Novochares mura, Short & Girón, 2023

Short, Andrew Edward Z. & Giron, Jennifer C., 2023, Revision of the Neotropical water scavenger beetle genus Novochares Giron & Short (Coleoptera, Hydrophilidae, Acidocerinae), ZooKeys 1171, pp. 1-112 : 1

Novochares mura sp. nov.

Figs 5C , 27A-C , 29B

Type material.

Holotype (male): "BRAZIL: Amazonas: Tapauá / -5.50298°, -62.12392°; 54 m/ c. 240 km N. Humaita on BR-319/ 12.vii.2018; leg. Short; forest/ detrital pool; BR18-0712-01B", "DNA VOUCHER/ Extraction #/ SLE-1973" (INPA).

Differential diagnosis.

See differential diagnosis for N. danta .

Description.

Body length 6.9 mm. Coloration: Dorsal surfaces brown and sheeny. Head: Maxillary palps nearly 1.5 × longer than width of head, uniformly brown in color. Thorax: Ground punctation on pronotum and elytra dense and very shallowly impressed. Elytra without rows of serial punctures, each with very faint rows of scarce and weakly marked systematic punctures on lateral surface. Prosternum very weakly and broadly convex. Posterior elevation of mesoventrite elevated as a triangular pyramid, with posterior face somewhat bisinuate and medial longitudinal ridge extending anteriorly (resembling a nose). Abdomen: Apical emargination of fifth ventrite small and shallow, slightly broader than deep. Aedeagus: (Figs 5C , 27A-C ) Overall shape oval, 1.9 × longer than wide; apical region of parameres strongly sclerotized, somewhat triangular, rounded at apex; dorsal inner margin of each paramere medially pointed at base of fork of dorsal plate of median lobe; dorsal plate of median lobe with base 8 × broader than neck; arms of dorsal plate of median lobe weakly dorsally concave, widened at mid-length, nearly 0.23 × length of dorsal plate of median lobe, with inner margins slightly converging; each arm apically rounded; notch between arms at base slightly narrower than base of an arm; ventral plate of median lobe moderately sclerotized, bullet-shaped, with nearly parallel lateral margins, roundly converging to apex, apex narrowly and sharply acuminate, extending beyond base of fork of dorsal plate of median lobe, for 1/5 the length of an arm; basal piece 0.34 × length of a paramere. In lateral view, aedeagus parallelogram-shaped, with ventral outline of parameres 3.6 × longer than greatest width near base; dorsal outline of aedeagus in lateral view sinuate, medially straight.

Etymology.

Mura, in reference to the Mura indigenous group.

Distribution.

Only known from the type locality in the Brazilian Amazon (Fig. 29B ).

Habitat.

The holotype was collected in a small forested detrital pool that was adjacent to a small sandy creek.

Remarks.

The description of Novochares mura is based on a single specimen that was extracted for DNA. The colors described here may not match freshly collected material.

Figures

Figure 5. Aedeagi of the Novochares tectiformis species group along with schematic representations of the whole, the parameres (in blue), and the dorsal (in yellow) and ventral (in red) plates of the median lobe A N. trifurcatus B N. tectiformis C N. mura.

Figure 27. Aedeagi of the Novochares tectiformis species group A-C N. mura D, E N. xingu F-H N. danta I, J N. trifurcatus A, D, F, I dorsal view B, E, G ventral view C oblique view H, J lateral view.

Figure 29. Distribution of Novochares tectiformis species group A N. duo (red), N. bolivianus (yellow), N. atlanticus (blue), N. danta (green) B N. coya (red), N. yora (yellow), N. xingu (blue), N. mura (green), N. trifurcatus (purple) C N. tectiformis (red) D N. pume (red), N. piaroa (yellow), N. florifer (blue), N. mojenos (green), N. tambopatense (purple).