Deromecus georginas Fuller, 2021

Fuller, E. R., 2021, Two new species of Deromecus Solier from Guatemala (Coleoptera: Elateridae: Pomachiliini), Insecta Mundi 2021 (900), pp. 1-8 : 2-5

Deromecus georginas Fuller , new species

Figures 1, 2 , 5, 8, 9

Type material. Holotype male, allotype female (both FSCA), three male and two female paratypes ( ERFC, UVGC, NHML): GUAT. QUETZALTENANGO: 8 km e. Zunil, Fuentes Georginas , 2700m; 17.v.2017; E. Fuller // 14°45.025′N 91°28.834′W; beating: pine-cypress forest; 17-4A

Diagnosis. Deromecus georginas differs externally from D. trivittatus Champion by the shorter pronotum and less robust hind angles of the pronotum ( Fig. 1, 2 ). Deromecus trivitattus has the pronotum much longer than broad and the hind angles of the pronotum are more robust ( Fig. 3 ).

Description. Holotype male ( Fig. 1 ). Length 7.0 mm, width across humeri 1.5 mm. Head black; pronotum mostly black, anterior margin and hind angles yellowish-brown; elytra black with a yellowish brown vitta on intervals 3–7 from humerus to midlength of elytron, vitta grading to black posteriorly; most of venter of thorax black, posterolateral angle of hypomeron yellowish brown; abdomen grading from blackish brown on ventrite 1 to yellowish brown on ventrite 5; antennal scape yellowish brown, other articles dark brown; legs yellowish brown, pro- and mesocoxae darker; setae pale yellowish throughout. Head. Frons convex, slightly concave posterad frontoclypeal carina; frontoclypeal carina complete, evenly curved ventrally, separated from anterior margin by one puncture, connected to anterior margin by indistinct vertical carina; anterior tentorial pits elongate, oblique, slit-like; periocular space dorsoventrally grooved; frontal punctures small, dense, contiguous, umbilicate; setae about three puncture diameters long, hair-like, semierect, fine, directed more or less laterally. Eyes convex, slightly protuberant, not extending laterad pronotum. Gena projecting anterad ventral mandibular condyle. Mandibles asymmetrical, right mandible more deeply grooved for reception of left; subapical tooth present; lateral surface concave, bordered anteriorly by convex carina sharply limiting base of groove on both mandibles, carina projecting on right mandible; groove on right mandible uniform in depth; left mandible with anterodorsal surface of apical tooth with oblique carina from anterior margin to carina of lateral concavity. Antenna long, reaching midlength of metasternum; antennomeres 2 and 3 elongate-cylindrical, about two times longer than wide; antennomeres 4–11 flattened, about 2.5 times as long as wide, antennomeres 4–10 subrectangular, antennomere 11 elongate-oval, cuticle roughened, dull; secondary sexual setae absent. Prothorax. Pronotum in dorsal aspect midlength at midwidth as long as wide, lateral margins slightly concave, lateral carina not visible in anterior third; anterior curvature absent, anterolateral angles not projecting anteriorly; hind angles divergent, elongate, less than about 1∕4 length of lateral margin, without carina, apex acute; basal sublateral incisures absent; punctures and setae as on head, except setae directed more or less posteriorly; in lateral aspect, pronotum flattened; lateral carina complete, directed anteroventrally, slightly sinuate in anterior third. Hypomeron subtriangular, surface slightly sinuate; punctures and setae as on pronotum except setae directed more or less away from procoxal cavity; mesal margin with curved band of shiny, finely and sparsely punctured cuticle and submarginal carina, band uniform in width throughout, slightly raised above adjacent cuticle and bordered laterally by shallow groove, excavated at anterior end, submarginal carina not elevated at excavation; submarginal carina and lateral pronotal carina meeting posterad anterior margin; posterolateral angle projecting, slightly longer than basal width. Prosternum convex, flattened along midlength, slightly longer than width at procoxae, tapered posteriorly; anterior lobe directed anteroventrally, anterior margin thin and punctate; punctures and setae as on pronotum; mucro abruptly constricted posterad procoxae, elongate, narrow, ventral surface slightly more than half length of dorsal surface, as wide as dorsal surface, punctate and setose; in lateral aspect, ventral apex projecting, acute, dorsal apex bluntly pointed, setose. Pterothorax. Scutellum flat, angled anteroventrally on same plane as adjacent elytra; shieldshaped; anterior margin darkly pigmented, directed anteroventrally, convex; lateral margins slightly