Gymnetis pedroreyesi Ratcliffe and Nogueira, 2020

Gymnetis pedroreyesi Ratcliffe and Nogueira View in CoL , new species

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( Figs. 1–8 View Figs View Figs View Fig View Figs )

Type Material. Holotype male labeled: “ MEXICO: COLIMA / COMALA, 700 m elev. / 7-8-July-2000, / G. Nogueirra [sic] collector” and with our red holotype label . Allotype female with same data and our red allotype label . Paratypes with same data ( 10 males, 5 females) , and same data except date of VI-30-20-2000 ( 2 males, 1 female) , and VIII-31- 2000 ( 2 males, 2 females) . One additional male paratype labeled: “ MEXICO: COLIMA, 651 m el / Comala, nr. Rancho Estrella / 7/8-VII-19, traps bananna [sic] / 19°18.631´N 103°44.720´W / R. Cunningham + G. Nogueira. ” GoogleMaps Holotype and allotype deposited at INBUNAM. Paratypes are deposited at BCRC (2), BMNH (2), CMNC (1), GNGC (5), IEXA (1), IMECBIOCOL (1), MNHN (2), NMPC (1), RACC (2), USNM (2), WBWC (1), and ZMHU (2). Additional specimens with similar data are in MAMC and are currently unavailable and so not designated as paratypes.

Description. Holotype. Male ( Figs. 1, 3 View Figs ). Length 16.8 mm; width across humeri 9.8 mm. Head: Frons velutinous smoky black with 2 short, broad, diffuse, gray spots on occiput. Surface with ocellate punctures moderate in size and density, mostly in front of gray spots. Clypeus velutinous smoky black; apex broadly truncate, narrowly reflexed. Interocular width equals 4.5 transverse eye diameters. Pronotum: Color mostly velutinous smoky black with diffuse pattern of dark gray and dirty yellow on anterior half and sides. Surface with small, sparse punctures along sides. Lateral margin with short marginal line broken at center, line not reaching anterior and posterior angles. Mesepimeron velutinous smoky black and narrowly shiny black on apex. Elytra: Color velutinous smoky black with irregularly dissected, yellow vittae on lateral margins. Surface with small, sparse punctures mesad of humerus, otherwise sculpturing obscured. Apices at suture subquadrate. Lateral marginal bead black. Pygidium: Color dark reddish brown. Surface completely, concentrically rugose, setigerous; setae minute, dense, black. Legs: Protibia tridentate, basal tooth removed. Venter: Metaventrite black, weakly shiny, and with sparse, black, crescentshaped, setigerous punctures on posterior half, anterior half rugose. Mesometasternal process, in lateral view, projecting forward and downwards from ventral axis of body at about 45°, apex subquadrate ( Fig. 3 View Figs ). Metacoxa on posterolateral corner acutely recurved. Abdominal sternites shiny black on center, sides on lateral fourth with indistinct, gray bloom. Sternites 1–5 with small, dense, crescent-shaped punctures on anterolateral corners. Setae on procoxae and mentum black. Parameres: In caudal view, form elongate, subrectangular, weakly flared on lateral margin, each apex flared laterally into small, sharp tooth ( Fig. 4 View Figs ). In lateral view ( Fig. 5 View Figs ), phallobase slightly longer than parameres.

Allotype. Female. Length 16.0 mm; width across humeri 9.7 mm. Differs from the holotype in the following respects: Head: Frons and clypeus velutinous black. Surface with ocellate punctures moderate in size and density. Interocular width equals 4.0 transverse eye diameters. Pronotum: Color velutinous black. Lateral margin with long, marginal line broken at center, line almost reaching anterior and posterior angles. Mesepimeron opaque black with small, shiny black spot on apex. Elytra: Color velutinous black with irregularly dissected, yellow vittae on lateral margins. Surface lacking punctures mesad of humerus. Pygidium: Color black. Venter: Metacoxa on posterolateral corner subquadrate. Abdominal sternites on sides lacking gray bloom. Sternites 1–5 with large, sparse punctures on lateral margins.

Variation. Males ( Fig. 2 View Figs ) ( 14 paratypes). Length 16.5–19.7 mm; width across humeri 10.0–13.0 mm. Head: Color varies from smoky black to dark gray to brown to yellowish brown. Pronotum: Minor variations in the presence or absence of diffuse pattern of dark gray and dirty yellow. Lateral margin with long marginal line broken or not. Venter: Metaventrite with or without gray bloom. Abdominal sternites black to dark reddish brown.

