Cylindera (Cylindera) amayai, Moravec & Šafránek, 2025

Moravec, Jiří & Šafránek, Ondřej, 2025, Taxonomic revision of the current concept of Cylindera morio and allied taxa (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 65 (1), pp. 105-147 : 120-121

Cylindera (Cylindera) amayai sp. nov.

( Figs 73–101 )

Type locality. Bolivia: department of Santa Cruz, 20 km south of San Jose de Campamento, environs of Palmarito (15°23′36″S, 60°58′05″W, altitude 200 m).

Type material. HOLOTYPE: J ( UASC, temporarily in COSJ), labelled: “ Bolivia – Santa Cruz depart. / 20 km S San Jose de Campamento / Palmarito env., 9.I.2020 / 15°23´36´´S, 60°58´05´´W, 200m / O. Šafránek & M. Amaya lgt.” // “ Holotype / Cylindera (s. str.) amayai sp. nov. / det. Jiří Moravec & Ondřej Šafránek 2025” [red label, printed] . ALLOTYPE: ♀ ( COSJ), with the same label data and: “ Allotype / Cylindera (s. str.) amayai sp. nov. / det. Jiří Moravec & Ondřej Šafránek 2025” [red label, printed] . PARATYPES: 4 JJ 2 ♀♀ (2 JJ 1 ♀ in COSJ, 1 ♀ in NMPC, 2 JJ in CCJM), with the same label data as holotype and: “ Paratype / Cylindera (s. str.) amayai sp. nov. / det. Jiří Moravec & Ondřej Šafránek 2025” [red label, printed].

Differential diagnosis. Cylindera amayai sp. nov. can be immediately distinguished from other taxa of the species-complex by its almost or entirely black elytra with distinct white maculation ( Figs 73–79 ) consisting of mostly large sublateral-median macula which is either isolated or obliquely connected with posteriad placed subsutural-discal macula ( Fig. 77 ) or indistinctly connected as in the holotype ( Figs 73–74 ); exceptionally also a barely visible basodiscal macula is present (as in holotype, Figs 73–74 ). Mandibles ( Figs 3, 5 , 81, 83, 85, 87 ) tridentate (exceptionally a rudiment of tooth present between the second and third tooth – Figs 5 , 83 ); right terminal tooth in male mandibles possessing (in its lateral view) a distinct lobe on its outer margin ( Figs 4, 6 , 82, 84, 86 ). Such important diagnostic character is shared with Cylindera morio , which is, however, clearly distinguished by its mandibles with four teeth ( Figs 1 , 12 , 27–30, 32–33 , 35, 38 , 44, 46, 48 ), and by the differently shaped apical portion of its aedeagus, which is elongate-attenuated towards longer and dorsally more or less distinctly excised apex ( Figs 17–18 , 54–62 ). Antennomeres 5–6 darker than in the following three species. The surface of the pronotal disc in Cylindera amayai sp. nov. is extremely finely asperate-granulate, almost lacking any striae ( Fig. 99 ), thus distinguished from the finely asperate (not granulate) pronotal surface in Cylindera morio and C. acompsa , and even more distinctly differing from the partly striate pronotal surface in C. ocskayi .

The tridentate mandibles in Cylindera amayai sp. nov. are shared with C. acompsa , C. ocskayi and C. obliquealba , but these three species clearly differ from the new species in having the outer margin of the terminal tooth in right mandible (in its lateral view) regularly continuous towards apex, smooth and lacking any dilatation ( Figs 8, 10 ). Moreover, C. ocskayi can be immediately distinguished by its notably cupreous dorsal body surface and other characters emphasized under that species below. In addition, the aedeagus apex of C. amayai sp. nov. differs from all other species in having small emargination just below the narrow tip, and also its internal sac ( Figs 95–96 ) appears distinct, particularly due to the dorsal spike directed downwards and rather different appearance of other sclerites.

Description. Body ( Fig. 73 ) small, 7.30–8.30 (holotype, allotype) mm long, 2.50–2.80 (holotype, allotype) mm wide, dorsally black, black-brown, rarely cupreous; setal vesture whitish.

Head ( Figs 81, 87 ) with large bulged eyes notably wider than thorax but narrower than elytra, 2.05–2.30 mm wide.

Frons fluently passing into vertex, its surface rather distinctly convex in middle, metallic black with strong green- -blue lustre, or black-brown or cupreous with green-blue lustre on lateral areas only; anterior and lateral areas extremely finely longitudinally striate, striae irregularly crumbled in middle forming fine, asperate-granulate sculpture when passing on vertex; supraantennal plates rather large and flat, elongate-triangular, their base variably iridescent reddish-cupreous, bronze, or green, apical half deep violet.