sinuate; posterior margin broadly rounded; punctures minute, dense, setae as on pronotum. Elytron 5.5 times as long as wide; wider at base than pronotum; lateral margins subparallel in basal half, gradually converging in apical half; apex excavate, oblique, with small sutural and lateral teeth on left elytron, only a lateral tooth on right elytron, lateral tooth at level of 5 th stria; punctate, sutural punctures deeply striate, others shallowly striate, 3 rd and 4 th striae not reaching apex of elytron, strial punctures separated by slightly more than own diameters; intervals flat, minutely, sparsely punctured; setae as on pronotum; epipleuron subrectangular, abruptly widened at level of mesepimeron, gradually narrowing at level of metacoxa, dorsal margin projecting and carinate at posterolateral margin of elytron, punctures minute, separated by slightly more than own diameters adjacent to metepisternum, by about twice own diameters on anterior expansion, setae as on pronotum. Mesosternum concave; anterior articulating surface ventral; posterior margin raised and bluntly carinate; margins of mesosternal cavity raised and beaded anterad mesocoxa, ventral margin convex; in ventral aspect, margins of mesosternal cavity slightly convex, posterior margin transverse, width slightly less than width of adjacent mesocoxa, notched at midlength; inner posterior margin of cavity U-shaped; punctures small, very shallow, almost contiguous; setae as on pronotum. Mesepisternum flat, anterior margin projecting anteroventrally, margin smooth and shiny; sclerite with anterior circular pit and anterolateral elongate groove; posterior half of sclerite smooth and shiny; sclerite forming short anterolateral part of mesocoxal cavity; punctures and setae as on pronotum. Mesepimeron concave; mesepisternal-mesepimeral suture raised and carinate laterally; anterolateral projection slightly longer than basal width, bluntly pointed; punctures and setae as on pronotum, except setae directed posterolaterally. Metasternum convex, flattened along midlength; median sulcus reaching level of mesocoxal cavities; marginal ridge and submarginal groove along anterior and lateral margins but not reaching posterior margin; mesosternal-metasternal suture grooved; punctures small, shallow, almost contiguous throughout, slightly smaller along midlength, setae as on pronotum. Metepisternum elongate triangular, tapered posteriorly; anterior margin notched, posterior end bluntly pointed; punctures minute, dense; setae fine, directed posteriorly. Wing venation ( Fig. 9 ); crossvein r4 reduced to a fold shown by a dashed line; crossvein m-m and cross connection between CuA 3+4 +AA 1+2 and AA 3+4 unsclerotized but visible and shown by dotted lines; sclerotization of CuA 2, CuA 3+4 +AA 3+4 and AA 3+4 reduced, these veins not reaching wing margin. Legs. Prothorax: Femur with anterior margin of tibial groove bearing band of short, stout, reddish, distally pointed spines. Tibia with two tibial spurs. Tarsi slightly shorter than tibia, tarsomere 1 subequal to tarsomere 5, tarsomeres 2, 3 and 4 shorter than previous tarsomere, ventrodistal lobes absent, pretarsal claws simple. Mesothorax: Trochantin visible, transverse, subrectangular. Femur without short spines by tibial groove. Tarsus with tarsomere 1 longer than tarsomere 5, slightly longer than tarsomeres 2+3, tarsomere 5 subequal in length to tarsomeres 2+3. Otherwise as on prothorax except longer. Metathorax: Metacoxal plate steeply narrowing at midwidth, narrow in lateral third, almost obliterated at lateral margin, posterior margin of mesal third transverse, convex, notched at base of trochanter, punctures and setae as on pronotum. Femur more flattened than on prothorax, slightly curved dorsally, stout spines absent. Tarsomere 1 subequal to tarsomeres 2+3, tarsomere 5 subequal to tarsomeres 3+4. Otherwise as on prothorax except longer. Abdomen. Ventrites 1–4 convex, transversely subrectangular, ventrite 4 less convex than ventrites 1 and 2, posterolateral angle slightly produced; anterolateral punctures on ventrite 1 as on metasternum, other punctures minute throughout, dense, setae as on metasternum; ventrite 5 subtriangular, about as long as basal width, posterior margin broadly rounded, punctures larger than on ventrite 4, almost contiguous throughout, setae as on ventrite 4 except setae along posterior margin shorter and stouter. Male genitalia ( Fig. 5 ); basal piece slightly longer than lobes, posterior margin with narrow U-shaped notch in posterior 2/3; endothecal sclerite needle-like; apex of lateral lobes unpigmented.

