Tetranodus reticeps (Bates, 1880)

(Figs. 15–20, 27–30)

Euderces reticeps Bates, 1880: 59; Lameere, 1883: 41 (cat.); Aurivillius, 1912: 419 (cat.); Blackwelder, 1946: 582 (checklist).

Tetranodus reticeps; Chemsak, 1969: 306; 1977: 124; Chemsak et al., 1992: 73 (checklist); Monné, 1993: 72 (cat.); Monné & Giesbert, 1994: 121 (checklist); Noguera & Chemsak, 1996: 401 (cat.); Monné, 2005: 554 (cat.); Hovore, 2006: 374 (distr.); Monné & Hovore, 2006: 133 (checklist); Swift et al., 2010: 30 (distr.); Monné, 2019: 827 (cat.); Bezark, 2019b: 177 (checklist).

Redescription. Female. Integument mostly dark brown, almost black; parts of frons, clypeus and labrum dark reddish brown; scape, pedicel, antennomeres III–IV, basal third of V, base of VI dark reddish brown; antennomere VI and basal 2/3 of VIII reddish brown; remaining surface of antennomeres V, VI, and VIII dark brown; antennomeres IX–XI dark brown; sides of prothorax mostly dark reddish brown; elytra with large, transverse pale yellow band slightly before middle, from epipleural margin to suture; trochanter and peduncle of femora, and apex of femora reddish brown (gradually darker toward apex of peduncle); tibiae slightly reddish brown on base and apex; tarsomeres reddish brown, except tarsomeres V mostly dark brown.

Head. Frons, vertex, and area behind eyes coarsely, densely punctate (punctures partially confluent on vertex and behind eyes); with short, sparse, decumbent white setae; with a few long, erect white setae behind lower eye lobes (more light yellowish-brown depending on light intensity). Genae moderately finely, densely, confluently punctate, except smooth apex; with short, sparse, decumbent white setae, except glabrous apex. Antennal tubercles with sculpturing and setae as on frons, except smooth, glabrous apex. Postclypeus with sculpturing and setae as on frons on central area, smooth, glabrous laterally; with a few long, erect yellowish-brown setae on each side of wide central area. Labrum with short, sparse, bristly yellowish-brown setae, and one long, erect yellowish-brown seta on each side. Mandibles with a few long, erect yellowish-brown setae on outer surface. Gulamentum smooth, glabrous on posterior half, transversely striate, with a few short white setae, and a few long, erect white setae on anterior half (especially on anterior third). Upper eye lobes present, very distinct; distance between upper eye lobes 0.95 times length of scape (0.55 times distance between outer margins of eyes); in frontal view, distance between lower eye lobes 1.12 times length of scape (0.60 times distance between outer margins of eyes). Antennae 1.5 times elytral length (only holotype measured), almost reaching elytral apex. Scape and antennomeres with short, decumbent white setae, slightly more abundant from antennomere V; ventral surface of scape, pedicel and antennomeres III–VI whit long, erect, sparse white setae (more light yellowish-brown depending on light intensity); dorsal surface of scape, and dorsal apex of antennomeres III–X with a few long, erect white setae (more light yellowish-brown depending on light intensity), gradually shorter toward X. Antennal formula (ratio) based on length of antennomere III (only holotype measured): scape = 0.68; pedicel = 0.17; IV = 0.51; V = 0.71; VI = 0.68; VII = 0.54; VIII = 0.46; IX = 0.34; X = 0.29; XI = 0.40.

