Metamasius murdiei Anderson, new species
Creators: name: Anderson, Robert S.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2002
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Dryophthoridae
Metamasius
Metamasius murdiei

description: Metamasius murdiei Anderson, new species
(Figs. 88­89, 96­100)
Identification.—This species is recognized by its smaller size (<10 mm in length), single orange­yellow transverse band at the basal one­third of the elytra (Figs. 88­89), and the postmedially deeply and broadly impressed pronotum (Fig. 88). It has a color pattern similar to M. callzona (Chevrolat), Cactophagus aurocinctus (Champion) and C. orizabensis (Chevrolat) but none of these species has the pronotum similarly impressed. Males have a long narrow evenly curved rostrum with the basal portion slightly and only gradually swollen immediately anterior to the eyes, the antennae inserted by about three times the width of the base of the scape from the anterior margin of the eyes (Fig. 96). The rostrum of the female is evenly curved, glabrous and shining, virtually impunctate, with the apical portion contrasting markedly with the swollen and coarsely punctate basal portion (Fig. 97). The legs in both sexes are long, the hind femur almost reaching the apex of the pygidium (Fig. 89).
Description.— Male, length 7­ 5­9.3 mm; width 3.5­3.9 mm. Female, length, 8.7 mm; width 3.8 mm. Color black except for broad transverse continuous yellow band at basal one­third of elytra; postocular region reddish.
Rostrum subequal to pronotum in length, elongate; in male subcylindrical and shining in apical one­third, evenly curved, moderately coarsely punctate laterally at base, otherwise shallowly punctate throughout; base of rostrum only slightly and gradually expanded in dorsal and lateral views; in female cylindrical and shining throughout length, evenly curved, virtually impunctate, base of rostrum distinctly and suddenly expanded; basal expanded area about one­fourth to one­third total rostral length. Rostrum glabrous ventrally; peduncle in male of slight “see­saw” form with posterior tooth prominent, directed ventrally and anterior angle directed very slightly anteriorly; bilamellate anteriorly; in female, flat. Scrobe with posterior margin separated from anterior margin of eyes by about three times width of base of scape. Antennal scape about one­half length rostrum; club slightly laterally compressed, oval; apical pilose part subequal in length to, or very slightly longer than, basal glabrous part. Pronotum with length slightly greater than width; lateral margins subparallel to slightly convergent in basal one­half, moderately convergent from midlength to apex; sparsely and shallowly but distinctly punctate throughout; moderately and very broadly impressed postmedially, distinctly concave. Elytra one and one­half times length pronotum; with striae and intervals impunctate, flat. Scutellum elongate, narrow; length about three times width at base, flat. Pygidium slightly swollen subapically, not tumescent; sparsely setose and punctate throughout; apex subtruncate. Ventrally with front coxae separated by slightly less than width of coxa; prosternum with slight rounded swelling between front coxae; flat anterior to coxae. Mesosternum and lateral portions of metasternum and ventrites shallowly punctate; middle of metasternum and ventrites 1 and 2 virtually impunctate, shining; last ventrite of female flat at middle. Legs elongate, very shallowly punctate and finely setose throughout; femora clavate, moderately long and narrow, hind femur almost reaching apex of pygidium; inner margins of all tibiae with only very short setae arranged in pectinate manner; all tibiae straight. Tarsi each with third article widely dilated, completely pilose ventrally; all tarsal third articles symmetrical with apical margins truncate.
Material examined.—Male HOLOTYPE labelled “ Costa Rica: Cartago / 5 km E. Turrialba / CATIE vii­21/22 ­75 / E.M. & J.L. Fisher” (CMNC). Female ALLOTYPE labelled " Costa Rica Her[edia] / Chilamate / 24­30 Jul 1993 / W.J. Hanson" (CWOB). PARATYPES (2). PANAMA. CHIRIQUI PROVINCE. Fortuna (8°44’N, 82°15’W), 1050m, UV light, 27 January, 1979 (1). Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui Grande (16 km W.), 22 February, 1999, J.E. Wappes (1). Paratypes in CWOB.
Distribution.— Costa Rica (Cartago, Heredia), Panama (Chiriqui).
Natural history.—No information is available.
Derivation of specific name.—Through their support of the Nature Discovery Fund at the Canadian Museum of Nature, this species is named after Michael Terrence Murdie of Breckenridge, Quebec, Canada as a gift from his wife Risë Paquette on the occasion of his 60th birthday.
Comments.—This species was first recognized as new by Patricia Vaurie in 1978. She had placed a determination label on the holotype identifying it as “ Metamasius n. sp.?”.
description: Published as part of Anderson, Robert S., 2002, The Dryophthoridae of Costa Rica and Panama: Checklist with keys, new synonymy and descriptions of new species of Cactophagus, Mesocordylus, Metamasius and Rhodobaenus (Coleoptera; Curculionoidea), pp. 1-94 in Zootaxa 80 on pages 65-67, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.156033