Unatara polylepis, Vlasak & Santos-Silva, 2022

Unatara polylepis View in CoL sp. nov.

( Fig. 1 -7)

ZooBank:http://zoobank.org/ F774E8B0-55CE-45B0-8DCB-86064C94E00F

Holotype, ♂, ECUADOR, Azuay: 3800 m, hwy 582, 25 km NW of Cuenca, adult in Polylepis sp., 5.VIII.2021, K. Vlasakova leg. ( MZSP).

Paratypes, 3 ♂ ( JVCO) , 1 ♀ ( JVCO), same data as holotype .

Description of the holotype ( Fig. 1- 5)

Coloration. – Integument mostly black; humeri slightly lighter in color; anteclypeus and basal 2/3 of mandibles dark reddish brown; ventral mouthparts reddish brown, except maxillary palpomeres I–III black, reddish brown near apex, and pale yellow on apex, apex of labial palpomeres II–III yellowish, and maxillary palpomere IV and labial palpomere III black on basal half, gradually reddish brown on apical half;scape mostly dark brown; pedicel dark brown basally, reddish brown on remaining surface; antennomeres III–V dark brown basally and apically, reddish brown on remaining surface; antennomere VI dark brown basally and apically, dark reddish brown centrally; antennomeres VII–XI dark brown. Tibiae dark brown basally, dark reddish brown on remaining surface, slightly darker on posterior fifth of metatibiae; tarsomeres I–II dark brown; tarsomeres III–V and claws reddish brown.Apex of ventrites II–IV dark yellowish brown.

Head. – Frons somewhat coarsely rugose-punctate; glabrous centrally, with sparse, short, decumbent yellowish-brown setae laterally, and a few long, erect setae of same color interspersed. Area between antennal tubercles with sculpturing and setae as on frons. Area between antennal tubercles and posterior third of vertex somewhat coarsely rugose-punctate, more longitudinally striate laterally, except subsmooth area close to eyes; almost glabrous centrally, with abundant yellowish-brown pubescence laterally not obscuring integument, and a few long, erect setae interspersed,pubescence not reaching eyes. Remaining surface of vertex somewhat abundantly, coarsely punctate; with sparse, minute, decumbent yellowish-white setae. Area behind upper eye lobes somewhat coarsely rugose-punctate, except subsmooth area close to eye; with abundant yellowish-brown pubescence not obscuring integument, gradually sparser toward prothorax, and a few moderately long, erect setae of same color interspersed, except glabrous area close to eye.Area behind lower eye lobes subsmooth close to eye, rugose-punctate on remaining surface; almost glabrous. Genae subsmooth and glabrous close to eye, depressed, densely, finely punctate, with sparse, both short and long yellowish-brown setae centrally, smooth and glabrous apically. Wide central area of postclypeus somewhat coarsely rugose-punctate; with sparse, short, bristly brownish setae centrally, longer laterally, and one long,erect yellowish-brown seta on each side. Sides of postclypeus smooth, glabrous. Labrum smooth and glabrous close to anteclypeus and anteriorly, abundantly, finely punctate, with long yellow setae directed forward centrally. Gulamentum subsmooth and glabrous on posterior third; anterior 2/3 abundantly, transversely striate, with a few punctures interspersed laterally, with sparse, long, erect yellowish-brown setae, and short setae of same color interspersed. Distance between upper eye lobes 0.73 times distance between outer margins of eyes; in frontal view, distance between lower eye lobes 0.69 times distance between outer margins of eyes. Antennae 1.3 times elytral length, reaching posterior seventh of elytra. Scape abundantly, coarsely punctate dorsally and laterally, except smooth dorsal apex; ventral surface densely, minutely, transversely striate, with sparse,coarse puncturesinterspersed;withsomewhat sparse, short, bristly yellowish setae, sparser ventrally, except glabrous smooth dorsal area. Pedicel and antennomeres abundantly, coarsely punctate, punctures somewhat finer and denser from VII; with moderately abundant, decumbent, short pale-yellow setae, short, erect setae of same color interspersed, and moderately long, erect setae of same color interspersed apically.

Antennal formula based on length of antennomere III:

– Scape = 1.11. – Pedicel = 0.35. – IV = 1.00. – V = 1.11. – VI = 0.94. – VII = 0.94. – VIII = 0.89. – IX = 0.89. – X = 0.78. – XI = 0.86.

