Phyllophaga nebulosa Polihronakis, 2007

López-Guerrero, Irma, 2007, Figs. 30 – 33. Attavicinus monstrosus. 30 in Comparison of Mouthpart Morphology of Three Species of Mexican Oniticellini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) in Relation to Their Trophic Habits, The Coleopterists Bulletin 61 (3), pp. 429-433 : 429-433

Phyllophaga nebulosa Polihronakis , new species

( Figs. 1–3 )

Description. Holotype. Male. Length 17.4 mm, body oblong, convex, slightly broadened posteriorly ( Fig. 1 ), rufotestaceous, head and pronotum slightly

429

430 darker than elytra, dorsal surface glabrous, except for marginal setae on pronotum and elytra. HEAD. Clypeus moderately sinuate anteriorly, margin narrowly reflexed, more so anteriorly than laterally; moderately punctate with small, round, evenly distributed punctures. Frons moderately convex, punctate anteriorly. Canthus narrow extending half way across the eye, equipped with 5–8 setae. Antennae 10-segmented with 3-segmented club, lamellae length 1.9 mm.

5 1 mm.

PRONOTUM. Length 4.1 mm, width 6.6 mm, punctate, punctures most dense along the lateral margins anteriorly, punctures larger than those of clypeus and frons; bead coarsely crenulate, each notch with a long seta. Anterior margin fimbriate lined with short, densely spaced setae. Posterior margin along the scutellum lined with densely spaced setae, longer than those at anterior margin. ELYTRA. Length 12.2 mm, width 9.1 mm, lateral margins with widely spaced setae. Scutellum length 1.4 mm, width 2.3 mm. VENTER. Proepisternum foveolate. Meso- and metathorax shiny, densely covered with yellow setae. Abdominal sternites smooth and shiny with sparse, short setae. LEGS. Internal margin of tarsi on all legs lined with two rows of setae. Tarsal claw curved with strong median tooth. Upper tibial spur of metathoracic legs slender, pointed, slightly curved, length 1.2 mm. Lower tibial spur of metathoracic legs unarticulated, length 0.5 mm. GENITALIA ( Fig. 2 ), basal piece length 3.3 mm, paramere length 2.4 mm, parameres asymmetrical. Left paramere rectangular with small, pointed falciform dorsal projection pointing anteriorly.

Allotype. Female. Similar to male except: length 16 mm, antennal lamellae 1.1 mm, pronotal width 6.5 mm. Lower tibial spur of metathoracic legs unarticulated, length 0.8 mm. Genitalia ( Fig. 3 ) with superior plates asymmetrical, pubic process bifid.

Variation. Male body length 16.5–17.6 mm (n 5 5), female body length 15.5– 17.9 mm (n 5 14). Color varies from medium to light rufotestaceous. No variability observed in male and female genitalic shape.

Diagnosis. Phyllophaga nebulosa is similar in form to other species in the P. fraterna group with characteristic asymmetric male genitalia. Based on interpretation of Böving (1942); Woodruff and Beck (1989), and unpubl. molecular data (M. Polihronakis), the putative P. fraterna group includes P. delata (Horn) , P. floridana Robinson , P. forsteri (Burmeister) , P. foxii Davis , P. fraterna Harris ,

1 mm.

