Paracupes mexicanus Rodríguez-Mirón & López-Pérez 2019, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Rodríguez-Mirón, Geovanni M.
name: López-Pérez, Sara
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Cupedidae
Paracupes
Paracupes mexicanus

description: Paracupes mexicanus sp. nov.
(Figs. 1, 2A, D, G, 3A, 4A, C, 5)
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: ACDE2D98-D15D-4781-9F76-91189A1C0C95
Type material. Holotype (female): México; Chiapas: Orilla Lago Malpaso, Chis., 3-IV-1969.
Conservation status. Well preserved, but antennae incomplete. Right antenna with five antennomeres, left with seven. The specimen was deposited at the CNIN.
Diagnosis. Paracupes mexicanus sp. nov. is distinguished from P. brasiliensis (Figs. 2B, E, H, 3B, 4B, D, 6A) and P. ascius (Figs. 2C, F, I, 3C, 6B) by the combination of the following characters: head surface slightly convex above eyes in frontal view; gula width:length ratio 1:1.6; lanceolate scales on the head, pronotum and elytra; lateral margins of pronotum subparallel; posterior fold of procoxae emarginate; anterior angles of pronotum pointing forward, but short and blunt; apical fold of elytra with cells.
Description. Length 15.5 mm; width 4.5 mm. Color: head and pronotum dark brown; elytra brown with sections covered with dark brown scales, one at base from first to fourth row of cells, one anterior to middle from third to fifth row and third ridge, and one slightly posterior to middle from first to fourth cell and third ridge (Fig. 1); ventral surface brown.
Head wider than long; dorsal surface slightly convex between eyes and densely covered with long and thin scales (Fig. 2A); eyes rounded, transverse diameter four times the distance between them; temples rounded, projected laterally beyond eyes; base of antennae with a pair of conical tubercles; mandibles strong, each with a subangular outer edge, lateral margin with dense long setae; apical maxillary palpomere subconical; gula length:width ratio 1:1.6, gular sutures moderately divergent. Antennae subfiliform; scape subconical; pedicel shortest and subconical; antennomere III twice as long as the pedicel.
Pronotum (Fig. 3A) length:width ratio 1:1.4; posterior margin 1.4 times wider than anterior margin; surface densely covered with lanceolate scales (Fig. 2D), depressed near sides; lateral pronotal carina subparallel; anterior angles directed anteriorly but short and blunt. Posterior fold of procoxa emarginate at internal half (Fig. 4A). Protibia curved outward at apex. Mesotibia curved outward. Metatibia straight. Scutellar shield more or less trapezoidal.
Elytra 1.5× wider than pronotum; length:width ratio 1:2.3; lateral edges subparallel; surface densely covered with lanceolate scales not covering the cells (Fig. 2G). Each elytron with four longitudinal ridges and 10 longitudinal rows of suboval cells: the first ridge short and barely surpassing the scutellar shield; the second ridge curved on anterior and posterior portions; the second ridge joining the third at the beginning of the apical fourth of elytron; the third ridge joining the fourth near the apex; two longitudinal rows of cells present between margins and ridges and between ridges. Elytral apex obliquely truncate and forming a clear sutural angle; apical lateral edge serrate; apical fold with a cell (Fig. 4C).
Abdominal ventrite 1 shorter than each of the remaining ventrites; second, third, and fourth ventrites with a tranverse ridge medially.
Terminalia. Tergite VIII partially sclerotized; sclerotized surface sparsely setose, obcordate in shape (Fig. 5A). Sternite VIII Y-shaped; apodeme more than three times length of furca (Fig. 5B). Ovopositor with coxites obtuse, sparsely setose; styli?-shaped, longer than coxites (Fig. 5C).
Etymology. The species name is derived from the country where the species was collected.
Habitat. The unique specimen of P. mexicanus was collected in 1969 on the banks of the Malpaso dam, just after its construction. The specific locality is not mentioned on the label. However, the predominant vegetation around the dam in 1969 was tropical rainforest and evergreen tropical forest. To date, these areas have been transformed by agricultural and cattle-raising activities.
description: Published as part of Rodríguez-Mirón, Geovanni M. & López-Pérez, Sara, 2019, A new reticulated beetle (Coleoptera: Cupedidae) from Mexico with a catalogue of Cupedidae species of the world, pp. 147-160 in Zootaxa 4567 (1) on pages 148-153, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4567.1.8, http://zenodo.org/record/2593092