Belonuchus cifuentesi, Rodríguez & Navarrete-Heredia, 2016

Rodríguez, William David & Navarrete-Heredia, José Luis, 2016, A new Mexican species of Belonuchus Nordmann (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae), Zootaxa 4083 (3), pp. 444-450 : 445-446

Belonuchus cifuentesi sp. nov.

( Fig. 1)

Coloration. Head and antennae black, pronotum black with anterior corners and pronotal hypomera reddish-brown; elytrae, scutellum and abdominal tergites III–IV and sometimes basal portion of V, reddish-brown; elytra paler than abdominal segments; most of tergite V or entire tergite V to VIII piceous to piceous-black. Head and pronotum iridescent; mandibles and palpi brownish; legs reddish brown.

Head. Head of obtusely quadrangular shape, slightly longer than wide (HW/HL: 1.2), with obtuse hind angles; eyes small, more than two times smaller than tempora length seen from above, temporal carina bearing long and small setae ( Fig. 2 ); frons with wide fovea and with a longitudinal impression; dorsal surface with scattered umbilicate punctures, except large median area impunctate, surface with fine and dense microsculpture of oblique and transverse striae and scattered microscopic punctures (hard to see at 40´). Neck with anterior sulcusdeep and impressed. Gular sutures entirely fused except for very a short distance anteriorly. Antennae short, first three antennomeres bearing only sparse strong setae, outer antennomeres (4–11) with microtrichia and long setae, third antennomere slightly longer than second, each one of the outer antennomeres smaller than each one of the first three.

Thorax. Pronotum scarcely longer than wide (PL/PW: 1.02–1.1), narrowed posteriad, lateral margins usually inconspicuously concave in posterior half; dorsal rows each one with four, rarely with three or two punctures; lateral portions each with three or four punctures; surface with microsculpture similar to that on head. Elytra longer than the elytral suture (ratio 1.28), at sides longer than pronotum at midline (ratio 1.26–1.28), at base slightly wider than pronotum at widest point, somewhat widened posteriad; punctation fine, moderately dense, most interspace between punctures about twice as large as diameters of punctures; pubescence brown; surface between punctures without appreciable microsculpture, but usually with some microscopic irregularities. Scutellum densely punctate. Legs slender, profemur with two lines of spines of irregular size, metafemur with two lines of small and strong spines; tibiae with several spines; tarsi filiform, first and fifth tarsomeres longer than each one of the second to fourth.

Abdomen. Abdomen with tergite VII with whitish apical seam of palisade fringe; punctation of tergites about as dense and coarse as that on elytra, gradually becoming sparser and finer toward apical margin of each tergite; pubescence brownish, surface on base of each tergite with dense and coarse, almost granulose microsculpture, on the rest with fine and dense microsculpture of transverse striae. Genital segment with tergite X bearing two subapical semierect setae (Fig. 4).

Male: Sternite VIII (Fig. 3) with very shallow middle apical emargination. Genital sternite with a depth conspicuous emargination ( Fig. 5). Aedoeagus small, narrow and elongate ( Figs. 6–7); median lobe subparallelsided to slightly, evenly narrowed toward obtuse apex; paramere with wide, triangular, narrowed basal portion and with long, narrow, rod-like apical portion.

Female: Genital segment with tergite small and narrowed posteriad ( Fig. 8).

Length: 11–13.4 mm.

