Phelister praecisus, Caterino & Tishechkin, 2020

Caterino, Michael S. & Tishechkin, Alexey K., 2020, Recognition and revision of the Phelister blairi group (Histeridae, Histerinae, Exosternini), ZooKeys 1001, pp. 1-154 : 1

38. Phelister praecisus sp. nov. Figs 23C, D , 24G, H , Map 13

Type material.

Holotype male: " French Guiana: Saül, 7 km N, Les Eaux Claires 220 m, 3°39'46"N, 53°13'19"W [3.6628, -53.2219], 30 MAY-4 JUN 1997; J.Ashe, R.Brooks, FG1AB97 ex:flight intercept trap" / "SM0095852 KUNHM-ENT" (SEMC).

Other material.

Colombia: Vaupes, Parco Nac. Mosiro-Itajura (Caparu) Centro Ambiental (-1.0667, -69.5167), 60 m, 1/20/03-1/30/03, FIT, D. Arias & M. Sharkey, EXO-02966 (MSCC, 1ex.); Ecuador: Orellana, Yasuni NP, Via Maxus at Puente Piraña, 0°39.5'S, 76°26'W, 245 m, flight intercept trap, 20-24.vii.2008, A. K. Tishechkin (AKTC, 2ex.); Peru: Madre de Dios, Rio Alto Madre de Dios Pantiacolla Lodge 12°39.3'S, 71°13.9'W [-12.6550, -71.2317], Flight intercept 14-19 Nov 2007, D.Brzoska, SEMC0903642 (SEMC, 1ex.).

Diagnostic description.

Length: 1.89-2.17 mm (avg. 2.03 mm); width: 1.58-1.93 mm (avg. 1.71 mm). Body elongate oval, dark rufescent, with conspicuous ground punctation throughout; frons depressed along midline; supraorbital stria present, ends free; frontal stria complete, fine at middle; frontal disk with ground punctation but lacking secondary punctures; epistoma broad, with edges raised, subcarinate; labrum weakly emarginate; left mandible with blunt basal tooth, that of right mandible small, subacute; pronotum slightly elongate, sides weakly convergent; prescutellar impression broadly oval, ~ 4 × as wide as scutellum; median pronotal gland openings ~ 2/3 behind anterior margin, distinctly annulate; pronotal disk with numerous secondary punctures at sides; marginal pronotal stria complete along lateral and anterior margins, very close to margin anteriorly; submarginal stria present at sides and front, lateral portion complete (French Guiana) or abbreviated (others), anterior portion detached from lateral, briefly recurved behind eyes; elytron with single, complete epipleural stria; outer subhumeral stria fine, nearly complete, slightly abbreviated at base, inner subhumeral absent; dorsal striae 1-4 complete, 5th present in apical 3/4 and as short basal arch, sutural stria slightly longer than 5th, obsolete at base; propygidium with secondary punctures separated by ~ 1.5 × their diameters; pygidium with only few small secondary punctures along base; prosternal keel shallowly emarginate at base, striae united at base and apex, enclosing narrow area; secondary striae present along basal 1/2 of keel; prosternal lobe slightly reflexed, with complete marginal stria; mesoventrite weakly produced, with very fine, complete marginal stria continued laterally by postmesocoxal stria to middle of lateral portion of metaventrite; mesometaventral stria weakly angulate at middle, reaching anterior third of mesoventrite, continued at sides by lateral metaventral stria; lateral metaventral stria extending from mesometaventral suture to near outer 1/3 of metacoxa; metaventrite with few small secondary punctures near metacoxa; 1st abdominal ventrite with complete inner and partial outer lateral striae along inner margin of metacoxa; protibia with outer margin strongly dentate, with five or six marginal spines, apical corner with shallow emargination (mediad apical spine); protarsi of male with flattened ventral setae; meso- and metatibiae with rather long, fine marginal spines. Male: basal piece wide, ~ 1/3 length of tegmen; tegmen with sides subparallel in basal 1/2, then widened to spoon-shaped apex; apical lobes produced laterally over main body of tegmen; medioventral process present, weak, not projecting ventrally, divided at middle; median lobe ~ 1/2 tegmen length, basal apodemes narrowed.

Etymology.

This species name, praecisus, translates as cut, referring to the interrupted anterior pronotal stria

Distribution.

This species is known from a few localities across northern Amazonia, Ecuador and Colombia, as well as French Guiana.

Remarks.

This species is difficult to characterize, because it varies considerably in morphology among available material. All series are short and most are all female. We designate as type a singleton male from French Guiana, which differs from most other specimens in its complete lateral submarginal pronotal stria; this is abbreviated posteriorly in most (but not all) others. All available specimens share a very broadly semicircular prescutellar impression, a pattern of dorsal punctation with the pronotal ground punctation slightly denser than that of the elytra (though neither is very dense), and the presence of a number of secondary punctures on the metaventrite anteromediad the hind coxae. The interrupted 5th elytral stria (with a basal arch) is unusual, as is their prosternal keel that is weakly emarginate at base, narrow, with its striae united anteriorly and posteriorly.

Figures

Map 13. Collecting records for Phelister amazoniae (white circles), P. arcuatus (black squares), and P. praecisus (stars).

Figure 23. A, B Phelister gregarius: A dorsal habitus B ventral habitus C, D P. praecisus: C dorsal habitus D ventral habitus E-G P. rudis: E dorsal habitus F ventral habitus G anterior view of protibia.

Figure 24. Male genitalia A-F Phelister gregarius: A tergite 8 B sternite 8 C tergites 9 & 10 D sternite 9 E aedeagus, dorsal F aedeagus, lateral G, H P. praecisus: G aedeagus, dorsal H tegmen, lateral I, J P. rudis: I aedeagus, dorsal J tegmen, lateral.