Plectonotum huascaran, Constantin, 2020

Constantin, Robert, 2020, A contribution to the genera Plectonotum Gorham and Hyponotum Wittmer, with the description of sixteen new species from Peru (Coleoptera, Cantharidae), Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia (Pap. Avulsos Zool., S. Paulo) 60 (34), pp. 1-27 : 11-12

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11606/1807-0205/2020.60.special-issue.34
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:27019209-D6C3-47EA-8B16-213EC117A891
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03BD8143-FF9D-DA24-FE86-B23AFA8FFE67
treatment provided by	Carolina
scientific name	Plectonotum huascaran
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Plectonotum huascaran sp. nov.

( Figs. 9 View Figures 9-16 , 32 View Figures 24-35 , 63-64 View Figures 63-78 , 101 View Figures 93-109 , 119 View Figure 119 )

Type material: Holotype ♂ ( MUSM): Peru, Ancash, provincia de Yungay , 15 km NE de Yungay, carret-

era de Laguna Llanganuco, 09°06′03″S, 77°40′20″W, alt. 3,465 m, 03.IV.2017, leg. R. Constantin. Paratypes: 2♂, 3♀, same date and locality as the holotype GoogleMaps ; – 4♂, 4♀, Ancash, provincia de Huaylas, 20 km E de Caraz , carretera de Laguna Parón, 09°02′17″S, 77°43′58″W, alt. 3,370 m, 08.IV.2015, leg. R. Constantin. Holotype and six paratypes deposited in the collection of MUSM, other paratypes preserved in the author’s collection ( CCo) GoogleMaps .

Description: Holotype. Length 3.2 mm. Head, pronotum and elytra black. Antennae black, the ventral face of the first two antennomeres brownish yellow. Mandibles yellow with brown tip. Abdomen brown. Head 0.76 times as wide as pronotum. Eyes small, bulging. Frons concave between the antennal sockets, flat behind, the vertex slightly convex. Temples as long as the eyes, slightly convex. Cephalic surface smooth, thinly punctate, covered with thin yellowish setae, directed toward the base of the eyes. Antennae slender, the first antennomere elongate, two and a quarter times longer than wide, II short, III slightly wider apically and two and a half times longer than wide, the following subparallel sided. Pronotum 1.37 times wider than long. Apical and basal edges weakly arched, both thinly bordered, lateral edges straight in the middle part with a narrow bead, apical corner obliquely bevelled, basal corner shortly right angled. Disc convex, bright, markedly punctate, covered with recumbent yellowish setae. Elytra 2.6 times longer than their combined width at the base and 0.9 times as wide as pronotum, not costate, roughly punctated, the punctation twice wider than their intervals, seriately disposed on the basal half, more irregularly apically, covered with thin whitish setae, obliquely directed backwards. Elytral apices rounded continuously together with the lateral margin. Legs simple, tarsi rather elongate, the metatarsi as long as the two thirds of metatibiae, the claws thin, without basal denticles. Abdominal sternite VIII wide and triangular, the apical edge arched and truncate. Aedeagus: tegmen 2.6 times longer than wide, apices of lateral lobes broadly round- ed, apico-ventral apophysis thin, narrow; lateral sclerites triangular-shaped, narrow; median lobe short, with recurved tip.

Dimensions of the holotype: TL = 3.2 mm; AL = 2.2 mm; HW = 0.71 mm; IOW = 0.45 mm; OL = 0.21 mm; IAW = 0.2 mm; PL = 0.67 mm; PW = 0.92 mm; EL = 2.2 mm; EW = 0.84 mm. Length of the antennomeres, in mm: aI = 0.25; aII = 0.11; aIII = 0.22; aIV = 0.24; aV = 0.24; aVI = 0.22; aVII = 0.22; aVIII = 0.22; aIX = 0.22; aX = 0.21; aXI = 0.22. Paratypes ♂: length 3.0- 3.8 mm, mean 3.4 mm.

Paratypes ♀: Differ from the males by the smaller eyes, shorter antennae, pronotum more strongly narrowed towards the apex, and elytra 1.36 times broader apically than basally. Sternite VIII short and wide, the apical edge deeply incised in the middle. Dimensions of a medium sized specimen ♀.TL = 3.5mm;AL= 2.2mm;HW= 0.7mm; IOW = 0.49 mm; OL = 0.18 mm; IAW = 0.21 mm; PL = 0.68 mm;PW = 1.08 mm;EL = 2.6 mm;EW = 0.98 mm. Paratypes ♀: length 3.1-4.1 mm, mean 3.5 mm.

Differential diagnosis: Plectonotum huascaran sp. nov., resembles to the Ecuadorian species P. nigricorne Constantin, 2008 , and P.huariaca sp. nov., by the habitus, colour pattern and pronotal shape. It differs from the latter by the bigger size, the more seriate elytral punctation, the the characters of the aedeagus, and the females with fully developed wings.

Etymology: Specific epithet is related to the name of the National Park Huascaran on the Cordillera Blanca. Noun in apposition.

Natural history: Collected beating the foliage of the trees along the access road to the mountains lakes.