Antillipeltis Lawrence, Leschen & Ślipiński, 2014, gen. n.
Creators: name: Lawrence, John F.
name: Leschen, Richard A. B.
name: Ślipiński, Adam
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Trogossitidae
Antillipeltis

description: Antillipeltis gen. n.
Type species. A. darlingtoni sp. n.
Diagnosis. This genus is a member of the superfamily Cleroidea, as presently delimited, based on the double or divided tegmen with three anterior struts, which occurs in almost all Trogossitidae in the broad sense (including Peltidae), as well as in Acanthocnemidae, Chaetosomatidae, Metaxinidae, and a number of Cleridae. Antillipeltis species may be distinguished from all other cleroids by having a combination of membranous lobes with adhesive setae beneath tarsomeres 1–4, 9-segmented antennae with a weak, 3-segmented, slightly asymmetrical club with all club segments longer than wide, widely open procoxal cavities without postcoxal processes, modified femora and tibiae with opposing rows of small teeth, lack of tibial spurs (except possibly on the protibia) and laterally explanate elytra with narrow, oblique epipleura. However, these species share a number of features with members of the large basal cleroid assemblage usually placed in the family Trogossitidae while lacking the distinguishing features of the more derived cleroid families, such as Cleridae and Melyridae (see Discussion). Within the Trogossitidae genera with 9-segmented antennae include Neaspis Pascoe and Grynocharina Reitter, which differ in having a 2-segmented antennal club, strongly produced anterior pronotal angles and a brush of hairs at the base of the mandible, and Peltonyxa Reitter, which differs in having antennomeres 7 and 8 transverse, the frontoclypeal suture distinct, the elytral punctation more or less seriate and the femora and tibiae unmodified (see Discussion).
Description. Length 2.5–6.7 mm; body (Figs 1 A–F) 1.90–2.6 times as long as wide, strongly flattened (Figs 3 C–E), subglabrous or clothed with fine decumbent, suberect or erect hairs.
Head shorter than wide, not declined; sides gradually narrowed behind eyes for a short distance (less than eye diameter), then more or less parallel-sided; not abruptly constricted posteriorly, without transverse occipital ridge; dorsal edge of occipital foramen with a pair of deep, angulate emarginations separated by a truncate edge about half the width of one emargination; frontal region slightly, gradually declined. Eyes protuberant, entire, moderately finely facetted, without or with short interfacetal setae. Antennal insertions barely concealed from above by subtriangular frontal projections separated from clypeus by a pair of notches; subantennal grooves short and shallow; frontoclypeal suture absent or very weakly impressed; clypeus strongly transverse, usually clearly divided into smooth and more or less membranous anteclypeus and more heavily sclerotized postclypeus. Labrum visible, separated by suture, strongly transverse, with evenly rounded apex; tormae moderately long and parallel, joined by slender transverse bridge. Antennae 9-segmented, short, not reaching middle of prothorax, with weak, loose, slightly asymmetrical, 3-segmented club; scape slightly asymmetrical, all antennomeres at least slightly longer than wide. Mandible short and broad; apex strongly and abruptly curved mesally; bidentate with teeth lying one above the other, incisor edge with two teeth; mola and prostheca absent and base of mandible without membranous lobe or brush of setae. Maxilla with galea short, broad, 2-segmented, moderately sclerotized and apically truncate, clothed with a few short setae apically and mesally and with 2 long lateral setae; lacinia shorter than and about half as wide as galea, very lightly sclerotized and finely setose, without uncus or spur; apical maxillary palpomere short and broad, subcylindrical or slightly fusiform, with obliquely truncate apex. Mentum about half as long as wide, apically concave; apical labial palpomere cylindrical and apically truncate; ligula membranous, undivided and broadly rounded at apex. Ventral portion of head with long, fine, erect setae, especially at sides. Gular sutures widely separated at base, converging anteriorly; tentorial arms almost meeting at midline, corpotentorium absent; cervical sclerites well-developed.
