Baconia rubripennis, 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 : 123-125

Baconia rubripennis sp. n. Figs 35A36D, F–H, K–LMap 9

Type locality.

ECUADOR: Orellana:Res. Ethnica Waorani [0.67°N, 76.43°W].

Type material.

Holotype male: "ECUADOR: Depto. Orellana: Res. Ethnica Waorani, 1km S Onkone Gare Camp, Trans. Ent., 0°39'26"S, 76°27'11"W, 216m, 23 January 2006, T.L. Erwin, M.C.Pimienta et al." / "Insecticidal fogging of mostly bare green leaves, some with covering of lichenous or bryophytic plants in terra firme forest. Project MAXUS Lot 3184 Trans. 9 Sta. 5" / "Caterino/Tishechkin Exosternini Voucher EXO-00474" (USNM). Paratypes (2): same locality as type except 0°39'10"S, 76°26'11"W, 220m, 1: 23.vi.1996, fogging, T. Erwin (USNM), 1: 8.x.1995, fogging, T. Erwin (USNM).

Diagnostic description.

Length: 1.5-1.7mm, width: 0.9-1.1mm; body elongate, parallel-sided, weakly depressed, glabrous; subtly bicolored, head and pronotum rufo brunneus, elytra and most of venter rufescent, shining; head with frons weakly elevated over antennal bases, more or less flat at middle, interocular margins convergent dorsad, frontal punctation rather sparse, finer and sparser anterad, frontal stria absent, supraorbital stria vaguely indicated by serial punctures; antennal scape short, club rounded, slightly expanded apically; epistoma flat, apex truncate; labrum short, flat, about 4 × wider than long, apical margin finely carinate, faintly emarginate; mandibles short, each with median tooth; pronotum with sides subparallel in basal two-thirds, rounded to apex, lateral marginal and submarginal striae merging very close to anterior corner, submarginal stria very close to marginal throughout, continued anteriorly around anterior margin; pronotal disk narrowly depressed along anterolateral margin, ground punctation fine, very sparse, with small secondary punctures nearly throughout separated by 2 –3× their widths, with narrow, rather discrete impunctate band along midline; elytra with two more or less complete epipleural striae, the outermost may be faintly abbreviated at apices, outer and inner subhumeral striae absent, dorsal stria 1 nearly complete, striae 2-4 progressively more abbreviated apically, 4th stria arched to meet base of sutural stria, 5th stria absent, sutural stria obsolete in apical fourth, elytral disk with small, shallow secondary punctures in apical third, diminished in size and density anteromedially; prosternal keel narrow, flat, emarginate at base, carinal striae convergent at middle, diverging slightly at apices; prosternal lobe about two-thirds keel length, apical margin rounded, marginal stria obsolete at sides; mesoventrite produced at middle, marginal stria complete; mesometaventral stria transverse, distinctly crenulate, continued by inner lateral metaventral stria posterad toward inner third of metacoxa, outer lateral metaventral stria short, no more than oblique postmesocoxal fragment; metaventral disk impunctate at middle; abdominal ventrite 1 with inner lateral stria abbreviated posteriorly, outer lateral stria represented by short postcoxal fragment, disk impunctate at middle, ventrites 2-5 finely, rather sparsely punctate across middle; protibia narrow, with three distinct marginal denticles plus one small basal marginal tooth, margin serrulate between; mesofemur with posterior marginal stria weakly curving anterad along apical margin; mesotibia with two distinct marginal spines; outer metatibial margin smooth; propygidium lacking basal stria, with moderately dense, ocellate secondary punctures separated by slightly less than their diameters, propygidial gland openings present about one-third behind anterior margin; pygidium with fine ground punctation rather dense, small secondary punctures evenly scattered, slightly smaller but denser toward apex. Male genitalia (Figs 36D, F–H, K–L): T8 slightly longer than broad, sides weakly rounded, converging to apex, base very shallowly emarginate, basal rim moderately well sclerotized, apex narrowly, acutely emarginate, ventrolateral apodemes well developed, inner apices separated by about one-third width beneath; S8 divided, similar in length to T8, inner margins approximate in basal half, divergent apically, outer margins diverging apically, apical guides closed, apices narrow, with a few very fine, inconspicuous setae; T9 with proximal apodemes nearly one-half total length, dorsal lobe large, broad, narrowed apically to narrowly rounded apices, ventrolateral apodeme weakly dentate; S9 cordate, stem absent, base faintly acute, apicolateral corners rounded, apex moderately desclerotized; tegmen widest just basad middle, sides weakly curved, narrowed to apex, tegmen in lateral aspect strongly increasingly curved toward apex; median lobe about one-half tegmen length; basal piece about one-third tegmen length.

Remarks.

This species can be fairly readily recognized by the contrasting colors of the darker pronotum and rufescent elytra (Fig. 35C). In addition it is unusual in having secondary punctures over most of pronotum. Male genitalia have the apices of the 8th sternite narrow and strongly divergent, and the spiculum gastrale distinctly cordate in shape, with its apicolateral margins well sclerotized.

Etymology.

This species’ name refers to the reddish elytra, which give it a bicolored appearance.