432 P. hirticula (Knoch), P. hornii (Smith) , P. ilicis (Knoch) , P. infidelis (Horn) , P. kentuckiana Ritcher , P. knochii (Schoenherr and Gyllenhal) , P. lodingi Sanderson , P. paternoi Glasgow , P. pearliae Davis , P. profunda (Blanchard) , P. rugosa (Melsheimer) , and P. subtonsa (LeConte) . In Luginbill and Painter (1953), P. nebulosa keys to the section with P. hornii , P. rugosa , P. lodingi , P. pearliae , P. fraterna , P. kentuckiana , P. ovalis Cartwright , P. scitula (Horn) , and P. knochii due to the asymmetrical phallus, the lower spur approximately one-half as long as upper spur, moderate to deep emargination of the clypeus, antennae 10- segmented, and body not pruinose, iridescent, or with hairs. However, it cannot be assigned to any of these species due to unique characteristics of the male and female genitalia. In Woodruff and Beck (1989), P. nebulosa keys to P. forsteri in couplet 38 due to the dorsal tooth-like projection on the left paramere ( Fig. 4 ). However, P. nebulosa is distinguished from P. forsteri because it lacks the medial knob of the phallobase, and the parameres account for a much larger proportion of genitalia length (approximately 42% versus 28% in P. forsteri ). In addition, the rectangular shape of the left paramere, and the acute point of the dorsal tooth are distinct from P. forsteri ( Figs. 2 , 4 ). In Harpootlian (2001), P. nebulosa keys to P. fraterna and P. knochii in couplet 48 based on the same characteristics found in Luginbill and Painter (1953).

The tooth on the left paramere of P. nebulosa male genitalia is small and delicate and thus is easily broken during dissection and manipulation. Without this tooth, male specimens could be difficult to identify. Other species similar to P. nebulosa are P. fraterna and P. foxii , which can be distinguished by differences in male genitalic shape ( Fig. 4 ). The asymmetry of the female genital plates and unique shape of the pubic process are not easily confused with other species in the fraterna group.

Etymology. From the Latin ‘nebul-’, a cloud or mist; this species is named after my sister, Misty, whose home in Wilmington, North Carolina led to the discovery of the species described herein.

Type Material: Holotype. Male , Jones Lake State Park, Bladen Co., NC, U.S.A., N34 ° 40.847 9 W078 ° 36.051 9, 88 meters, 2 May 2006, M. Polihronakis, MP1708 ( AMNH) . Allotype, female: Jones Lake State Park , Bladen Co., NC, U.S.A. N34 ° 40.847 9 W078 ° 36.051 9, 88 meters, 1 May 2006, M. Polihronakis, MP1694 ( AMNH) .

Paratypes. Two males and 12 females collected at the locality and dates listed above for the type specimens. One additional paratype was collected two years prior to those collected at Jones Lake State Park with label: Corner of Nattsmore Rd. and State Rd. 11, Bladen Co., NC, U.S.A., N34 ° 25.100 W78 ° 14.912, 7 May 2004, M. Polihronakis, MP199 ( AMNH, UCMS) .

Molecular Results. According to 1252 base pairs of the mitochondrial COI gene, uncorrected pairwise nucleotide differences between P. nebulosa and its closest relative range between 4.0–4.9%, while the greatest difference among male and female P. nebulosa individuals is 1.3%.

Geographical Distribution. This species is currently known from Bladen County in the southeastern corner of North Carolina in the Cape Fear River Basin.

Permit Information. Collection at Jones Lake State Park was allowed under permit number R 06-11 issued by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources Division of Parks and Recreation.

Habitat. The Cape Fear River Basin is a coastal estuary in southeastern North Carolina. The area contains several natural lakes resulting from depressions in the land that are fed by precipitation. These depressions are often called bays due to the loblolly bay ( Gordonia lasianthus (L.) Ellis), sweetbay ( Magnolia virginiana L.), and red bay ( Persea palustris (Raf.) Sarg. ) evergreen trees that dominate the landscape. Areas surrounding the lakes tend to be boggy with acidic, sandy soils. Other Phyllophaga species collected with P. nebulosa at Jones Lake State Park are P. paternoi , P. cupuliformis Langston , P. perlonga Davis , and P. tristis (Fabricius) .

Figures

Fig. 1. Phyllophaga nebulosa, new species, male habitus, scale bar 5 1 cm.

Fig. 2. Phyllophaga nebulosa male genitalia a) left lateral; b) right lateral view, scale bar

Fig. 3. Phyllophaga nebulosa female genitalia a) left lateral; b) ventral view, scale bar 5

Fig. 4. Left lateral view of male genitalia of a) P. forsteri; b) P. foxii; c) P. fraterna.