Caryonoda funebris, Gómez-Zurita & Maes, 2022

Gómez-Zurita, Jesús & Maes, Jean-Michel, 2022, New Genera and Species Records of Nicaraguan Eumolpinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) Including a New Species in a New Generic Record for Central America, Neotropical Entomology 51 (5), pp. 705-721 : 706-709

Caryonoda funebris n. sp.

( Figs. 1c , 2a , 3k )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:0D19627C-5026-49BA-A9ED-477E24E8CC5B

Holotype ( Figs. 1c , 2a ): male ( JGZC-1216 ), Nicaragua, Matagalpa, Selva Negra , 12°59′53.13″N 85°53′38.78″W, May 2010, Jean-Michel Maes leg., Holoype Caryonoda funebris n. sp. J. Gómez-Zurita det. [red label].

Body elongate elliptical, convex. Body jet black ( Fig. 1c ), with areas of metallic iridescence, including green reflections on antennal calli, clypeus and fine lateral margin and anterior angles of pronotum, and bluish reflections on scutellum, posterior angles of pronotum, humeral angles, and imperceptibly, depending on light incidence, on legs; basal maxillary palpomeres and four basal antennomeres ocher, with black dorsal metallic spot on scape; antennomeres 5–6 and distal maxillary palpomere dark brown, and remaining apical antennomeres black. Length: 3.9 mm; width: 2.4 mm.

Head broad, with interocular space more than half of head width; frontoclypeus with frons narrowly separated from clypeus by fine transverse furrow between narrow, transverse supraantennal calli; frons regularly convex, weakly depressed before calli, without traces of frontal suture, strongly microreticulate, matt, with fine shallow punctures smaller than intervals, except near eyes, and punctures with tiny translucent setae, slightly larger near eyes; clypeus small, longer than wide, bell-shaped, less than 1/3 as wide at base as frons between eyes, deflexed in apical half with moderate median emargination at apex, markedly microreticulate, punctured as frons in narrow basal area. Labrum slightly wider than base of clypeus, transverse, with round apical angles and anterior border slightly emarginate. Eyes convex, moderate, longer than wide, emarginate along inner border, more strongly convex and slightly stalked posteriorly. Last maxillary palpomere much longer and as wide as previous one, slightly cut at apex. Antennae filiform, reaching humeri, with antennomeres 7–11 longer (seventh longest and tenth shortest), slightly enlarged, finely rugose and more densely pubescent; antennomeres 5–6 subequal, slightly shorter than tenth, antennomeres 2–4 progressively shorter than fifth toward base of antennae, with pedicel slightly longer than wide, enlarged relative to third antennomere; scape longer than wide, dilated, about as long as seventh antennomere. Pronotum transverse (1.6 × as wide at base as long at middle) with sinuous sides, all angles acute and 1.8 × broader at base than at apex; markedly convex transversally and toward anterior angles; sides and angles finely margined, with margins finer and disappearing medially in slightly convex lobes on anterior and posterior borders; surface nearly smooth, glossy, with moderate, slightly aciculate punctures on disc, larger than punctures on frons and generally smaller than intervals, sparser near posterior border; punctures posteriorly at sides larger, tighter and more clearly aciculate; smooth intervals with scattered tiny punctures. Hypomera depressed on disc, smooth, unpunctured, with thickened margins parallel to border of pronotum, bent ventrally in inner part before large furrowed indentation of pronotum; inner bent area with abundant lanuginose whitish pubescence. Prosternum deeply furrowed at sides ( Fig. 2a ), prominent and flat medially, broader than transverse diameter of procoxae, laterally concave between procoxae and strongly widened posteriorly, with posterior border concave; surface irregular, glossy, with posteriorly recumbent dense lanuginose whitish pubescence in anterior half. Mesoventrite transverse, with broad short process, parallel-sided, nearly as wide as raised anterior part of prosternum, with posterior border obtuse, blunt; surface glossy, with fine punctures and posteriorly recumbent translucent setae. Mesepimera and mesanepisterna finely shagreened, unpunctured, glabrous. Metanepisterna elongate, wider anteriorly, finely shagreened, unpunctured and glabrous. Metaventrite markedly transverse, as long as prosternum at middle, with anterior border between mesocoxae slightly produced at obtuse angle and posterior border between metacoxae slightly concave; disc glossy, nearly unpunctured, with discrimen finely impressed, fine transverse scratches and dense lanuginose whitish pubescence except near posterior border; sides convex, relatively smooth, with sparse fine punctures and short, fine, posteriorly recumbent whitish setae. Scutellum slightly broader at base than long, arched at apex; surface glossy, with few sparse tiny punctures and microscopic setae. Elytra about 0.6 × as long as body, as wide at base as base of pronotum, sides weakly curved basally, widest in front of middle and gradually tapering toward regularly round apex, with borders finely explanate; markedly convex anteriorly, with strong humeri flanked internally by short longitudinal depression; surface smooth, glossier and with punctures smaller than on pronotum on disc, much smaller in apical half and laterally, forming regular longitudinal alignments in lateral and apical declivities, and irregular sparsely subgeminate series on disc. Epipleura wide at base, gradually narrowing posteriorly but not particularly thin and reaching sutural angle, slanted ventrally, entirely visible in lateral view; surface smooth, unpunctured, glabrous. Legs long, robust, with femora enlarged medially, particularly profemora, unarmed. Tibiae robust, shorter than corresponding femur gradually enlarged toward apex, more markedly in pro- and mesotibiae; pro- and mesotibiae feebly curved and metatibiae straight, with faint longitudinal keels and dense pale yellow setae ventrally at apex of meso- and metatibiae. Basitarsomeres of pro- and mesotarsi as long as tarsomeres 2–3 combined and notably wider, and basitarsomeres of metatarsi slightly shorter and narrower than corresponding tarsomeres 2–3; onychia as long or longer than basitarsomeres, clavate and slightly curved ventrally, carrying divaricate appendiculate claws. Pygidium short, weakly convex, with large median longitudinal furrow. Abdominal ventrites 1–4 strongly transverse, with posterior border concave; first ventrite as long as metaventrite at middle, with wide transverse subtrapezoidal process anteriorly; ventrites 2–4 subequal, half as long as first ventrite; fifth ventrite 1.5 × as long as fourth, strongly narrowed posteriorly, with biconvex apical emargination; surface of all ventrites smooth, glossy, with sparse fine punctures and posteriorly recumbent short fine translucent setae. Penis relatively broad and parallel, subtrapezoidal at apex with round angles and small median blunt projection; ostium occupying most of apex dorsally, covered by poorly sclerotized dorsal flap, longitudinally membranous at middle ( Fig. 3k ).

