Axina orcastomata Opitz 2020, new species
Creators: name: Opitz, Weston
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Cleridae
Axina
Axina orcastomata

description: Axina orcastomata Opitz, new species
Figures 41, 69, 80.
Type material. Holotype. Male. Type locality: BOLIVIA: Santa Cruz, Potrerillos del Guenda, 400 m, 6-8/ XII/2011, Morris & Wappes (FSCA). Paratypes. 17 specimens. Bolivia: Departamento de Santa Cruz, Potrerillos del Guenda, 6-8/XII/ 2011, 400 m, Morris & Wappes (RFMC, 2); 3.7 km SSE Buena Vista, Hotel Flora & Fauna, 405 m, 5-15-XI-2011, M. C. Thomas & B. K. Dozier, tropical transitional forest (FSCA, 1). Brazil: Estado do Mato Grosso,?-?-1886, P. Germain (AMNH, 1: BMNH,1; CMNH, 1; MNHN, 5; WOPC, 2); idem,?-?-1885, P. Germain (USNM, 1); Estado do Bahia, Villa Victoria,?-?-1890, Ch. Pujol (MNHN, 1); Estado do Minas Gerais, Pedra Azul,?- XI-1971, F. M. Oliveira (CUIC, 1); idem,?- XII-1970, F. M. Oliveira (SDEI, 1).
Diagnosis. In members of this species, the elytral basal castaneous marking is restricted to the humeral angle. This characteristic will distinguish the members of this species from superficially similar specimens of A. lobispinula, in which the castaneous making in question traverses the entire length of the elytral basal margin.
Description. Size. Length 9.2 mm; width 2.2 mm. Form. As in Fig. 80. Color. Cranium bicolorous, frons and epicranium light castaneous, remainder dark castaneous; antenna testaceous; thorax black, except center of pronotum disc and pronotum arch light castaneous; elytra bicolorous, mostly flavotestaceous, humerus and epipleural margin widely dark brown, dark brown region extended medially near apex and near elytron middle, preapical brown marking extends towards base near sutural margin; legs bicolorous, distal ½ of femora and proximal ½ of tibiae black, remainder of legs testaceous; abdomen brown. Head. Cranium finely punctate, frons about as wide as length of antennal pedicel; EW/FW 45/18. Thorax. Pronotum finely punctate, with 2 paralateral spheroid tumescences, one narrow linear short tumescence behind middle, disc concave near middle; PW/PL 100/150; elytra, asetiferous punctures scattered, punctures extend posteriorly to elytral 3/4, interstitial spaces very wide; EL/EW 410/60. Abdomen. Female visible abdominal sternite V emarginate; female pygidium with recurved flap; aedeagus (Fig. 41), phallobase abruptly narrowed near base of phallobasic lobes; phallobasic lobes long, narrow; phallic plates not serrate; phallobasic apodeme abbreviated.
Variation. Size. Length 8.0–12.0 mm; width 2.0– 2.5 mm. Except for body size, the available specimens are quite homogeneous.
Natural history. Specimens were collected in Bolivia during November and December, at altitudes that range from 400– 405 m. During the same months these beetles were captured in Brazil at 800 m.
Distribution (for map see Fig. 69). This species is known from Bolivia and Brazil.
Etymology. The specific epithet, orcastomata, is a compound name that stems from the Latin orca (= whale) and the Greek stoma (= mouth). I refer to the peculiar construction of the distal 1/3 of the phallobase/phallobasic lobes.
description: Published as part of Opitz, Weston, 2020, Taxonomic revision of the Western Hemisphere checkered beetle genus Axina Kirby (Coleoptera: Cleridae: Clerinae), pp. 1-70 in Insecta Mundi 2020 (793) on page 15, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4564947