Monstrophennium bachue, Tulande-M & Ramírez-Salamanca & Fagua, 2025

Monstrophennium bachue sp. nov. Tulande-M, Ramírez-Salamanca & Fagua, 2025

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( Figs 1–2 View FIGURE 1 View FIGURE 2 )

Type material. Holotype: ♂, COLOMBIA, Cundinamarca, Parque Forestal embalse del Neusa, Bosque referencia, B152, 5.15024ºN – 73.88929ºW, 2900 m.a.s.l, 12 Abril 2016, E. Tulande (white label) / Monolito TSBF 0–10 cm (white label) / MPUJ _ ENT 0046713 (white label) / ♂ GoogleMaps Holotype Monstrophennium bachue sp. nov. Des. Tulande-M et al. 2025 (red label) [ MPUJ] . Paratypes: ♂, COLOMBIA, Cundinamarca, Parque Forestal embalse del Neusa, Bosque referencia, B150, 5.15024ºN – 73.93965ºW, 2900 m.a.s.l, 12 Abril 2016, E. Tulande (white label) / Monolito TSBF 0–10 cm (white label) / MPUJ _ ENT 0040774 (white label) GoogleMaps / ♂ Paratype Monstrophennium bachue sp. nov. Des. Tulande-M et al. 2025 (yellow label) [ MPUJ]. ♀ , COLOMBIA, Cundinamarca, Parque Forestal embalse del Neusa, Bosque referencia, B150, 5.15024ºN – 73.93965ºW, 2900 m.a.s.l, 25 Febrero 2015, E. Tulande (white label) / Monolito TSBF 0–10 cm (white label) / MPUJ _ ENT 0040774 (white label) / ♀ GoogleMaps Paratype Monstrophennium bachue sp. nov. Des. Tulande-M et al. 2025 (yellow label) [ MPUJ] .

Diagnosis. Monstrophennium bachue sp. nov. differs from M. spinicolle in the following combination of characters: dorsal surface of pronotum and elytra moderately setose; lateral margins of pronotum with 8–10 prominent and acute teeth; protrochanters with a triangular projection; protibiae without broad subapical ventral expansion; male aedeagus with enlarged bilobed apical sclerite, parameres broad with four apical setae.

Description. BL (male) 1.44. Body ( Fig. 1A View FIGURE 1 ) chestnut brown with brown legs and palps, moderately setose. Head broadest at eyes, HL 0.29, HW 0.32; vertex weakly convex; frons flattened; clypeus convex; supra-antennal tubercles large and well-marked; eyes small, nearly circular in shape, each composed of five large ommatidia. Dorsum of head very finely punctate; punctures barely discernible under magnification 40×; setae short, sparse and nearly recumbent. AnL 0.69; all antennomeres elongate, VIII about as broad as VII but markedly shorter, XI distinctly broader than X and nearly as long as VIII–X together, with subconical apex. Pronotum ( Fig. 1A View FIGURE 1 ) broadest just anterior to middle, PL 0.51, PW 0.79; anterior margin broadly rounded; lateral margins strongly rounded in anterior half, in posterior half clearly acute and sharp hind angles; each lateral edge provided with several irregularly and asymmetrically distributed teeth, especially large in anterior third; posterior margin slightly bisinuate; lateral antebasal foveae shallow but well-marked, each nearly equally distant from posterior and lateral margin of pronotum. Disc punctate as finely as head, punctures noticeable under magnification 40×, very small but sharply marked, separated by spaces 1–2× as wide as puncture diameters; setae very sparse, recumbent. Elytra ( Fig. 1A View FIGURE 1 ) broadest near anterior fifth; EL 0.96, EW 0.78, EI 1.23. Humeral callus on each elytron with short longitudinal wrinkle; basal fovea very small and shallow but distinct, asetose; subhumeral lines very distinct, carinate, as long as 0.39–0.42× EL, distinctly divergent posterad; apices of elytra separately rounded. Punctures very indistinct, larger than those on pronotum but extremely shallow and diffused; setae sparse. Hind wings not studied. Metaventrite ( Fig. 1B View FIGURE 1 ) flattened in middle, flattening delimited by long posterolateral arms of mesoventral process. Proximal part of each protrochanter ( Fig. 1C View FIGURE 1 ) strongly modified, with triangular projection bearing dense setae on apex ( Fig. 1D View FIGURE 1 ); Aedeagus ( Fig. 1F–H View FIGURE 1 ), AeL 0.46 elongate and symmetrical. Capsular part of median lobe in ventral view broadest basally, gradually narrowing to two-thirds of its length, then expanding subapically to near-basal width. Endophallic sclerites (enphs) distally with paired lateral projections separated medially by a narrow gap, apices rounded; median projection comprising two small sublobular processes beneath lateral projections; apical sclerite assemblage large, in dorsal view bilobate (butterfly-like shape), in lateral view strongly bent dorsally. Parameres (pm) broad, elongate, not extending to median lobe apex; each bearing four apical setae.

