Euphoria anneae ( Howden, 1955 )

Orozco, Jesús, 2012, Monographic Revision of the American Genus Euphoria Burmeister, 1842 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae), The Coleopterists Bulletin (mo 11) 66, pp. 1-182 : 98-99

Euphoria anneae ( Howden, 1955)

(Appendix 4: Fig. 55 )

Stephanucha anneae Howden 1955: 263 . Original combination. Holotype at CMNC, examined.

Description (4). Length 11.8. 0–12.5 mm; width 7.4–8.0 mm. Color: Dorsal surface partially tomentous; head, pronotum, scutellum, and pygidium shiny, black. Pronotum mostly shiny, base matte; lateral margin with cretaceous whitish band; irregular, whitish, cretaceous markings frequently on pronotal disc. Elytra yellowish brown, with black markings distributed throughout entire disc. Head: Frons strongly strigose to strigopunctate, punctures moderate to large, round, deeply impressed, frequently coalescent, densely setose; setae moderate to long, yellowish. Clypeus strongly strigose, sides strongly declivous, weakly to moderately setose; setae short to moderate, yellowish. Apex with 4 short teeth, teeth equidistant or middle ones closer to each other than to lateral teeth. Clypeal margin in front of the eyes strongly raised, developed at times into a sharp denticle. Labium thickened anteriorly. Antennal stem longer in males than in females, club about as long as head in males, half as long or less in females. Pronotum: Surface densely punctate, punctures small to moderate in size, lunulate; moderately to densely setose, setae short to long, yellowish. Anterior sides evenly arcuate to moderately tapered anteriorly. Lateral line extending only in anterior half or third. Midline frequently impunctate at base. Base strongly rounded to weakly extended posteriorly. Scutellum longer than wide, impunctate, apex pointed. Elytra: Surface weakly to moderately setose, setae short to moderate, yellowish. Punctures moderately dense to dense, lunulate to irregular in shape, randomly distributed thought disc. Costae obsolete to subobsolete. Apex strongly rounded. Pygidium: Surface concentrically striate; striae discontinuous, moderately spaced, moderately impressed; weakly to moderately setose, setae minute to moderate, yellowish. Legs: Protibial teeth strongly developed, not sexually dimorphic, first tooth oblique. Mesotibial carina strongly developed into 1–2 sharp teeth. Metatibiae apically expanded; metatibial spurs frequently thicker in females. Metatarsomeres strongly expanded apically, basal tarsomere strongly expanded distally forming a spine. Claws shorter than last tarsomere. Venter: Mesometasternal process strongly compressed laterally, short, not extending anteriorly beyond the level of mesocoxae, mostly setose. Median sulcus weakly to moderately impressed. Abdominal sternites moderately to densely setose laterally, weakly setose to moderately medially, setae distributed along entire width of segment, moderate to long, yellowish. Abdomen laterally convex in females, flat to concave in males. Dorsal and lateral area of sternites frequently with white, cretaceous markings. Male genitalia: Parameres as in Fig. 55c .

Diagnosis. Euphoria anneae is separated from the other two species in the group based on the black elytral markings not originating from the sutural area as in E. areata and body not densely setose as in E. pilipennis . The clypeal denticles are not diagnostic in this species as they vary intraspecifically. This is the only species in the group that occurs in southern Texas, USA.

Notes. The four specimens examined differ in the relative positions of the clypeal teeth; all four teeth being equidistant from each other in three specimens and the two middle teeth fused at the base and closer to each other than the outer two teeth in the other. The protibial teeth also show variation in their size, being weakly developed in the holotype and strongly developed in the other three specimens. The body of the holotype is moderately tapered posteriorly (as illustrated by Howden [1955]), a character that is not evident in the other three specimens examined. The pronotum has small, cretaceous markings in three of the four specimens studied (not in the holotype).

Taxonomic History. Howden (1955) described the species in the genus Stephanucha based on two specimens collected in southern Texas, USA. Ratcliffe and Paulsen (2008) placed Stephanucha in synonymy with Euphoria , thus transferring E. anneae to the latter genus.

Natural History. Adults have been seen flying low over sandy soil ( Howden 1955). Riley and Wolfe (2003) collected both adults and larvae in mounds of Geomys sp.

Temporal Distribution. May (3), June (1) ( Fig. 55e ).

Geographic Distribution. Known only from southern Texas, USA ( Fig. 55f ). Riley and Wolfe (2003) recorded the species from Welder Wildlife Refuge, San Patricio County, Texas.

Specimens Examined (4). Type material: Holotype male at CMNC labeled “Los Olmos Creek (2 mi. S.)/ U.S. 77, Tex, May 31,/ 1954 H. F. Howden, W. Cloyd // Holotype / Stephanucha / anneae/ H. Howden // BLNO/ 003345 ” Other material: USA (3): TEXAS: Cameron Co.: Padre Island (1); Kenedy Co. : Sarita (2 mi N, 7 mi S) (2).

Figures

Fig. 55. Euphoria anneae. a) Habitus, b) Head, c) Parameres, d) Color variation, e) Temporal distribution, f) Geographic distribution in the United States.