Chrysobothris chiriquita Obenberger

Westcott, Richard L., 2008, A new species of Xenorhipis LeConte and of Mastogenius Solier from Mexico, with a discussion of Chrysobothris ichthyomorpha Thomson and its allies and notes on other Mexican and Central American Buprestidae (Coleoptera), Zootaxa 1929, pp. 47-68 : 50-51

Chrysobothris chiriquita Obenberger , new status

( Figs. 3, 6 , 11 )

Chrysobothris ichthyomorpha chiriquita Obenberger, 1940: 84

Chrysobothris chiriquita belongs to a complex of New World tropical species, the best known of which, C. ichthyomorpha Thomson and C. thomsoni Waterhouse , are discussed below. Obenberger (1940) described his subspecies from three specimens among a series of eight (NMPC) identically labeled “Chiriqui, Panama ”, all of which I have examined. At the same time he described from the remaining specimens two “aberrations” of C. ichthyomorpha (ab. duplifascis and ab. posticalis). These represent C. chiriquita . Considering the foregoing, the difficulty of this group, and the unreliability of the literature on these species, designating a lectotype clearly is warranted. I have selected as lectotype (NMPC) a specimen measuring 16.2 mm X 6.3 mm and labeled as follows: “Chiriqui, Panama / TYPUS (red card)/Mus. Nat. Pragae, Inv. 22 905 (orange card)/ Chr.

ichthyomorpha ssp. chiriquita M., Type, Det. Dr. Obenberger/ LECTOTYPE Chrysobothris ichthyomorpha chiriquita Obenberger , det. R. L. Westcott 4/2006 (red card). Two other specimens become paralectotypes, so labeled on yellow card stock by me.

I have compared the aforementioned specimens to the types of C. ichthyomorpha and C. collaris Thomson (now C. thomsoni ) and clearly C. chiriquita must be considered a distinct species. Based on the male genitalia ( Fig. 11 ) and female last abdominal sternite ( Fig. 6 ), it appears most closely related to C. thomsoni ; however, in general appearance it more closely resembles similarly colored specimens of C. ichthyomorpha that occur in Mexico and northern Central America. Unlike the southern populations of the latter species, and C. thomsoni , the basolateral portion of the pronotum is not bright red. Otherwise, it is best to rely on the structure of the aedeagus and the female last ventrite.

I studied specimens of this poorly known species, heretofore recorded only by the type series from Panama, from: MEXICO, Michoacán, Zamora, 22-X-93, maleza, CEAM; Nayarit, 28 km NE Las Varas, 14-X- 87, EMEC; Veracruz, Orizaba, BMNH. GUATEMALA, Capetillo [near Antigua, 1580 m], BMNH. COSTA RICA, Puntarenas, San Luís, R.B. Monteverde, 1040 m, 24-VII-15-IX-92, UNAM; San Luis, Finca Buen Amigo, Monteverde, 4 km S la Reserva, Camino a Trapiche, 1000 m, XI-94 & VII-98; 7 km N Santa Elena de Monte Verde, 7-VII-83; Guanacaste, SW side Volcán Cacao, Estación Mengo, 1100 m, malaise trap, 1987; same except Est. Cacao, 1000-1400 m, III-88; Est. Las Pallas, P.N. Rincón de la Vieja, A. C. Guanacaste, 800 m, 8-18-I-92, CLBC, INBC, RLWE. An additional specimen from Panama: Bocas del Toro, 10 km NE Fortuna Dam, on dead wood, VI-86, CLBC. The specimens range in length from 12.6-17.9 mm. The one from Guatemala was recorded by Waterhouse (1882) under C. ichthyomorpha . I suggest that the occurrence of C. chiriquita in or near Zamora, Mexico needs to be confirmed, as that locality is higher (1595 m), much farther inland, and the habitat is disparate from that of any other specimen in the group that I have examined. However, in general this species does appear to occur at higher elevations than either of its closest relatives, C. ichthyomorpha and C. thomsoni .

Figures

FIGURES 3 – 10. 3 – 5, Chrysobothris Adult dorsal habitus: 3, C. chiriquita, Costa Rica; 4, C. ichthyomorpha, Mexico; 5, same, Panama. 6 – 8, female last abdominal ventrite: 6, C. chiriquita; 7, C. ichthyomorpha; 8, C. thomsoni. 9, C. lucifera, holotype. 10, C. collaris (= C. thomsoni), holotype.

FIGURES 11 – 16, Aedeagus of Chrysobothris and Xenorhipis. 11, Chrysobothris chiriquita; 12, C. ichthyomorpha; 13, C. thomsoni, Colombia; 14, same, Trinidad; 15, Xenorhipis bajacalifornica, dorsal; 16, same, ventral.