Vertex almost flat, mostly concolorous with frons, anterior area (when passing from frons) extremely finely granulate-asperate to irregularly rugulose, usually with limited iridescent-reddish or green central ornament of dense circular rugae, surrounded by fine, arcuate-longitudinal striae on sublateral areas; juxtaorbital areas very finely and densely yet rather irregularly parallel-striate, striae usually fragmented or partly effaced, appearing more distinct and regular on sublateral-basal areas when divergent posteriad as passing onto temples and post-genae; postero-median and occipital area finely irregularly rugulose.

Genae entirely glabrous, dark iridescent cupreous or bronze dorsally and in middle; juxtaorbital area finely parallel striate, striae coarser on postgenal area; large ventral area mostly metallic green-blue, smooth and shiny.

Clypeus ( Figs 88–91 , illustrated with labrum) glabrous, entirely or partly iridescent green-blue or cupreous sometimes darkened, with various green-blue lustre; surface almost smooth, finely coriaceous; median area irregularly finely rugulose.

Labrum ( Figs 88–91 ) with variable number of marginal setae, in both sexes almost uniformly coloured, yellow to ochraceous with darkened basolateral areas; shorter than wide, but never appearing transverse due to its semicircular-raised anterior margin, 0.55–0.70 mm long, 1.05–1.20 mm wide; lateral indentation (on either side) distinct, right- -angled or subacute; anterior margin with variable number of 5–7 anterior teeth which are blunt or subacute except for usually subacute or acute median tooth (mostly more protruding in females); dorsal surface with rather distinct yet wide median convexity and more or less distinct basal impression on either side of the convexity.

Mandibles ( Figs 3, 5 , 81, 83, 85, 87 ) normally shaped with arcuate lateral margins, subsymmetrical, with only three teeth (apart from basal molar), exceptionally with little tooth placed between second and third ones ( Figs 5 , 83 ); the inner teeth mostly wide; terminal tooth of right male mandible in its lateral view with distinct outer subapical lobe ( Figs 4, 6 , 82, 84, 86 ).

Palpi ( Figs 81, 87 ) normally shaped with elongate terminal palpomeres. Maxillary palpi in males with longest and penultimate palpomere ochre-testaceous, penultimate palpomere in female allotype metallic green-blue; terminal palpomeres metallic black, usually with strong green-blue lustre; labial palpi in both sexes with longest palpomere yellow-testaceous, terminal palpomere metallic black with faint blue-green lustre.

Antennae ( Figs 73 , 81, 87 ) rather short, slightly surpassing elytral humeri; scape metallic-black, usually with faint or strong greenish-blue or reddish-cupreous or violet lustre, scape rather elongate, dilated towards apex, with long apical seta, together with pedicel metallic black with cupreous or green lustre; antennomeres 3–4 concolorous with scape and pedicel, or with stronger reddish-cupreous or green-blue lustre, with several semierect, stiff setae; antennomere 5 with brownish testaceous basal half (paler in female allotype), or also base of antennomere 6 brownish-testaceous (generally coloured as in C. morio , thus mostly darker than in following three species); antennomeres 7–11 gradually greyish-blackened and with usual micropubescence.

Thorax. Pronotum ( Figs 98–101 ) mostly shorter than wide, 1.50–1.70 mm long, 1.60–1.90 mm wide, more distinctly wider in females, lateral margins of disc convex, more distinctly in females while more or less attenuated posteriad in males (notopleural sutures in dorsal view almost parallel-running with proepisternal margins); surface of pronotal disc extremely finely asperate or micro-granulate, lacking any striae, dorsal juxtanotopleural and rather wide lateral areas punctate-setose (usually in two irregular rows), setae white, rather short and stiff, appressed or semi-erect, mostly mesad-directed, sparsely passing onto anteromedian area; lateral thoracic sterna densely whitish setose: proepisterna rather sparsely punctate-setose only in their ventral third, while rather wide dorsal-juxtanotopleural area is smooth and glabrous, with only few parallel wrinkles; mesepisterna smooth and glabrous except for a few setae at base and adjacent to metepisterna, female coupling sulci in form of deeper longitudinal furrow, yet barely distinguished from simpler and shallower longitudinal furrow as usual for male mesepisterna; metepisterna finely punctate-setose; prosternum and mesosternum smooth and almost glabrous; metasternum smooth and glabrous in middle, lateral areas densely setose.

