A New Subgenus of Bembidion Latreille from México and Guatemala, with Descriptions of Two New Species (Coleoptera: Carabidae)
Author
Maddison, David R.
text
Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences
2023
2023-02-15
67
19
433
450
journal article
299407
10.5281/zenodo.11067242
36a87cae-beb8-49c4-a561-a9e9a73afdf1
0068-547X
11067242
Bembidion cachagua
,
sp. nov.
(
Figures 7
,
8
)
Holotype
male
, in
CAS
, labeled: “
U.S.A.
:
CALIFORNIA
:
Monterey Co.
,
Hastings Nat. History Reserve
.
J.M. Linsdale
Colln.”, “C.A.S. Accession
29-V-48
Cachagua Creek”, “David R.
Maddison
DNA3842 DNA Voucher” [pale green paper], “HOLOTYPE
Bembidion cachagua David R.
Maddison” [partly handwritten, on red paper]. Genitalia mounted in Euparal in between coverslips pinned with specimen; extracted DNA stored separately.
Paratypes
(
2 males
,
4 females
). Same data as holotype (3:
CAS
,
OSAC
)
.
“
Pinnacles Nat’l Mon.
4.19.58
Toschi
” (1:
EMEC
; this is D.R.
Maddison
DNA
voucher number 4758, and
EMEC
specimen number
348099
). “Santa Barbara Cal. May ’91 L.E.R.” (1:
MCZ
, Hayward Collection). “S. Cal.” (1:
UIUC
)
.
Type locality
.
Cachagua Creek
does not flow through
Hastings Natural History Reserve
, although a tributary,
Finch Creek
, does. At its nearest
Cachagua Creek
is approximately
2.7 km
from the boundary of the Reserve. It is reasonable to presume that the upper label on the
holotype
, “
U.S.A.
:
CALIFORNIA
:
Monterey Co.
,
Hastings Nat. History Reserve. J.M. Linsdale Colln.
”, was a generic label used for all specimens from the Linsdale collection, as
J.M. Linsdale
was the Director of the
Hastings Natural History Reserve
at the time (
Alagona, 2012
). The lower label presumably allowed customization for each specimen, and the locality information on the second label is thus likely more accurate. Thus, the
type
locality would more accurately be stated to be “Cachagua Creek near Hastings Natural History Reserve”.
Derivation of specific epithet
. Named after Cachagua Creek, the locality at which four of the seven known specimens were found. Treated as a noun in apposition.
Description
. Body length
3.45–3.90 mm
. Forebody dark brown or piceous, with metallic greenish-yellow or brassy sheen; elytra pale chestnut brown, with the four testaceous elytral spots contrasting only slightly against the ground color (
Fig. 7
). In
four specimens
, the antennae are infuscated throughout; in the other
three specimens
, two of which appear to be teneral, the basal 2.5 antennomeres are testaceous; legs pale reddish brown, slightly infuscated. Frontal furrows shallow, not prolonged onto clypeus. Mentum with anterior lateral regions triangular, large; central tooth of mentum triangular, slightly rounded. Prothorax narrow, only slightly wider than head; hind angles slightly obtuse; posterolateral carina of pronotum long and more or less straight; posterior region of pronotum rugose, wrinkled and with evident punctures (
Fig. 7
). Elytra with lateral bead not prolonged medially at shoulder; striae shallow, poorly defined, with extremely small punctures. Microsculpture evident throughout the dorsal surface of the forebody in most specimens, more or less isodiametric or slightly transversely stretched, in some specimens effaced in the center of the head between the eyes, and in the center of the pronotal disc; microsculpture effaced from most of elytra, but evident behind the second dorsal discal seta (ed5) as defined, slightly transverse sculpticells. Pronotum with two lateral setae on each side; elytron with two setae in third stria. Aedeagus (
Fig. 8
) with a small brush sclerite similar to that of
B. horni
, but with a long, slightly curved flagellum, most similar to that of
B. festivum
.
FIGURE
7. Holotype of
Bembidion cachagua
. (A) Habitus, scale bar 1 mm. (B) Forebody, scale bar 0.5 mm.
Most easily distinguished from other
Liocosmius
by the stronger and more widespread microsculpture, the greenishyellow metallic sheen on the dorsal surface, and the relatively low-contrast pattern on the elytra. In comparison to
Bembidion horni
in particular, the pronotum in
B. cachagua
is much narrower, with straighter sides.
Variation
. Some specimens have numerous punctures on the dorsal surface of the head and in anterior regions of the pronotum.
Geographic Distribution
. Known only from California from Monterey and San Benito Counties south to Santa Barbara County (Fig. 9).
FIGURE 8. Aedeagus of holotype of
Bembidion cachagua
. (A) Left lateral view. (B) Right lateral view. Scale bar 100 µm.
Geographic relationships with other species.
Found sympatrically with four other species of subgenus
Liocosmius
:
Bembidion horni
,
B. mundum
,
B. darlingtonielum
, and
B. festivum
.
Habitat
. Unknown. It may occur in similar habitats as other
Liocosmius
, that is, on sandy shores of creeks, most often in shaded or partly shaded areas, and in general where the sand banks are relatively steep.
Notes
. I have seen no specimens of this species collected since 1958. In late April and early May 2014, John Sproul and I searched at multiple known localities for this species, including at Hastings Natural History Reserve, Pinnacles National Park, around Santa Barbara, and at many other localities in between. We searched in typical
Liocosmius
microhabitats (including steep sand banks in partial shade), with no success. Along Finch Creek in Hastings Natural History Reserve, the only
Bembidion
in those microhabitats was
B. iridescens
LeConte
; in nearby microhabitats along the creek shore were three species of
Bembidion
:
B. californicum
Hayward,
B. perspicuum
LeConte
, and
B. lugubre
LeConte.