Stenotarsus kafkai, Arriaga-Varela, Emmanuel, Zaragoza-Caballero, Santiago, Tomaszewska, Wioletta & Navarrete-Heredia, Jose Luis, 2013

Arriaga-Varela, Emmanuel, Zaragoza-Caballero, Santiago, Tomaszewska, Wioletta & Navarrete-Heredia, Jose Luis, 2013, Preliminary review of the genus Stenotarsus Perty (Coleoptera: Endomychidae) from México, Guatemala and Belize, with descriptions of twelve new species, Zootaxa 3645 (1), pp. 1-79 : 19-20

Stenotarsus kafkai sp. nov.

(Figs. 20, 44, 59, 95, 118, 163, 210–211, 261)

Diagnosis. This species shares a similarly shaped median lobe with Stenotarsus mexicanus sp. nov. ( Figs. 210– 211 ). However, it can be easily distinguished from this species by the body uniformly black except the elytra, which are widely margined by a yellow-orange stripe, excluding suture (Fig. 20), and by the antennae with antennomeres 2–7 comparatively thin, 2X longer than wide ( Fig. 59 ).

Description of males. Body 4.4–5.3 mm long, moderately large, short oval, markedly convex (Fig. 20), 1.7– 1.8X as long as wide, 2.65–2.70X as long as high. Entirely black except elytra, which are widely margined by a wide, yellow stripe. Densely covered with distinctly short, decumbent, dark coppery setae.

Head: Clypeus widely transverse, 2.2–2.3X wider than long. Terminal labial palpomere narrow, acuminate, narrowly truncate apically. Interocular distance 0.63–0.64X as wide as head. Antenna moderately long and very slender ( Fig. 59 ), 0.4–0.5X as long as body; scape 1.3X as long as wide, 1.3X longer than pedicel; pedicel 1.9X longer than wide; third antennomere 1.8X as long as wide, 0.9X as long as pedicel; fourth 2.1X as long as wide, 1.1X as long as pedicel; fifth subequal to fourth; sixth 1.9X as long as wide, as long as pedicel; seventh subequal to sixth; eighth 1.4X as long as wide, as long as pedicel; antennal club 0.35X as long as total antennal length, its segments weakly symmetrical; ninth antennomere, strongly widened apically, 0.8X as long as wide, 1.1X as long as pedicel; tenth strongly widened apically, 0.6X as long as wide, 1.1X as long as pedicel; terminal antennomere weakly asymmetrical, nearly round-shaped, widest near midlength, 1.2X as long as wide, 2.4X as long as pedicel. Prothorax: Pronotum widest at base, markedly transverse ( Fig. 95 ), 2.2–2.3X wider than long, 1.9–2.0X wider at base than at front angles, 2.0–2.1X wider than head. Sides convergent in posterior half, then weakly rounded to front angles. Front angles produced, acute, briefly rounded at tip. Hind angles right-angled. Anterior margin narrow, arcuate medially. Lateral margins weakly raised, rather narrow, weakly widening posteriorly; width of margin at base almost 1/5 of the distance between basal pore and hind angle; area between marginal line and pronotal edge flat to weakly concave. Disc deeply and closely punctate, moderately convex. Longitudinal sulci feeble, short, straight. Basal pores moderately small, slightly curved, oblique. Basal sulcus impressed only near pores. Pronotal base lobed medially. Prosternal process wide at base, widened posteriorly; as wide as longitudinal procoxal diameter apically.

Pterothorax: Scutellum triangular, moderately large, 1.8X wider than long, 0.16X as wide as pronotum. Elytra 3.00– 3.55 mm long, 1.16–1.21X longer than wide, 3.2–3.4X longer and 1.3–1.35X wider than pronotum; ovoid, widest before basal third, then converging roundly to the weakly acuminate apex. Densely and evenly punctate with foveolate punctures small and somewhat deep ( Fig. 118 ), separated by 2.0–2.5 diameters, slightly sparser and shallower apically. Humerus moderately prominent. Epipleuron moderately wide at base, 0.7X as wide as intercoxal process of metaventrite. Mesoventrite deeply excavated in front; bearing small setose pores laterally; mesoventral process wider than longitudinal coxal diameter, without medial carinae. Metaventrite moderately convex, without modifications on anterior margin; with pair of small setose pores of approximately same diameter posterior to each mesocoxa. Metepisternum with small setose pore.

Legs: moderately long and slender ( Fig. 163 ). Trochanters simple. Meso- and metafemora moderately slender, widest at midlength, unarmed; metafemur as long as mesofemur, bearing short decumbent setae. Meso- and metatibiae moderately slender; metatibia as long as metafemur, 0.33–0.35X longer than elytra, continuously widened distally, linear, unarmed. Metatarsus 0.60–0.65X as long as metatibia; second tarsomere produced and lobed, 2.5X as wide apically as fourth tarsomere at midlength.

