Luispenaia paulseni Mondaca, Pizarro-Araya & Alfaro, 2019

Mondaca, José, Pizarro-Araya, Jaime & Alfaro, Fermín M., 2019, Revision of the genus Luispenaia Martínez (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae: Tanyproctini), with description of three new species from the Atacama Desert, Chile, Zootaxa 4615 (3), pp. 549-562 : 558-560

Luispenaia paulseni Mondaca, Pizarro-Araya & Alfaro new species

( Figs. 12 , 16 , 24–26 )

Type locality. Chile, Región de Antofagasta, Paposo, Quebrada Los Yales .

Type material: a) “ CHILE ANTOFAGASTA / Qda. Los Yales, Paposo / 25°00’27.7’’S / 70°26’48,3’’O; 617 m / 27-X-2015, t. luz blanca / col. J. Pizarro-F. Alfaro”, b) “ Luispenaia / paulseni sp. nov. / Mondaca, Pizarro-Araya & Alfaro / HOLOTYPE ” (red label, typeset). One male paratype at JMEC and one male paratype at LEULS labeled as holotype except: b) “ Luispenaia / paulseni sp. nov. / Mondaca, Pizarro-Araya & Alfaro / PARATYPE ” (yellow label, typeset)”. One male paratype at JEBC labeled: a) “15-018 / CHILE, prov. Antofagasta, / Paposo, quebrada, 27/30 oct / 2015, 770 msnm, luz UV / 25º00’16.7’’2S 70º26’36,38’’W / leg. J.E. Barriga-Tuñon J. / Pizarro, F. Alfaro, R. Botero, R. Muñoz”, b) “ Luispenaia / paulseni sp. nov. / Mondaca, Pizarro-Araya & Alfaro / PARATYPE ” (yellow label, typeset)”. One male paratype at JMEC labeled: a) “ CHILE ANTOFAGASTA / Paposo / Oct/ Dic-2002 / col. M. Ferrú”, b) “ Luispenaia / paulseni sp. nov. / Mondaca, Pizarro-Araya & Alfaro / PARATYPE ” (yellow la- bel, typeset)”. One male paratype at JMEC labeled: a) “ CHILE ATACAMA / 1 km N. de Bahia Salada / 25-I-1991 / leg. M. Guerrero”, b) “ Luispenaia / paulseni sp. nov. / Mondaca, Pizarro-Araya & Alfaro”. One male paratype at LEULS labeled: a) “ CHILE COQUIMBO / Ovalle, Lagunillas / 27-X-1989 / col. E. Vasquez”, b). “ Luispenaia / paulseni sp. nov. / Mondaca, Pizarro-Araya and Alfaro / PARATYPE ” (yellow label, typeset)”

Diagnosis. This species is distinguished from all other species in the genus Luispenaia by the following combination of characters: Body flattened, dorsally dark brown or black on head, pronotum and scutellum, legs, elytra light brown, shiny ( Fig. 24 ). Clypeus distally straight and upturned, with lateral margins rounded and reflexed upturned; lateral margin between clypeal base and ocular canthus very projected as external rounded lobule ( Fig. 12 ). Antennae with 8 antennomeres; club with 3 antennomeres ( Fig. 16 ). Pronotum approximately subhexagonal, laterally angled, with scarce dorsal setae ( Fig. 12 ).

