Colliuris ellipticeps Liebke, 1930

Bousquet, Yves, 2010, Review of the Nearctic, Mexican and West Indian (Greater Antilles) species of Colliuris Degeer (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Odacanthini), Zootaxa 2529, pp. 1-39 : 23-24

Colliuris ellipticeps Liebke, 1930

Colliuris (Pseudocasnonia) ellipticeps Liebke, 1930: 703 . Type locality: « Honduras » (original citation).

Type material. Liebke (1930) described this species from two specimens now in BMNH. I have seen both specimen and one of them, a female, is herein designated as the lectotype. It is labelled: “ Type [round label with red margins] / [red square label] / Hondura [handwritten] / Odacantha ellipticeps Liebke [handwritten] / Lectotype Colliuris ellipticus [sic] Lbk. By Erwin '76 [partially handwritten]”.

Description. COLOR. Body more or less uniformly dark reddish-brown dorsally, elytron with one preapical pale spot on intervals 4–7, or 5–7, more diffuse than in C. tetrastigma and encompassing in many specimens most of apex and one pale spot on intervals 4–6, or 4–7, just before middle; antennomeres uniformly pale reddish-brown; femur yellow on basal half, pale (anterior leg) to moderately dark (posterior leg) brown on apical half, tibia pale brown with submedian, paler but little contrasting band. MICROSCULPTURE. Frons and pronotum with striate microsculpture, microlines fine but distinct at high magnification. Elytra without meshes or microlines. HEAD. Eye proportionally slightly smaller than in C. tetrastigma . Posterior supraorbital seta located behind posterior edge of eye. PROTHORAX. Pronotum without distinct transverse wrinkles; side with one seta. Tergosternal suture less defined than in C. lioptera particularly in posterior half where it is indistinct in many specimens. ELYTRA. Interval 3 with four to six discal setae, intervals 5 and 7 without discal setae (exceptionally with one seta on interval 5). Strial punctures moderately coarse on striae 2–5 on basal half, rather fine on remaining striae and apical half. Intervals 3–6 with faint, shallow, oblique depression before middle of elytra; intervals 7 and 8 with preapical swelling. ABDOMEN. Sterna with sparse pubescence. MALE GENITALIA. Median lobe as illustrated ( Fig. 14 ).

Body length: 6.4–7.3 mm.

Geographical distribution. This species is known from southern Mexico and Honduras ( Fig. 23 ).

Records. Mexico. CAMPECHE. 31.8 mi. E Escárcega, 14–15.IV.1966, G.E. Ball & D.R. Whitehead (13, CNC, UASM). CHIAPAS. 32.7 mi. N Comitán, 14.VI.1966, G.E. Ball & D.R. Whitehead (2, UASM). W Catazajá (Rte 186), 22.V.1972, P.A. Meyer, G.E. & K.E. Ball (1, UASM). TABASCO. 31.7 mi. N Villahermosa, 24.IV.1966, G.E. Ball & D.R. Whitehead (1, UASM).

Note. Liebke (1938: 58) includes this species in his subgenus Apioderina (type species: Colliuris trimaculata Liebke ) along with C. trimaculata Liebke ( Argentina, Brazil), C. tripustulata Chaudoir ( Brazil) , C. tristigma Bates , C. horni Liebke ( Brazil) and C. vianai Liebke ( Argentina) . In my opinion, C. ellipticeps is clearly related to C. tetrastigma while C. trimaculata and C. tristigma belong to the tristigma group.

Figures

FIGURE 23. Collection localities for Colliuris ellipticeps Liebke in Mexico.

FIGURES 10 – 16. Median lobe of Colliuris. 10. C. tetrastigma; 11. C. portoricensis; 12. C. gunlachi; 13. C. caymanensis; 14. C. ellipticeps; 15. C. ludoviciana; 16. C. lioptera.