Hovorigenium ecuadorense, Ivie & Spiessberger, 1956

Ivie, Michael A. & Spiessberger, Erich L., 1956, Clarification of the Correct Original Spelling of Caecomenimopsis jamaicensis Dajoz (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Diaperinae: Gnathidiini: Anopidiina), The Coleopterists Bulletin 61 (2), pp. 159-163 : 159-163

Hovorigenium ecuadorense , new species

(Figs. 1–3, 5–9)

Description of female holotype. Elongate-ovoid, slender, length 7.2 mm, width 2.2 mm; flattened, feebly convex dorsally and ventrally; general color black with aeneous reflections especially on dorsal surface and disc of thoracic and abdominal ventrites; longitudinal depression of frontovertex and around each eye, gena, dorsal surface of antennae, anterior margin and lateral fold of pronotum,epipleuron, anterior region of prosternum, perimeter of prosternal process and perimeter margins of remaining thoracic ventrites, longitudinal margins of abdominal ventrites and legs faint red-cupreous; head, pronotum 162 shallowly, coarsely punctate, each puncture with one recumbent, white seta, each seta ca. 2X longer than diameter of individual puncture; elytra striatopunctate in longitudinal interstices alternating with feebly elevated, impunctate costae; head (Fig. 5) with frontovertex broadly, shallowly, longitudinally depressed between eyes; depression marked with fine, very narrow medial groove; frontoclypeus with disc shallowly depressed before feebly bilobed distal margin of clypeus; clypeal margin shallowly angulate between lateral lobes; antennal insertions small, widely separated; gena with only short lobe beneath each eye, very shallow, transverse depression for basal antennomeres in repose; antennomere 1 more than 2X length of 2; 2 short, globose; 3, 4 subequal in length, each more slender than 2; 5–10 triangularly serrate, 5–7 longer than wide, 8–10 subequal length to width; 11 oblong, rounded distally, as long as 10 (Fig. 6); pronotum (Figs. 1, 2) ca. 1.7 times as wide as long, widest in anterior K; anterior margin bisinuate, arcuate medially, concave on either side laterally widening to anterolateral angles; posterior margin bisinuate on either side of evenly transverse median portion; posterolateral angles nearly 90 °; lateral margins strong arcuate from anterior margin to before posterolateral angles; disc flattened medially, longitudinally depressed on either side laterally; margin separated from disc by narrow, irregular elevated costa on either side; lateral margins without well-defined carina, only dorsal and ventral surfaces slightly compressed together so that margin appears to be well-marked; scutellum (Fig. 1) pentagonal, widest at posterior 1/3, anterior margin convex, sides diverging posteriorly, posterior margin two-sided or widely angulate; elytra (Figs. 1, 2) widest opposite humeri, wider than maximum width of pronotum; elytra widest just posterior to apical 1/3; lateral margins widening slightly from anterior margin to anterior 1/4, then subequal to midpoint, then again slightly widening to apical 1/3 before gradually narrowing to separately rounded apices; lateral margin finely, widely serrulate from anterolateral angles to before apex, then finely, closely serrate around apex; disc striatopunctate, between more or less longitudinal, irregular, feebly elevated costae; five costae visible in anterior 1/3, nine costae visible at midpoint of elytral length, and only four costae visible in preapical section; the four longest costae: costa 3 beginning from discal side of anterior humeral depression, arcuate in anterior 1/3, subparallel to suture for most of elytral length, then slightly diverging laterally before apex; costa 5 beginning from inside of apex of humeral umbone, arcuate anteriorly and more or less parallel to costa 3, but converging with costa 3 at apex; costa 7 beginning from outside of apex of humeral umbone, parallel to costae 3, 5, but extending only to about apical 1/5; costa 8, prelateral, beginning opposite apex of anteolateral projection of abdominal ventrite 1, parallel to fine lateral carina and costa 7, extending to and around apex; epipleuron slender anteriorly, narrowing to very slender subparallel extension almost to elytral apex; pygidium not visible from above; prosterum (Fig. 3) with anterior margin feebly bilobed on either side of wide, shallow concave margin medially; prosternal process with sides concave opposite procoxae, then trilobed (2 lateral, 1 distal) at apex; mesoepimeron partially hidden beneath anteolateral projection of first abdominal ventrite; abdominal ventrites slightly expanded laterally and visible beyond lateral margins of elytra; ventrite 2 subparallel in length to 1; 1+2, 3+4+5; 5 narrowing moderately to subtruncate apex; pro, mesofemora basally fusiform; metafemora subparallel; tibiae (Fig. 7) straight; tarsomeres 1–4 with ventral pulvilli: 1 slender, elongate with pulvillus short, less than half length of 1; 2, 3 short, subequal in length; 2 with pulvillus slightly wider than 3; 4 shorter than 3; 3, 4 with pulvilli expanded laterally, much wider than long; 5 very slender, length ca. length of 3+4+5; claws (Fig. 8) appendiculate. Ovipositor as in Fig. 9.

Specimens examined. Holotype, female ( CSCA): ECUADOR, Manabi Prov., La Pila, S01 ° 06 9 42.4 0 W080 ° 34 9 50.5 0 200 m elev., 20.ii.2006, F. T. Hovore.

Etymology. The specific epithet ecuadorense is chosen to indicate the country of origin.

Comments. One of the many tragic aspects of Frank’s early death was that he knew so much more about many of the critters he collected than the scant label data that came with them. Eventually more specimens of this exciting new taxon will be collected and more data about host, biology, range, etc. will be published; or it won’t. Frank’s death may actually close the book about collecting in Ecuador and elsewhere for an entire group of colleagues who followed Frank’s lead into parts of Central and South America mostly unknown to contemporary entomologists. Instead of fearing a similar fate to that of Frank, we should all consider fearing that we won’t leave much either by fearing to follow or failing to provide better documentation of our own travels and discoveries.