Ulocyphaleus valdivianus Philippi & Philippi 1864, n. comb.
Creators: name: Leschen, Richard A. B.
name: Escalona, Hermes E.
name: Elgueta, Mario
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Ulodidae
Ulocyphaleus
Ulocyphaleus valdivianus

description: Ulocyphaleus valdivianus (Philippi & Philippi, 1864) n. comb.
(Figs 1G, 5A, 6J, 8K–M)
Diagnosis. Ulocyphaleus valdivianus can be easily distinguished from U. laetus by the shape of the pronotum, with rounded anterior angles and by the smooth surface of the elytra.
Description. Total length 9.9–11.9 mm. Body glabrous, about 2.2 times as long as wide. Color of body metallic dark brown; surfaces punctate-rugose on the head (including the clypeus and submentum), prothorax, mesoventrite, and metanepisternum. Surface wrinkled on lateroventral areas of the head, prothorax, and weaker on the mesoventrite, prepectus micropunctate, and even more weakly impressed on the metaventrite and sometimes the abdominal ventrites which are also very weakly micropunctate. Vestiture very sparse, composed of erect silver to gold setae. Antenna reaching beyond posterior edge of pronotum to about basal 1/5th of the elytra. Eye in lateral view somewhat reniform and weakly constricted at middle and moderately coarsely faceted; greatest width equal to antennomere 2; interocular distance equal in length to antennomere 1. Frons as width or narrower than the distance between the antennal insertions; head depressed behind curved and deeply impressed frontoclypeal suture. Labrum quadrate, margin straight. Pronotum about 1.3 times as long as wide, not strongly convex; surfaces irregular; lateral carinae with edge simple, anterior angles projected and rounded, extending to level of frons. Prosternum with a large longitudinal furrow; apex deeply emarginated. Scutellum well-developed, pentangular, 1.2 times as broad as long. Elytra 1.8 times as long as combined width and 4.8 times as long as pronotum; surface completely smooth without raised elytral interstices and small tubercles; punctures of striae moderately impressed, size of puncture about equal in width to that of ommatidium; apices rounded or spinate. Meso-metaventral juncture about as wide as a mesocoxa. Abdominal intercoxal process acute; apex of abdominal ventrite V broadly rounded with a marginal bead; relative ratios of ventrites (measured at the middle): V1 / V2: 1.07; V2 / V3: 1.17; V3 / V4: 1.2; V1 / V5: 0.90. Protarsomere 4 about equal to tarsomere 3; metatarsomere 1 shorter than tarsomere 4. Male genitalia: apex of penis acute; surfaces of apicale bearing setae of uniform lengths but slightly longer at apex. Distal gonocoxite acute with subapical gonostylus.
Comments. Philippi & Philippi (1864) did not indicate the number of specimens available to them. We located one specimen of the type series in the MNHN and it is designated here as the lectotype. Ulocyphaleus valdivianus is widely distributed in the Valdivian forests of Chile, and specimens have been collected from Valdivia in the north to the Subantarctic region in the south.
Ulocyphaleus valdivianus is nocturnal and has been observed by M. Elgueta (pers.obs.) in the subantarctic forests on the island of Tierra del Fuego, Rio Bueno, south of Timaukel (approximately 53°45'S and 69° 57'W). Specimens were collected from the branches of Nothofagus sp., under moss, and within bark crevices. There may be a preference for undisturbed Nothofagus pumilio forests, though it can be relatively abundant in mixed forests of N. pumilio and N. betuloides whereas in undisturbed forests of N. betuloides the beetles are occasionally found at low density. Ulocyphaleus valdivianus appears to be sensitive to human impact and in one degraded forest of N. pumilio only a few remains of specimens were located. In slightly disturbed forests of N. pumilio, however, specimens of U. valdivianus occur under moss on tree branches with carabids (Ceroglossus suturalis Fabricius, Plagiotelum irinum Solier, Abropus carnifex (Fabricius), Migadops lata Guérin-Méneville, Cascellius gravesii Curtis), and various cucujiforms (Cycloderus magellanicus Philippi [Pyrochroidae], Rhopalobrachium clavipes Boheman [Phloeostichidae], Chanopterus paradoxus Boheman and Hydromedion spp. [Promecheilidae]). An acute ovipositor indicates that females insert eggs directly into substrate.
