Amithao (Ratcliffe, 2013)

Ratcliffe, Brett C., 2017, The Fourteenth Amithao Thomson, 1878 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae: Gymnetini): A Remarkable New Species from Ecuador, The Coleopterists Bulletin 71 (4), pp. 655-660 : 659-660

KEY TO THE SPECIES OF ADULT AMITHAO

1. Dorsal surface highly lustrous, smooth, bright reddish brown or dark metallic green ............................................. 2

1´. Dorsal and ventral surfaces black, brown, or green, punctate or velutinous, with or without cretaceous marks, shiny (but not highly lustrous) or opaque ................... 4

2. Dorsal surface bright reddish brown, glossy. Venter entirely black, highly lustrous. Mexico.................................................. Amithao pyrrhonotus (Burmeister)

2´. Dorsal surface metallic dark green or copper. Venter metallic dark green, copper, black, or reddish brown ................................... 3

3. Color dorsally black with a weak green or copper sheen. Pygidium and abdominal ventrites usually with cretaceous marks. Femora and coxae dark reddish brown. Pronotum on central third with moderately dense, moderately large punctures. Costa Rica and Panama................................. ...... Amithao metallicus (Janson) , in part

3´. Color dorsally and ventrally distinctively metallic dark green with strong copper reflections. Pygidium and abdominal ventrites never with cretaceous marks. Femora and coxae metallic copper or dark green. Pronotum on central third with sparse, small punctures. Guatemala........................... ............. Amithao staudingeri Schürhoff

4. Pronotum and/or elytra with cretaceous spots, speckles, or bands ..................... 5

4´. Pronotum and/or elytra without cretaceous marks ............................................ 12

5. Length less than 17 mm ...................... 6

5´. Length greater than 18 mm .................. 8

6. Male genitalia with basal piece subequal in length to parameres. Mexico.................. ...... Amithao marginicollis (Burmeister)

6´. Male genitalia with basal piece about 3 times longer than parameres. West Indies ....... 7

7. Pronotum and elytra velutinous. Elytra black with 3 cretaceous spots or short bands on each lateral margin. Parameres with apices approximate. Hispaniola .......................... Amithao incertus (Gory and Percheron)

7´. Pronotum and elytra opaque or weakly shiny. Elytra black or reddish brown, if reddish brown then with numerous, small, cretaceous speckles. Parameres with apices diverging. Jamaica............................... ................... Amithao tristis (Fabricius)

8. Pronotum (usually) and elytra (always) velutinous, dark reddish brown to black ......... 9

8´. Pronotum and elytra shiny. Elytra with cretaceous spots, speckles, or bands ..... 10

9. Pronotum and elytra with numerous, small, cretaceous speckles. Panama and Colombia............. Amithao lafertei (Thomson)

9´. Pronotum lacking cretaceous speckles; elytra with pale yellow band along lateral margins. Ecuador................................ ... Amithao cotopaxicus Ratcliffe , new species

10. Mesometasternal process in lateral view elongate, distinctly attenuate ( Fig. 5 )... Honduras (?), Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador........................ .... Amithao decemguttatus (Waterhouse)

10´. Mesometasternal process in lateral view bluntly rounded or only weakly attenuate (as in Fig. 2 ) ........................................ 11

11. Femora and tibiae always black. Pronotum distinctly punctate, punctures moderate in density and size. Parameres with apices bluntly rounded, curving towards one another. Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama............................................... .... Amithao albopictus Neervoort van de Poll

11´. Femora and tibiae reddish brown or black. Pronotum with minute to small, sparse punctures, often appearing smooth. Parameres diverging from about mid-shaft, each paramere with a small tooth externoapically. Mexico to northern Costa Rica.................. Amithao erythropus (Burmeister) , in part

12. Elytra densely, finely rugulopunctate. Color usually with olive green metallic sheen over black or coppery ground color. Each elytron with 2 distinctly elevated, parallel costae terminating at prominent apical umbone. Mexico to Costa Rica and rarely into Colombia........................................... ............. Amithao cavifrons (Burmeister)

12´. Elytra punctate. Color black or dark reddish brown, shiny, without metallic green sheen. Each elytron lacking distinctly elevated costae ............................................ 13

13. Mesometasternal process in lateral view bluntly rounded, short (as in Fig. 2 ). Pronotum with minute to small, sparse punctures, often appearing smooth. Length less than 22 mm. Mexico to northern Costa Rica................................................ ... Amithao erythropus (Burmeister) , in part

13´. Mesometasternal process in lateral view narrowly attenuate, elongate (as in Fig. 5 ). Pronotum distinctly punctate. Length greater than 25 mm .................................... 14

14. Femora, tibiae, and coxae entirely black. Panama... Amithao anthracinus Ratcliffe

14´. Femora and/or tibiae and/or coxae reddish brown ............................................ 15

15. Femora and tibiae reddish brown, coxae black. Mexico to Panama...................... ............ Amithao haematopus (Schaum)

15´. Femora and usually coxae reddish brown, tibiae black. Costa Rica and Panama....... ...... Amithao metallicus (Janson) , in part

Figures

Figs. 2–5. Amithao species. 2) Short, blunt mesometasternal process (lateral view) of A. cotopaxicus; 3) Caudal view and 4) Lateral view of parameres of A. cotopaxicus; 5) Example of slender, attenuate, mesometasternal process (lateral view) as seen in A. haematopus.