Elytra ( Figs 74–79 ) elongate 4.60–5.10 mm long, lateral margins in both sexes moderately convex below middle (more distinctly in females), from arcuate anteapical angles obliquely running (more steeply in males) towards small sutural spine; surface moderately and almost evenly convex; humeral impressions short but distinct, basal convexity moderate, basodiscal impression shallow, oblique mesad towards sutures, anteapical and apical impressions indistinct; surface very shallowly punctate throughout: punctures flat, isodiametric or irregular, more or less distinct as mostly matt, diffusing-greenish, rarely diffusing-cupreous or feebly iridescent, as also are the faintly iridescent or sometimes barely visible 4–7 foveae running on elytral disc along sutures from elytral base towards elytral apex; background elytral coloration almost black (as in holotype), or with diffusing coppery tinge, and always with characteristic, irregular and irregularly running, simple or branched velvety-black streaks; whitish elytral maculation conspicuous, consisting of rather large sublateral-median, anteapical or also subsutural-discal macula; the sublateral-median macula may be distinctly connected with the subsutural-discal macula ( Fig. 77 ) or only indistinctly as in holotype ( Figs 73–74 ); very rarely also indistinct anterior basodiscal spot ( Figs 73–74 ) is present (as in holotype); humeral and apical macula entirely absent.

Legs as in the description of the species-complex above, yet tibiae mostly darker, coppery-testaceous.

Abdomen. Ventrites metallic black usually with more or less distinct green-blue lustre (depending upon light- -angle), smooth and glabrous in middle, while wide lateral areas rather densely covered with whitish appressed setae mostly on all visible ventrites, male pleurite sometimes brownish-lightened.

Aedeagus ( Figs 92–97 ) in its lateral view normally shaped with normally bent basal portion, median portion elongated and straight, widest in middle or again below apical portion before it is conically attenuated, or constricted (less abruptly than in Cylindera acompsa but more abruptly than in C. morio ) towards rather short and narrow apex that is dorsally slightly emarginated below the tip; internal sac ( Figs 95–96 ) widely armed, containing convoluted flagellum with characteristically shaped base, its flagelliform portion long, yet never protruding from dorsoapical orifice; in left lateral view ( Fig. 95 ) showing long, stick-like arciform piece somewhat convoluted at its base, downward directed dorsal spike surrounded by elongate-voluminous piece with its micro-echinate surface and sclerotized dorsal margin, and another, subapical voluminous piece with micro-echinate surface; in right lateral view ( Fig. 96 ) the arciform piece is unrecognizable but the two voluminous pieces appear much larger; other sclerites are of barely defined shapes.

Distribution and biology. Cylindera amayai sp. nov. is known only from the type locality near Palmarito, 20 km south of San Jose de Campamento in the department of Santa Cruz ( Figs 216 , 218 ). The new species inhabits the westernmost margin of the Pantanal ecoregion, where periodical flooded savanna depressions blend with the mosaic of tropical Chiquitano dry forest on its northwestern part ( Figs 217–218 ). It represents quite a unique ecosystem covered by grass-shrub vegetation in the depressions on alluvial soils and low forest vegetation at the higher levels of the landscape. The difference between these two types of vegetation is just 10–20 meters of altitude, often with sharp transition zone ( IBISCH et al. 2004). Observed adults run during the day on the small path through grassy areas ( Fig. 217 ) within the above-mentioned transitional zone vegetation; they run or fly quickly to the surrounding vegetation when disturbed. No larva was found.

PEARSON et al. (1999), when recording Cylindera morio from Bolivia, obviously had not collected Cylindera amayai sp. nov. (see “Remarks” below). Nevertheless, both species may have sympatric (but obviously not syntopic) occurrence as the collecting area of the new species is rather large, and indeed, one female of Cylindera morio was collected near Palmarito yet without exact evidences as to the distance from the adults of the new species.

Etymology. The new species is dedicated to one of the collectors and our dear colleague Marcelo Amaya (Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia).

Remarks. As PEARSON et al. (1999) mentioned that all the Bolivian specimens possessed black, immaculate elytra, the authors obviously recorded only Cylindera morio , apparently without any specimen of C. amayai sp. nov. This supposition is supported by the fact that neither the name of the type locality, nor its coordinates are listed among the records (with coordinates) by the authors.

Figures

Figs 73–80. Cylindera (Cylindera) amayai sp. nov., all from Bolivia, Palmarito. 73 – habitus, J, 7.3 mm, holotype (UASC, temporarily in COSJ); 74–75 – elytron: 74 – J, holotype; 75 – ♀, allotype (COSJ); 76–79 – elytra: 76 – ♀, allotype; 77–79 – J, paratype; 80 – labels, holotype. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Figs 81–97. Cylindera (Cylindera) amayai sp. nov., all from Bolivia, Palmarito. 81 – head, J, holotype (UASC, temporarily in COSJ); 82 – J, holotype, terminal tooth of right mandible in lateral view; 83–86 – mandibles, J, paratypes (COSJ): 83 and 85 – both mandibles; 84 and 86 – terminal tooth of right mandible in lateral view; 87 – head, ♀, allotype (COSJ); 88–91 – labrum: 88–90 – J, paratypes; 91 – ♀, allotype; 92–97 – male aedeagus: 92 – holotype; 93 – paratype; 94 – paratype, dorsal view; 95–96 – internal sac in left and right lateral views; 97 – paratype, apex. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Figs 98–101. Cylindera (Cylindera) amayai sp. nov., all from Bolivia, Palmarito. 98 – pronotum, J, holotype (UASC, temporarily in COSJ); 99 – holotype, detail of surface sculpture; 100 – holotype, lateral view, showing proepisternum; 101 – pronotum, ♀, allotype (COSJ).Scale bars = 1 mm.

