Lissomus flavipennis, Guerin-Meneville, Guerin-Meneville

Johnson, Paul J., 2021, Lissomus cacique, a Remarkable New Species of Click Beetle (Coleoptera: Elateridae) from Cloud Forests in Costa Rica and Panama, with Notes on Lissomus flavipennis Guérin-Méneville, The Coleopterists Bulletin 75 (3), pp. 599-611 : 604-605

LISSOMUS FlAVIPENNIS Guérin-Méneville , 1844 ( Figs. 2, 4, 6 , 10 )

Lissomus flavipennis Guérin-Méneville 1844a: 257 ; Lacordaire 1857: 94; Bonvouloir 1859: 121, 1860: 366; Gerstäcker 1860: 151; Gemminger and Harold 1869: 1459; Horn 1890: 198; Fleutiaux 1894: 690; Schenkling 1928: 12; Blackwelder 1944: 304.

Kenji Nishida (1 image); specimen in Nishida collection for deposition in MUCR.

Etymology. The species epithet “ cacique ” is treated as a noun in apposition and is taken from the Taino as a term for a societal leader. The term was applied by Spanish colonizers more generally to leaders of indigenous groups throughout much of modern Latin America. The term is familiar to field biologists and Ticos in Costa Rica as Guaro Cacique, a popular and inexpensive rum.

Distribution ( Fig. 9 ). Costa Rica (Cartago, Guanacaste, and Puntarenas); Panama (Chiriquí).

Notes. All examined specimens were collected from premontane wet forest habitats at approximately 1,000 –1,800 m elevations. Collector labels indi- cate adult activity from January through late August, with most dates from mid-April through early June. Some adults were reported as collected on the abaxial surfaces of leaves along trails as is often for other Lissomus species. Immature life stages remain unknown. Larvae may be subcortical in senescent and decaying wood as is known for other American Lissomus species ( Costa et al. 1988; personal observation).

Diagnosis. Lissomus flavipennis ( Fig. 2 ) is slightly smaller than the preceding species, length 10.0– 13.6 mm, width 5.0– 5.8 mm; has the sides shallowly arcuate at midlength in dorsal silhouette ( Fig. 2 ); antennomeres 2–11 with length ratio of 1.0:1.0:1.5: 1.5:1.5:1.5:1.3:1.3:1.3:2.5; a strongly convex dorsum ( Fig. 4 ); the elytral striae not or vaguely impressed ( Fig. 2 ); the dorsal color translucent dull yellow to orange-red, revealing narrow and transverse linearly arranged trabeculae; metatarsomeres with length ratio 1.0:0.3:0.3:03:1.2. Aedeagus ( Fig. 6 ) with basal piece 0.41 of total length; median lobe narrow, evenly attenuate in apical two-third of length, apex acute, 0.67 of total length; paramere sinuate laterally, 0.64 of total length; apices angu- late, with acute subapical lateral hook, 0.13 of paramere length.

This species superficially resembles L. cacique as described above. Both species share the traits of a complete arcuate carina delimiting the crural impression of the mesothoracic leg ( Fig. 8 ); the anterior pronotal angles appearing constricted at the termination of the carina; and the elytra predominately of a red-yellow to yellow-orange color, strikingly different from the remainder of the body. In contrast, L. cacique is proportionately longer, more elongate-oval in outline, the elytral striae are sulci- form and intervals shallowly convex, coloration a darker red, and the aedeagi differ as described and illustrated ( Figs. 5, 6 ).

