Praocis (Praocis) elliptica Philippi & Philippi 1864
Creators: name: Flores, Gustavo E.
name: Pizarro-Araya, Jaime
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2012
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Tenebrionidae
Praocis
Praocis elliptica

description: Praocis (Praocis) elliptica Philippi & Philippi, 1864
(Figs. 8 − 9, 13, 21, 29)
Praocis elliptica Philippi & Philippi, 1864: 342; Gemminger & Harold, 1870: 1905 (cat.); Philippi, 1887: 731 (cat.); Gebien, 1910: 260 (cat.); Gebien, 1938: 398 (cat.); Blackwelder, 1945: 522 (cat.); Kulzer, 1958: 25 [as synonym of Praocis submetallica Guérin-Méneville, 1834]; Peña, 1966: 430 (cat.) [as synonym of Praocis submetallica]; Flores, 2007: 412 (resurrection & lectot.).
Praocis angustata Philippi & Philippi, 1864: 341; Gemminger & Harold, 1870: 1905 (cat.); Philippi, 1887: 731 (cat.); Gebien, 1910: 260 (cat.); Gebien, 1938: 398 (cat.); Blackwelder, 1945: 522 (cat.); Kulzer, 1958: 25 [as synonym of Praocis submetallica Guérin-Méneville, 1834]; Peña, 1966: 430 (cat.) [as synonym of Praocis submetallica]; Flores, 2007: 412 (syn. & lectot.). Synonymy by Kulzer, 1958: 25.
Redescription. Length 9.0–11.0 mm. Body black or dorsal surface black and ventral surface dark brown, antennae dark brown, legs black to dark brown. Head. Clypeus and frons glabrous, with round punctures; antennae reaching midpoint of lateral margin of pronotum; antennomere 9 longer than wide, with apical tomentose sensory patches arranged in two areas separated dorsally; antennomere 10 as wide as antennomere 11. Thorax. Pronotum widest behind midpoint; disc and lateral quarters glabrous; punctures of disc same size as punctures of elytron; width of anterior margin not exceeding half the width of posterior margin; lateral quarters convex, dorsal surface of lateral margin bearing a tuft of short golden setae; posterior angles acute, apex pointed (Fig. 21); prosternum horizontal, with edge on anterior margin broadened below gula; prosternal process produced backwards, not reaching the midpoint of the space between pro– and mesocoxae (Fig. 13); prosternum and mesosternum with punctures. Elytron with one carina more approximate to lateral margin than suture, with a broad groove over lateral margin occupying outer third or quarter of elytra, bearing short, broad, golden, scaly setae (Fig. 21); dorsal surface glabrous, with punctures; pseudopleuron with long setae arising on punctures, bearing a row of setae below lateral margin; epipleuron with short setae arising on protuberances, lacking a row of setae on the edge of anterior quarter. Legs. Ventral surface of meso– and metafemora lacking a row of setae on posterior edge. Inner surface of meso– and metatibiae with short, stout setae. Metatibiae straight. Male genitalia. Rods of sterna IX “V”-shaped. Basal lamina of tegmen distally narrowed, with base concave. Lateral styles of tegmen with proximal margin ventrally bisinuate, widest at base, with setae on distal half of ventral surface (Fig. 9). Median lobe moderate (0.75 <L/T ≤ 1.00), distally broadened, with apical aperture large and apex rounded (Fig. 8). Female genitalia. Paraprocts moderate (1.2 ≤ P/C ≤ 2.0); baculi of coxite inclined 45°; proctigeral baculus extending proximad much beyond paraproct baculus; apicodorsal lobe of proctiger extending about ¼ length of coxite.
Type material. Lectotype of Praocis elliptica: [Praocis / elliptica / (Phil.). (handwritten by Philippi)] [Lectotypus/ Praocis elliptica / Philippi & Philippi, 1864 / Des. G. Flores 2006] (MNNC).
Note: Flores (2007: 412) designated lectotype.
Lectotype of Praocis angustata: [Praocis / angustata / (Phil.). (handwritten by Philippi)] [Lectotypus / Praocis angustata / Philippi & Philippi, 1864 / Des. G. Flores 2006] (MNNC).
Note: Flores (2007: 412) designated lectotype.
Other material examined. CHILE. Coquimbo Region: Elqui Province: Coquimbo, 1.ix.1947, L.E. Peña, 1 (FMNH). Limarí Province: Río Los Molles, Ovalle, 2400 m, 19.xi.1961, L.E. Peña, 2 (FMNH). Choapa Province: Hacienda Illapel, 600–1000 m, 1–6.xi.1954, L.E. Peña, 2 (FMNH), 16.xi.1963, L.E. Peña, 1 (FMNH), Illapel, 10.iii.1964, A. Mesa, 1 (IADIZA), Caimanes, 19.x.1969, L.E. Peña, 2 (FMNH), Canela Alta, 24.x.1961, L.E. Peña, 1 (FMNH), Puerto Oscuro, 18–28.ix.1947, L.E. Peña, 2 (FMNH), 1 (MNNC), 18.xi.1971, G. Santic, 1 (MNNC), 23.ix.2004, J. Pizarro-Araya 1 (LEULS), El Naranjo, Tilama, Quilimari, 2.xi.1969, L.E. Peña, 2 (FMNH), Ñague, 26.ix.1980, L.E. Peña, 1 (FMNH), Ñague, 30 km N Los Vilos, 13.x.1967, G. Zuffi, 1 (FMNH), 1 (PVGH), 40 km N Los Vilos, 1.x.1983, A. Roig, 1 (IADIZA), Los Vilos, 27.x.1965, L.E. Peña, 1 (FMNH), 15.x.1967, G. Zuffi, 1 (IADIZA), Quereo, 31º 55´35.2´´ S, 71º 30´44.2´´ W, 17 m, 25-x-2009, coll: J. Pizarro-Araya, 2 (IADIZA), M. Cortes, 1 (IADIZA), J.P. Castillo, 1 (IADIZA), 1.xi.2008, F. Alfaro, 5 (LEULS).
Geographic distribution. Chile (Coquimbo Region, Río Los Molles to Quereo), in the Coquimbo biogeographic province.
description: Published as part of Flores, Gustavo E. & Pizarro-Araya, Jaime, 2012, Systematic revision of the South American genus Praocis Eschscholtz, 1829 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Part 1: Introduction and subgenus Praocis s. str., pp. 1-35 in Zootaxa 3336 on pages 19-20, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3336.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/281312