The Brachiacantha Dejean, 1837 (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae) of Central America Author Nestor-Arriola, Jorge Ismael https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2394-1586 Centro de Investigacion en Biodiversidad y Conservacion (CIByC), Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Morelos. Av. Universidad # 1001, Col. Chamilpa, Cuernavaca, Morelos, C. P. 62209, Mexico jorge.nestorarr@uaem.edu.mx Author Toledo-Hernandez, Victor Hugo Centro de Investigacion en Biodiversidad y Conservacion (CIByC), Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Morelos. Av. Universidad # 1001, Col. Chamilpa, Cuernavaca, Morelos, C. P. 62209, Mexico Author Solis, Angel Departamento de Historia Natural, Museo Nacional de Costa Rica. Santo Domingo de Heredia, Costa Rica Author Gonzalez, Guillermo La Reina, Santiago, Chile Author Vetrovec, Jaroslav Buzulucka, Hradec Kralove, Ceska Republika text ZooKeys 2021 2021-03-16 1024 157 196 http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1024.56927 journal article http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1024.56927 1313-2970-1024-157 FDD37EA991214385B67D51AD313CB49E 086BAB631B8D5B888571137F0CEFF686 Brachiacantha lepida Mulsant Figures 1 , 2 Brachyacantha lepida Mulsant, 1850: 523. Crotch 1873 : 378. Crotch 1874 : 210. Gorham 1894 : 185. Leng 1911 : 324. Leng 1920 : 212. Korschefsky 1931 : 205. Brachyacantha duodecimguttata Leng, 1911: 289. Syn. nov. Brachyacantha guttata Brachyacantha 12- Brachyacantha guttata : Leng 1911 : 294. Syn. nov. Brachiacantha lepida : Gordon 1985 : 599. Material examined. 271 specimens from Belize : Orange Walk; Costa Rica : Alajuela, Cartago, Heredia, Guanacaste, Limon , San Jose and Puntarenas; Guatemala : Chimaltenango, El Quiche, Guatemala City, Huehuetenango, Suchitepequez and Totonicapan; Honduras : Atlantida; Panama : Chiriqui ( CEAM , CNIN , FSCA , USNMNH , OUMNH , MNCR , MUCR , MZCR ) . Diagnosis. Length 2.3-3.7 mm , width 1.8-2.8 mm . Oval body. Dorsally pale yellow to pinkish orange except pronotum with a multilobed basal macula; each elytron with 4 black spots, one spot in a sub-humeral position, another in the second half of the elytron, a discal spot on the elytral suture, and a subapical spot on the elytral suture (Figs 1 , 2 ). Ventral color dark brown to light brown. Males with the ventrites V and VI slightly emarginated, not depressed. Male genitalia asymmetrical. Protibia flanged. Figures 1-4. Brachiacantha sp. 1 Brachiacantha lepida , dark habitus (image by Jorge Valdez Carrazco) 2 B. lepida , common habitus (image by Jorge Valdez Carrazco) 3 Brachiacantha fenestrata , male 4 Brachiacantha octostigma , male (image by Jorge Valdez Carrazco). Distribution. From southern USA to Panama . Discussion. The small size and coloration are usually enough to distinguish this species from other species of the genus. Some specimens from Guatemala display the darker dorsal coloration that was previously described by Leng (1911) as the species B. duodecimguttata . The holotype of B. duodecimguttata is a female; the genitalia of male specimens with morphology similar to that described by Leng (1911) were dissected and no differences were found from that of B. lepida . Therefore, B. duodecimguttata should be considered a junior synonym of B. lepida .