Sternacutus latens, Vlasak & Santos-Silva, 2022

Sternacutus latens View in CoL sp. nov.

( Fig. 28-34)

ZooBank:http://zoobank.org/ B34AEC3E-C15C-4A25-AD8D-523DA23775F5

Holotype, ♂, ECUADOR, Pichincha: El Septimo Paraiso Hotel , 1,600 m, Mindo, 18.VI.2021, J. Vlasak leg. ( MZSP).

Paratypes, 2 ♀, same data as holotype ( JVCO) .

Description of the holotype ( Fig. 28-32)

Coloration. – Integument mostly dark brown; labrum blackish with apex dark yellowish brown; ventral mouthparts reddish brown except blackish palpomeres with reddish-brown apex; scape brownish basally, greenish on remaining surface; pedicel light reddish brown; antennomere III greenish, lighter than scape, with apex dark greenish brown; antennomeres IV-VI orangish on basal half, reddish after middle and darkbrown on apical quarter; antennomeres VII-XI orangish on basal third, brown on remaining surface, dark area gradually lighter toward XI. Pronotum mostly blackish. Scutellum brownish green. Elytra brownish green on humeral region, centrobasal crest, and sides, with irregular black maculae interspersed, and mostly brown on wide area close to suture; posterior half mostly greenish with black maculae interspersed, with large, black dorsal macula in a shape of inverted letter U slightly after middle. Femoral peduncle light orangish and femoral club greenish.Tibiae dark green basally, greenish on remaining basal 2/3, brown on apical third of pro- and mesotibiae, except blackish dorsal surface of mesotibiae on beginning of apical third, blackish on dorsal surface of metatibiae and dark green on ventral surface of metatibiae. Protarsomeres I orangish brown basally, dark brown on remaining surface; meso- and metatarsomeres I orangish on basal 2/3, dark brown on apical third; tarsomeres II-IV dark brown; tarsomeres V dark reddish brown basally, dark brownon remainingsurface.Ventritesorangish brown, lighter toward ventrite 5, except yellowish apex of 1- 4.

Head. – Frons minutely, abundantly punctate; with abundant pale-yellow pubescence, denser close to eyes, except glabrous median groove; with one long, erect brownish seta close to eyes. Area between antennal tubercles with yellow pubescence not obscuring integument; area between antennal tubercles and upper eye lobes glabrous centrally; area between eyes with yellow pubescence not obscuring integument, except glabrous median groove; remaining surface of vertex with a few short, decumbent yellow setae. Area behind upper eye lobes with sparse yellow pubescence, glabrous close to prothorax. Area behind lower eye lobes with dense yellow pubescence close to eye, glabrous close to prothorax. Genae with dense yellow pubescence close to eye, except glabrous area close to clypeus, with sparser yellow pubescence on remaining surface except glabrous apex; with a few long, erect brownish setae interspersed. Antennal tubercles with abundant pale-yellow pubescence frontally, sparse yellowish-brown pubescence dorsally, except apex with dense yellow pubescence, and abundant yellow pubescence posteriorly. Wide central area of postclypeus with abundant yellowpubescence not obscuring integument, except almost glabrous central region, with sides with yellowish pubescence; with one long, erect brownish seta on each side. Sides of postclypeus glabrous. Labrum subsmooth basally and apically, finely, sparsely punctate centrally; punctate area with sparse yellowish-white pubescence, slightly yellower laterally, and long, erect setae interspersed, setae dark brown basally, gradually yellowish toward apex; anterior margin with short, sparse yellowish-brown setae. Gulamentum smooth, glabrous, except narrow depressed anterior region withsparse yellowish pubescence. Distance between upper eye lobes0.16 times distance between outer margins of eyes; in frontal view, distance between lower eye lobes 0.53 times distance between outer marginsof eyes.Antennae 2.4 times elytral length, reaching elytral apex at middle of antennomere VI. Scape with abundant yellowish-white pubescence not obscuring integument, with minute, decumbent, thick white setae interspersed;with a few long, erect yellowish-brown setae interspersed near apex of ventral surface. Pedicel with abundant yellowish pubescence not obscuring integument, and one long, erect yellowish-brown seta ventrally.Antennomeres III - XI with abundant yellowish-white pubescence on light area, sparse on dark area, pubescence partially dark brown ondark area of III-V;antennomereIIIwith short,erect,thickblack setaeventrally; antennomere IV with one short, thick black seta ventrally;antennomeres IV- VIII with a few short,thick black setae directed forward apically.

Antennal formula based on length of antennomere III:

– Scape = 0.81. – Pedicel = 0.11. – IV = 0.70. – V = 0.60. – VI = 0.60. – VII = 0.51. – VIII = 0.53. – IX = 0.53. – X = 0.49. – XI = 0.51.

