Brachinus gebhardis Erwin 1965, NEW SPECIES
Creators: name: Erwin, Terry L.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 1965
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Carabidae
Brachinus
Brachinus gebhardis

description: Brachinus gebhardis Erwin, NEW SPECIES TYPE LOCALITY: Uvas Creek, 5 miles west of Morgan Hill, Santa Clara County, California. TYPE SPECIMENS: The holotype male and the allotype female have been deposited in the entomological museum at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. Both were collected by the author at the type locality, on 9 February 1964. Forty-six paratypes (of both sexes) were collected by the author along Coyote Creek, 7 miles east of Gilroy, Santa Clara County, California (below Gilroy Hot Springs). Ten of these paratypes are deposited in each of the following: CAS, MCZ, AMNH, and the author's personal collection Two paratypes are in each of the following: SJSC, UCD, and the University of Moscow. The remaining paratypes have been returned to their owners. DISTRIBUTION: This species is confined to the extreme west coast of California except at the type locality and in Riverside County. It is one of the three species which occur on Santa Cruz Island, 20 miles off the coast of Santa Barbara County (fig. 11). DESCRIPTION: Size. Length 6 to 8:5 mm.; width 4.5 to 4.6 mm. Coloration. Elytra of both sexes blue with blue epipleura; head and pronotum ferrugineus; mandibles reddish brown with piceous mesal edges; antennal segments 1-4, legs and palpi pale ferrugineus; antennal segments 5-11 slightly darker than segment 4; mesepisterna black; sides of abdominal sterna usually ferrugineus but rarely black. Head. Labrum slightly emarginate; dorsal surface of mentum convex, with a seta only at each anterior corner; bead around eyes entire; frons with shallow, finely rugose frontal furrows; numerous setae arise behind eyes and on top of head; microsculpture consists of small isodiametric meshes. Pronotum. Widest before middle with sides deeply sinuate; anterior angles not prominent; posterior angles acute, with lateral basal impressions shallow; lateral margins broadly reflexed; marginal bead dark ferrugineus; disc flat, somewhat rugose down midline and with several setiferous punctures in basal half and a few at anterior corners; anterior transverse impression reduced to a triangular depression; microsculpture consists of small isodiametric meshes. Elytra. Male elytra truncate, widest at apical third, narrowing slightly to squared humeri which are not prominent; deeply costate; microsculpture consists of fine isodiametric meshes; pubescent band confined to 8th interval, but a few scattered hairs occur at apex and in scutellar region. Female elytra similar but wider at apical third than those of male. Aedeagus (fig. 2). Phallus fairly straight; ending in a rounded point; microsculpture lacking. Endophallus bears a poorly pigmented virga which is fused apically, but has two basal lobes. CALIFORNIA LOCALITY RECORDS: 70 paratypes were examined. Alameda County: (Arroyo Mocho) TLE; Amador County: (Horse Creek) TLE; Los Angeles County: (Pasadena) CAS, (Soledad Canyon) LACM, (San Francisquito Canyon) LACM, (Tanbark Flat) ATM; Monterey County: (Bryson) CAS; Orange County: (Lower San Juan Campground) LACM; Riverside County: (San Jacinto Mts.) CAS; San Diego County: (Valley Center) SDNHM; San Luis Obispo County: (Atascadero) CAS, (San Luis Obispo) CAS; Santa Barbara County: (Cuyama River) CAS, (West Santa Ynez River) ATM, (Oso Canyon) ATM; Santa Cruz Island: (Santa Cruz Island) CAS; Santa Clara County: (Uvas Creek) TLE, (Pacheco Pass) UIM, (Gilroy Hot Springs) TLE; Stanislaus County: (Del Puerto Creek) TLE; Ventura County: (Foster Park) ATM. DERIVATION OF THE NAME: Greek, geb = born; Old French, hardi = shovel-shaped; referring to the "spade" shaped dorsal outline of these beetles. DISCUSSION: This species is poorly represented in collections and seems to be more rare than the other northern species. The pubescent band of the elytra being confined to the 8th interval serves as an excellent field identification character. The lack of a ridge at the dorsal apex on the penis easily separates males from those of B. fidelis, which are otherwise quite similar to B. gebhardis.
description: Published as part of <i>Erwin, Terry L., 1965, A Revision Of Brachinus Of North America: Part I. The California Species (Coleoptera: Carabidae), pp. 1-19 in The Coleopterists Bulletin 19 (1)</i> on pages 6-7, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3828883