Luispenaia paulseni Mondaca, Pizarro-Araya, & Alfaro, 2025

Mondaca, José, Pizarro-Araya, Jaime & Alfaro, Fermín M., 2025, Luispenaia paulseni Mondaca, Pizarro-Araya, & Alfaro, 2025 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae: Tanyproctini) made available, Zootaxa 5642 (1), pp. 99-100 : 99

Luispenaia paulseni Mondaca, Pizarro-Araya, & Alfaro, 2025 , new species

Type material. Holotype male at Museo Nacional de Historia Natural (Santiago, Chile), labeled: a) “ CHILE ANTOFAGASTA / Qda. Los Yales , Paposo / 25°00'27.7"S / 70°26'48,3"O; 617 m / 27-X-2015, t. luz blanca / col. J. Pizarro-F. Alfaro ”, b) “ Luispenaia / paulseni sp. nov. / Mondaca, Pizarro-Araya, & Alfaro / HOLOTYPE” (red label, typeset). One male paratype at the José Mondaca E. Collection (Villa Alemana, Chile) and one male paratype at the Laboratorio de Entomología Ecológica, Universidad de La Serena (La Serena, Chile) labeled as holotype except: b) “ Luispenaia / paulseni sp. nov. / Mondaca, Pizarro-Araya, & Alfaro / PARATYPE” (yellow label, typeset)”. One male paratype at the Juan Enrique Barriga T. Collection (Curicó, Chile) labeled: a) “15-018 / CHILE, prov. Antofagasta, / Paposo, quebrada , 27/30 oct / 2015, 770 msnm, luz UV / 25º00'16.7" 2S 70º26'36,38"W / leg. J.E. Barriga-Tuñon J. / Pizarro, F. Alfaro, R. Botero, R. Muñoz ”, b) “ Luispenaia / paulseni sp. nov. / Mondaca, Pizarro-Araya, & Alfaro / PARATYPE” (yellow label, typeset)”. One male paratype at the José Mondaca E. Collection (Villa Alemana, Chile) labeled: a) “ CHILE ANTOFAGASTA / Paposo / Oct/ Dic-2002 / col. M. Ferrú ”, b) “ Luispenaia / paulseni sp. nov. / Mondaca, Pizarro-Araya, & Alfaro / PARATYPE” (yellow label, typeset)”. One male paratype at the José Mondaca E. Collection (Villa Alemana, Chile) labeled: a) “ CHILE ATACAMA / 1 km N. de Bahia Salada / 25-I-1991 / leg. M. Guerrero ”, b) “ Luispenaia / paulseni sp. nov. / Mondaca, Pizarro-Araya, & Alfaro”. One male paratype at the Laboratorio de Entomología Ecológica, Universidad de La Serena (La Serena, Chile) labeled: a) “ CHILE COQUIMBO / Ovalle , Lagunillas / 27-X-1989 / col. E. Vasquez ”, b). “ Luispenaia / paulseni sp. nov. / Mondaca, Pizarro-Araya, & Alfaro / PARATYPE” (yellow label, typeset)”.

Diagnosis. This species is distinguished from all other species in the genus Luispenaia by the following combination of characters: body flattened, dorsally dark brown or black on head, pronotum and scutellum, legs, elytra light brown, shiny. Clypeus distally straight and upturned, with lateral margins rounded and reflexed upturned; lateral margin between clypeal base and ocular canthus very projected as external rounded lobule. Antennae with eight antennomeres; club with three antennomeres. Pronotum approximately subhexagonal, laterally angled, with sparse dorsal setae.

Full description and figures. Mondaca et al. 2019: 554, 556–557; figs. 11, 15, 21–23.