Figs 1–10. Cylindera (Cylindera) morio species-complex, diagnostic characters on male mandibles. 1–2 – C. (C.) morio (Klug, 1834): 1 – with four teeth; 2 – terminal tooth of right mandible in lateral view. 3–6 – C. (C.) amayai sp. nov.: 3 – with three teeth; 4 – terminal tooth of right mandible in lateral view; 5 – with small additional tooth in right mandible; 6 – terminal tooth of right mandible in lateral view. 7–10 – C. (C.) acompsa (Chaudoir, 1852) (and other two species of the complex): 7 – with tree teeth; 8 – terminal tooth of right mandible in lateral view; 9 – with three teeth and additional rudiment of tooth; 10 – terminal tooth of right mandible in lateral view (its outer margin in the three later species is smooth also in mandibles possessing additional small tooth). Scale bars = 1 mm.

Figs 11–20. Cylindera (Cylindera) morio (Klug, 1834), holotype, J (MFNB). 11 – habitus, 8 mm; 12 – head part; 13 – terminal tooth of right mandible in lateral view (its apical half); 14 – labrum; 15 – pronotum, dorsal view; 16 – pronotum, lateral view, showing proepisternum; 17–18 – aedeagus (apical portion) in its left lateral and dorsal aspects; 19 – labels; 20 – elytron. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Figs 27–34. Cylindera (Cylindera) morio (Klug, 1834). 27 – head, J, Brazil,Aurora (IRSNB); 28 – mandibles with labrum, ♀, Brazil, Santarem (BMNH); 29 – right mandible with labrum, ♀, Brazil, Jataí (MZSP 62731); 30 – mandibles, J, Brazil, “Goyaz” [= Goiás] (SDEI); 31 – J, Brazil, “Goyaz”, right mandible in lateral view; 32–33 – mandibles with labrum, Brazil, São Paulo: 32 – ♀ (BMNH); 33 – J (SDEI); 34 – J, Brazil, São Paulo, terminal tooth of right mandible in lateral view. Scale bars = 1 mm. (For Fig. 29 image credit Gabriel Biffi).

Figs 35–43. Cylindera (Cylindera) morio (Klug, 1834). 35–36 – ♀, lectotype (MNHN) of the synonym Cicindela egena Chaudoir, 1854: 35 – head; 36 – labrum; 37–39 – J of the synonym C. egena (MNHN): 37 – labrum; 38 – mandibles; 39 – J, terminal tooth of right mandible in lateral view; 40–43 – labrum: 40–42 – Brazil, Aurora: 40–41 – J (IRSNB); 42 – J (CCJM ex IRSNB); 43 – J, “Manaos” [= Manaus] (MFNB). Scale bars = 1 mm.

Figs 44–51. Cylindera (Cylindera) morio (Klug, 1834). 44 – mandibles, J, “Manaos” [= Manaus] (MFNB); 45 – J, terminal tooth of right mandible in lateral view; 46–48 – head, Bolivia, Concepción (COSJ): 46 – J; 47 – J, terminal tooth of right mandible in lateral view; 48 – ♀; 49–51 – labrum, Bolivia, Concepción (COSJ): 49 – J; 50–51 – ♀. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Figs 52–62. Cylindera (Cylindera) morio (Klug, 1834). 52–53 – pronotum: 52 – J, Brazil, Aurora (IRSNB); 53 – J, Bolivia, Concepción (COSJ); 54–62 – male aedeagus or its apex: 54 – Brazil, Aurora (IRSNB); 55–56 – Brazil, Aurora, internal sac in its left and right lateral aspect; 57–58 – Brazil, Aurora (IRSNB); 59 – Brazil, São Paulo (BMNH); 60 – Brazil, São Paulo (IRSNB); 61 – Bolivia, Concepción (COSJ); 62 – Brazil, Manaus (MFNB). Scale bars = 1 mm.

Fig. 216. Ecoregions of Bolivia with distribution of the Cylindera morio species-complex in Bolivia, including records published by PEARSON et al. (1999). Adopted and modified from IBISCH et al. (2004).

Figs 217–218. Cylindera amayai sp. nov., biotope and map of Palmarito environs, Bolivia (Fig. 218 acquired from Google Earth 2025).