Brachypterodina morae Flowers, new species
Creators: name: Flowers, R. Wills
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2004
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Chrysomelidae
Brachypterodina
Brachypterodina morae

description: Brachypterodina morae Flowers, new species
(Figs. 1–2, 10, 17–20, 25–28, 30, 34)
Apterodina sp. 1, Flowers and Hanson 2003:41
Holotype: Male. Length 4.7 mm. Head, pronotum, elytra and underside purplish bronzeblack; antenna reddish brown, darker apically. Legs reddish brown, tarsi and undersides of femora dark brown. Head with clypeus coarsely punctate, surface between punctures microreticulate, apex of clypeus emarginate. Frons coarsely punctate; vertex coarsely punctate, surface between punctures smooth; antennal calli microreticulate. Mouthparts reddish brown, mandibles piceous; with apex of labrum emarginate, with 2 dorsal setae and a pair of long lateral setae at outer angles. Prothorax distinctly wider than long, L/W = 0.61; pronotum convex, lateral margins narrow, rounded, greatest width of pronotum anterior to middle; disc regularly, finely punctate, with punctures separated by a distance greater than their own diameters; surface between punctures shining, weakly microreticulate medially, more strongly microreticulate near antero­lateral angles. Prosternum expanded laterally behind coxae; posterior margin of intercoxal process truncate, width of intercoxal process 0.57 x diameter of procoxa. Legs with basal tarsomere of fore and middle legs expanded as in Fig. 1. Elytra with punctures in irregular geminate striae, with punctures separated by distance less than or equal to the diameter of a puncture; surface between punctures weakly microreticulate, more strongly so at apical angle; humeri not prominent, broadly rounded, width across humeri 1.13 x width across pronotum; basal calli obsolete; postbasal depression lacking. Sides broadly rounded, convergent; apices conjointly rounded. Hind wing (Fig. 10) reduced, not folding at rest under the elytra. Abdomen with numerous erect setae, surface of segments granulate. Sternum VII with a weak depression in center. Median lobe in lateral view smoothly curved (Fig. 17); apex bluntly rounded (Fig. 18); basal hood lightly sclerotized with apodemes distinct at lateral margins of hood; subbasal fenestra present; basal spurs small; tegmen triangular; apical sclerite convoluted (Fig. 19). Endophallus (partially everted, Fig. 17) with basal and endophallic lateral digits prominent, weakly sclerotized (Fig. 20), sclerotized basal supporting block lacking, basal setae present.
Allotype: Female. Length 5.6 mm; head, pronotum, elytra and underside piceous with a strong bronze to purple­bronze reflex; antennae and legs reddish brown. Head with labrum, frons, clypeus, eyes, antennae, and mouthparts similar to male. Prothorax distinctly wider than long, L/W = 0.62; shape of pronotum as in male; evenly punctate on disc; with punctures separated by distance equal to or less than their own diameters, punctures aciculate and more closely spaced laterally. Proepisternum and proepimeron as in male; prosternum similar to male, but with width of intercoxal process 0.63.x diameter of procoxa, broadened behind coxae, posterior angles slightly swollen, posterior margin straight and weakly crenulate. Mesosternum, metasternum and metepisternum as in male. Legs similar in form to male, but basal tarsomere of fore­ and middle legs not expanded Elytra with punctures in broad geminate striae, punctures fine on disc, deeper near lateral margins; humerus sharply raised, a deep depression behind humerus, two short, weak costae behind and lateral to posthumeral depression. Elytra weakly angulate above lateral margin; epipleuron as in male Abdomen with segments as in male; pygidium as in male. Segments VIII–XI forming elongate ovipositor (Fig. 25). Sternum VIII with long straplike basal apodeme; only several setae remain of the apicolateral arms; dorsum of segment VIII with two pairs of linear sclerites (Fig. 27). Segment IX with hemisternites with long aciculate basal rods; paraprocts separated into pair of slender dorsal rods, apically forming hood­like projection above genital orifice (Fig. 28); baculum distinct, apical, longer than gonocoxae. Gonocoxae slender with long setae in apical half; coxostyli very small, with several apical setae. Spermatheca (Fig. 30) with spermathecal duct inflated, sclerotized, coiled.