Specimens examined. Holotype ♂ MÉXICO: Jalisco, Teocuitatlán de Corona, Cerro de García, Colecta manual en Agave inaequidens 3-VIII al 3 IX de 2 014, 20°09´N 103°19´W, 2314 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez. Specimen deposited at CZUG. Paratypes (117), all of them collected in México: Jalisco, Teocuitatlán de Corona, Cerro de García, Colecta manual en Agave inaequidens , except for: 7-VI al 2-VII de 2014, 20°09´N 103°19´W, 2314 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez (8 ♀: CZUG); 03 IX-05 X de 2014, 20° 09´N 103°20´W 2423 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez (3 ♀: CZUG); 2-VII al 3-VIII de 2014, 20°09´N 103°19´W, 2314 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez (7 ♂ 1 ♀: CZUG); 15-III-2 014, 20°09'42.5''N 103° 19' 55.9''W 2289 msnm Col. Rodríguez, W.D y Hernández, B. (2 ♂ 6 ♀: CZUG); 3-VIII al 3 IX de 2014, 20°09´N 103°19´W, 2314 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez (4 ♂: CZUG); 4 - V al 7 - VI de 2014, 20°09´N 103°19´W, 2314 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez (3 ♂: CZUG); 4 - V al 7 - VI de 2014, 20° 09´N 103°20´W 2423 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez (1 ♂: CZUG); 10-IV al 4 - V de 2014, 20°09´N 103°19´W, 2314 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez (2 ♂: CZUG); 15-III-2014, 20°09' 48.5''N 103°20' 07.2''W 2 434 msnm Col. William D. Rodríguez (1 ♂: CZUG); 3-VIII al 3 IX de 2014, 20°09´N 103°19´W, 2314 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez (6 ♂ 2 ♀: MUD); 2-VII al 3-VIII de 2014, 20°09´N 103°19´W, 2314 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez; 2-VII al 3-VIII de 2014, 20°09´N 103°19´W, 2314 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez (8 ♀: MUD); 10-IV al 4 - V de 2014, 20°09´N 103°19´W, 2314 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez (1 ♀: MUD); 15-III-2014, 20°09'42.5''N 103° 19' 55.9''W 2289 msnm Col. Rodríguez, W.D y Hernández, B. (6 ♂ 2 ♀: MUD); 15-III-2014, 20°09' 48.5''N 103°20' 07.2''W 2434 msnm Col. William D. Rodríguez (1 ♀: MUD); 03 IX-05 X de 2014, 20° 09´N 103°20´W 2423 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez (7 ♂: MUD); 4 - V al 7 - VI de 2014, 20° 09´N 103°20´W 2423 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez (2 ♀: MUD); 7-VI al 2-VII de 2014, 20°09´N 103°19´W, 2314 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez (1 ♀: MUD); 3-VIII al 3 IX de 2014, 20°09´N 103°19´W, 2314 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez (1 ♂ 12 ♀: CNIN); 7-VI al 2-VII de 2014, 20° 09´N 103°20´W 2423 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez (1 ♀: CNIN); 4 - V al 7 - VI de 2014, 20° 09´N 103°20´W 2423 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez (3 ♂ 2 ♀: CNIN); 10-IV al 4 - V de 2014, 20° 09´N 103°20´W 2423 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez (1 ♂ 1 ♀: CNIN); 03 IX-05 X de 2014, 20° 09´N 103°20´W 2423 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez (2 ♂ 1 ♀: CNIN); 15-III-2014, 20°09' 48.5''N 103°20' 07.2''W 2434 msnm Col. William D. Rodríguez (1 ♂: CNIN); 03 IX-05 X de 2014, 20°09´N 103°19´W, 2314 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez (2 ♂: CNIN); 3- VIII al 3 IX de 2014, 20° 09´N 103°20´W 2423 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez (1 ♂: CNIN); 15-III-2014, 20°09'42.5''N 103°19' 55.9''W 2289 msnm Col. Rodríguez, W.D y Hernández, B. (2 ♂: CNIN); 2-VII al 3-VIII de 2014, 20°09´N 103°19´W, 2314 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez (3 ♂: CNIN); 10-IV al 4 - V de 2014, 20°09´N 103°19´W, 2314 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez (1 ♂: CNIN); 2-VII al 3-VIII de 2014, 20°09´N 103°19´W, 2314 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez (1 ♂: CNIN); MÉXICO: JAL, Teocuitatlán de Corona, Cerro de García, Colecta manual en Agave inaequidens 7-VI al 2-VII de 2014, 20°09´N 103°19´W, 2314 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez (7 ♂: CNIN); MÉXICO: JAL, Teocuitatlán de Corona, Cerro de García, Colecta manual en Agave inaequidens 4 - V al 7 - VI de 2014, 20°09´N 103°19´W, 2314 msnm. Col. William D. Rodríguez (1 ♂: CNIN). One additional female dissected, not a type with the label data as: México: Jalisco, 15-III-2014, 20°09´42.5´´N 103°19´55.9´´W 2289 msnm Col. Rodríguez, W.D. y Hernández, B. (1 ♀: CZUG)

Etymology. We named this species to honor Dr. Juan Luis Cifuentes Lemus in recognition for his contribution to the Mexican biology, both as a scientist and as a Professor. He also is the promoter for the construction of new biology programs in many Mexican universities.

Distribution. Adults of Belonuchus cifuentesi are known only from type locality, Teocuitatlán de Corona, Cerro de García.

Type locality. Teocuitatlán de Corona, Cerro de García. It is located at an altitude of 1500–2780 masl in the Transmexican Volcanic Belt (Jalisco, México).

Biology. Adults were collected in decomposing agave ( Agave inaequidens ) ( Fig. 10 ), at 2289–2434 masl. As for other Belonuchus species we suspected that preference for material at decomposing stage is due to their predatory habits, so their occurrence in the host plant is searching for preys, may be fly maggots that were detected when adults were collected. Agave inaequidens is distributed in localities of the Transmexican Volcanic Belt in central Mexico primarily in oak and pine forests ( Gentry, 1982), so we suspected that B. cifuentesi should be distributed at least in the same areas as their host or with other Agave species at similar altitude.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Lateral view of head showing temporal carina (scale bar = 1.25 mm). FIGURE 3. Apical portion of VIII male sternite (scale bar = 0.82 mm). FIGURE 4. Male tergite X (scale bar = 0.55 mm).

FIGURE 10. Decomposing agave (Agave inaequidens).