Specimens Examined (22; 3 females, 3 males available for dissection). Type / Mexique / Flavipennis Guerin. /ex Museo Mniszech (4, MNHN [3 lacking “type” label]. GUATEMALA: Guatemala /coll Schwarz (1, SDEI) , Guatemal. Tumbador Reidel S. [I 1912 on reverse]/ Lissomus spec. (1, MFNB) ; [pos- sible syntype]. MEXICO: Mirador , Mexico, Sallé coll./ Lissomus flavipennis, Guerin., Sallé coll 1382 (1, NHMUK) ; same data, 1380 (1, NHMUK) [these last two specimens may be syntypes]; Mexico (5, MFNB) ; Jalapa 6/ Mexico, J. Flohr G. (1, MFNB) ; Mexico, J. Flohr G./ flavipennis Guer. (2, MFNB) ; Mexico, J. Flohr G. (1, MFNB) ; no label [prob. prov- enance as previous] (1, MFNB); San Antonio , Chiapas, v. Türckheim (3, MFNB) ; 1185, Mexico, Tapachula , v. Türckheim (1, MFBN) ; 892 (1, MFNB).

Distribution ( Fig. 10 ). Guatemala (Baja Verapaz, Quezaltenango); Mexico (Chiapas, Veracruz).

Notes. Bonvouloir (1859) examined an unspeci- fied number of specimens from the collections of Guérin-Méneville and Mniszech, all from unspeci- fied localities in Mexico. At least the originally described specimen(s) was or were obtained by the naturalist José Apolinario Nieto from “l’intérieur du Mexique ” ( Guérin-Méneville 1844a). Nieto lived in Cordoba, explored and collected there, as well as Orizaba, Xalapa, and in surrounding regions, and sent specimens to Guérin-Méneville for description ( Sallé 1874). Horn (1890) also cited specimens in the Biologia Centrali-Americana (BCA) collection from “Jalapa” (= Xalapa) and “Cerro de Plumas” in Mexico (see below), and “Sinanja” (= Sinamjá, Baja Verapaz), “Purula” (= Purulhá, Baja Verapaz) and “Cerro Zunil” (= Volcán Zunil, Quezaltenango) in Guatemala ( Selander and Vaurie 1962). No direct or original habitat information is available for L. flavipennis , and immature life stages remain unknown.

The “Jalapa” labeling for specimens collected by C. T. Höge may be questioned as some of his specimens from the Oaxaca area were mislabeled ( Selander and Vaurie 1962). The “Cerro de Plumas” locality in Horn (1890) is “Cerro de Palmas”, but apparently remains an unknown site supposedly in Veracruz ( Selander and Vaurie 1962). However, Papavero (1973) and Flores-Villela et al. (2004) noted that Höge and Mateo Trujillo, both cited as collectors of L. flavipennis by Horn (1890), accom- panied Frederick Godman to Xalapa ( Godman 1915), and collected in that area and others to the east; this suggests that the original locality records are valid for this species. Less than 35 air kilometers south of Xalapa and approximately 12 air kilometers northeast of Huatusco, is the Hacienda El Mirador from where at least one specimen in Auguste Sallé’s collection derived. Hacienda El Mirador was established and operated by Christian William “Carlos” Sartorius, and later by his son Florentín Sartorius, both of whom hosted visits and collabo- rated extensively with numerous naturalists over many years and the finca became a famous collecting area ( Goldman 1951). Schätti and Kucharzewski (2018) gave the coordinates of El Mirador as 19°12′46′′N and 97°52′49′′W, which differs from the coordinates given by Selander and Vaurie (1962). The first set of coordinates better fits for altitude, ecozone, and general environmental set- ting. The property was the first privately owned and protected natural area in Mexico ( Ochoa-Ochoa et al. 2009).

Figures

Figs. 1–7. Lissomus species. Adult male, dorsal aspect: 1) L. cacique, new species; 2) L. flavipennis. Adult male, lateral aspect: 3) L. cacique, new species (photo by H. Lezama, used with permission); 4) L. flavipennis. Aedeagus, dorsal aspect: 5) L. cacique, new species; 6) L. flavipennis. 7) L. cacique, new species, female internal genital tract.

Fig. 10. Satellite image of the Guatemala and southern Mexico region with 10 Lissomus flavipennis sites pinned.

Fig. 9. Satellite image of Costa Rica and Panama with five Lissomus cacique, new species sites pinned. Two sites have multiple nearby collections as indicated.

Fig. 8. Lissomus cacique, new species, ventral oblique aspect, arrow pointing to the arcuate postcoxal carina.