Diagnosis. Caryonoda funebris n. sp. is the largest representative of the genus so far, larger than 3.5 mm, when all the other species are smaller (the largest known species, with up to 3.0 mm, were C. campanulicollis Bechyné 1951 and C. meridiana Bechyné 1953 ). But apart from size, color is also an easy feature to distinguish the new species, since it is the only one known to have black dorsum with faint, nearly imperceptible metallic bluish or purplish sheen, when all the other species have black dorsum but with strong bronzy, greenish, bluish or purplish metallic shine on pronotum and elytra. The legs of C. funebris are also entirely black with faint bluish or purplish shine and in the other species they have at least apex of tibiae and tarsi testaceous. The punctation of pronotum and elytra of C. funebris is very fine and sparse, relatively homogenously distributed on pronotum and sparsely subgeminate on disc and aligned as single rows in apical declivity of elytra; punctation in other species is relatively strong, denser, both on pronotum and elytra, in most species leaving wide unpunctured areas basally on pronotum.

Derivatio nominis. The species name is an adjective (f.) derived from the Latin fūnŭs, -ĕris (neut.), meaning funeral, or the ceremony to honor deceased people. The name is used in reference to the black color of the species compared to the festive metallic colors of other species. Black is used as a somber sign of mourning in Western cultures, possibly inherited from the classical Roman tradition and the use of the so-called toga pulla, the dark-colored toga, in the funerals of renowned people.

Distribution. The genus Caryonoda was currently known from localities south of the Isthmus of Panama, including C. meridiana in Venezuela, C. tibialis ( Lefèvre 1885) in Colombia, C. campanulicollis and C. kuscheli Bechyné 1951 in Bolivia (the latter also in Peru), and C. bisinuata Bechyné and Bechyné 1961 and C. pohli Bechyné 1951 in Brasil. The presence of C. funebris n. sp. in Nicaragua represents the first record of the genus in Central America. The only known specimen is from the cloud forest of Matagalpa, consistent with the previous records of the genus in humid biomes east of the Andean cordillera.

Figures

Fig. 1 Dorsal views of some of the new records of Nicara- guan Eumolpinae in the tribe Eumolpini, including Antity- pona submetallica (Jacoby) (a), Brachypnoea modesta animato- ria (Bechyné) (b), Caryonoda funebris n. sp. (c), Chrysodi- nopsis cupriceps (Lefèvre) (d), Spintherophyta ignita (Lefèvre) (e), and S. minuta (Jacoby) (f). Scale bar=1.0 mm

Fig. 2 Ventral view of the holotype of Caryonoda funebris n. sp. where the apomorphic prosternal furrows of Cary- onoda can be appreciated (a). Other panels showing details of other species discussed in the text, including the metafemoral tooth of the males of Megascelis spinipes Jacoby (b), and of an abnormal development in the right mesotarsus of Tijucana vitticollis (Jacoby) (c)

Fig. 3 Lateral and dorsal apical views of the penis of Colaspis jalapae (Bechyné) (a), Chrysodinopsis cupriceps (Lefèvre) (b), Antitypona submetallica (Jacoby) (c), Rhabdopterus uncotibialis (Blake) (d), Spintherophyta minuta (Jacoby) (e), Talurus tortonesei Bechyné (f), Typophorus subbrunneus Jacoby (g), Allocolaspis grandicollis (Blake) (h), Nodocolaspis femoralis (Lefèvre) (i), Brachypnoea modesta animatoria (Bechyné) (j), and Caryonoda funebris n. sp. (k). Scale bar=0.2 mm