Thorax. Prothorax longer than wider; sides with two constrictions, anterior one narrow, slightly rounded between then, distinctly rounded from second anterior constriction to posterior seventh, then strongly narrowed toward apex (nearly straight on posterior seventh). Pronotum in lateral view, distinctly elevated from posterior margin to before middle; coarsely alveolate, with one minute whitish seta on center of each alveolus; with dense, transverse white pubescent band close to posterior margin; with long, erect, sparse yellowish-white setae on anterior third and sides of middle third. Sides of prothorax micropunctate on wide area close to pronotum, with coarse punctures interspersed, smooth close to prosternum; with a few short white setae. Prosternum moderately coarsely, shallowly, sparsely punctate; with short, very sparse white setae. Prosternal process with its narrowest area 0.16 times width of procoxal cavity; with short white pubescence slightly more abundant than on prosternum. Mesoventrite with short, sparse white setae, slightly denser laterally. Mesanepisternum with yellowish-white pubescence, gradually denser toward elytron; mesepimeron with short, sparse white setae. Metanepisternum with short, decumbent, moderately abundant white setae. Metaventrite with white pubescence laterally close to metacoxal cavities, with long, erect white setae on remaining surface. Scutellum with sparse yellowish-white pubescence on anterior area, dense, slight longer on posterior area. Elytra. Basal gibbosity nearly absent; surface coarsely, sparsely punctate (punctures slightly finer and more abundant toward apex); pale yellow area tumid; most punctures of posterior 2/3 with short yellowish-white setae, gradually longer toward apex; some punctures on entire surface with long, erect yellowishwhite setae, slightly more abundant on posterior quarter. Legs. Femora strongly pedunculate-clavate; with short, sparse, decumbent white setae (sparser on profemora), with long, erect yellowish-white setae interspersed. Tibiae with short pubescence not obscuring integument, white, sparser basally, gradually denser, yellower toward apex, especially ventrally on posterior third, with long, erect white setae interspersed (more yellowish depending on light intensity).

Abdomen. Ventrites finely, sparsely punctate centrally, slightly more abundant laterally; with short, sparse, decumbent white setae, distinctly more abundant laterally from ventrite II, with long, erect yellowish-white setae interspersed; apex of ventrite V rounded (slightly more projected centrally).

Variation. Sides of prothorax from reddish-brown to almost black.

Dimensions (mm), females. Total length, 4.85–6.35; prothoracic length, 1.25–1.65; anterior prothoracic width, 0.80–1.10; posterior prothoracic width, 0.65–0.90; maximum prothoracic width, 1.00–1.35; humeral width, 1.05– 1.40; elytral length, 2.95–3.70.

Material examined. HONDURAS (new country record), Francisco Morazán: Zamorano University area (14.0ºN, 87.0ºW; 750–810 m), 5 females, 1–6. VI.2018, E. van den Berghe, J. Vlasak, B. Raber, & D. Heffern col. (3, DHCO; 1 MZSP; 1 JVCO).

Remarks. Chemsak (1977) provided a key to species of Tetranodus Linell, 1896, and reported in the alternative of couplet “1”: “Elytra gibbose at base or with basal punctures coarse, dense, without broad longitudinal spaces between rows of punctures”, leading to alternative of couplet “2”; and “Elytra with basal punctures fine, sparse, arranged in rows separated by broad longitudinal glabrous spaces, color shining black, antennae paler”, leading to T. reticeps (Bates, 1880). However, according to Bates (1880), “pedibus elytrisque rufo-castaneis [legs and elytra reddish-brown].” Examination of photographs of a syntype (Figs. 27–30), shows that the description by Bates (1880) is accurate because the basal gibbosity of the elytra is absent and the color is evidently not black. As we did not find morphological differences between the syntype and the specimens examined, except for the color, we believe that all of them belong to the same species. The color of the antennomeres in the syntype follows the same pattern of that in the darker specimens, although to a slight degree. The elytral punctures in the syntype appear to be coarser and sparser when seen in dorsal view. However, the concentration of punctures in the darker specimens is slightly variable (not different in the syntype), and the size is not different too (more evident when the syntype is examined in lateral view).

Although it has been reported that T. reticeps was described based on a single specimen (e.g. Tavakilian and Chevillotte 2019), Bates (1880) made very clear that he had more specimens: “… and by the form of the thorax, which is somewhat constricted near its anterior margin and very greatly narrowed, as well as depressed, at the base, the middle portion being dilated (more so in some examples than others) and convex.” Accordingly, the species was described based on syntypes. Apparently, the error is due to the single dimension provided by Bates (1880).

Tetranodus reticeps differs from T. angulicollis Chemsak, 1969, T. copei Chemsak & Linsley, 1988, T. niveicollis Linell, 1897, T. rugipennis Chemsak, 1969, and T. tropipennis Chemsak, 1977 by the alveolate pronotum, while it is longitudinally striate in these species (e.g. Fig. 21).