Axina furcula Opitz, 2020

Opitz, Weston, 2020, Taxonomic revision of the Western Hemisphere checkered beetle genus Axina Kirby (Coleoptera: Cleridae: Clerinae), Insecta Mundi 2020 (793), pp. 1-70 : 39

Axina furcula Opitz , new species

Figures 49, 72, 121.

Type material. Holotype. Female. Type locality: Brazil: Minas Gerais, Pedra Azul,?- XI- 1972, 800 m, Moacir Alvarenga ( FSCA) . Paratypes. 36 specimens. Brazil: Estado do Minas Gerais: Pedra Azul,?- XI- 1972, 800 m, Oliveira ( WOPC, 2) ; Estado do Bahia, Cachimbo ,?-?-1890, Ch. Pujol ( AMNH, 1; BMNH, 1; CMNC, 1; CUIC, 1; CASC, 1; CMNC, 1; CSCA, 1; EMEC, 1; FMNH, 1: MCNZ, 1; MNHN, 13; OXUM, 1; SDEI, 1; USNM, 1; WOPC, 5,) ; Villa Victoria ,?-?-1890, Ch. Pujol ( MNHN, 1) ; Santo Antônio da Barra , Ch. Pujol,1890 ( MNHN, 1) ; Estado do Pernambuco, Cerra de Communati , 12-III-1893, Gounelle ( MNHN, 1) .

Diagnosis. The midelytral black fascia does not traverse the sutural margin in specimens of this species, which is not the case in superficially similar specimens of A. latilinea .

Description. Size. Length 9.0 mm; width 2.0 mm. Form. As in Fig. 121. Color. Cranium and prothorax black, except pronotal disc lighter at middle; antenna testaceous; mesothorax brown; metathorax and abdomen testaceous; elytra bicolorous, mostly testaceous, humerus and epipleural margin widely black, black region extended medially near apex and near elytral middle; legs bicolorous, distal ½ of femora and proximal ½ of tibiae black, remainder of legs testaceous; abdomen brown. Head. Cranium finely punctate, frons about as wide as length of antennal pedicel; EW/FW 40/18. Thorax. Pronotum finely punctate, with 2 paralateral spheroid tumescences, one narrow linear short tumescence behind middle, disc concave near middle; PW/PL 95/120; elytra, asetiferous punctures substriate, punctures extend posteriorly to elytral ½, width of interstitial spaces variable; EL/EW 400/65. Abdomen. Aedeagus, phallobasic lobes angular at base, acuminate; phallobasic lobes long, narrow; margin of phallic plates minutely serrate; phallobasic apodeme abbreviated (Fig. 49).

Variation. Size. Length 5.8–9.3 mm; width 1.3–2.0 mm. Except for body size, the available specimens are quite homogeneous.

Natural history. Specimens were collected in Brazil during November, at 800 m.

Distribution (for map see Fig. 121). This species is known from Brazil.

Etymology. The specific epithet, furcula , is a Latin noun with a meaning of “fork”. I refer to the acuminate condition of the phallobasic lobes.