Taxonomic and nomenclatorial revision within the Neotropical genera of the subtribe Odontocheilina W. Horn in a new sense — 18. Six Mexican and Central American species related to Odontocheila mexicana Laporte de Castelnau and O. ignita Chaudoir, with a description of O. potosiana sp. nov.
Author
Moravec, Jiří
Author
Brzoska, David
Author
Huber, Ronald
text
Zootaxa
2017
4231
4
451
499
journal article
36560
10.11646/zootaxa.4231.4.1
c2de422a-9725-4ee7-855e-3b8f9faf234a
1175-5326
292697
ED6A8FB8-C7EF-4111-B0B4-28C574A7E385
Odontocheila tawahka
Johnson, 1996
(
Figs 122–131
,
208
).
Odontocheila tawahka
Johnson, 1996
: 38
, 39, fig. 1, 40.
Type
locality
.
Honduras
:
Krausirpi
,
Gracias a Dios
,
15°03´N
,
84°52´W
.
Type material
. Holotype ♂ and allotype ♀ in CMNC (not examined). Paratypes.
Of the
41 type
specimens listed by
Johnson
(1996)
, following
paratypes
examined
: 1 ♂ in FCCR, 2 ♂♂ in DBCN, 1 ♂,
1 ♀
in
RLHC
: “
Honduras
,
Krausirpi
,
Gracias a Dios
,
15°03´N
,
84°52´W
,
23 May 1994
,
RD Cave Collector
”[printed]; “
Paratype
,
Odontocheila tawahka, W. Johhnson
” [yellow, printed]
. 1 ♀ in NHMW with same labels except for: “
21– 24.V.1994
, B. D. Gill”.
Differential diagnosis
.
O. tawahka
has the apex of its aedeagus very similar to the aedeagi of
O. mexicana
,
O. potosiana
sp. nov.
and
O. iodopleura
.
It can be distinguished from the closely related
O. iodopleura
by its almost uniformly bright green or violaceous-blue elytra (except for the purple-violet juxtaepipleural stripe usual in all species). Moreover, the labrum and particularly the mandibles, penultimate and terminal palpomeres of maxillary palpi and legs are in
O. tawahka
notably paler.
For the differences of
O. mexicana
and
O. potosiana
sp. nov.
see under
O. iodopleura
.
O. ignita
and
O. exilis
can be immediately distinguished by their predominantly reddish-cupreous elytra and very different aedeagi.
Redescription
(based on the examined
paratypes
, and with comparison to
O. iodopleura
).
Body (
Fig 122
)
8.80–9.90 mm
long, 2.60–3.00 mm wide.
Head (
Fig. 123
)
2.65–2.90 mm
wide, all head portions basically as in
O. iodopleura
.
Labrum basically shaped as in
O. iodopleura
, but generally paler; male labrum (
Figs 124–125
)
0.70–0.75 mm
long,
1.05–1.15 mm
wide; female labrum (
Fig. 126
)
1.10 mm
long,
1.15 mm
wide.
Palpi (
Fig. 123
) as in
O. iodopleura
, but generally paler.
Mandibles (
Fig. 123
) as in
O. iodopleura
, but notably paler.
Antennae (
Figs 121
,
123
) rather short, in male reaching only elytral third, scape with only apical seta, together with antennomeres 2–4 metallic (
Fig. 123
) blue or violaceous, antennomeres 5–11 smoky black.
Pronotum (
Fig. 127
) shaped and with surface sculpture as in
O. iodopleura
, metallic-green with blue or violaceous lateral areas, mostly as long as wide, length
1.75–1.85 mm
, width
1.80–1.85 mm
.
Elytra (
Figs 129–131
) shaped as in
O. iodopleura
,
5.30–5.80 mm
long, almost uniformly coloured (except for the common, violaceous juxtaepipleural area), metallic-green or green-blue, sometimes with extended purpleviolaceous lateral area, pattern of punctation and whitish elytral maculae as in
O. iodopleura
.
Legs as in
O. iodopleura
, but notably paler.
Aedeagus (
Fig. 128
) as in
O. iodopleura
and other species of this species-complex,
3.20 mm
long,
0.85 mm
wide.
Variability
. The examined
paratypes
of
O. tawahka
possessed only indistinct variability.
Biology and distribution
(map
Fig. 208
).
Odontocheila tawahka
is known only from the
type
series caught in
Honduras
. The village of Krausirpi lies on the banks of the Patuca River in the municipality of Wampusirpi, department of
Gracias a Dios
, a centre of indigenous
Tawahka
people. According to
Johnson (1996)
, the adults were caught along a trail within relatively undisturbed tropical forest.
FIGURES 122–131
.
Odontocheila tawahka
Johnson
(Honduras, Krausirpi). 122—habitus, ♂, 8.8 mm, PT (FCCR); 123— head, ♂, PT (FCCR); 124–126—labrum: 124—♂, PT (FCCR); 125—♂, PT (DBCN); 126—♀, PT (NHMW); 127—pronotum, PT (DBCN); 128—aedeagus, PT (FCCR); 129–131—elytron: 129—♂, PT (FCCR); 130—♂, PT (DBCN); 131—♀, PT (NHMW). Bars = 1mm.
Remarks
. In the original description of
O. tawahka
,
Johnson (1996)
did not describe aedeagus of his new species, and probably for that reason he considered
O. ignita
and
O. exilis
as its closest relatives, despite the very different shape of the apex of their aedeagi; in fact,
O. tawahka
is morphologically similar to
O. iodopleura
(see under that species above).