A new species of Oxygonia from Ecuador (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae)

4 Pages·1997·1.1 MB·English

Vol. 108, No. 1,January&February, 1997 15
A NEW SPECIES OF OXYGONIA FROM ECUADOR
(COLEOPTERA: CICINDELIDAE)!
Fabio Cassola^,MichaelG. Kippenhan^'^
ABSTRACT: A new species ofOxygonia, O. onorei, is described based on two male specimens
fromLasPampasandLaOtonga,Cotopaxi,Ecuador Distinguishingcharactersaredepicted.
The genus Oxygonia Mannerheim, 1837 (type-species: O. schoenherri
Mannerheim, 1837), is an interesting Neotropical tiger beetle group which so
farincludesapproximatelyfifteenspecies,rangingfromCostaRicaandPanama
(1 species)toColombia(3 species), Ecuador(11 species), Peru (5 species)and
Bolivia (2 species) (Bates 1881-84, Horn 1926, Wiesner 1992). Most ofthese
species occur in the Andean slopes ofEcuador and this country appears to be
the centerofthe evolution and distribution ofthe genus Oxygonia.
Specimensareuncommonincollectionsandlittleisknownconcerningtheir
ecology and behavior. Buckley collected three species in the RiverUpano area
near Macas in Ecuador over one century ago and found his specimens chiefly
on mossy stones in the bed ofrapid streams (Bates 1872). Recentobservations
by Pearson et al. (1995) confirm that Oxygonia specimens forage on mossy
rocks and boulders in the middle ofshallow white-water streams. The diurnal
speciesroostatnightonleavesofoverhangingbushesandtreesabovethestream
surface, while the nocturnal species spend the daytime under rocks and gravel
along small tomoderate-sizedmountain streamsandforageonrocks in stream
at night.
MostOxygoniaspeciesshowaremarkablesexualdimorphisminshapeand
body color, and there is often considerable difficulty identifying both sexes of
thevariousspecies,especiallywhenassociatedmalesandfemalesarenotavail-
able.However, asystematicreviewofthisgenusispresentlybeingmadebythe
secondauthorandtherearenodescribedspeciesofwhichthemale isunknown
(Kippenhan, in prep.). The purpose of this paper is to describe an interesting
new species collected in northwestern Ecuador.
1 ReceivedMay 14, 1996.AcceptedJune8, 1996.
2ViaF.Tomassucci 12/20, 1-00144Roma,Italy(StudiesonTigerBeetles,LXXXIII).
3 15185DebyDrive,ColoradoSprings,Colorado80921,U.S.A.
^Associate,C.P.GilletteArthropodBiodiversityMuseum,ColoradoStateUniversity,FortCollins,
CO80523,U.S.A.
ENT.^4EWS 108(1) 15-18,January&February, 1997
16 ENTOMOLOGICALNEWS
Oxygoniaonorei NEW SPECIES
(Fig. 1 a,b,c)
TYPE MATERIAL. Holotype (male) from Las Pampas, Cotopaxi,Ecuador, May 1988,
G.Onore leg., deposited in the collectionoftheCarnegie Museum ofNatural History, Pitts-
burgh, Pennsylvania. One paratype (male) from La Otonga, 1800m, Cotopaxi, Ecuador, 25
May 1996, A. Paucarleg., in first author's collection.
DIAGNOSIS. The species can be distinguished from all others by its small size (10.5
mm), the testaceous colorofthe underside and the cleft aedeagal apex.
COLOR. Dorsum metallic brownish bronze, withgreenishorblue-violetreflections on
head and pronotum. Sides and underside ofhead and pronotum metallicgolden green, with
somecupreousreflections;ayellowpatchinthemiddleofpro-andmesostema.Metasternum,
abdominal sternaand elytral epipleuracompletely testaceous.Whiteelytral markings com-
prisedofanarrowhumeral lunule, ashorttransversemiddlebandbehindfronthalfofelytra
and asubapical subtriangularspot. Female unknown.
DESCRIPTION. Head: relatively small, metallic dark bronze above with some slight
blue-green reflections, golden green below; strong cupreous reflections on genae, clypeus,
frons and behind eyes. Surface entirely glabrous, asingle sensory setanearmiddleedge of
eacheye; vertex very finely striated, some shallow transverse wrinkles on neck. Eyes bulg-
ingoutwardandupward, witharounded moderateexcavationbetween. Labrumshort,trans-
verse, black with an unpigmentedsubsquarepatchoneithersideofmiddle;anteriormargin
excavated in the middle with a fairly substantial central tooth protrudingoutwards and two
small lateral bumps; two pairs ofsubmarginal setae, first one at sides ofcentral tooth, sec-
ond one inside lateral apical angles of labrum. Mandibles black, rufous on the apical and
innerteeth.Labialandmaxillarypalpibasallytestaceous,tingedwithmetallicbrownonlast
segments. Antennae rather long, reaching nearly the middle ofthe elytral length; extreme
baseofscapetestaceous, scapeand articles 2-4blackwithsomeviolaceousreflections,gla-
brous, antennomeres 5-11 brownish-black, evenly and finely pubescent.
