Neoclypeodytes fortunensis Scheers & Hájek 2020, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Scheers, Kevin
name: Hájek, Jiří
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Dytiscidae
Neoclypeodytes
Neoclypeodytes fortunensis

description: Neoclypeodytes fortunensis sp. nov.
(Fig. 3)
Type material. Holotype: m#, “ PANAMA: CHIRIQUI PROVINCE / La Fortuna: Rio Hornito Trail / 08°41.836′N, 82°13.336′W, / 1165 m; montane forest, / stream pools, 3.ix.2017 / Fikáček, Hájek, Siedel & Sekerka lgt. [p] // HO-LOTYPE m# / NEOCLYPEODYTES / fortunensis sp. nov. / K. Scheers & J. Hájek det. 2020 [p, red label]” (NMPC). Paratypes: 16 specimens; same label data as holotype (BMNH, CKSB, NMPC, ZSMG). Each paratype is provided with the appropriate red printed label.
Description of male holotype. Habitus (Fig. 3A). Ovoid-shaped, slightly attenuate anteriorly and more so posteriorly; lateral outline continuous between pronotum and elytra in dorsal aspect. Surface shiny.
Coloration. Head piceous. Antennae with antennomeres I–IV uniformly pale testaceous, antennomeres V–XI slightly infuscated apically. Palpi pale testaceous. Disc of pronotum dark rufous, distinctly and broadly darker piceous along anterior and posterior margins; sides pale testaceous. Elytron dark piceous with two testaceous maculae; anterior (subbasal) macula quadrangular, extending from lateral margin to one fifth of elytral width to suture, anterior margin convex, posterior margin concave; posterior macula not reaching suture, anteriorly not reaching lateral margin with emargination towards suture, posteriorly reaching lateral margin and apex of elytron; epipleuron completely testaceous. Legs including tarsi testaceous. Prosternum, mesepisterna and mesepimera rufotestaceous; metaventrite, metepisterna and metacoxae rufotestaceous, somewhat darkened at lateral portions. Abdominal ventrites rufotestaceous medially and broadly piceous anteriorly and laterally.
Head with fine but distinct microreticulation anterior of occipital line; punctation consisting of fine puncture near eyes and coarser punctures on clypeus; anterior clypeal margin medially distinctly flattened; occipital line narrowly separated from posterior margin of eyes.
Pronotum widest at base; lateral bead distinct; lateral margin nearly straight in basal third, very slightly round-ed in anterior two thirds; microreticulation absent; punctation consisting of punctures separated by 2–4× puncture diameter, punctation somewhat sparser laterally and distinctly denser near anterior margin; basal striae sinuate, distinctly curved inwards near base and slightly outwards anteriorly, length about 0.65× length of pronotum measured along same line as stria.
Elytra with basal striae very slightly and evenly curved, slightly shorter than those on pronotum; sutural striae absent; microreticulation absent; punctation similar to that of pronotal disc, with punctures slightly larger; epipleura finely punctate, with moderately oblique humeral carina; epipleural carina not visible in dorsal view.
Legs. Pro- and mesotibiae club shaped. Pro- and mesotarsomeres 1–3 slightly broadened, ventrally with adhesive setae. Metatarsomeres with well-developed natatorial setae on both sides.
Ventral surface (Fig. 3B). Prosternum medially narrowly convex, coarsely sculptured; prosternal process rath-er broad, subovate with apex broadly obtuse, lateral rim indistinct. Metaventrite sparsely and rather finely punctate over entire surface, punctures separated by 2–4× puncture diameter. Intralinear space of metacoxae broad (ML/MW = 2.15), sparsely and irregularly punctate with fine punctures, punctures separated by 2–4× puncture diameter; metacoxal plates distinctly punctate with moderately coarse punctures, punctures separated by 1–3× puncture diameter, plates broadly impunctate along anterior and posterior margins.Abdominal ventrites I and II coarsely punctate; succeeding ventrites smooth with a row of setae bearing punctures along posterior margin and some sparse and fine punctures scattered over surface; ventrites IV and V with a tuft of long setae medially; ventrite VI unmodified.
Male genitalia. Median lobe in ventral view broad and subparallel in basal half, slightly attenuating in third quarter of its length to short parallel subapical part, then attenuating to obtusely pointed apex (Fig. 3C); ventral surface in apical part with numerous scale-like setae (Fig. 3D). Median lobe in lateral view with ventral outline distinctly expanded medially, curved, apical third straight with lateral outline attenuating to pointed apex (Fig. 3E). Lateral lobe with apical segment elongated, very slightly curved; on inner side with numerous long setae; apex distinctly curved and protruding (Fig. 3F).
Variability. There is no significant variation present in the limited number of specimens available.
Sexual dimorphism. The females have the anterior clypeal margin less strongly modified but otherwise agree with the description of the male; pro- and mesotarsomeres not distinctly broadened.
Measurements. TL: 1.80–2.00 mm (mean value: 1.85 ± 0.05 mm); holotype: 1.90 mm. TL-h: 1.50–1.75 mm (mean value: 1.65 ± 0.05 mm); holotype: 1.70 mm. TW: 1.00– 1.15 mm (mean value: 1.10 ± 0.03 mm); holotype: 1.10 mm. Ratio TL/TW: 1.68–1.74 (mean value: 1.72 ± 0.02).
Differential diagnosis. Neoclypeodytes fortunensis sp. nov. is distinguished from N. balkei sp. nov. and N. curtulus by the color pattern (cf. Figs 1A, 2 A–B and 3A). Additionally, it differs from N. balkei sp. nov. by the male genitalia with the median lobe in lateral view expanded medially (Fig. 3E), apical part with numerous scale like setae and apex obtusely pointed in ventral view (Figs 3C, D), and the apical segment of the lateral lobe with the apex protruding and subapical incision distinct in N. fortunensis sp. nov. (Fig. 3F); from N. curtulus, it differs by the larger body size, and by the median lobe of aedeagus – in ventral view with distinct attenuation in apical fifth, and apical part less narrowed to apex in N. fortunensis sp. nov. (Fig. 3E).
The new species differs from the other species in the genus by the combination of the distinctive color pattern, the absence of sutural striae, the shape of the basal pronotal and elytral striae, and the male genitalia. Due to inaccurate interpretation of elytral subbasal macula in N. curtulus as triangular (couplet 19) in the identification key of Miller (2001), the new species falls into couplet 24, together with N. fryii and N. quadrinotatus. However, based on the overall similar shape of male genitalia, N. fortunensis sp. nov. is most closely related with N. curtulus; see above for distinguishing of both species.
Etymology. The new species is named after its area of occurrence – La Fortuna. The specific epithet is an adjective in the nominative singular.
Collection circumstances. The specimens of the type series were collected in remnant pools of a forest streamlet (Figs 5 A–B), and among gravel in the riverbed of the larger river Rio Hornito (Fig. 5C); the two collecting sites were ca. 100 m apart.
Distribution. To date only known from the type locality at the Rio Hornito in La Fortuna, Chiriqui province, Panama (Fig. 6).
description: Published as part of Scheers, Kevin & Hájek, Jiří, 2020, Neoclypeodytes Young from Panama, with description of two new species (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae: Hydroporinae: Bidessini), pp. 245-256 in Zootaxa 4890 (2) on pages 251-253, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4890.2.5, http://zenodo.org/record/4301869