Byrsopolis schmidti Medeiros, Seidel and Grossi, 2022

Medeiros, Rone A. F., Seidel, Matthias & Grossi, Paschoal C., 2022, Revision of the genus Byrsopolis Burmeister, 1844 (Coleoptera: Melolonthidae: Rutelinae: Rutelini), with the description of six new species endemic to Brazil and Paraguay, Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) 56 (29 - 32), pp. 1315-1364 : 1339-1341

Byrsopolis schmidti Medeiros, Seidel and Grossi , sp. nov. ( Figure 11 (a–g))

Holotype. Male, dissected, labelled: (a) ‘ Brasil, BA, Barreiras,/ Serra Geral de Goiás,/ 15. xii. 2002, 160 km W,/ P.A. Schmidt leg’, (b) ‘COLEÇÃO E./& P. GROSSI’ (1♂ CERPE).

Paratypes [5 specimens]. Males, dissected, labelled. (a) ‘ Brasil, BA, Barreiras,/Serra Geral de Goiás,/ 15.xii. 2002, 160 km W,/P.A. Schmidt leg’ (1♂ CEMT); (b) ‘11/06/ Barreiras BA/ Monsanto’ (2♂ CERPE, 1♂ CEMT, and 1♂ ESALQ /USP) .

Diagnosis. Head, pronotum, abdomen and legs metallic green, with orange elytra presenting black spots on margins and interstriae; clypeus subrectangular, weakly trilobed; antennal club about 2.6x longer than antennomeres II–VII combined; scutellar plate subtriangular, with sides and basis weakly rounded; elytral apex with right angles; elytra with indistinct striae, smooth, humeri weakly punctate; protibial spur about 3.5x longer than wide; aedeagus symmetrical, parallel, with weak sinuous internal angles, basal margin weakly sinuate.

Description of holotype. Body. Oval, elongated; colour metallic green; with elytra orange; without metallic green reflections, with marginal areas dark red to dark brown; clypeus with orange setae; antennomeres II–VII from orange colour to brown, antennomeres VIII–X dark brown; pronotal setae yellowish ( Figure 11 (a,b)). Length 21.10 mm. Humeral width 9.50 mm. Elytral width 11.60 mm. Head. Clypeus about 1.60x wider than long; subrectangular, rounded angles, weakly trilobed apex; weakly concave from base to sides, moderately concave at apex ( Figure 11 (a)); frontoclypeal suture with curvilinear extremities and moderately rounded laterally; punctures small to moderate, densely punctate; setae small to moderate, moderately to densely distributed; frons about 0.80x shorter than clypeus; punctures small to moderately large, moderately to densely punctate; glabrous; scissorial region of mandibles with three projections ( Figure 11 (d)); small to moderate punctures, disc and apex sparsely to densely punctate; scissorial region with moderate setae, sparsely to moderately distributed; maxillary galea with three long, equidistant, teeth in dorsal view ( Figure 11 (e)); two small punctures near basal tooth; moderately sized setae on middle and basal teeth; last maxillary palpomere with oblong sensorial area; premental apex weakly emarginate; last labial palpomere about 2x longer than palpomere II ( Figure 11 (f)); labrum moderately emarginated, densely setose ( Figure 11 (g)); antennomere III subcylindrical, antennomeres IV–V subrectangular, antennomeres VI–VII subconical; antennal club about 2.6X longer than antennomeres II–VII combined. Thorax. Pronotum transverse, about 1.60x wider than long; punctures small to moderate, moderately to densely punctate; glabrous ( Figure 11 (a)); marginal areas with small punctures, sparsely to moderately punctate, moderate to large setae, moderately to densely distributed, setae at base densely distributed; longitudinal midline without punctures; scutellar plate subtriangular, sides and base weakly rounded; punctures small to moderately large, moderately to densely punctate; apex and disc with small to large setae, moderate to densely distributed ( Figure 11 (a)). Elytra. About 1.10x longer than wide; punctures small to large in size, moderately to densely punctate; humeri with small to moderate setae, sparsely distributed near scutellar plate; small to moderate setae on marginal areas up to elytral suture, moderately to densely distributed; elytral apex with right angles; distinct striae, smooth surface ( Figure 11 (a,b)), humeri weakly punctate. Legs. Protibial spur about 3.5x longer than wide; mesotibiae and metatibiae with two carinae. Aedeagus. Parameres symmetrical, parallel, separated by a U-shaped gap, moderately elongate, rounded at apex, with weakly sinuous internal angles; lateral surface of parameres weakly excavated longitudinally, forming a small carina; middle weakly striate; with weak longitudinal concavity; basal margin moderately sinuate ( Figure 11 (c)).

Female. Unknown.

Variation. Length 21.10–24.65 mm. Humeral width 9.50–12.25 mm. Elytral width 11.60– 13.40 mm. One of the paratypes exhibits a greenish colour in apical marginal areas and elytral suture; clypeal apex can be weakly to moderately trisinuate.

Etymology. The specific epithet is a atribute to Paulo Almeida Schmidt, a Brazilian agronomist who collected the first specimens of the species.

Distribution. This species is known from the type locality only, situated next to Serra Geral de Goiás, Goiás state, in the extreme west of the municipality of Barreiras, Bahia state ( Figure 19 ). The type locality consists of Cerrado area, and hosts the only species of the genus exclusively from Northeast Brazil.

Remarks. Byrsopolis schmidti sp. nov. is very different from all other species because of its almost totally metallic green colouration, a weakly trilobed clypeal apex, and antennal club about 3x longer than antennomeres II–VII combined. Moreover the elytra are orange with black elytral suture and epipleuron. The addition of this species increases the taxonomic and morphological limits of the genus.

Figures

Figure 11. Byrsopolis schmidti sp. nov. Dorsal habitus (a) and lateral habitus (b); caudal view of aedeagus (c); left mandible (d); ventral view left maxilla (e); ventral view of mentum (f); and dorsal view of labrum (g). Scale bars: a, b = 5 mm; c–g = 1 mm.

Figure 19. Distribution map of Byrsopolis species.