Phanaeus pacificus Moctezuma & Halffter 2021, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Moctezuma, Victor
name: Halffter, Gonzalo
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Scarabaeidae
Phanaeus
Phanaeus pacificus

description: Phanaeus pacificus sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 2414CDB0-3376-4634-8A29-06EFB556E6D0
Figs 1K, 2G, 9, 18L, 19L
Diagnosis
Species typically dark blue or blue-green (Figs 2G, 9), easily separated from the closely related by the elytral striae deeply punctate, with each puncture forming a distinct fossa, giving a completely roughened surface to all striae (Fig. 9). Additionally, the major males of P. pacificus sp. nov. and P. jackenioi sp. nov. are distinguished by the carinate keel in the middle of anterior pronotal margin of the former (Fig. 2).
Etymology
The specific epithet refers to the Pacific slope, where the new species occurs.
Type material (21 ♂♂, 22 ♀♀)
Holotype GUATEMALA • ♂; Suchitepéquez, Patulul, Finca Terrales, Casco Finca; “Patulul, Finca Terrales. Casco Finca. 750 m. 7–8 noviemb. 2006. Monzón, Giardina, Frank”; UVGC.
Paratypes EL SALVADOR • 1 ♂; “ 1–10–95. T-carne. Denninger ”; VMC.
GUATEMALA – Escuintla • 1 ♂; “Palin. Montaña El Chilar. 29 III 1997. A. Higueros. ”; CNMC • 1 ♂; same collection data as for preceding; UVGC • 1 ♀; same collection data as for preceding; VMC • 1 ♂; “ Palín, Fca. El Chilar. IX 2013. S. Secaira ”; VMC • 1 ♀; “ Palín, Montaña El Chilar. 14.35310, -90728190. W6584. 945msnm. E. Cano. Heces humanas. 15–16X2010 ”; TAMU • 1 ♂; same collection data as for preceding; VMC. – Retalhuleu • 1 ♂; “ Chicacaho. 21 III 1992. P. Hunziker ”; UVGC. – Suchitepéquez • 1 ♀; “ Santa Bárbara. Finca Panamá. Periquera. 1,127m. Oct. 2007. 145323349 -91.1976111- Pérez, Camposec, Monzón”; CNMN • 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀; same collection data as for preceding; UVGC • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; same collection data as for preceding; VMC • 1 ♂; “ Santa Bárbara. Finca Panamá. “abato”. 1,177m. Diciem. 2007. 14°32.118 -91°12.281. Pérez, Camposec, Monzón ”; IEXA • 2 ♀♀; “ Santa Bárbara. Finca Panamá. Periquera. 1,127m. Nov. 2007. 145323349 -91.1976111- Pérez, Camposec, Monzón”; UVGC • 1 ♂; same collection data as for preceding; TAMU.
MEXICO – Chiapas • 1 ♂; “ Unión Roja, La Boquilla. Alt. 500m. Selva pert. 9.V.84. NTP.80. J.A. López ”; IEXA • 1 ♀; same collection data as for preceding; TAMU • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; “ Cacaohatan, La Victoria, 21-V-82. Cafetal, Alt. 430m. M.A. Morón, col. NTP”; IEXA • 1 ♀; “ Cacaohatan, La Victoria, 15-IX- 82. Cafetal, Alt. 430m. NTP. J. Valenzuela, col.”; IEXA • 1 ♂; same collection data as for preceding; TAMU • 1 ♀; “ Cacaohatan, La Victoria, 15-XII-81. Cafetal, Alt. 430m. M.A. Morón col. NTP”; IEXA • 1 ♀; “ Cacaohatan, La Victoria, 15-VII-82. Cafetal, Alt. 430m. M.A. Morón col. NTP”; IEXA • 1 ♀; “ Cacaohatan, La Victoria, 18-V-82. Cafetal, Alt. 430m. M.A. Morón col. NTP”; IEXA • 1 ♂; “ Cacaohatan, La Victoria, 25-XI-81. Cafetal, Alt. 430m. NTP. J. Valenzuela, col.”; CMNC • 1 ♀; same collection data as for preceding; IEXA • 1 ♀; “ Cacaohatan, La Victoria, 2-IX-81. Cafetal, Alt. 430m. M.A. Morón col. NTP”; IEXA • 1 ♀; “ Cacaohatan, La Victoria, 2-III-82. Cafetal, Alt. 430m. M.A. Morón col. NTP”; CMNC • 3 ♀♀; same collection data as for preceding; IEXA • 1 ♂; “ Cacaohatan, Sn. José de la Victoria, 10-III-92. Coprotrampa 24 hrs. M.A. Morón, col.”; IEXA • 1 ♂; “ Cacaohatan, Sn. José de la Victoria, 25-V-82. Coprotrampa 6 días. M.A. Morón, col.”; IEXA • 1 ♂; “ Cacaohatan, La Victoria, 15-III-82. Cafetal, Alt. 430m. J. Valenzuela, col. NTP.”; VMC • 1 ♀; “ Cacaohatan, La Victoria, 2-III-82. Cafetal, Alt. 430m. J. Valenzuela, col. NTP.”; VMC • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; “ Rosario Izapa. 19–20-V-63. G. Halffter. A. Martínez. cols.”; GHC • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; “ Unión Roja. La Boquilla, 11-VI-83 coprotr. M.A. Morón ”; UVGC.
