reflections; scutellum green; elytra purplish-red, with three greenish-blue transversal fasciae as follows: a basal, wide, extending from humerus to near the suture; an antemedian, wide, oblique, from lateral margin to the suture and an at posterior third between lateral margin and the suture; a thin and short greenish blue longitudinal fascia near lateral margin reaching the apex. Ventral surface and legs shiny with dark bronze reflections. Head. Frons convex, deeply and densely punctate, densely clothed with long, silver-white hairs; with a median longitudinal carina and weakly elevated ridge above clypeus and arching above antennal insertions; vertex deeply and densely punctate, glabrous, with a weak median carina; clypeus with anterior margin broadly, deeply, triangularly emarginate; eyes large, separated broadly; antennomere 1 longer than wide, wider at apex; antennomere 2 short, wider than long; antennomere 3 longer than wide, shorter than antennomere 1; antennomeres 4-11 serrate ( Fig. 5 ). Thorax. Pronotum with surface evenly convex, wider than long, widest at apical fourth, without depressions; disk deeply and densely rugose; punctures coarse and dense laterally; apical angles obtusely triangular, weakly produced; basal angles subquadrate; hind margin strongly bisinuate, truncate in front of scutellum. Prosternum densely punctate, clothed with short, semierect, dense silver-white hairs; prosternal process wide, flat, densely punctate, front margin acute; meso and metasternum densely punctate, with disk glabrous and clothed with short, semierect, dense silver-white hairs. Elytra. 1.4 times longer than wide, width at humeral angles 1.1 times wider than pronotum at hind angles, sides widest behind middle, then tapering to apex; lateral margins serrate from middle to apex; angulate apices terminating in a single acute tooth, margin between apical tooth and suture with two minute teeth; humeral angles rounded; surface densely punctate, punctures shallow at basal third, deeper to apex; basal third slightly rugose. Each elytron with a deep median basal pit, a small and shallow humeral pit, a transverse discal fovea at basal third and an irregularly rounded discal fovea behind middle; three weakly elevated costae as follows: costa 1 from basal third to near apex, costa 2 short, from basal third to half, interrupted by apical fovea, costa 3 following outline of lateral margin, obsolete from near base to half, extending more distinctly from half to near apex; discal fovea at basal third between costae 1-3, discal fovea behind middle between costae 1-2; scutellum small, triangle, with surface densely punctate. Legs. Densely punctate, clothed with short, sparse silver-white hairs; Anterior femur with a short, acute tooth, no denticulate on outer margin; Anterior tibia feebly arcuate. Abdomen. Finely and densely punctate, clothed with short, silver-white hairs, denser laterally. Ventrite 5 deeply, semicircularly emarginate at apex, with posterior angles acutely produced externally; surface broadly, feebly concave at middle. Aedeagus. Parameres subapically slightly widened, apices acute; median lobe strongly narrowed apically, tip rounded ( Figs. 4a, 4b ).

Female. Similar to male, differs as follows: antennomeres black with faint coppery-gold reflections; ventrite 5 shallowly emarginate at apex, emargination transversely sinuate at middle, with posterior angles acutely produced externally ( Fig. 6 ).

Variation. Most individuals, including the holotype, the frons is densely clothed with silver-white hairs, but in a few individuals is sparsely clothed, while in some specimens the ventrites are glabrous on middle. Males vary from 6-7 mm long (mean = 6.70, n = 7) and 3-3.10 mm wide (mean = 3, n = 7) and females from 6-6.90 mm long (mean = 6.30, n = 4) and 3-3.10 mm wide (mean = 3.10, n = 4).

