Aegognathus damasoi Arnaud and Bomans 2006
Creators: name: Cáceres, Juan Sebastián D.
name: Grossi, Paschoal Coelho
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Lucanidae
Aegognathus
Aegognathus damasoi

description: Aegognathus damasoi Arnaud and Bomans, 2006
(Figures 5a–b: 1J, 1♀)
Aegognathus leuthneri damasoi Arnaud and Bomans, 2006c: 2 (original combination and description)
Aegognathus damasoi Fujita, 2010: 288 (revised status)
Examined material
Holotype J and allotype ♀: Peru, Piura, Sicchez, 1400 m, 15.viii.2006, A. Damaso rec., in coll. CPFA. Paratypes 12J, 10♀, same data as holotype, in CPFA, and 1♀ 1J, labelled Peru, Huánuco, La Unión Llata, xii.2006, R. Koike leg. (EPGC).
Additional material
Peru, Piura region, Ayabaca, Sicchez, 1400 m, x.2007. – 1♀ 3J (UNSM); Peru, Piura reg, Ayabaca, Sicchez, Ditr, 1500 m, 8.i.2007, A. Damaso leg. 1♀ 1J (UNSM); Peru, Piura, Sicchez, viii.2006, 1400 m, A. Damaso leg. 1♀ 1J (CEMT); Peru, Huánuco, Carpish, 2000 m, 23.ii.2008 2J (CERPE).
Diagnosis
Males dorsally dark red with black spots, ventrally mainly black. Mandibles with rounded apex and a preapical laminar tooth. Pronotum with a few distinct yellowish erect setae along lateral margins. Elytra with coarse and dense to somewhat contiguous punctures, with dendritic to smooth yellowish setae, distributed all over the surface becoming more distinct along lateral and posterior regions. Abdominal ventrites almost uniformly punctate, with appressed setae, becoming more erect at ventrite V; ventrite II laterally wrinkled. Dorsal cross bar of genitalia poorly lobed posteriorly but with wider apex than the anterior portion. Females same as males except for the darker tones along body and the strongly punctate body surface, with coarse, dense to contiguous punctation, also distinguishable by the mandible features present in all Aegognathus females; ventrite II not wrinkled.
Description – male
Size: Total length. 14–20.5 mm. Total width. 4–7 mm. Colour: In dorsal view dark red, with several black spots. Head with dark red tones, black along margins, and along the median region extending to the posterior margin. Pronotum dark red along the disc, lateral and anterior margins with two black spots. Elytra dark red but showing clearer tones in some individuals, sometimes with bluish reflections close to the scutellum. Legs apparently black but presenting dark red tones. In ventral view mainly black with some dark red regions along mentum, gula and coxae. Head: Shape transverse; surface shagreened; glabrous. Temporal process variable in size among individuals, rounded. Mandibles as long as the head and the anterior half of pronotum; bend inwards with rounded apex and a pre apical laminar tooth, and one median rounded tooth, upwardly directed. Pronotum: Surface shagreened, with fine to moderate punctures along lateral and posterior margins, with yellowish erect setae; anterior angles rounded and somewhat convex; posterior lateral margins convergent; posterior angles rounded Elytra: Surface with coarse punctures, dense to somewhat contiguous, with dendritic to smooth yellowish setae, distributed all over the surface becoming more distinct along lateral and posterior regions. Epipleuron with large to coarse punctures and a few appressed yellowish setae. Legs: Protibiae externally serrate with variable number of teeth but presenting at least two strong ones apically, one internal apical tooth, and one apical spur. Mesotibiae with one to two median teeth, when two present the second one reduced, four apical teeth and two apical spurs. Metatibiae apically as described for mesotibiae. Venter: Mentum trapezoidal with a transverse groove, punctate, punctures moderate to somewhat large, with minute yellowish to white appressed setae. Gena mainly smooth and glabrous, with a curved carina over the posterior region. Prosternum punctate, with coarse punctures along lateral regions, medially with large punctures; curved to appressed yellowish setae all over prosternal surface. Mesoventrite punctate mainly over the median region, punctures large, with yellowish suberect setae. Metaventrite almost uniformly punctate, punctures moderate to large with yellowish appressed setae; discrimen present as a continuous longitudinal suture covering the whole surface, forming a weak groove distally. Abdominal ventrites punctate showing an almost regular distribution, punctures moderate to large, with yellowish appressed setae becoming more erect at ventrite V; all ventrites with a somewhat continuous discrete longitudinal carina over lateral margins of every ventrite, ventrite II wrinkled. Genitalia (Figure 8a): Aedeagus symmetrical, subtriangular, narrow proximally. Basal piece subtriangular with almost straight sides, concave in lateral view, proximally narrower, showing a translucent region at disc; 3.3 times longer than the parameres. Median lobe almost cylindrical with almost straight lateral margins, with a ′X̍-shaped cross bar struts poorly lobed posteriorly but wider than the anterior region. Parameres with almost truncate posterior margins. Internal sac 1.5 times shorter than the parameres and basal piece together, with two strap-like sclerites that end at the beginning of the apical third; subconical apex presenting a cylindrical projection that ends in the gonopore.