Female ( Fig. 2 ). Length 7.0 mm, width across humeri 1.75 mm. Characters as in male except: Anterior and lateral margins of pronotum and lateral margin of hypomeron reddish-brown; elytra yellowish-brown with sutural margin (1 st interval) and anterior three quarters of 10 th interval narrowly black. Anterior lobe and mucro of prosternum, and posteromesal patch on metasternum reddish brown. Lateral margins of pronotum in dorsal aspect slightly convex with small anterior curvature. Prosternum longitudinally sinuate, flattened along midlength, concave anteriorly; punctures smaller than pronotal punctures. Elytral apex excavate, transverse, with very small sutural and lateral teeth; strial punctures shallowly impressed, punctures almost contiguous; intervals densely punctate. Metasternum with median sulcus not visible in anterior third. Metathoracic wing with sclerotization of CuA 2, CuA 3+4 +AA 1+2 and AA 3+4 reduced more than in male and distal cross connection closing wedge cell absent. Female genitalia. Apodemes of tergite 8 elongate, about 2.5 times as long as tergite 8, rod-like, distinctly divergent posteriorly, fused anteriorly. Ovipositor about as long as tergite 8, lightly sclerotized, sclerotizations reduced to lateral and posterior bar sclerites, posterior bar sclerite variably recurved and claw-like anteriorly; apical styli present, about three times as long as wide. Colleterial glands ( Fig. 8 , cg) ventral, elongate-globular, about as long as wide. Bursa copulatrix elongate, recurved laterally at base, recurved posteriorly at anterior end; spermathecal gland duct ( Fig. 8 , sgd) elongate, narrow, with a long narrow, coiled diverticulum near midlength ( Fig. 8 , d); bursa with a pair of circular, radiating cluster of long spines near midlength ( Fig. 8 , csc), a single fan-shaped cluster of long spines anteriorly ( Fig. 8 , fsc), and a frond-shaped band of long spines along basal two-thirds of bursa ( Fig. 8 , frc).

Variation. Paratypes vary from 6.0–7.0 mm in length.

Immature stages. Unknown.

Etymology. Named for the type locality; a noun standing in apposition.

Figures

Figures 1–4. Habitus, dorsal, Deromecus species. 1) D. georginas, male. 2) D. georginas, female. 3) D. trivittatus, male. 4) D. longitarsis, male.

Figures 5–9. Genitalia and wing venation, Deromecus species. 5) D. georginas, male genitalia, dorsal. 6) D. trivittatus, male genitalia, dorsal (unpigmented apex of lateral lobes not shown). 7) D. longitarsis, male genitalia, dorsal. 8) D. georginas, female genitalia. 9) D. georginas, male wing venation. Abbreviations. cg: colleterial gland; csc: circular spine cluster; d: diverticulum; frc: frond-shaped spine cluster; fsc: fan-shaped spine cluster; sgd: spermathecal gland duct. Scale bar = 0.25 mm.