Caymania nitidissima Ratcliffe and Cave, 2010

Ratcliffe, Brett C. & Cave, Ronald D., 2010, The Dynastinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) of the Cayman Islands (West Indies), with descriptions of Tomarus adoceteus, new species (Pentodontini) and Caymania nitidissima, new genus and species (Phileurini), Insecta Mundi 2010 (139), pp. 1-15 : 11-12

Caymania nitidissima Ratcliffe and Cave , new species

(Fig. 20-22)

Type Material. Holotype male, labeled “ Roy Soc-CIG Expdn./ Little Cayman, BWI/ Central Forest / 22-7- 1975. R. R. Askew //BM 1981/342” (hand written) and with our red holotype label . Allotype female, labeled “Roy Soc-CIG Expdn./Little Cayman, BWI/Transect 2/under stone/ 30-7-1975. R. R. Askew //BM 1981/ 342” (hand written) and with our red allotype label. Single female paratype labeled “Roy Soc-CIG Expdn./ Little Cayman, BWI/ Mid island ironshore/N of airstrip/ 27-7-1975. R. R. Askew //BM 1981/342” (hand written) and with our yellow paratype label . Holotype and allotype deposited at The Natural History Museum, London ( BMNH). Paratype deposited in the B. C. Ratcliffe collection, Lincoln, Nebraska ( BCRC).

Holotype. Male. Length 9.8 mm; width 4.87 mm. Color dark reddish brown, almost black, strongly shiny everywhere. Head: Surface with small, sparse punctures and with low, transverse carina; carina broadly interrupted at middle. Clypeus triangular, apex acute, reflexed, with small carina extending obliquely from apex on each side to transverse, frontoclypeal carina. Interocular width equals 9.0 transverse eye diameters. Antenna 10-segmented, antennomeres stout, club subequal in length to segments 2- 7. Mandibles arcuate on lateral edge, apex acute. Pronotum: Surface evenly convex, with moderately dense micropunctures, punctures slightly larger near lateral margins. Base with marginal bead. Elytra: Surface with weak rows of minute to small punctures, 2 short rows of moderately sized punctures behind apical umbone. Pygidium: Surface with sparse, minute punctures. In lateral view, surface weakly convex in basal half, strongly convex (almost protuberant) in apical half. Legs: Protibia tridentate, teeth subequally spaced, apical 2 teeth long. Apex of metatibia with upper angle prolonged into sharp tooth, with 7 stout spinules below tooth. Apex of first tarsomere of metatarsus prolonged into long spine. Ven- ter: Prosternal process moderately tall, thick, apex

broadly rounded. Last sternite virtually

impunctate. Parameres: Fig. 21-22. Form sym-

metrical, apices arcuate, broadly rounded, apices

of inner lobes symmetrical and broadly rounded.

Allotype. Female. Length 11.2 mm; width 5.5

mm. As holotype, except in the following respects:

Head: Frons with punctures slightly larger,

denser. Pygidium: In lateral view, surface weakly

convex.

Variation. Females (1 paratype). Length 10.6

mm; width 5.0 mm. The single female paratype

does not differ significantly from the allotype, ex-

cept that the punctures of the pygidium are mod-

erately dense and slightly larger.

Etymology. Derived from the Latin word niteo,

meaning shiny or polished and here used in the

superlative form, nitidissima , to indicate very

shiny or polished in reference to the incredibly

smooth dorsal surface.

Distribution. Caymania nitidissima is known

only from Little Cayman.

Diagnosis. See the generic diagnosis. The

parameres resemble those of Hemiphileurus

cubensis (Chalumeau), but the apices of the

parameres in that species are subquadrate and not

broadly rounded as in C. nitidissima , the body

length is twice that of C. nitidissima , and the

pronotum and elytra are sculptured as opposed to

smooth.