Thorax. – Prothorax wider than long; sides rounded from anterolateral angles to lateral tubercles, convergent from lateral tubercles to posterolateral angles; lateral tubercle short, conical, with apex slightly directed backward, located on posterior fifth. Pronotum coarsely punctate, punctures coarser and more abundant posteriorly; central region with irregular, longitudinal, dense yellowish-white pubescent band; anterolateral third with dense grayish-white pubescence; remaining surface with both yellowish-brown, yellowish pubescence, dense on some areas, except whitish pubescence near lateral tubercles of prothorax,andsix areaswithsomewhatsparse blackish pubescence: one large, irregular,located on each side of central area; one subcircular, smaller, located on each side near posterior margin; and one large on each side of posterior 2/3, with its anterior region projected toward the outer surface. Sides of prothorax with abundant pale-yellow pubescence. Prosternum with dense pale-yellow pubescence laterally, pubescence distinctly sparser on wide central region. Prosternal process with pubescence as on central area of prosternum; narrowest area 0.2 times procoxal width. Mesanepisternum and mesepimeron with dense yellow pubescence; mesoventrite and mesoventral process with moderatelysparse yellowish pubescence; narrowestareaof mesoventral process 0.3 times mesocoxal width. Metanepisternum and metaventrite with dense yellow pubescence, paler on center of metaventrite. Scutellum with abundant yellowish-brown pubescence not obscuring integument.

20- 21. Eleothinus latus sp. nov., paratype ♀. 20. Dorsal habitus. 21. Ventral habitus.

22 -23. Eleothinus abstrusus Bates, 1881 , ♂, Guatemala, Alta Verapaz, Senahú. 22. Dorsal habitus. 23. Prosternal and mesoventral processes.

Elytra. – Centrobasal crest elevated, with sparse black pubescence laterally, and short, suberect, arched black setae dorsally ( Fig. 31); apex of each elytron rounded; abundantly, coarsely punctate on anterior half, punctures gradually finer, sparser toward apex on posterior half; humeral carina moderately well marked from humerus to posterior quarter; dorsal surface with two moderately well-marked carinae, outermost oblique, from near humerus to posterior third, innermost straight, from apex of centrobasal crest to posterior third; with abundant yellow pubescence partially obscuring integument, pubescence appearing to be greenish yellow or somewhat yellowish brown depending on area of integument, with irregular white pubescent maculae and bands from about middle; dark areas with dark-brown pubescence not obscuring integument.

Legs. – Femora with abundant yellowish-white pubescence not obscuring integument, pubescence slightly denser and white on some areas of femoral club,especiallyon meso-andmetafemora,anddenseandlongeronapex.Tibiae with abundant yellowish-white pubescence not obscuring integument, except sparser pubescence on dorsal and lateral surface of posterior third, dense, bristly yellowish-brown pubescence on ventralsurface of posterior third;dorsal surface of posterior thirdof mesotibiae abundant,short, thick,erect blackish setae;dorsal surface of posterior third of metatibiae with a few short, thick, erect dark-brown setae. Tarsomeres with abundant whitish pubescence dorsally not obscuring integument; metatarsomere I distinctly longer than II - III together.

Abdomen. – Ventriteswith abundantyellowishpubescence notobscuring integument, except glabrous apex of 1 -4; apex of ventrite 5 concave.

Female ( Fig. 33 -34). Similar to male, differing by the shorter antennae, 2.1 times elytral length, reaching elytral apex at base of antennomere VII. Ventrite 5 longitudinally sulcate on center of anterior third, and apex slightly concave.

Variation. – Pubescence between and behind upper eye lobes dense; black pubescent maculae on pronotum more well delimited.

Dimensions (mm) (Holotype ♂ / paratypes ♀). – Total length, 6.75/6.60- 7.60;

– Prothoracic length, 1.20/1.05- 1.30;

– Anterior prothoracic width, 1.35/1.30 -1.55;

– Posterior prothoracic width, 1.50/1.55- 1.80;

– Maximum prothoracic width, 1.90/1.80-2.20;

– Humeral width, 2.30/2.45- 2.80;

– Elytral length, 4.75/4.85-5.55.

Etymology. – The specific epithet “latens ” (Latin, meaning invisible) refers to the greenish camouflaged coloration, which made this species nearly invisible on the mosscovered bark of cloud forest trees.

Remarks. – Sternacutus latens sp. nov. is similar to:

- S. angulistigma (Bates, 1885) ,

- S. cinerascens (Bates, 1863) ,

- S. jubapennis (Fisher, 1938) .

But it differs as follows: elytral apex rounded; elytra with sparse white pubescent maculae.

In S. angulistigma , S. cinerascens , and S. jubapennis , the outer angle of elytral apex is distinctly projected, elytra with abundant grayish-white pubescence. Additionally, the femora are unicolorous, while they are bicolorous in S. angulistigma . It differs from S. cribripennis (Bates, 1885) by the centrobasal crest of elytra without dense black pubescence (present in S. cribripennis ), and by the meso- and metafemoral clubs with similar shape (metafemora distinctly more slender than mesofemora in males of S. cribripennis ).

It can be separated from S. griseostigma (Monné & Monné, 2012) , by the elytra with sparse white pubescent maculae (abundant in S. griseostigma ), and tibiae without dense white pubescence on basal half (present in S. griseostigma ).