Description of male holotype. Length 6.5 mm, wide 2.7 mm. Body: Flattened, dorsally dark brown on head, pronotum and scutellum, legs and elytra light brown, shiny ( Fig. 24 ). Head: Clypeus distally straight and upturned, with lateral margins rounded and reflexed upturned, laterally with a prolongation of the margins as external rounded lobules; dorsal surface punctate and setose; punctures large; clypeofrontal suture well defined, frontal width equal to 4.5 times the width of the eye, with surface densely punctate, punctures large; eye canthus short and narrow, slightly rounded externally ( Fig. 12 ). Antennae with 8 antennomeres; antennomere 1 robust, claviform; antennomere 2 submonoliform; antennomere 3 cylindrical; antennomere 4 subcylindrical, wide and flattened at apex; antennomere 5 discoidal; antennal club slightly longer than antennomeres 2–4 combined, with 3 antennomeres glabrous and micropunctate, subequal in length, straight in dorsal view ( Fig. 16 ). Pronotum: Approximately subpentagonal, laterally angled; surface scarcely punctate and setose, lateral margin with long and moderately dense setae ( Fig. 12 ). Elytra: Flattened, surface scarcely setose, with 8 striae well defined; setae erect, slightly recumbent posteriorly; lateral margin with long, moderately dense, laterally directed setae. Legs: Moderately setose and shiny; setae yellow, long. Protibiae tridentate, with teeth rounded distally. Genitalia: Parameres long and slender, wider at base (frontal view), laterally slender, slightly curved ventrally, widened in the apical third and rounded at apex; phallobase 1.0 times as longer as parameres ( Figs. 25–26 ).

Female. Unknown.

Variation. Length 5.8–6.5 mm. Dorsal color of pronotum light brown to dark brown. Not differing significantly from the holotype in external characters.

Etymology. Named in honor of our colleague and friend M.J. Paulsen from the University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, Nebraska, United States of America. He has contributed greatly to the taxonomy of the Lucani- dae and Glaresidae from Chile and South America.

Distribution. Chile, Antofagasta (Antofagasta Province), Atacama (Copiapo Province), and Coquimbo (Elqui Province) ( Fig. 8 ).

Material examined. 6 specimens were examined from JEBC, JMEC, LEULS .

Habitat and ecology. Luispenaia paulseni has been collected during the spring (October–November) with mixed light trap installed in an area with mixed native vegetation, while a one specimen from Paposo were captured with a pitfall trap ( Fig. 30 ). The type locality corresponds to a habitat belonging to the vegetational floor coastal Mediterranean desert scrub of Euphorbia lactiflua (Phil.) and Eulychnia iquiquensis (Schumann) Britton & Rose , which is characterized by being a dense shrubland with columnar succulents. This habitat is dominated by a diverse set of tall bushes such as E. lactiflua , Proustia tipia Phil. , Lycium deserti Phil. , Heliotropium taltalense (Phil.) I.M. Johnst. , H. philippianum I.M., Johnst., Oxalis gigantea Barnéoud , among which grows the columnar cactus Eulychnia iquiquensis and the arrosetadas Puya chilensis Molina , Deuterocohnia chrysantha (Phil.) Mez ( Luebert & Pliscoff 2006) . The herbaceous plants are abundant in the rainy years, such as Oxalis bulbocastanum Phil. and Alstroemeria violacea Phil. , in addition to the vascular epiphytes Tillandsia geissei Phil. and Tropaeolum tricolor Sweet. It should be noted that it is a part of the coastal desert that is very rigorous and that is compensated in some sectors by the occurrence of dense camanchacas ( Luebert & Pliscoff 2006).

Figures

FIGURE 8. Distribution of Luispenaia species in the Atacama Desert, northern Chile.

FIGURES 30. Type locality of Luispenaia species. A, Llanos de Challe National Park (Atacama Region, Chile), habitat of L. paradoxa; B, Boqueron Chañar (Atacama Region, Chile), habitat of L. atacamensis; C, Paposo Norte Natural Monument (Antofagasta Region, Chile), habitat of L. paposo; D, Quebrada Los Yales (Antofagasta Region, Chile), habitat of L. paulseni.

FIGURES 10–13. Head and pronotum of Luispenaia species. 10, Luispenaia atacamensis; 11, L. paposo; 12, L. paulseni; 13, L. paradoxa. Scale: 0.5 mm.

FIGURES 14–17. Antennal club of Luispenaia species. 14, Luispenaia paradoxa Martínez; 15, L. paposo; 16, L. paulseni; 17, L. atacamensis. Scale: 0.5 mm.

FIGURES 18–29. Luispenaia species. 18–20, Luispenaia atacamensis; 21–23, L. paposo; 24–26, L. paulseni; 27–29, L. paradoxa. Scale: 1 mm.