Heterocotinis Martínez, 1948

Ratcliffe, Brett C., 2014, A Review Of The Neotropical Genera Badelina Thomson, 1880, Balsameda Thomson, 1880, Guatemalica Neervoort Van De Poll, 1886, And Heterocotinis Martínez, 1948 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae: Gymnetini), The Coleopterists Bulletin 68 (2), pp. 241-262 : 258

Heterocotinis Martínez, 1948

Heterocotinis Martínez 1948: 7 . Type species: Cotinis semiopaca Moser 1907: 143 , by monotypy.

Martínez (1948) established Heterocotinis and assigned to it Cotinis semiopaca Moser, 1907 . At the same time, he placed Gymnetis platensis Brèthes, 1925 as a junior synonym of H. semiopaca . Goodrich (1966) tentatively transferred Gymnetis terminata (Gory and Percheron, 1833) , Gymnetis smaragdinea (Gory and Percheron, 1833) , and Cotinis nitidicollis Moser, 1907 to Heterocotinis . Burmeister (1842) had previously placed G. terminata and G. smaragdinea in Cotinis , and all four of these species were placed in Cotinis by Blackwelder (1944). Heterocotinis has never been comprehensively reviewed, and keys to identify the species do not exist. Goodrich (1966) was in the best position to have done so since he had just comprehensively revised Cotinis but was unable because he had seen so few specimens or types of Heterocotinis species.

Description. Scarabaeidae , Cetoniinae , Gymnetini . Form: Elongate, rhomboidal, sides slightly tapering from humeri towards apex of elytra, dorsum nearly flat. Length 12.5–21.5 mm. Color of pronotum metallic olive-green, dark green, or metallic copper, weakly shiny. Color of elytra dark green, plum, or reddish brown, opaque or weakly shiny; venter shiny dark green. White or cretaceous spots or bands on, variably, head, pronotum, epimera, elytra, pygidium, mesepimera, metepisternum, abdominal ventrites, metacoxae, and femora. Head: Subrectangular, longer than wide. Clypeal apex broad, with reflexed, triangular “tooth” at middle. Frons and clypeus with longitudinal keel at middle, depressed either side of median keel. Antenna with 10 antennomeres, scape as long as next 4 antennomeres combined, club distinctly longer than antennomeres 2–7. Pronotum: Subtrapezoidal, widest near base, gradually convergent to anterior angles, basomedian lobe strongly produced posteriorly, lobe covering all but tip of scutellum. Sides with strong bead, anterior and basal margins lacking bead. Elytra: Widest at base, posthumeral emargination distinct. Bead present on lateral margins. Pygidium: Surface nearly smooth or concentrically strigulose on non-cretaceous areas, nearly flat to weakly convex in lateral view. Venter: Mesometasternal process broadly rounded at apex, non protuberant to slightly protuberant in lateral view, in same plane as ventral axis of body ( Figs. 38 and 42 ). Males with abdomen slightly concave in lateral view. Females with abdomen flat to slightly tumescent. Legs: Protibia usually slender, weakly tridentate, basal tooth removed from others. Parameres: In caudal view, form relatively short, subrectangular, apices broadly rounded, with small tooth apicolaterally.

Diagnosis. Species of Heterocotinis are distinguished from closely related Cotinis species by a large antennal scape which is as long as the next four antennnomeres combined (shorter than antennomeres 1–4 in all Cotinis species ), short mesometasternal process (long and projecting in Cotinis species ), and conspicuously short parameres (in caudal view) that are only two-thirds as long as the phallobase (parameres longer in Cotinis species ).

Distribution. Two species of Heterocotinis are known from Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay.

Natural History. Heterocotinis species are diurnal. Nothing is known of their life history. Bruch (1919) described the immature stages of H. semiopaca .

Figures

Figs. 37–40. Heterocotinis semiopaca. 37) Habitus; 38) Mesometasternal process, lateral view; 39–40) Parameres.

Figs. 41–44. Heterocotinis terminata. 41) Habitus; 42) Mesometasternal process, lateral view; 43–44) Parameres.