Operclipygus dubitabilis (Marseul, 1889)

Caterino, Michael S. & Tishechkin, Alexey K., 2013, A systematic revision of Operclipygus Marseul (Coleoptera, Histeridae, Exosternini), ZooKeys 271, pp. 1-401 : 99-100

Operclipygus dubitabilis (Marseul, 1889) Fig. 26AMap 9

Phelister dubitabilis Marseul, 1889: 126; Operclipygus dubitabilis : Wenzel (1976: 258).

Type locality.

BRAZIL: Amazonas: Tefé [3°22'S, 64°42'W].

Type material. Lectotype hereby designated: “Ega” / "Marseul, 14.12.86" / “dubitabilis” / " Phelister dubitabilis Mars., Type." / "G.Lewis Coll. B.M.1926-369" / "LECTOTYPE Phelister dubitabilis Marseul, M.S. Caterino & A.K. Tishechkin des. 2010" (BMNH). This species was described from an unspecified number of speci mens, and the lectotype designation fixes primary type status on the only known original specimen.

Other material.

BRAZIL: Minas Gerais: 1: Ingaí, Res. Boqueirão, nr. Lavras, 21°21'S, 44°59'W, 5.xi.2002, FIT, gallery forest, F. Freiro-Costa & F.Z. Vaz-de-Mello (FMNH), 2: 27.xi.2002, FIT, R.J. Silva (AKTC, MSCC).

Diagnostic description.

Length: 2.46-2.53 mm, width: 2.03-2.15 mm; body rufo-brunneus, broadly elongate oval, subdepressed, weakly convex above; frons broad, with sides of frontal stria divergent anterad, frontal disk depressed behind carinate, arcuate, complete frontal stria; epistoma depressed between fragments of oblique lateral striae which vaguely meet frontal stria; labrum short, emarginate; mandibles without strong inner teeth; pronotal sides weakly convergent in basal two-thirds, rounded to frontal angles, with a shallow prescutellar depression bearing a single median puncture; lateral marginal pronotal stria complete at sides and continuous across front; lateral submarginal pronotal stria complete at sides, deeply depressed along its inner edge, ending freely after turning mediad at front; anterior submarginal stria present, with sides weakly divergent from anterior margin; median pronotal gland openings anterad ends of submarginal stria, about 5 puncture widths from anterior margin; pronotal disk shallowly punctato-rugose along sides; elytra with two complete epipleural striae; inner and outer subhumeral striae, as well as dorsal striae 1-5 complete to front (4 and 5 slightly fragmented at apices), 5th arched toward suture at base, sutural stria absent from basal fourth; elytral disks with coarse apical punctures in apical fourth; prosternal keel truncate at base, with carinal striae in basal three-fourths meeting in narrow anterior arch, faint secondary striae present alongside carinal striae; prosternal lobe short, wide, extending to hypomera, its marginal stria present only at middle; mesoventrite very shallowly emarginate in front, with complete marginal stria; mesometaventral stria arched strongly forward, nearly meeting marginal mesoventral, continued by lateral metaventral stria nearly to metacoxa, then curved laterad, ending short of metepisternum; metaventral disk with fine ground punctures and very fine, transverse microsculpture; 1st abdominal ventrite with single lateral stria; propygidium with conspicuous, more or less transverse waves of microsculpture, with fine ground punctures sparse, and coarser, round punctures uniformly separated by about their diameters; pygidium similar to propygidium with slightly higher density of coarse punctures, with marginal stria complete or slightly fractured near basal corners. Male not known.

Remarks.

This species may be easily distinguished from the following by its depressed epistoma with oblique lateral strioles.