Description – female
Size: Total length. 10–10.3 mm. Total width. 4–6 mm. Colour: In dorsal view dark red, darker along the main part of head; pronotum mainly black with two dark red spots laterally; elytra with longitudinal dark red and black interleaved regions; legs black, with dark red tones distally; ventrally black. Head: Size smaller than male heads, about a half, not including the mandibles; surface strongly punctate, punctures coarse, dense to contiguous, with somewhat carinate areas; shape transverse, slightly emarginate; temporal process minute; mandibles reduced, being as long as the first half of the head with acuminate apex, asymmetrical, with a median laminar tooth larger on left mandible, with three acuminate projections on each laminar tooth, wider on left mandible as well. Pronotum: Surface strongly punctate, punctures coarse, dense to contiguous, with yellowish erect setae along sides, margins completely bordered; lateral margins somewhat convergent and rounded anteriorly, posterior margin as wide as elytra. Elytra: Surface highly punctate, punctures coarse, dense to contiguous, with yellowish smooth setae, more distinct compared to males, but presenting a similar appearance along lateral and posterior regions; some weak irregular longitudinal costae present along disc. Legs: As in males except for presenting two to three median teeth at mesotibiae and one at metatibiae. Venter: As in males except for a more distinct punctation along whole venter with yellowish appressed smooth setae; punctures large to coarse, densely to moderately distributed along mentum, meso and metaventrite; gena with a few coarse and dense punctures; abdominal ventrites with moderate to large punctures, moderately to sparsely distributed, and a somewhat continuous weak longitudinal carina along lateral margins of every ventrite, ventrite II not laterally wrinkled. Genitalia (Figure 8b): Styli symmetrical, transverse, subquadrate, with concave external margin and simple setae. Distal coxite elongate, projected with an oblique angle. Proximal coxite somewhat ovoid, finely pigmented and setose. Lateral paraproct convex.
Distribution
Northern and Central Peru. Cauca, Puna and Yungas provinces (Morrone et al. 2022).
Remarks
This species is similar to the Ecuadorian A. leuthneri, sharing, in both males and females, some similarities in coloration patterns and punctation, but the two species can be separated by the darker red tones present in A. damasoi, the wider mandibles and the presence of a laminar preapical tooth, and also by the strong yellowish coloration of setae, which are distinctly distributed along lateral margins of pronotum and elytral surface. The resemblance of the two species led Arnaud and Bomans (2006b) to describe A. damasoi as a subspecies of A. leuthneri, but later this taxon was elevated to species status by Fujita (2010).
description: Published as part of Cáceres, Juan Sebastián D. & Grossi, Paschoal Coelho, 2023, Taxonomic revision of Aegognathus Leuthner, 1883 (Coleoptera: Lucanidae), pp. 557-595 in Journal of Natural History 57 (9 - 12) on pages 580-586, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2023.2198736, http://zenodo.org/record/7975445