Laemophloeus claudioruyi, Bento & Rafael, 2025

Laemophloeus claudioruyi sp. nov.

( Figs. 1A–C View FIGURE 1 ; 2A, D View FIGURE 2 ; 3A, B View FIGURE 3 ; 4A View FIGURE 4 )

Type material. Holotype male deposited at INPA, labeled ( Fig. 1C View FIGURE 1 ): “ Brasil, Amazonas / Reserva Ducke / 26 Km NE Manaus / Barbosa, M. G. V. ” (white, printed) // “Plot B / Malaise 2 / Abr/95” (white, printed) // “HOLOTYPE / Laemophloeus / claudioruyi sp. nov. / det. M. Bento, 2024” (red, printed and handwritten).

Diagnosis. Frontoclypeal suture deeply impressed laterally and effaced at middle. Scape entirely cylindrical. Antennomere 3 short, 1.3 times longer than pedicel. Anterior margin of clypeus with mandibular and labral emarginations U-shaped. Lateral margins of pronotum with small, distinct antebasal denticle. Claspers with two transverse, somewhat rhomboidal lobes, with apical inner angles broadly rounded, not produced. Procoxal cavities closed. Parameres fused to basal piece and fused to each other at midline. Endophallus with an extremely elongate, twisted apical sclerite.

Description of holotype male. Length 1.6 mm, width at mid-elytra 0.54 mm. Body elongate, parallel sided, strongly flat dorsoventrally. Coloration. General color uniformly testaceous, with head slightly darker. Head ( Fig. 2A, D View FIGURE 2 ) large, 1.9 times wider than long, distinctly wider and slightly shorter than pronotum; surface moderately punctate, with punctures much smaller than eye facets, each bearing a minute seta; eyes laterally protruding, not excavated anteriad. Frontoclypeal suture deeply impressed laterally and completely effaced at middle. Frons quite broad, with interocular width 8.2 times wider than transverse eye diameter; median longitudinal line absent. Clypeus with five distinct anterior emarginations: labral emargination broad, as wide as labrum; mandibular emarginations slightly narrower than labral emargination, moderately deep, forming narrowly rounded outer tooth; antennal emarginations narrow and extremely deep, represented by U-shaped, oblique incisions. Labrum large, as wide as median emargination of clypeus, with anterior margin rounded, not emarginated; surface moderately setose, with long apical setae. Mandibles robust, moderately large, 0.7 times as long as head, conjunctly rounded in closed position. Pregular suture (dividing submentum and gula) extending laterally to form subgenal sutures, reaching inner margin of eyes. Genal processes weakly projected anteriorly, with narrowly rounded apex. Antennae long, distinctly longer than half the body length; scape oblong, cylindrical, short, about 1.8 times longer than wide and shorter than antennomeres 2–3 combined; pedicel globose, about 0.5 times length of scape; flagellum gradually widened toward apex, with antennomeres weakly elongate and narrower basally; antennomere 3 subequal to antennomeres 4–8, not distinctly longer; club 3-segmented, comprised of antennomeres 9–11; antennomeres 9 and 10 subglobose, with lateral sensillar fields; antennomere 11 large and elongate, almost 2 times longer than scape, with a broad sensillar field. Pronotum ( Fig. 2A View FIGURE 2 ) subtrapezoidal, 1.5 times wider than long, with anterior margin 1.1 times wider than posterior margin. Surface moderately punctate, not microreticulate; punctures small, each bearing a minute seta. Sublateral lines as a wide, deeply impressed groove, with minute, transverse setae. Lateral margins slightly curved, with a weak, shallow posterior notch forming a small antebasal denticle near posterior angle. Anterior angles not produced, narrowly rounded; posterior angles acute, slightly produced laterally. Elytra ( Fig. 1A View FIGURE 1 ) not maculate, 1.5 times longer than conjunctly wide. First and second cells basally open; third cell closed, barely defined at base. Striae of cells 1–3 complete and well defined. Humeral carina well marked. Lateral side external to humeral carina strongly declivous and not explanate, with surface moderately covered with minute pubescence. Epipleuron gradually narrowed and incomplete, narrower than lateral side of elytron. Thoracic venter ( Fig. 1B View FIGURE 1 ). Prosternal process broad, with apex expanded posteriad of procoxae, 3.5 times wider than procoxal diameter, with apical margin moderately setose. Procoxal cavities closed. Legs slender, with tibiae distinctly shorter than femurs. Femora robust; metafemur enlarged, 2.8 times longer than wide, with medial width less than half the length. Pro-, meso-, and metatarsus shorter than respective tibiae, with inner surface moderately setose. Tarsal formula 5-5-4. Genitalia ( Figs. 3A, B View FIGURE 3 ; 4A View FIGURE 4 ). Claspers with two transverse, somewhat rhomboidal lobes, with apical inner angles broadly rounded, not produced; apex with surface densely covered with large setal punctures; apical margin straight with a few short setae. Parameres narrowly triangular, fused to basal piece (no suture) and medially fused to each other at basal two-thirds, with apex free and gradually acute; each paramere with two inner setal punctures and two large setal punctures at outer margin. Median lobe with anterior strut 1.4 times longer than tegmen; outer borders wide; apex sharply acute. Endophallus with two rounded, grooved basal sclerites, and an extremely elongate, twisted apical sclerite.

Female. Unknown.

Etymology. This species is dedicated to the entomologist Claudio Ruy Vasconcelos da Fonseca, who has contributed enormously to research and education in Amazonas state ( Brazil) for the last 40 years.

Type-locality. Brazil. Amazonas: Manaus.

Remarks. This species is very similar to Laemophloeus incisus Sharp, 1899 ( Figs. 2B, E View FIGURE 2 ; 3E, F View FIGURE 3 ; 4C View FIGURE 4 ) and L. assignatus Bremer, 2025 because of the elytra uniformly light testaceous, not infuscate, antennal emarginations of clypeus incised, club antennomeres simply pubescent, and antennomere 11 elongate (only in major males of L. incisus ). However, Laemophloeus claudioruyi sp. nov. is easily distinguished from L. incisus in the following respects (characters of L. incisus parenthesized): antennal scape entirely cylindrical (scape with posterior face flat or slightly concave); antennomere 3 short, 1.3 times longer than pedicel (elongate, almost twice longer than pedicel); anterior margin of clypeus with mandibular and labral emarginations U-shaped (anterior margin of clypeus somewhat Mshaped, with mandibular and labral emarginations almost straight); frontoclypeal suture deeply impressed laterally and effaced at middle (frontoclypeal suture indistinct); lateral margins of pronotum with small, distinct antebasal denticle (lateral margins of pronotum without antebasal denticle); procoxal cavities closed (procoxal cavities widely open); aedeagus with parameres fused to basal piece and fused to each other at midline (parameres not fused to basal piece and completely separated from each other). In addition, Laemophloeus claudioruyi sp. nov. shares with L. assignatus the anterior margin of clypeus with mandibular and labral emarginations U-shaped, but it is distinguished by (characters of L. assignatus parenthesized): frontoclypeal suture deeply impressed laterally and effaced at middle (frontoclypeal suture complete, V-shaped); lateral margins of pronotum with small, distinct antebasal denticle (lateral margins of pronotum without antebasal denticle); procoxal cavities closed (procoxal cavities widely open); and parameres short and barely acute at apex (parameres elongate, slender, sharply acute at apex).