Aphelocerus arenatus OPITZ 2005, new species
Creators: name: OPITZ, WESTON
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2005
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Cleridae
Aphelocerus
Aphelocerus arenatus

description: Aphelocerus arenatus, new species Figures 70, 120, 134, 173; map 21   
HOLOTYPE: Female. Rio Sn. Lorenzo, Tierras Morenas, Tenorio, A. C. A., Prov. Guana. COSTA RICA, 1050 m, Mar. 1994. G. Rodriquez, L N 287800–427600 # 2761 (INBC). (Specimen point mounted, sex label affixed to paper point; locality label, white, machine printed; electronic label, plastic, machine printed; INBC repository label, white, machine printed; holotype label, red, machine printed.)  
PARATYPES: Five specimens. Three from the same locality as the holotype (JNRC, 2; WOPC, 1). Costa Rica: San Jose: 5 km SW Escazu, 1200 m, 24­V­1995, beating, J. Rifkind, H. Lezama (WOPC, 1): Alajuela: Volcan Poas, 9–10­VII­1963, C. L. Hogue (WOPC, 1).  
DIAGNOSIS: These beetles may be distinguished from other specimens that have the cranium and pronotum cyanscent by having the pronotal disc coarsely punctate anterior to a feebly impressed anterior transverse depression, and the elytral discal setal tuft (fig. 173) is comprised of a large anterior patch whose setae are directed anteriorly and a very small posterior patch comprised of only a few posteriorly directed setae.  
 DESCRIPTION: Size: Length 5.0 mm; width 2.0 mm. Integument: Cranium, pronotum, pterothorax, legs, and abdomen cyanescent; elytra piceous. Vestiture: Head, prothorax, elytra, and protibia vested with predominantly dark setae, pterothorax, femora, and meso­metatibiae vested profusely with pale setae; tarsi vested with dark setae; epipleural margin vested densely with pale setae; elytral setal tuft bipartite, with large anterior patch and small posterior patch. Head: Width across eyes feebly narrower than width across pronotum (35:38), finely punctate; interocular depressions and frontal umbo shallow; eyes subspherical, moderately convex; antenna as in figure 70. Thorax: Pronotum equal in width and length (38:38), considerably narrower than elytra across humeri (38: 50), disc in front of anterior transverse depression coarsely punctate, side margin moderately arcuate, feebly incised by anterior transverse depression; elytra moderately convex; depth at humerus 22, greatest depth in posterior half 28, humeral umbo prominent. Abdomen: Distal margin of male pygidium (fig. 120) feebly incised. Male genitalia (fig. 134): Parameres explanate at base.   
VARIATION: The available specimens did not vary appreciably.  
NATURAL HISTORY: Specimens were collected by beating, in May; one on a flowering tree; one at 1200 m. One additional specimen was collected in July.  
DISTRIBUTION (map 21): Known only from central Costa Rica.  
 ETYMOLOGY: The trivial name is comprised of the Latin arena (a place for games) and the Latin suffix ­ tus (pertaining to). I refer to the athletic fields at the University of Costa Rica from which some of these specimens were collected.
description: Published as part of OPITZ, WESTON, 2005, Classification, Natural History, And Evolution Of The Genus Aphelocerus Kirsch (Coleoptera: Cleridae: Clerinae), pp. 1-128 in Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2005 (293) on page 78, DOI: 10.1206/0003-0090(2005)293<0001:CNHAEO>2.0.CO;2, http://zenodo.org/record/5362748