Akamboja caparaoensis, Roza & Quintino & Mermudes & Silveira, 2017

Roza, André Silva, Quintino, Hingrid Yara Souza, Mermudes, José Ricardo Miras & Silveira, Luiz Felipe Lima Da, 2017, Akamboja gen. nov., a new genus of railroad-worm beetle endemic to the Atlantic Rainforest, with five new species (Coleoptera: Phengodidae, Mastinocerinae), Zootaxa 4306 (4), pp. 501-523 : 516-518

Akamboja caparaoensis sp. nov. Roza, Quintino, Mermudes & Silveira

( Figs 36–40 and 45 )

Etymology. The name is in reference to the Serra do Caparaó, location of occurrence of the species. Name in apposition.

Diagnosis. Pronotum dark brown. Eyes occupying half of head width, in lateral view ( Fig. 38 ). Vertex occupying ½ of head in dorsal view ( Fig. 40 ). Apical maxillary palpomere 3.5x longer than subapical ( Fig. 38 ). Elytron reaching the anterior margin of the third abdominal segment ( Fig. 36 ).

Description, male.

Measurements (n=1): Total length: 4.7 mm. Head length: 0.65 mm. Head width: 0.61 mm. Pronotum length: 0.63 mm. Pronotum maximum width: 0.6 mm. Elytron length: 1.7 mm. Elytron maximum width: 0.4 mm. Elytral spot length: 0.3 mm.

Morphology: Eyes occupying half of head width, in lateral view ( Fig. 38 ). Lateral region of the head sparsely setose posterior to eyes ( Fig. 39 ). Vertex occupying ½ of head in dorsal view ( Fig. 40 ). Apical maxillary palpomere 3.5x longer than subapical ( Fig. 38 ). Head longer than wide. Elytron 4x longer than wide ( Fig. 36 ), Elytron reaching the anterior margin of the third abdominal segment ( Fig. 36 ), apical spot occupying a fifth of the elytron ( Fig. 36 ).

Coloration. Body overall dark brown. Pronotum dark brown. Elytron dark brown, apex pale yellow. Wing venation black.

Immatures and females. Unknown

Biology and distribution. Akamboja caparaoensis sp. nov. seems to occur only on summer, although this can be an artifact due to the low number of specimens. It inhabits high altitudinal areas of Dores do Rio Preto, on the Serra do Caparaó, in the Serra da Mantiqueira mountain range, around 1500 m. It is found on dense ombrophilous high montane forest.

Remarks. This species resembles Akamboja tenebrae sp. nov., but can be distinguished mainly due to its bigger size and elytron (the elytron of Akamboja tenebrae sp. nov. reaches the anterior margin of the second abdominal segment, while in Akamboja caparaoensis sp. nov. it reaches the anterior margin of the third), head more densely setose behind the eyes (sparsely setose in Akamboja caparaoensis sp. nov.), smaller vertex (bigger in Akamboja caparaoensis sp. nov.) and its higher altitude occurrence (lower altitude occurrence in Akamboja tenebrae sp. nov.).

Type material. Holotype (male): BRAZIL. Espírito Santo: Dores do Rio Preto. Parque Nacional do Caparaó, afluente do Rio Preto ( Laje ), 20°29’26,2’’S, 41°49’17,1’’W, 1567m, Malaise, 1 male, 11–15.I.2015, J. L. Nessimian, A. L. H. Oliveira, S. P. Gomes and C. P. Souza col ( DZRJ).

Figures

FIGURES 31 – 40. Akamboja tenebrae sp. nov. 31 habitus, dorsal. 32 habitus, lateral. 33 head and pronotum, lateral. 34 head, lateral. 35 head, dorsal. Akamboja caparaoensis sp. nov. 36 habitus, dorsal. 37 habitus, lateral. 38 head and pronotum, lateral. 39 head, lateral. 40 head, dorsal.

FIGURES 44 – 45. Map of Akamboja gen. nov. species distribution. Red dots mark the regions of occurrence of the species. Blue highlight marks the Serra do Mar mountain range high altitudinal areas. Yellow highlight marks Serra da Mantiqueira mountain range high altitudinal areas. Green highlight marks Tijuca Massif high altitudinal areas. The regions limits are approximated based on maps of project radambrasil (1983). 44 Akamboja tenebrae sp. nov. distribution. 45 Akamboja caparaoensis sp. nov. distribution.