Antillipeltis darlingtoni, Lawrence, John F., Leschen, Richard A. B. & Ślipiński, Adam, 2014

Lawrence, John F., Leschen, Richard A. B. & Ślipiński, Adam, 2014, Antillipeltis, a new genus of Antillean Trogossitidae (Coleoptera: Cleroidea) with a key to the Cleroidea, Zootaxa 3794 (3), pp. 435-454 : 439

Antillipeltis darlingtoni sp. n.

( Figs 1 A, 2A–I, 3A, C, F–K)

Diagnosis. This species is larger than most others in the genus, overlapping only with A. pubescens , which is distinctly setose above and differs in form (prothorax less than a fourth as long as elytra) and color (elytra yellow and maculate). The distinctive pronotal punctation with more clearly defined and sparse punctures and distinctly granulate interspaces, also occurs in A. portoricensis , but that species is less than 5 mm long with the sides of the pronotum less strongly rounded, not explanate and with more coarsely crenulate edges.

Description. Length 5.1–6.7 mm; body elongate (BL/EW = 1.98–2.16). Head and pronotum dark brown to black; elytra reddish-brown with sides yellow, undersurfaces mostly reddish-brown to dark brown but elytral epipleura yellow; antennal funicle, labrum, dorsal portion of mandibular bases and palps yellow, antennal club dark brown; legs primarily yellow, but tarsi and pretarsi dark brown. Dorsal vestiture of very short fine setae, most of which barely extend beyond edges of punctures; ventral surfaces and legs clothed with longer, decumbent and suberect setae. Head punctation moderately fine and dense. Pronotum 0.59–0.66 times as long as wide; sides distinctly curved and explanate, and edges of lateral carinae finely crenulate; anterior angles weakly produced and rounded; posterior angles broadly rounded. Pronotal punctation fine and sparse, the punctures with steep sides, but spacing irregular; interspaces distinctly granulate with dull sheen. Elytra 1.43–1.62 times as long as wide and 2.60–3.00 times as long as pronotum, widest at posterior third; sides weakly rounded and explanate; punctation coarse and dense, irregularly seriate; interspaces more or less smooth and shiny. Male abdomen with transverse setal rows on ventrites 2–4. Aedeagus 0.47 times as long as abdominal ventrites 1–5; tegmen with fused parameres 7.5 times as long as wide; parameres 0.50 times as long as body of tegmen including paired dorsal struts; ventral strut 0.85 times as long as body of tegmen; penis 1.08 times as long as tegmen including parameres and 12 times as long as wide, laterally compressed.

Type specimens. Holotype, male: Haiti: Kenskoff (near Port-au-Prince), 4600 ft., 23.ix.1934, P.J. Darlington, Jr. ( MCZ). Paratypes: Haiti: 1 male (disarticulated), LaVisite & vic., La Salle Range, 5-7000 ft., 16–23.xi.1934, P. J. Darlington, Jr. ( ANIC); 1 male, Dept. Sud-Oueste. Parc Nat. La Visite, Morna de Fe Noir, 17.v.1984, M. C. Thomas ( FSCA).

Note. The species is named in honor of the late Prof. P. J. Darlington, Jr., a colleague, friend and fellow Tolkien fan, who also collected the type of this species.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Antillipeltis species, habitus, dorsal: A, A. darlingtoni sp. nov., length = 5.1 mm; B, A. maculata sp. nov., length = 4.4 mm; C, A. minuta sp. nov., length = 2.8 mm; D, A. nitida sp. nov., length = 3.1 mm; E, A. portoricensis sp. nov., length = 4.3 mm; F, A. pubescens sp. nov., length = 5.5 mm.