Abdomen: ventrite I slightly shorter than metaventrite and ventrites II–V combined, with small foveolate punctation, without protuberances ( Fig. 44 ). Ventrite V almost 1.5 X longer than IV, with apex truncate. Ventrite VI rounded apically. Tergite VIII truncate. Median lobe very slender, curved, broader preapically, then gradually widening apically ( Fig. 211 ); narrower at midlength, in lateral view ( Fig. 210 ). Tegmen with moderately large submembranous tegminal plate.

Description of females. Body 5.6 mm long, 1.72X as long as wide,2.85X as long as high. Antenna 0.36X as long as body. Pronotum 2.3–5.0X wider than long, 1.9X wider at base than at front angles, 2.23X wider than head. Elytra 3.9 mm long, 1.2X longer than wide, 4.0X longer and 1.4X wider than pronotum. Metatibia 0.29X longer than elytra. Metatarsus 0.55X as long as metatibia. Ovipositor with proctiger rounded, coxites moderately wide, without styli.

Sexual dimorphism. No significant sexual dimorphism was found.

Variation. No significant variation was found.

Material examined. Types. Holotype (male): MÉXICO, Veracruz: Altotonga, Río Pancho Poza, 25-IX-2001, Lactarius No. 167, Alt. 1900, L. Delgado col. (IEXA); Paratypes: Mexico, coll. J. Flohr (1 female: MNB); Lag. Verde [h] / Mexico, coll. J. Flohr / Stenotarsus sp. indesct, det. H.F. Strohecker (1 male: MNB).

Distribution. MEXICO: Veracruz ( Fig. 261 ).

Biological Notes. Altitudinal range: 5-1,900 m. Host fungi: Lactarius sp. ( Russulales : Russulaceae ).

Etymology. This species is dedicated to the eminent Czech author Franz Kafka, who imagined what it would be like to wake up as an insect.

Remarks. The short and decumbent setae on the pronotum and elytra in this species is rare among the Stenotarsus fauna of this region. The paratypes were labeled as collected in “Lag. Verde”, which probably refers to Laguna Verde in the coast of central Veracruz. However, the identity of this locality remains uncertain.

Figures

FIGURES 200 – 223. Lateral and ventral view of median lobe of edeagus of Stenotarsus spp. 200 – 201) S. cortesi; 202 – 203) S. exiguus; 204 – 205) S. globosus, S. raramuri, S. rubrocinctus, S. shockleyi; 206 – 207) S. guatemalae; 208 – 209) S. incisus; 210 – 211) S. kafkai, S. mexicanus; 212 – 213) S. latipes; 214 – 215) S. lemniscatus; 216 – 217) S. marginalis; 218 – 219) S. mesoamericanus; 220 – 221) S. militaris; 222 – 223) S. molgorae.

FIGURES 54 – 71. Right antennae of Stenotarsus spp. 54) S. cortesi; 55) S. exiguus; 56) S. globosus, S. rubrocinctus; 57) S. guatemalae; 58) S. incisus; 59) S. kafkai; 60) S. latipes; 61) S. lemniscatus; 62) S. marginalis; 63) S. mesoamericanus; 64) S. mexicanus; 65) S. militaris; 66) S. molgorae; 67) S. monterrosoi; 68) S. nigricans; 69) S. oblongulus; 70) S. ovalis; 71) S. parallelicornis.

FIGURES 90 – 104. Pronotum of Stenotarsus spp. 90) S. cortesi; 91) S. exiguus; 92) S. globosus; 93) S. guatemalae; 94) S. incisus; 95) S. kafkai; 96) S. latipes, S. molgorae; 97) S. lemniscatus; 98) S. marginalis; 99) S. mesoamericanus; 100) S. mexicanus; 101) S. militaris; 102) S. monterrosoi; 103) S. nigricans; 104) S. oblongulus.

FIGURES 115 – 125. Surface of elytron of Stenotarsus spp. 115) S. cortesi; 116) S. exiguus; 117) S. globosus; 118) S. kafkai; 119) S. lemniscatus; 120) S. ovalis; 121) S. militaris; 122) S. raramuri; 123) S. rulfoi; 124) S. shockleyi; 125) S. spiropenis.

FIGURES 158 – 173. Hind legs of male Stenotarsus spp. 158) S. cortesi; 159) S. exiguus; 160) S. globosus; 161) S. guatemalae; 162) S. incisus; 163) S. kafkai; 164) S. latipes; 165) S. lemniscatus; 166) S. marginalis; 167) S. mesoamericanus; 168) S. mexicanus; 169) S. militaris; 170) S. molgorae; 171) S. monterrosoi; 172) S. nigricans; 173) S. oblongulus.

FIGURES 43 – 49. 43 – 47. Habitus in ventral view of Stenotarsus spp. 48 – 49 Habitus in lateral view of Stenotarsus spp. 43) S. guatemalae; 44) S. kafkai; 45) S. nigricans; 46) S. militaris; 47) S. thoracicus; 48) S. incisus; 49) S. oblongulus.

FIGURES 260 – 262. Distributional maps of Stenotarsus spp. 260) S. guatemalae (C), S. marginalis (S); 261) S. kafkai (C), S. mexicanus (S), S. nigricans (T); 262) S. latipes (C), S. shockleyi (S). Yellow circles (C), red squares (S), blue triangles (T).