Prothorax: pronotumaboutas longaswide,roundedatsides,maximumwidthnearthe
middle,withthefrontlobeveryshortinproportion;colormetallicdarkbronzewithviolaceous
reflections, somegoldengreen orcupreousreflections in frontand hindtransversegrooves.
Surface completely glabrous, very finely transversely striate, the striae shallow, almost ef-
faced on disk; midline fine but distinct, slightly excavated behind. Pro- and mesostemal
piecesgolden green, glabrous, with some cupreous reflections; ayellow patch in middle of
pro-andmesosternum. Metasternumandmetepisternacompletelytestaceous,glabrous,with
scattered patches ofpearly lustre.
Elytra: purple-brownish shining bronze throughout, completely covered with shallow,
evenly-spaced,smallroundpunctureswithmetallicgreenorcupreousreflections;somelarger
foveae near base and front part of suture. Surface uneven, with a strong depression near
suture on front third ofdisk, asecond depression on inside part ofmiddle spot, and athird
one nearapex. Elytral maculation white, consistingofanarrow humerallunule(onlyposte-
riorend visible fromabove), asubrectangular, transverse, middle band behind front halfof
elytra(extended fromnearsidemarginstomiddleofdisk)andasubtriangularhindspotnear
thesubapical marginofelytra(not reachingsuturalangle)(Fig. la).Elytralapexended ina
strong protruding sutural spine; microserrations present. Epipleurayellow-testaceous.
Abdomen: sterna completely testaceous, glabrous with scattered translucid patches; a
single pairofsensory setae nearhind edgeof3rd, 4th and 5th visible sterna.
Legs (only pro legs and femur ofright meso leg remain in the male holotype): coxae
and trochanters yellow, the former with some white pilosity on sides; femora testaceous
below, more or less tinged with metallic green above, with a dark black ring at "knees".
Tibiae and tarsi offorelegs shining black.
.
Vol. 108,No. 1,January&February, 1997 17
Fig. 1. Oxygoniaonorein.sp., maleholotypefromLas Pampas. Cotopaxi,Ecuador: a.habitus;b.
aedeagus(rightside);c.apexofaedeagus(dorsalview)
ENTOMOLOGICALNEWS
Genitalia: Maleaedeagus rather small, tapering,evenly enlarged in the middle, with a
shortspatulate apical knob, slightly curved upwards (bi-lobate in dorsal and ventral views)
(Fig. 1 b,c). mm
Length: 10.5 (without labrum).
ETYMOLOGY.The species is named afterProfessorGiovanni Onore, Di-
rectorofQCAZ(InstitutodeZoologia,PontificiaUniversidad Catolica,Quito,
Ecuador), who collected the single male holotype and kindly submitted it for
identification.
DISTRIBUTION.WesternAndean slopes ofnorthern Ecuador.
REMARKS. Onlytwomale specimensofO. onorein.sp.areavailable thus
far. However, these specimens are distinctive enough to be described as a new
species. The shape ofthe aedeagus and flagellum is similar to the group ofO.
vuillefroyi Chaudoir (Kippenhan, in prep.), but the cleft apex is unique within
the genus. The color ofthe underside and other features (such as the apically
knobbedaedeaguswith small "J"shaped flagellum) suggest thatthis species is
most closely related to O. nigricans W. Horn and O. oberthueri W. Horn
(Kippenhan, in prep.) and can be placed between.
LITERATURECITED
Bates,H.W. 1872.NotesonCicindelidaeandCarabidae,anddescriptionsofnewspecies(No. 13).
Ent.MonthlyMag.,8: 237-242.
Bates,H.W. 1881-84.BiologiaCentrali-Americana.Insecta.Coleoptera.Vol.I,Part 1.London.
Horn, W. 1926. Carabidae: Cicindelinae. In: W. Junk (ed.), Coleopterorum Catalogus, Pars 86.
Berlin,345pp.
Mannerheim,M. 1837.MemoiresurquelquesgenresetespecesdeCarabiques.Bull.Soc.Natur.
Moscou, 10: 3-49.
Pearson,D.L.,D.W.BrzoskaandJ.Buestan. 1995.Naturalhistoryobservationsonspeciesof
thetigerbeetlegenusOxygoniainEcuador(Coleoptera: Cicindelidae).Cicindela,27: 45-50.
Wiesner,J. 1992. VerzeichnisderSandlaufkaferderWelt. Checklist oftheTiger Beetlesofthe
World.VerlagEmaBauer,Keltem,364pp.