Fractipes tayrona Flowers, 2021

Flowers, R Wills, 2021, A new species and significant range extension for the genus Fractipes Bechynĕ (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Eumolpinae: Eumolpini), Insecta Mundi 2021 (890), pp. 1-6 : 2-6

Fractipes tayrona Flowers , new species

Figures 1–7 , 12–17

Description. HOLOTYPE MALE ( Fig. 1 ). Body elongate oval; length 4.7 mm (male range: 4.4–5.3 mm; mean = 4.9 mm; n = 6). Upper side strongly shining. Head and pronotum piceous with bronze reflex, elytra dark brown with weak green reflex, labrum reddish brown, maxillary palpi yellow, antennomeres 1–6 and 8–9 reddish brown, 7 and 10–11 darker. Underside dark piceous brown with metallic bronze reflex, apex of sternum VI and sternum VII reddish brown. Legs reddish brown, joint of femur–tibia darker. Head. Clypeus and frons punctate, punctures separated by distance slightly greater than their diameters. Vertex finely, sparsely punctate with punctures separated by distance greater than their diameters; surface between punctures smooth, shining; antennal calli smooth. Antennomeres 4–6 dorsoventrally compressed and densely setose ventrally ( Fig. 3 ). Thorax. Prothorax distinctly wider than long, L/W = 0.67; anterior and posterior widths subequal; lateral margins rounded with an obtuse tooth at midlength; anterior and posterior angles prominent, directed laterally. Disc strongly punctate, with punctures separated by a distance equal or slightly less than their own diameters; surface between punctures shining, smooth. Prosternum with scattered pale setae, and with posterior margin of intercoxal process truncate, width of intercoxal process 0.5× diameter of procoxa. Mesosternum surface alutaceous with scattered pale setae, flat between mesocoxae. Metasternum smooth and shining; metepisternum surface finely alutaceous. Legs. Basitarsi of fore and middle legs enlarged, elongate, rectangular. Hind femur with a ventral carina in basal two-thirds, ending in a very large ventral tooth slightly curved inwardly ( Fig. 4 ); carina and apex of tooth black. Apical fourth of hind tibia setose; apex asymmetrically rounded with fine carina on margin ( Fig. 5 ). Elytra. Evenly punctate basally, punctate-striate in apical third; punctures separated by distance greater than their diameters; surface between punctures smooth, shining; humeri prominent, subquadrate, width across humeri 1.3× width across pronotum; basal calli weakly developed; postbasal depression shallow. Abdomen. Sterna with numerous short setae and a transverse band of long setae in middle third at apical margins; surface of segments alutaceous. Male sternum VI ( Fig. 6 ) with lateral margins crenulate on apical half, a pair of blunt swellings at posterolateral corners, and a weak depression in center; sternum VII with a deep U-shaped emargination for reception of the apex of the pygidium. Pygidium with a deep longitudinal groove and shallow oval depressions laterally. Terga heavily sclerotized, spicules on terga II and III small and inconspicuous. Genitalia. Median lobe in lateral view ( Fig. 12 ) bent downward at slightly greater than right angle to the basal hood; in en-face view apical margin drawn out into a long acute projection ( Fig. 13 ). Endophallus with a pair of short sclerotized basal lateral digits ( Fig. 15 ) and large, paddle-shaped endophallic lateral digits, sclerotized at their base; a large membranous T-shaped dorsal lobe between the digits, lobe with a pair of lyre-shaped sclerites ( Fig. 15 ). Apical sclerite small, distinctly longer than wide ( Fig. 14 ). Sperm gland elongate and very slender, a very small non-sclerotized cap at the junction of the duct.

ALLOTYPE FEMALE ( Fig. 2 ). Body oval; length 5.0 mm (female range: 4.5–5.2 mm; mean = 4.8 mm; n = 8); color similar to male but with elytra darker brown. Head. With labrum, frons, eyes similar to male; mouthparts similar to male. Antenna filiform, segments 4–6 not flattened and lacking ventral setae. Thorax. Prothorax distinctly wider than long, L/W = 0.6; shape of pronotum as in male; prosternum similar to male but with setae longer. Meso- and metathoracic sterna as in male. Legs with hind femur slender, unmodified; basitarsi unmodified. Elytra. Similar to male but with posthumeral depression deeper. Abdomen. Sterna evenly covered with long yellowish setae. Sternum VII with large apical emargination, strongly crenulate laterally ( Fig. 7 ). Genitalia. Segments VIII–XI forming very long, thin ovipositor (L/W = 24.8; Fig. 17 ). Sternum VIII with long linear basal apodeme; segment IX covered with minute setae; hemisternites with long basal rods; baculum distinct, apical, slightly shorter than gonocoxae. Gonocoxae longer than wide. Spermatheca ( Fig. 16 ) with receptacle small, scarcely differentiated from the pump.

Specimens examined. (6♂♂, 8♀♀). Male HOLOTYPE labeled: COLOMBIA, Magdalena, PNN Tayrona Palangana , 11°20′N 72°2′W, 30 m, Malaise, 05/03–21/03/2001, R. Henriquez Leg. M1483. Female ALLOTYPE labeled: COLOMBIA, Magdalena, PNN Tayrona Palangana, 11°20′N 72°2′W, 30 m, Malaise, 4–17.i.2002, M2756. Holotype and allotype deposited in IAVH. PARATYPES: COLOMBIA, Magdalena: (3♂♂; 2 IAVH, 1 FSCA) same locality, date, and collector as holotype; (1♂, USNM) same locality, date, and collector as allotype; (1♂, 1♀) same locality and collector as holotype, 16.xii.2001 – 4.i.2002, M2756; (6♀♀; 4 IAVH, 1 FSCA, 1 USNM) PNN Tayrona Gairaca , 11°20′N 74°2′W, 5 m, Malaise, 05/03–21/03/2001, R. Henriquez Leg. M1479 .

Etymology. This species is named for Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona, where all individuals of this species were collected; name to be treated as a noun.

Diagnosis. Fractipes differs from all other genera of Neotropical Eumolpinae by the very large size of the male metafemoral projection. Fractipes tayrona differs from the two other described species in this genus by the lack of a notch or emargination at the apex of the male hind tibia, by the shape of the projection on the ventral side of the metafemur ( Fig. 5, 8–9 ), and by the dense short setae on the ventral side of male antennomeres 4–6.

Figures

Figures 1–4. Fractipes tayrona. 1) Holotype male, dorsal habitus. 2) Allotype female, dorsal habitus. 3) Head of male. 4) Underside of male showing femoral spur, and terminal abdominal segments plus pygidium.

Figures 5–11. Structures of Fractipes. 5) Male hind leg of F. tayrona. 6) Male sterna V–VIII of F. tayrona with tip of pygidium above. 7) Female sternum VII of F. tayrona. 8) Male hind leg of F. secundus. 9) Male hind leg of F. rhabdopteroides (Figures 8 and 9 are from Bechynĕ and Springlová de Bechynĕ [1961]; captions are reversed in the original figure). 10) Holotype and labels of F. secundus. 11) Holotype and labels of F. rhabdopteroides.

Figures 12–17. Fractipes tayrona, genitalia. 12) Lateral view of median lobe and partially everted endophallus. 13) En-face view of median lobe. 14) Apical sclerite. 15) En-face view of endophallus at endophallic lateral digits. 16) Spermatheca. 17) Ovipositor.