Diagnosis. C. requensis sp. nov., belongs to a complex group of similar species in size, form of body and brilliant maculae and fasciae on elytra. However, is clearly most closely related to Chrysobothris stephensi Gory & Laporte, 1837 , Chrysobothris pulchra Gory & Laporte, 1837 , Chrysobothris sexfasciata Schaeffer, 1919 and Chrysobothris chrysoela lerneri Cazier, 1951 based largely on color pattern and green transversal fasciae on elytra. In C. stephensi and C. pulchra coloration in dorsal and ventral surface is more brilliant (head, pronotum coppery-red and legs green in C. stephensi ; head, pronotum and legs green in C. pulchra ), transversal longitudinal fasciae are narrower with a wide longitudinal fascia at apices ( Gory & Laporte 1837). In C. sexfasciata the pronotum is purplish, elytra deeply punctate with only one longitudinal costa, basal and antemedian fascia connected at lateral margin, antemedian fascia not reaching the suture, apical fascia rounded, and apices rounded terminating in minute teeth ( Fisher 1925, 1942). In C. chrysoela lerneri the pronotum and elytra are purplish dark, elytra without longitudinal costae, antemedian fascia not reaching the suture and apices rounded terminating in minute teeth ( Cazier 1951). The male genitalia of C. sexfasciata have the parameres widest at middle and apices rounded, and median lobe slightly narrowed apically. In C. chrysoela lerneri the aedeagus is thin, the parameres are strongly narrowed to apical half, and median lobe gradually narrowing to apex, tip pointed ( Fisher 1942; Cazier 1951).

Etymology. The species name refers to Cerro Reque, the place where type material was collected.

Distribution. Known only from the seasonally dry lowland forests up to 40 m altitude in the Lambayeque region of Northwestern Peru ( Fig. 8 ).

Ecology. Most individuals have been collected on live leaves of Capparicordis crotonoides (Kunt) Iltis & Cornejo ( Capparaceae ) infested with mites; a few individuals have been collected on live branches of C. scabridum and Parkinsonia aculeata Linnaeus ( Fabaceae ) ( Fig. 7 ) and only one individual was collected dead, wrapped in spider webs, on branches of N. piurensis . Presumably, the mites serve as food for the adults and the trees species serve as hosts for larval development but remains to be confirmed.

Remarks. Chrysobothris requensis sp. nov., it differs from the other Chrysobothris species known from Peru mainly by green transversal fasciae on elytra; C. hypochloris , C. banghaasi , C. bella , C. peruviae , and C. freyi have green rounded maculae on elytra, while C. decolorata and C. fallax have dull colorations without green maculae on elytra. The seasonally dry forests in northwestern Peru range the Tumbes, Piura, and La Libertad regions, and as a result it is possible that C. requensis sp. nov., also occurs in these areas, as well in other dry forest habitats along the Peruvian coast. More collecting in these areas would be helpful in further delimiting the distribution of this species.

Figures

Figure 7. Live specimens of Chrysobothris requensis sp. nov. 7a. Male holotype. 7b. Female paratype. 7c- 7d. Feeding on leaves of Capparicordis crotonoides. / Ejemplares vivos de Chrysobothris requensis sp. nov. 7a. Holotipo macho.7b. Paratipo hembra.7c-7d. Alimentándose sobre hojas de Capparicordis crotonoides.

Figure 8. Habitat of Chrysobothris requensis sp. nov., seasonally dry lowland forests. / Hábitat de Chrysobothris requensis sp. nov., bosques estacionalmente secos de tierras bajas.

Figures 1-3. Chrysobothris requensis sp. nov., male holotype. 1. Dorsal view. 2. Ventral view. 3. Lateral view. Scale: 4 mm. / Chrysobothris requensis sp. nov., holotipo macho. 1. Vista dorsal. 2. Vista ventral. 3. Vista lateral. Escala: 4 mm.

Figures 4-6. Chrysobothris requensis sp. nov. 4-5. Male holotype. 4a-4b. Aedeagus, dorsal and ventral view. Scale: 1 mm. 5. Head, frontal view. Scale: 1 mm. 6. Female paratype, ventral view. Scale: 4 mm. / Chrysobothris requensis sp. nov. 4-5. Holotipo macho. 4a-4b. Edeago, vistas dorsal y ventral. Escala: 1 mm. 5a. Cabeza, vista frontal. Escala: 1 mm. 6. Paratipo hembra, vista ventral. Escala: 4 mm.