Thorax. – Prothorax slightly longer than wide; sides abruptly constricted at base, subparallel-sided on remaining basal quarter, slightly rounded on wide central area, and abruptly narrowed and parallel-sided on posterior ninth. Pronotum ( Figs 4, 5) distinctly elevated centrally from anterior third, anterior margin of this area U-shaped; sides of anterior 2/3 abundantly, coarsely punctate, punctures surrounded by fine sulcus, general appearance somewhat rugose, this area gradually narrowed toward its apex; anterior third abundantly, finely, transversely striate-punctate close to anterior margin, obliquely striate close to coarsely punctate region, sparsely, coarsely punctate on remaining surface; sides of central area finely, obliquely punctate close to coarsely punctate sides, this area gradually widened toward posterior third; sides of posterior third densely, coarsely rugose; posterior seventh transversely striate centrally, somewhat finely rugose-punctate on sides of central area, and with wide, coarsely rugose-punctate projection toward slightly before middle, punctures on apex of projection distinctly coarser; remaining central area shiny, sparsely, coarsely punctate; with sparse, long, erect yellowish-brown setae. Sides of prothorax with sculpturing and setae as on sides of pronotum. Prosternum with deep, narrow sulcus close to procoxal cavities, following to prosternal process where the left and right sulcus fuse together; with large area sculptured as on sides of prothorax, gradually narrowed toward its rounded inner margin; with transverse sulcus near anterior margin, somewhat coarsely rugose-punctate inside sulcus; area between anterior sulcus and coarsely punctate sides transversely rugose, especially centrally, rugosity finer toward prosternal process; with sparse, both short and long, erect yellowish setae, setae slightly more abundant centrally. Prosternal process gradually narrowed toward its middle, then subparallel-sided toward truncate apex; apex not reaching posterior margin of procoxae. Mesoventrite densely, finely rough anteriorly, coarsely rough-punctate centrally toward mesoventral process, densely, minutely punctate on sides; with a few short yellowish-white setae. Mesanepisternum densely rough, almost glabrous. Mesepimeron densely, coarsely rough-punctate anteriorly, minutely rough posteriorly, glabrous. Metanepisternum densely, coarsely rough, glabrous. Metaventrite sulcate close to mesocoxal cavities; opaque, moderately finely rough-punctate close to metanepisternum, metacoxae, and part of metathoracic discrimen, shiny, sparsely, coarsely punctate on remaining surface; with sparse, short, decumbent yellowish setae, and somewhat abundant, long, erect, setae of same color interspersed on sides of central region. Scutellum sparsely, finely punctate; with a few short, decumbent yellowish-white setae.

Elytra. – Abundantly, coarsely punctate, punctures slightly finer and sparser toward apex, each puncture with short striae radiating from them, striae almost absent on basal region; with sparse, long, erect yellowish-brown setae throughout.

Legs. –Femora abundantly, densely, transversely striate on wide central area of dorsal and lateral surfaces of club; ventral surface longitudinally sulcate from near base to apex; with sparse, both short and long yellowish-brown setae, setae distinctly more abundanton base of ventral surface. Tibiae somewhat sparsely and coarsely punctate, rougher ventrally;with sparse, both short and somewhat long, erect yellow setae, except dense and bristly setae on posterior third of ventral surface of protibiae, and posterior fifth of ventral surface of meso- and metatibiae. Protarsomere I as long as II–III together.

Abdomen. – Ventrite 1 sulcate close tometacoxal cavities and sides of intercoxal process; ventrites 1–4 finely rough on sides of anterior 2/3, minutely, transversely striate with sparse coarse punctures interspersed on center of anterior 2/3, smooth on remaining surface. Ventrite 5 somewhat rugose, with coarse punctures on posterior third; ventrites 1–4 with a few short, decumbent yellowish-white setae, and long, erect pale-yellow setae centrally, except glabrous apex; ventrite 5 with sparse, short, decumbent yellowish-white setae on anterior 2/3, and long, erect, sparse pale-yellow setae on posterior third; apex of ventrite 5 truncate.

Female ( Fig. 6 -7).

-Antennae shorter, reaching posterior third of elytra;

- Antennomere XI wider;

- Prothorax distinctly smaller; sidesof pronotum abundantly, finely, irregularly striate; sides of prothorax abundantly, finely, somewhat rugose;

- Prosternum abundantly, entirely transversely striate;

- Elytra more widened apically.

1. Dorsal habitus. 2. Ventral habitus. 3. Lateral habitus. 4. Head and pronotum. 5. Head, frontal view.

Dimensions (mm) (holotype ♂ / paratype ♂ / paratype ♀).

– Total length, 9.05/7.85–9.85/10.80;

– Prothoracic length, 1.70/1.60–1.75/1.60;

– Anterior prothoracic width, 1.25/1.15–1.35/1.40;

– Anterior prothoracic width after basal constriction, 1.60/1.55–1.55/1.65; – Posterior prothoracic width, 1.25/1.25–1.30/1.50;

– Maximum prothoracic width, 1.80/1.70–1.85/1.95;

– Humeral width, 2.20/2.05–2.35/2.60;

– Elytral length, 5.95/5.40–6.30/7.55.

Etymology. – The name “polylepis ” refers to the larval host plant of the type series. It is a noun in apposition. Polylepis is a genus of small trees and shrubs endemic to high-elevation regions of the Andes ( Fig. 34).

Remarks. – According to Martins & Napp (2007), the upper eye lobes are absent in Unatara . As the lower eye lobes in Unatara polylepis sp. nov. are slightly projected upward, we consider this projection to be the upper eye lobe. The coarsely punctate sides of the pronotum, prothorax, and sides of prosternum constitutes a sexual dimorphism in males. As the genus and its single species, U. atinga Martins & Napp, 2007 , were described based only on females, the feature was not previously reported.

Unatara polylepis sp. nov. differs from U. atinga ( Fig. 8-9) especially by the sides of the dorsal surface of the head and sides of the posterior half of the pronotum without dense yellowish-brown pubescence (present in U. atinga ), central area of the pronotum not densely striate (densely striate in U. atinga ), and antennomere XI wider and not acute apically (narrower and acute apically in U. atinga ).