Prothorax 0.50–0.75 times as long as wide, widest at middle or slightly behind middle; sides slightly to strongly rounded, not to slightly, horizontally explanate; base not or slightly narrower than combined elytral bases; lateral carinae complete, finely crenulate or denticulate, visible for their entire lengths from above; anterior angles not to slightly produced forward and broadly rounded; posterior angles broadly rounded; posterior edge more or less straight to slightly rounded or weakly sinuate, simple, not or vaguely margined; anterior edge simple, without margin; disc flat to slightly convex and somewhat uneven, without paired basal impressions or median longitudinal groove; punctation fine to moderately coarse and sparse to dense, surface finely granulate and dull to smooth and shiny. Prosternum in front of coxae slightly longer than mid width of coxal cavity, flat to slightly convex, without paired lines or carinae; prosternal process complete; parallel-sided or very slightly widened apically, elevated and curved dorsally; apex narrowly rounded. Notosternal sutures complete. Procoxae not or slightly projecting below prosternum, without concealed lateral extensions; trochantins strongly transverse and exposed, cryptopleuron short and apically expanded. Procoxal cavities strongly transverse, narrowly separated, externally broadly open (postcoxal processes absent), without narrow lateral extensions, internally open. Scutellar shield not abruptly elevated, anteriorly simple, posteriorly broadly rounded. Elytra 1.40–1.95 times as long as wide and 2.5–4.15 times as long as pronotum; disc more or less flattened and steeply sloping laterally and somewhat constricted at anterior fourth; sides distinctly explanate; punctation confused or with somewhat irregular rows, without scutellary striole; posterior three-fourths of sutural edge distinctly elevated forming rounded carina separated from disc by sutural stria; epipleuron widest anteriorly and almost complete, but strongly oblique beyond basal fourth and not visible in lateral view. Mesoventrite separated by complete sutures from mesanepisterna, which are distinctly separated at midline, anterior edge on same plane as metaventrite, with a narrowly transverse, flattened, undivided prothoracic rest, behind which is a strongly transverse impression (Fig. 3 K); mesoventral process gradually narrowed apically. Mesocoxae not conical and projecting, trochantins exposed and strongly transverse. Mesocoxal cavities narrowly separated, open laterally (partly closed by mesepimeron); mesometaventral junction absent (posterior edge of mesoventral process separated by gap from anterior edge of metaventrite). Metaventrite flat to moderately convex, without discrimen, postcoxal lines or transverse metakatepisternal suture; exposed portion of metanepisternum moderately elongate; metacoxae relatively large, narrowly separated, extending laterally to meet elytra. Metendosternite (Fig. 3 K) with lateral arms long and transverse, laminae absent; anterior process moderately long and broad, bearing widely separated anterior tendons.
Hind wing (Figs 3 A, B) about 2.5 times as long as wide; apical field about 0.4 times total wing length, with two oblique linear sclerites just beyond radial cell. Radial cell with lumen well separated from anterior edge of wing, slightly longer than wide, with broadly rounded apex, straight, oblique inner edge and slightly acute inner posterior angle; cross-vein r3 moderately long, slightly oblique at base with longitudinally oriented apex, fused for half its length with cross-vein r4, which is oblique and complete. Basal portion of RP very short, apical extension weakly indicated or absent; radio-medial loop broad and rounded; medial spur straight and extending to wing edge. Medial field with three free veins, the first two of which have no basal connection, and no medial fleck; wedge cell absent; anal lobe well-developed, separated from medial field by distinct notch-like embayment.
All legs with slightly oblique trochanterofemoral joint and coxotrochanteral locking
device formed by a coxal knob and trochanteral fossa; femora inflated, with denticulate inner edge; tibiae subequal in length to femora, curved outwardly, with inner edges lined with small teeth; outer apical angle of protibia (Figs 2 G, 3F) with a weak, slightly curved tooth, inner angle with short, stout spur (possibly a true tibial spur but not obviously articulated); apices of meso- and metatibiae each with a pair of laterally placed, inwardly projecting teeth (Figs 2 H, I); tibial spurs absent. Tarsi 5-5-5, with basal tarsomere not reduced and preapical tarsomeres together longer than apical one; penultimate tarsomere not distinctly shorter than antepenultimate; membranous, setose ventral lobes (Figs 2 I, 3F), including apically expanded adhesive setae, on first four tarsomeres; pretarsal claws with weakly developed basal tooth; empodium reduced and more or less concealed.
Abdomen (Fig. 3 I) with six free ventrites; ventrite 1 not much longer than 2, without postcoxal lines; abdominal process short and angulate; anterior edges of ventrites 2–4 or 3–5 in male each with transverse row of very short, dense setae (Fig. 3 J) occupying mesal third of ventrite; spiracles on segments I–VII, located in pleural membrane; anterior edge of sternite VIII in male without spiculum relictum; anterior edge of segment IX in male with spiculum gastrale; tergites IX and X completely fused together and membranous. Aedeagus (Figs 3 G, H) cucujiform, symmetrical, anterior edge of tegmen with single strut (phallobasic apodeme) and opposing paired tegminal struts (double tegmen); parameres more or less articulated at base but fused together except for pair of short, rounded apical lobes; penis slender, slightly longer than tegmen with parameres and all struts, gradually narrowing apically but sometimes expanded again at apex, sometimes laterally compressed, with relatively short penile struts. Anterior edge of sternite VIII in female with articulated, curved, spiculum ventrale, posterior edge weakly emarginate. Ovipositor 4.5 times as long as wide; paraprocts lightly sclerotized except for longitudinal baculi, 2.5 times as long as gonocoxites, each of which is divided into slightly elongate proximal lobe with curved, obliquely transverse baculum at base and slightly longer, moderately sclerotized distal lobe, which is almost 3 times as long as wide with well-developed palpiform gonostylus at apex.
Distribution. Known from Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
Etymology. Derived from the term Antilles and the trogossitid genus Peltis O. F. Müller; gender: feminine.
Comments. Although nothing is known about the biology of this group, the leg modifications in both sexes suggest that adults may cling to leaves or twigs, and the presence of an obvious color pattern in at least two species suggests diurnal activity and possible warning coloration.
description: Published as part of Lawrence, John F., Leschen, Richard A. B. & Ślipiński, Adam, 2014, Antillipeltis, a new genus of Antillean Trogossitidae (Coleoptera: Cleroidea) with a key to the Cleroidea, pp. 435-454 in Zootaxa 3794 (3) on pages 436-438, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3794.3.6, http://zenodo.org/record/231124