Variations in female. Slightly smaller than male; BL 1.44; HL 0.25, HW 0.28, AnL 0.67; PL 0.49, PW 0.75; EL 0.91, EW 0.74, EI 1.20. protibiae ( Fig. 1C View FIGURE 1 ) without modifications.

Bionomics. Monstrophennium bachue sp. nov. is the first species of the genus known to occur in the Andes Mountains. Specimens were collected within a tropical high montane forest remnant at 2900 m altitude. The dominant plant species in this forest is Weinmannia tomentosa L.f. 1782, a specialist tree in high-altitude ecosystems ( Montes Pulido 2011); soils are highly acidic with a deep humified soil organic matter profile. However, despite equal sampling efforts in adjacent areas where native forest has been replaced by Pinus patula Schiede ex Schltdl. y Cham. 1831 plantations, pastures, or secondary shrublands, no specimens were detected in these altered habitats (for more details see Tulande-M et al. 2018). This stark habitat segregation demonstrates the species high preference for conserved high-Andean forest ecosystems.

Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the Muisca goddess Bachué, noun in apposition derived from Mhuysqa (Muisca). It honours Bachué, the ancestral goddess of fertility and creation in Muisca mythology. The Muisca inhabited the Andean highlands of present-day Colombia, including the region where this species occurs.

Geographical distribution. Monstrophennium bachue sp. nov. is known from its type locality in the Parque Forestal Embalse del Neusa , Cundinamarca, Colombia. The species occurs within a narrow elevational range of 2900–3000 m.a.s.l ( Fig. 2 View FIGURE 2 ) .

Remarks. Schaufuss (1866) originally described Cephennium spinicolle (now Monstrophennium spinicolle ) based on specimens labelled ”Nova-Granata ad flumen Magdalenae”. This historical toponym refers to the Republic of Nueva Granada (1831–1858), a polity encompassing modern Colombia, Panama, and parts of Ecuador / Venezuela. Crucially, the specified locality (“ad flumen Magdalenae“) corresponds to the Colombia’s Magdalena River valley, which is entirely contained within the modern Colombian territory. While the precise collection site remains uncertain, this basin encompasses tropical dry forests (upper/lower Magdalena) and tropical humid forests (Middle Magdalena between Honda and El Banco), according to Olson et al. (2001). These lowland ecosystems (< 1000 m elevation) contrast sharply with the high-Andean forest (≥ 2900 m) where Monstrophennium bachue sp. nov. was recorded from ( Fig. 2 View FIGURE 2 ). This ecological segregation, demonstrated by the absence of M. bachue sp. nov. in disturbed habitats (and strict association with conserved Weinmannia tomentosa forests) suggests that M. spinicolle is a lowland specialist and M. bachue sp. nov. a high-altitude endemic.

Although Monstrophennium Jałoszyński is currently known as endemic to Colombia, the significant altitudinal disjunction between its known species (lowland tropical vs. high Andean forests) suggests a yet undiscovered diversity. Future surveys may reveal additional species in mid-elevation ecosystems of Colombia’s Andean slopes, as well as in biogeographically similar regions of Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, particularly where conserved highmontane forests persist.