Phaleria psammatea Giraldo-Mendoza 2019, nov. sp.
Creators: name: Giraldo-Mendoza, Alfredo
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Tenebrionidae
Phaleria
Phaleria psammatea

description: Phaleria psammatea Giraldo-Mendoza, nov. sp.
(Figs. 1a, b, c, d)
Diagnosis. Ventral eye separation equals to one eye diameter, with eye margins distinctly separate from submentum; antenna with a six segmented club; pronotal margins devoid of setae; hypomeral setae absent; prosternal process horizontal; prosternal setae forming an anterior tuft; elytral interneurs finely punctated; epipleural setae absent; outer apical angle of protibia not lobed; aedeagus with unfused parameres.
Description. Holotype, male (genitalia dissected). Habitus (Fig. 1a). Elongate oval, moderately convex, light brown to testaceous dorsally, alutaceous, head darker. Head finely and densely punctured on frons, punctures separated by 1-2 puncture diameters, punctures coarser on vertex, more fine and dense along epistomal margin; labrum transverse with golden setae on anterior margin, longer on apical angles; anterior clypeal margin subtruncate; eyes large, reniform, ventral interocular distance equals to eye diameter (Fig. 1b), with margins distinctly separate from submentum; antennae reaching the middle of pronotum, with antennomeres arranged as follows: 1st longer than wide, 2nd shorter and narrower than 1st, 3rd slightly longer than 2nd (piriform), 4th-5th subquadrate, 6th-10th broader than long, 11th oval, with six apicals forming a club. Pronotum transverse, 1.88 times as wide as long, maximum width at posterior half, lateral margins subparallel in posterior two thirds and convergent in anterior third, entire perimeter with fine but distinct marginal bead; lateral margins glabrous; apex concave, base subrectilinear; apical angles obtuse, basal angles nearly right; punctuation fine, punctures separated by one or two puncture diameters; hypomera concolorous with dorsum, shiny, glabrous; prosternum beaded along anterior margin, with a tuft of four long, conspicuous and golden setae arising immediately behind marginal bead; prosternal process shiny, glabrous, with horizontal apex. Mesothorax, metathorax and abdominal sterna darker than dorsum, shiny, finely and densely punctuated (Fig. 1b). Tibiae with conspicuous spines on outer and inner margins; protibia dilated apically, with outer apical angle feebly lobed; mesotibia and metatibia narrow, notoriously longer than wide (Fig. 1c). Scutellum broadly triangular, with scattered punctures on basal half. Metathoracic wings reduced. Elytra moderately long, 1.3 times as long as wide; with thin and dark brown sutural stripe from scutellum to apex; interneurs with fine punctures in grooves; intervals slightly convex, extremely finely punctured; epipleura without setigerous punctures. Pygidium coarsely and densely punctured. Aedeagus with unfused parameres, penis with diverging apices, penis rods span 4/5 of basal piece length, and basal piece turned to right proximally (Fig. 1d). Measurements: Length: 4.2 mm; width: 2.2 mm. (Length/width ratio: 1.90).
Variation. The sexes are indistinguishable externally. The color pattern is constant in the three populations examined. Measurements (n = 44): Length: 3.9-4.6 mm; width: 2.0- 2.25 mm. (Length/width ratio: 1.96).
Etymology. The specific name refers to Psammate, goddess of the beach sand in Greek mythology.
Type material. Male holotype from PERU, Lambayeque, Chiclayo, Puerto Eten, Naylamp beach, under blue-footed booby carcass (Sula nebouxii Milne-Edwards, 1882), 06°55’31.57”S 79°52’20.38”W, 26-X-2018, A. Giraldo (MEKRB). Eighteen paratypes from the same locality (2 IADIZA, 14 MEKRB, 2 MUSM). Twenty paratypes from Piura, Talara, Los Órganos, Los Órganos beach, under magnificent frigatebird carcass (Fregata magnificens Mathews, 1914), 04°10’34.43”S 81°07’50.40”W, 25-X-2018, A. Giraldo (2 IADIZA, 18 MEKRB). Five paratypes from Tumbes, Contralmirante Villar, Zorritos, Zorritos beach, under green turtle carcass (Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus, 1758)), 03°40’38.10”S 80°40’20”W, 19-IX-2018, A. Giraldo (MEKRB).
a b c
Differential diagnosis. In Triplehorn (1991), P. psammatea nov. sp. is keyed to P. panamensis Champion distributed from Mexico to Panama. Also both species have aedeagus with unfused parameres. However, P. panamensis differs externally in body shape, color pattern and a narrower ventral interocular distance (MCZ 2010). Further, aedeagus has parameres with wider separation and basal piece almost straight along its entire length (Triplehorn 1991) (Figs. 6-7).
Phaleria debilis (Fig. 2a) can be distinguished by eyes closer than submentum width, setae on epipleura and pubescent patches on male abdominal sterna, whereas P. ecuadorica (Fig. 2b) differs in more elongated body shape, dark chestnut brown dorsal coloration and shortened antennae that not attain the middle of pronotum.
Five Pacific South American species namely P. beechei, P. gayi, P. maculata, P. manicata (Fig. 2c) and P. subparalella are notoriously different from the species described here. All of them are notoriously different from the new species, since these have an elongated body, conspicuous setae on lateral margins of pronotum, outer apical angle of protibia strongly lobed and aedeagus with fused parameres (Triplehorn 1991; Vidal & Guerrero 2017).
In P. pacifica (Fig. 2d) ventral interocular distance is narrower, pronotal and elytral punctuation are extremely minute, and prosternal setae are absent.
2
Distribution. Only known from coasts of Tumbes, Piura and Lambayeque in northern Peru (Fig. 3).
Ecology. Specimens were found in supratidal sand, under marine vertebrate carcasses of green turtle, magnificent frigatebird and blue-footed booby (Figs. 4a, b, c). At Naylamp beach (Lambayeque), specimens were cohabiting with P. subparalella.
Acknowledgements
To Clorinda Vergara for support this work at MEKRB. To Yony Callohuari for taking photographs of P. psammatea nov. sp. type specimens. Ottó Merkl for kindly attending the queries and sharing images of P. debilis, P. ecuadorica and P. manicata specimens housed at HNHM, photographs taken by Tamás Németh and Aranka Grabant. The French coleopterist David Gonzales send images of P. pacifica specimens housed at MNHN.
Literature Cited
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description: Published as part of Giraldo-Mendoza, Alfredo, 2019, New species of the genus Phaleria Latreille (Tenebrionidae: Diaperinae) from northern coast of Peru, pp. 277-282 in Revista Chilena de Entomología (Rev. Chil. Entomol.) (Rev. Chil. Entomol.) 45 (2) on pages 278-282, DOI: 10.35249/rche.45.2.19.15, http://zenodo.org/record/13882546