Etymology. This species is named for INBio parataxonomist Angela Mora Maroto, who collected a number of specimens in the type series.
Specimens examined. (33ɗɗ, 53ΨΨ) Male HOLOTYPE (INBio) labeled COSTA RICA Est. Cuerici (Alrededor) 4.6 Km al E. de Villa Mills, 2600m 22­Nov­10 DEC 1995.
A.M. Maroto, Red de Golpe, L_S_389400­499600 #6466 (INBIOCRI002378489). Female ALLOTYPE (INBio) labeled COSTA RICA, Est. Cuerici (Alrededor) 4.6 Km al E. de Villa Mills, 2600m 22­25­Nov­1995,. A.M. Maroto, de luz, L_S_389400­499600 #6458 (INBIOCRI002367639). PARATYPES (32 ɗɗ, 52 ΨΨ): COSTA RICA, Heredia Province: 1 Ψ (INBIOCRI001007575), Est. Barva, Braulio Carrillo N.P., 2500m. April 1989. M. Zumbado & A. Fernandez. San Jos Province: 28 ɗɗ, 48 ΨΨ(18 ɗɗ, 38 ΨΨ MZUCR; 10 ɗɗ, 10 ΨΨINBio; 5 ɗɗ, 5 ΨΨNMNH) (in alcohol). Cerro de la Muerte, 19 km S and 3km W. Empalme 2800m. XII­1992, P. Hanson; 1 ɗ (INBIOCRI002378588), 1 Ψ (INBIOCRI002378582), Est. Cuerici (Alrededor) 4.6 Km al E. de Villa Mills, 2600m 22­Nov­10 DEC 1995. A.M. Maroto, sombrereta L_S_389400­499600 #6466 #6467; 1 ɗ (INBIOCRI002371847), Est. Cuerici Send. El Carbon, 5 Km al E. de Villa Mills, Prov. 2600m 31­MAR­1996. B. Gamboa, L_S_389550­500050#7046; 1 Ψ (INBIOCRI002362499) same locality, A. Picado, sombrereta, #6431; 1 Ψ (INBIOCRI002380194), same locality, B. Gamboa, sombrereta, #7038; 1 ɗ (INBIOCRI002392473), Est. Cuerici Send. El Mirador. Alredador de la Est. 4.6 Km al E. de Villa Mills, Prov. 2600m 11­ENE­1996. B. Gamboa, Sombrereta, L_S_ 389400­ 499600.
Discussion. Although Apterodina and Brachypterodina are morphologically distinct among known Neotropical Eumolpinae, their distinguishing characters are all reductions based on atrophy of the hind wings, an event that undoubtedly has happened repeatedly among beetle populations at high altitudes. Apterodina itself may include more that one lineage, given the highly disjunct distribution of its species. At this point, it is impossible to say how they relate to the lowland fauna, due to the fact that detailed studies of the many lowland genera have scarcely begun. Bechyné (1954) stated that Apterodina was close to Microaletes Lefèvre, without giving any explanation. Other possible sister groups are Brachypnoea and some of the small Rhabdopterus Lefèvre species.
Brachypterodina morae has been found abundant only one time, in a single Malaise trap collection from Cerro del la Muerte, Costa Rica (Flowers and Hansen 2003, listed as Apterodina sp. 1). The trap was in a pasture at the edge of cloud forest. The other species of Apterodina and Brachypterodina are known only from one or a few specimens without biological data. In a review of alpine adapted Chrysomelidae, Jolivet (1997) cited numerous examples of brachyptery in the subfamilies Chrysomelinae and Galerucinae but stated that Eumolpinae have not colonized high altitudes with attendant wing reduction to the same extent. While Eumolpinae apparently have not colonized high altitudes to the extent of these other subfamilies, at least a few species have lost the power of flight while getting high in the mountains of the Neotropics.
description: Published as part of Flowers, R. Wills, 2004, New flightless Eumolpinae of the genera Apterodina Bechyné and Brachypterodina n. gen. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) from the Neotropics, pp. 1-18 in Zootaxa 549 on pages 12-14, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.157653