Pelecium zophos Orsetti & Lopes-Andrade 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Orsetti, Artur
name: Lopes-Andrade, Cristiano
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Carabidae
Pelecium
Pelecium zophos

description: Pelecium zophos sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: A2F75B1D-47B4-4591-8EC3-5C4F720BF52F
Figs 6A–H, 25
Diagnosis
A medium-sized species (13 mm) distinguishable from its congeners by the combination of the following features. Head frontal fovea short and deep (Fig. 6B). Pronotum elongated; median line shallow; posterior impressions deep. Elytra elongate, ovate, each with eight deeply impressed striae (Fig. 6A). Adults of P. zophos sp. nov. and P. cyanipes are quite similar, but in the former the tarsomeres 5 are glabrous ventrally, while in the latter the tarsomeres 5 bear a row of few slender setae on ventral margin.
Etymology
The specific epithet is from the Greek “ zophos ”, which means “darkness”, in reference to the dark dorsal colour.
Type material
Holotype
BRAZIL • ♂; Rio de Janeiro, Teresópolis; Dec. 1992; A.Bello leg.; “\\ Coleção A. M. BELLO \\ Pelecium zophos Orsetti & Lopes-Andrade HOLOTYPUS ” [printed on red paper]; CAMB.
Paratype
BRAZIL • 1 ♀; Rio de Janeiro, Itatiaia, P.N. Itatiaia; Jan. 2014; R. Monteiro leg.; “\\ Coleção A. M. BELLO \\ Pelecium zophos Orsetti & Lopes-Andrade PARATYPUS” [printed on yellow paper]; CAMB.
Description
Male (holotype, fully pigmented adult)
MEASUREMENTS (in mm). AL1 1.0, AL2 0.5, EL 7.0, EW 5.3, PL 4.0, PW 3.7, HL 2.4, HW 3.1, TL 13.4, TL/EW 2.5, lp2L 0.8, lp3L 0.9, lp3 W 0.5, mp3L 0.4, mp4L 0.9, mp4 W 0.4.
BODY. Ovate, flat; disc of head, pronotum and elytra shiny black in dorsal view; with light metallic violaceus reflections alongside in dorsal view; glabrous (Fig. 6A).
HEAD. Microreticulate, with pair of punctiform frontal foveae, with shallow excavation reaching anterior plane of eyes (Fig. 6B). Antennae reddish brown, long, reaching anterior portion of elytra; antennomeres 1–3 with few long, sparse yellowish setae at apical portion; antennomeres 4–11 fully covered with both short and long yellowish setae. Apical labial and maxillary palpomeres with long, sparse yellowish setae; ovate, with apex obliquely truncated, reddish brown, with apicalmost portion lighter.
PRONOTUM. Longer than wide; sides arcuate, each with pair of long setae; posterior fourth forming sinuous line with posterolateral angles; median line long, shallow; posterior impressions deep, almost parallel with median line (Fig. 6A).
ELYTRA. Oval; each with eight deeply impressed striae; in between striae shiny, impunctate.
LEGS. Dark reddish brown; protarsomeres 1–4 expanded, ventrally with vestiture of adhesive setae; protibiae expanded at apex, with few long yellowish setae ventrally and surrounding antennal cleaner; mesotibiae slender, with few long yellowish setae laterally in full length; metatibiae slender, with few long yellowish setae ventrally on apical half.
ABDOMINAL TERGITE IX (Fig. 6E). Oval, elongate, asymmetrical; sides subparallel, converging in anterior portion and forming rounded projection; inner anterior angle rounded; posterior portion rounded.
AEDEAGUS (Fig. 6C–D, F–G). With median lobe (Fig. 6C–D) cylindrical, sinuous, asymmetrical, flattened dorsoventrally in medial area, slightly broadening apically; ostium very short, confined to apical fourth; apical lamella very short, indiscernible, apical edges sharp; parameres (Fig. 6F–G) asymmetrical; left paramere elongate, posterior angle rounded; right paramere with parallel sides converging to rounded apex.
Female
Similar to males but with mesh of long yellow setae on basal region of tergite V.
MEASUREMENTS (in mm). AL1 0.9, AL2 0.4, EL 6.1, EW 4.1, PL 3.0, PW 3.0, HL 2.0, HW 2.4, TL 11.1, TL/EW 2.7, lp2L 0.7, lp3L 0.7, lp3 W 0.2, mp3L 0.3, mp4L 0.8, mp4 W 0.2.
GONOCOXITE 1 (Fig. 6H). Outer and inner sides arcuate; inner side forming acute projection on posterior margin; anterior margin dull.
GONOCOXITE 2 (Fig. 6H). Elongate, basal lobe bearing ensiform setae on each side; ensiform setae moderately long, with one-third length of gonocoxite 2; slender setae at apex.
Remarks
We include P. zophos sp. nov. in the P. violaceum species group due to the head having a punctiform frontal impressions, a deep posterior impression of the pronotum and tarsomeres 5 having a row of setae on the ventrolateral margin.
New records and complementary descriptions
Below, we provide new distributional records and supplementary descriptions for some species studied by Straneo & Ball (1989), focused mainly on body measurements and the morphology of the abdominal terminalia of the following species: P. atroviolaceum, P. bolivianum, P. cyanipes, P. drakei, P. fulgidum, P. helenae, P. laeve, P. negrei, P. nicki, P. purpureum, P. striatum and P. violaceum. We had access only to female individuals of P. bolivianum and only to male individuals of P. purpureum.
description: Published as part of Orsetti, Artur & Lopes-Andrade, Cristiano, 2024, A contribution to the taxonomy of the genus Pelecium Kirby (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Peleciini), pp. 1-61 in European Journal of Taxonomy 922 on pages 26-29, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2024.922.2443, http://zenodo.org/record/10715279