Chrysina pricei Hawks 2020, new species
Creators: name: Hawks, David C.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Rutelidae
Chrysina
Chrysina pricei

description: Chrysina pricei Hawks, new species
Figures 1–4
Type data. Holotype male (deposited at CNIN), labeled: a) “ MEXICO: OAXACA / Ixtlán Distr., 35 km N / Guelatao; 2900m; 2.V- / 12.VI.2017; H. Arellano ”; b) on red paper, “ Chrysina / pricei male symbol / Hawks, 2020 / HOLOTYPE ”. Paratypes (73M) labeled as holotype. Paratypes (2M) labeled: “ MEXICO: OAXACA / Ixtlan Distr., 35 km N / Guelatao; 2900m; 15- / 18.V.2015; H. Arellano ”. Paratypes (2M) labeled, handwritten: “ Mexico: Oaxaca / Ixtlan de Juarez / 9 May 1979. 10,000 ′ / Coll.: J. Chemek”. Paratypes (2M) labeled: “ Mexico. Oaxaca / La Cabaña 25 km norte / de Ixtlán. 2980 msnm. / 8 de Junio 2013 / Col. Hector Arellano”. Paratypes (3M) labeled: “ MEXICO: OAXACA / Ixtlán Distr., La Cumbre / Ixtepeji; 2700–2800 m / VI.2017; H. Arellano ”. Paratype (1M) labeled: “ MEXICO: OAXACA / Ixtlán Distr., 20 km W / Atepec; 2900m / VI.2011; H. Arellano. Paratypes (2M) labeled: “Mexico. Oaxaca / San Antonio Cuajimoloyas / 2,900 msnm. / Julio 2013 / Colector Héctor Arellano”. Paratypes (2 M) labeled: “ Mexico. Oaxaca / 10 km al sur de Atepec / 2800 m. / Junio de 2013 / Col. Hector Arellano”. Paratype (1F) labeled as holotype except “found on ground, August 2018 ”. All paratypes labeled on yellow paper, “ Chrysina / pricei male or female symbol / Hawks, 2020 / PARATYPE ”.
Description, holotype male. Length 24.5 mm, width 13.0 mm. Color of dorsal surface of head green with coppery reflection; pronotum and elytra mostly iridescent green; clypeus, pronotal and elytral margins purplish copper; pygidium green on disc with strong cupreous reflection laterally (Fig. 1). Ventral surface of body and legs iridescent cupreous with purplish and green reflections; tarsi brown with weak green iridescence; antennae brown, lacking iridescence (Fig. 2).
Head. Form overall narrow, clypeus rounded, subsemicircular, almost flat in lateral view. Dorsal surface of frons with coarse, setose punctures laterally, becoming fine, impunctate on disc. Clypeus with surface rugopunctate basally. Anterior border of labrum deeply emarginate medially. Mandibles oval, convex; visible in dorsal view. Eye size large, bulging (Fig. 1–2), with ratio of interocular distance to width of pronotum at base = 1: 3. Ratio of antennal club length to interocular distance = 1: 0.75.
Thorax. Pronotal basal margin entire. Pronotal surface densely punctate with mixed small and fine punctures. Mesosternal process small, knob-like. Each elytron with 9 distinct punctate striae; punctures larger than on pronotum; interstriae with only fine punctures not visible without magnification; epipleural fold narrow, terminating at middle of metacoxae. Venter densely setose; setae very long, light brown.
Abdomen. Pygidium overall smooth, finely rugopunctate near margins. Venter with numerous, irregularly spaced light brown setae. Genitalia: Genital capsule length 7.5 mm. Parameres (Fig. 3–4) almost symmetrical, subspatulate, weakly notched at apex; sinuate in lateral view; ventral keel absent. Ventral plates fused into parabola with rounded apex; apex weakly emarginate medially.
Male paratype variation (n = 87). Length 23.0– 27.5 mm. Width 11.5–14.0 mm. About one third of paratypes differ from the holotype in having the marginal cupreous color more strongly golden. In these specimens the clypeus is more or less concolorous with the head.
Female paratype variation (n = 1). Length 26.0 mm. Width 13.5 mm. The only known female differs from the holotype in the following aspects. The body is slightly more convex in dorsal and lateral views, the legs and tarsi are relatively slightly smaller, and the antennal club is much shorter. The eyes are much smaller (about onehalf the diameter of those of males) and not bulging. The ratio of antennal club length to interocular distance = 1: 1.6. The inferior genital plates are subcircular and convex.
Diagnosis. Chrysina pricei is most similar to C. sagacita Hawks, but averages more robust, is a slightly darker green, and has slightly longer antennal clubs in the males. Compared to C. sagacita, C. pricei has a clypeus that is more circular, a shorter pronotum, the legs are more robust, and the ventral coloration is more purplishcupreous. It also is similar to C. orizabae (Bates), but C. pricei averages smaller, the legs are less robust, the eyes are relatively larger, it has a shorter interocular distance, the interocular region is more convex, and the pronotum is relatively shorter.
Etymology. I am pleased to name this new species for my friend and colleague, Kelly Price. Kelly has contributed significantly to my research on Chrysina, and has collaborated with me on a few projects for more than ten years. He has tirelessly and generously contributed to me very interesting specimens and samples for DNA sequencing. Kelly first brought this species to my attention.
Remarks. This is the fourth species in a species complex containing C. orizabae and C. sagacita which are distributed in the Transverse Volcanic Range and southward through the Sierra Juarez in Mexico, and C. antonkoslovi Monzón found in western Honduras. Previously, C. antonkoslovi was placed by Monzón (2017) in the Adelaida Group of Hawks (2001). All four species are unique within the genus in that the adults do not feed and possess atrophied digestive tracts (Hawks, pers. obs.), occur at high elevations, the males possess large eyes and long antennal lamellae, and both sexes have dense, long setae ventrally. This species complex is related to the Auripes Group (sensu Hawks 2001) based upon both morphological and molecular evidence (Hawks, in prep.). The single female of C. pricei was found crawling on the ground, which also is typical of this complex in that the females apparently never fly or come to lights and are rarely collected.
description: Published as part of Hawks, David C., 2020, Two new species of Chrysina Kirby (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae), pp. 1-6 in Insecta Mundi 2020 (813) on pages 2-3, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4565487