Dyscolus eleonorae Moret 2020, sp. nov.

Dyscolus eleonorae Moret sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: D54E7BCD-E9AB-464C-8A97-C140D4E42D80

Figs 3–4

Etymology Noun in the genitive case, dedicated to Éléonore Deysson.

Type material

Holotype

ECUADOR • ♂; Cotopaxi Province, San Francisco de las Pampas, Dos Ríos; 2000 m a.s.l.; Feb. 1993; L. Bartolozzi leg.; num. mag. 1406; QCAZ.

Paratypes (11 ♂♂, 10 ♀♀)

ECUADOR – Pichincha Province • 1 ♀; Tandayapa, Bellavista Lodge, Waypoint 81; 0°0′56.6″ S, 78°40′49.1″ W; 2250 m a.s.l.; 2 Nov. 2015; P. Moret leg.; COI voucher PM081-03, BOLD sequence SUM014-18; CPM • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; 19 km NW of Nono; 2500 m a.s.l.; Mar. 1976; J.M. Campbell leg.; UASM • 1 ♂; Mindo; 7 Aug. 1994; Ohio University leg.; QCAZ • 1 ♀; Río Guajalito; 0°13′53″ S, 78°48′10″ W; 1800 m a.s.l.; 23 Apr. 2005; A. Rodríguez leg.; QCAZ 10247 • 1 ♂; same collection data as for preceding; 17 Apr. 2010; A. León leg.; QCAZ 256855. – Santo Domingo Province • 1 ♂; Santa Domingo; Nov. 1981; G. Onore leg.; CPM • 1 ♀; same collection data as for preceding; QCAZ. – Cotopaxi Province • 1 ♂; San Francisco de las Pampas; 1300–1500 m a.s.l.; Feb. 1993; Num. mag. 1406, L. Bartolozzi leg.; MZUF • 1 ♀; Otonga, río Las Damas; 1800 m a.s.l.; 3–5 Jul. 2001; P. Moret leg.; on vegetation 2 m above ground; CPM • 1 ♂; Otonga; 1800 m a.s.l.; 20 Oct. 2000; I.G. Tapia leg.; QCAZ • 1 ♀; same collection date as for preceding; MNHN • 1 ♀; Otonga; 0°25′16.5″ S, 79°0′9″ W; 1961 m a.s.l.; 14 Nov. 2007; A.C. Proaño and A. Barragán leg.; CPMG • 1 ♀; Otonga; 1 Jan. 1997; G. Onore leg.; QCAZ • 1 ♂; Otonga; 1800 m a.s.l.; 5 Nov. 1992; G. Onore leg.; CMNH • 1 ♂; Otonga; 0°25′ S, 79°0′ W; 1975 m a.s.l.; 11 Jul. 2007; A.C. Proaño leg.; QCAZ 74255 • 1 ♀; Otonga; 2000 m a.s.l.; 30 May 2010; J. Torres leg.; QCAZ 256857 • 1 ♂; Otonga; 0°27′ S, 79°1′ W; 2000 m a.s.l.; 2 May 1997; L. Timpe leg.; CPM • 1 ♀; Otonga; 0°19′11″ S, 78°57′0″ W; 1600 m a.s.l.; 2 Jul. 2000; A. Pérez leg.; QCAZ • 1 ♂; Los Libres; 2000 m a.s.l.; 5 Nov. 1994; S. Espinosa leg.; QCAZ. – El Oro Province • 1 ♂; 9 km NW Atahualpa; 1860 m a.s.l.; 5 Nov. 1987; J. Rawlins, C. Young and R. Davidson leg.; cloud forest; CMNH.

Diagnostic description

Habitus: Fig. 3. Fully winged. Body length: 10.8–13.7 mm. Shiny black with a strong metallic iridescence on the elytra, legs dark brown to piceous black, antennomeres brownish with the basal third reddish brown, mouthparts dark brown. Head constricted basally, vertex convex, eyes big, genae short. Pronotum broader at base than at apex, sides arcuate, hind angles rounded, laterobasal impressions deeply impressed; two pairs of lateral setae. Elytra convex, subparallel, humeri broadly bulging, striae finely punctate, intervals flat to slightly convex; third interval with three setae, the second one after the middle, the third one near apex; a marked protuberance at the beginning of apical third along intervals 7 and 8; subapical sinuation deep; each elytron with a separate, rounded apical extension. Last visible abdominal ventrite with one pair (♂) or two pairs (♀) of setae along its apical margin. Legs thin; fourth metatarsomere with a subapical dorsolateral seta only on the inner lobe, apical lobes elongate, parallel, asymmetrical, the outer lobe 2.5 times longer than the inner lobe. Male genitalia: Fig. 4. Median lobe short, stout, with a short apex; endophallus densely spiculate, with longer and more sclerotized spikes at apex. Female genitalia: unstudied.

Comparisons

The asymmetrical lobes of the fourth metatarsomere, with one dorsolateral seta on the inner lobe and none on the outer lobe, are similar to those in the subgenus Dyscolidion Moret, 1990. However, in Dyscolidion the dorsolateral seta has an apical position, while in this species it is subapical, and the DNA barcoding does not suggest a phyletic proximity to Dyscolus (Dyscolidion) viridiauratus (Bates, 1878) [Process ID in BOLD: GMADN010-16, recorded as Platynus sp.].

Habitat

Humid montane forest, from 1300 to 2500 m a.s.l. Probably arboreal. One of the paratypes has been observed sitting on a leave of the lower vegetation stratum, during the day (personal observation at the Otonga Reserve).

Geographic distribution

Pacific slope of the Western Cordillera throughout Ecuador. Most specimens were collected at the latitude of Quito, but one paratype is from the southernmost part of the country (El Oro Province). Possibly present across the border in southern Colombia. The record from Chone, in a drier environment in the coastal lowlands of the Manabí Province, is doubtful.