Type material examined. Lectotype (MNHN), here designated, sex undetermined, pinned with a card [the elytra are spread revealing the hindwings], 1013 // Cyphaleus valdivianus [in Philippi’s hand, powder blue label with thin black border] // CYPHALEUS VALDIVIANUS R.Y F. PHILIPPI 1864 DET. CAMOUSSEIGHT 75. [handwritten, label with hand-drawn black border] // SINTIPO // CHILE M. N. H. N. | Tipo No 609 [number hand written].
Additional material examined (localities listed from north to south): CHILE: 1, Chile Valdivia, Panguipulli, Fdo. [= Fundo] Releco, 27.II.1972 (MNHN); 1, Pirehueico, Valdivia, I. II.1947, leg. Yrarrazaval (NZAC); 1, 89- Chile Los Rios Reg. [Region], Valdivia way to Oncol, Fundo Paipahueño, 39°42.169’/W73°21.058’/383 msl, 22.02.2008 under bark Fogging 100 cc/l Mañío [Saxegothaea] hoja punzante, 20.30 POM Arias et al UC Berkeley (MNHN); 1, idem but 24.5°C, 39°42.806’/W73°21.390’/350 msl, 24.02.2008 Fogging 150 cc/l, Myrceugenia planipes, 16.39 PM Arias et al UC Berkeley (MNHN); 1, Valdivia (MNHN); 2, Valdivia, Pucupa, 20.1.1978, ex Mañío, P. Vidal, J. Traima (NZAC); 1, Chile Valdivia, Huellelhue, 5 Febrero 1976, G. Arriagada (MNHN); 2, Chile La Unión, Las Trancas, Febrero 1997 P.Vidal (PVPC); 2, Chile La Unión, Las Trancas, 26–27 Ene. 2002 M. Guerrero (PVPC); 2, Osorno, Entrelagos, Puyehue, 11–78, L.E. Peña (ANIC); 1, Chile Llanquihue, Quilanto (Pto. [= Puerto] Octay), 21 Diciembre 1940, G. Kuschel (MNHN); 1, Frutillar, 20 Sep. 1983, G. Kuschel, Nothofagus dombeyi (NZAC); 2, same, but no host recorded, 27 Dec 1974 (NZAC); 1, Chile Llanquihue, Alerce, 6 Febrero 1977, G. Maccio (MNHN); 1, Chile Llanquihue, Lago Chapo (Río Blanco), 5 II 1983, F. Ramírez (MNHN); 1, Chile Pto. Montt, Lago Chapo, Febrero 1997, Leg. J. Mondaca (MNHN); 1, P. N. Vicente Perez R. [= Parque Nacional Vicente Pérez Rosales], C° [= Cerro] Derrumbe, 10 XI 1971, Col. C. Vivar T. (MNHN); 2, same, but Petrohue Norte, 18 Enero 1972, D. Lanfranco L. (MNHN); 2, same, but Col. C. Vivar T. (MNHN); 1, same, but 10 III 1974, J. Solervicens (MNHN); 1, same but C° Santo Domingo, 29 I 1973, Col. C. Vivar T. (MNHN); 1, Chiloe (MNHN); 3, Chiloe Puntra, 9–10 febr. 2002 M. Guerrero (PVPC); 1, Chile Chaiten, Lago Yelcho, 16–17 febr. 2002 M. Guerrero (PVPC); 1, Coyhaique, XI region, La Junta, Fdo. [= Fundo] Villarica, 18–19-Feb-2002, Coleccion P. Vidal (ANIC); 2, Chile Coyhaique, P.N. Queulat [= Parque Nacional Queulat], 4–6 Marz. 2002 M. Guerrero (PVPC); 1, P. N. Lag. [= Laguna] San Rafael, Cta. [= Caleta] Hualas, 20 I 1978, J. Solervicens (MNHN); 1, Chile Magallanes, Río Bueno (53° 45’S, 69° 57’W), 6 I 1995, M. Elgueta / A. Alviña // under mosses trunk Nothofagus pumilio (MNHN); 1, same but 12 I 1995 (MNHN); 1, same but 14 I 1995 (MNHN); 1, same but 17.I.1995 (MNHN); 1, same but 21 I 1995 (MNHN).
description: Published as part of Leschen, Richard A. B., Escalona, Hermes E. & Elgueta, Mario, 2016, Phylogeny of the Gondwanan beetle family Ulodidae (Tenebrionoidea), pp. 441-473 in Zootaxa 4138 (3) on page 453, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4138.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/258464