Type locality
Guatemala, Suchitepéquez, Patulul, Finca Terrales, Casco Finca.
Description
Major male (holotype)
Length 19.4 mm.
HEAD. Clypeus bidentate, black on anterior margin, dark blue on posterior portion, roughened sculpture. Genae dark blue, with roughened sculpture. Front black, dark blue on portions adjacent to cephalic horn. Cephalic horn black, curved posteriorly over pronotum (Figs 2G, 9A).
PRONOTUM. Uniformly dark blue, becoming completely black on lateral margins of posterolateral angles and posteriorly. Carinate, distinctly developed keel in the middle of anterior pronotal margin. Disc triangular, flat, with two distinctly developed tubercles on anterior portion. Triangle lightly granulate, scabriculous, impunctate. Sides with smooth sculpture, scabriculous, with superficially impressed punctures. Lateral lines of pronotal triangle straight. Posterolateral angles acute, strongly developed, sharply projected posteriorly. Lateral fossae distinctly impressed. Basal fossae obtusely oval, distinctly impressed. Posterior margin with superficially impressed punctures (Figs 2G, 9A).
ELYTRA. Striae thick, dark blue, with distinctly impressed punctures, scabriculous, impressed basally as distinct fossae. Interstriae black, smooth, scabriculous, with superficially impressed punctures; except for the roughened surface on first interstriae. Sutural margin without apical tooth (Fig. 9A).
PROTIBIAE. Quadridentate with apical spine.
TERGITE VIII. Dark metallic blue-green, scabriculous; with rough, superficially impressed punctures. Basal margin with setae variable in size.
GENITALIA. Right and left lobes of endophallite copulatrix similar in size. Right lobe obtusely triangular in shape, concave medially. Left lobe strongly developed, concave posterosuperiorly. Central ridge and column similar in size (Fig. 1K).
Minor male
Like the major male, except for the reduction of the secondary sexual characters (i.e., cephalic horn, pronotal triangle and tubercles, keel on anterior margin, and pronotal posterolateral angles).
Female
Similar to the male, except for the head showing a cephalic trituberculate carina; with conical tubercles; middle tubercle slightly more projected frontally than lateral tubercles; lateral tubercles slightly more raised than middle tubercle; frons distinctly impressed, rough punctures; pronotal sculpture completely smooth, with distinctly impressed punctures; pronotum almost completely dull black in the central portion, dark metallic blue, or blue-green laterally and posteriorly; pronotal process trituberculate, lacking concavities; pronotal tubercles nearly aligned; with rounded to dentiform middle tubercle, more developed than lateral tubercles; posterior pronotal midline superficially impressed (Fig. 9B).
Variation
Mean length 17.1 mm (14.1–20.2 mm). A rare bright metallic green or yellow-green with a red sheen colour morph was found. The smaller males may show a keel weakly developed to completely effaced in the middle of anterior pronotal margin.
Distribution
Pacific slope of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas; Chiapas, Guatemala and El Salvador (Fig. 15).
Remarks
This new species was referred to as P. endymion (Morón 1987; Edmonds 1994; Horgan 2001, 2008; Edmonds & Zídek 2012; Cancino-López et al. 2014; Lizardo et al. 2017; Moctezuma & Halffter 2017; GBIF Secretariat 2019a; Pablo-Cea et al. 2020) and P. pyrois (GBIF Secretariat 2019b) by previous authors and specimen labels. Nevertheless, the distribution areas of all the closely related species are not sympatric and P. pacificus sp. nov. is distinctly diagnosable.
description: Published as part of Moctezuma, Victor & Halffter, Gonzalo, 2021, Taxonomic revision of the Phanaeus endymion species group (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), with the descriptions of five new species, pp. 1-71 in European Journal of Taxonomy 747 on pages 33-36, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2021.747.1333, http://zenodo.org/record/4836744