Females ( 8 paratypes). Length 16.0–18.0 mm; width across humeri 9.0–11.0 mm. Head: Color varies from smoky black to dark reddish brown. Elytra: Color varies from black to dark reddish brown. Pygidium: Color varies from black to dark reddish brown. Venter: Color varies from shiny black to shiny dark reddish brown. Metacoxa on posterolateral corner varies from subquadrate to acutely recurved.

Etymology. The specific epithet is named in honor of our recently deceased colleague and specialist of Passalidae, Pedro Reyes Castillo of the Instituto de Ecolog´ıa in Xalapa, Mexico.

Distribution. Gymnetis pedroreyesi is known from Comala, Colima, Mexico.

Temporal Distribution. June (3), July (17), August (4).

Diagnosis. Gymnetis pedroreyesi is morphologically similar in its dorsal markings to some specimens of Gymnetis merops Ratcliffe and Gymnetis sallei Schaum , and nearly identical with Gymnetis poecila Schaum. Both G. merops and G. sallei have a yellow bead on the lateral margin of each elytron (black in G. pedroreyesi and G. poecila ) and with at least some yellow or ochre on the male abdominal sternites (no yellow on the sternites of G. pedroreyesi and G. poecila ). There is broad geographic separation between G. pedroreyesi , G. merops , and G. sallei ; G. pedroreyesi is found in extreme southwestern Mexico, while G. merops is distributed in Peru, and G. sallei occurs in extreme southeastern and southern Mexico and Belize.

Gymnetis pedroreyesi is most similar to G. poecila and occurs partly sympatrically (in the broad sense; we have no Colima records for G. poecila ) with G. poecila in western Mexico. Gymnetis pedroreyesi can be distinguished from G. poecila by: 1) the presence in males of diffuse, contrasting light gray or dirty yellow markings on the black pronotum ( Figs. 1–2 View Figs ) (pronotum monochromatic black in G. poecila ); 2) lateral margin of each paramere weakly flared ( Fig. 4 View Figs ) versus strongly flared in G. poecila (fig. 311 in Ratcliffe 2018); and 3) smaller size in G. pedroreyesi (16.0– 19.7 mm, x = 17.5 mm, n = 24) versus larger in G. poecila ( 18.8–21.3 mm, x = 19.7 mm, n = 38).

Natural History. Adults of Gymnetis species are primarily diurnal visitors to flowers, ripe fruits, and sap flows, either natural or as a result of beetleinduced abrasion (gumming). Other cetoniines collected at the same locality where G. pedroreyesi was collected are Cotinis pauperula Burmeister , Cotinis mutabilis (Gory and Percheron) , and Amithao marginicollis (Burmeister) .

The specimens of G. pedroreyesi were collected with very ripe banana fruit placed on tree trunks and on banana bait in a bottle trap. The type locality of G. pedroreyesi is tropical semi-deciduous forest ( Figs. 7–8 View Figs ) where the dominant vegetation is nogal, Juglans major (Torr.) A. Heller ( Juglandaceae ); cobano, Swietenia humilis Zuccarini (Meliaceae) ; parota, Enterolobium cyclocarpum (Jacq.) Griseb. ( Fabaceae ); huizache, Goldmania foetida (Jacq.) Standley ( Fabaceae ); mezquite, Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC ( Fabaceae ); tepemezquite, Lysiloma divaricatum (Jacq.) J. F. Macbr ( Fabaceae ); guamuchil, Pithecellobium dulce Bentham ( Fabaceae ); higuera, Ficus petiolaris Kunth ( Moraceae ); rosa morada, Tabebuia pentaphylla (L.) Hemsl. ( Bignoniaceae ); primavera, Tabebuia donnell-smithii Rose ( Bignoniaceae ); guasima, Guazuma ulmilfolia Lam. ( Malvaceae ); ciprés, Cupressus sp. ( Cupressaceae ); fresno, Fraxinus sp. ( Oleaceae ); nance, Byrsonima crassifolia (L.) Kunth (Malphigiaceae); and chico zapote, Achras zapota L. ( Sapotaceae ) ( Mart´ınez 1979; Morales et al. 1990; Rzedowski and Huerta 1994; Sociedad Botánica de México 1987; Tropicos.org 2019). Climate in the vicinity of the type locality is warm subtropical with annual average precipitation of 1,163 mm and temperature of 23–27 °C.