Scaponopselaphus Scheerpeltz, 1972: 38

Redescription: Habitus as in Fig. 1, body medium sized, 10.1-10.8 mm in total length. Color of head and pronotum metallic blue, green or purple blue; elytra light brown to brown; ventral surface of body light brown to brown. Mouthparts orange; antenna orange to brown; abdomen light brown to brown exceptVIII and posterior part of VII orange.

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Figure 1.

Habitus of Scaponopselaphus Scheerpeltz.

a: The holotype of Scaponopselaphus diaspartos Chatzimanolis  
b: The holotype of Scaponopselaphus mutator (Sharp)  

Head transverse (Figs 2, 4a), with medium-sized setose punctures and distinctive microsculpture (Fig. 4a) in microlines; epicranium shining, with large prominent macrosetae along border of head. Clypeus emarginate; anteclypeus expanded, well developed. Eyes large, prominent, occupying more than 3/4 of lateral margins of head. Ventral surface of head with transverse microsculpture; postoccipital suture and ventral basal ridge present; infraorbital ridge pronounced posteriorly; postmandiblular ridge present, prominent, extending from near mandible to posterior border of head; gular sutures separated throughout length with narrowest point between them near mid-length; nuchal depression prominent forming well defined neck; neck with microsculpture and few micropunctures.

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Figure 2.

Head and thorax of Scaponopselaphus Scheerpeltz.

a: S. diaspartos Chatzimanolis  
b: S. mutator (Sharp)  

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Figure 3.

Mouthparts of Scaponopselaphus mutator (Sharp).

a: Dorsal view of left mandible. Scale bar = 0.25 mm.  
b: Ventral view of right mandible. Scale bar = 0.25 mm.  
c: Ventral view of labial palpomeres and hypopharynx. Scale bar = 0.28 mm.  
d: Left maxilla. Scale bar = 0.20 mm.  

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Figure 4.

Scaponopselaphus mutator (Sharp).

a: Head, with inset magnification showing the wavy microsculputre at 240x. Scale bar = 0.7 mm.  
b: Antenna. Scale bar = 0.7 mm.  
c: Prosternum and pronotal hypomeron. Scale bar = 0.7 mm.  
d: Pterothorax, ventral. Scale bar = 0.9 mm.  

Antenna (Fig. 4b). Antennomeres 1-3 with multiple rows of macrosetae; antennomeres 4-11 with few macrosetae but covered with microtrichia; antennomeres 1-3 longer than wide; antennomere 4 quadrate; antennomeres 5-10 subquadrate to transverse, just slightly asymmetrical, becoming wider towards antennomere 10; antennomere 11 longer than wide.

Mouthparts. Labrum (Fig. 4a) medially incised. Mandibles as in Fig. 3a, b; curved, moderately elongate, with short tooth medially; left and right mandibles nearly symmetrical; with lateral fold extending from condyle to tooth; prostheca setose. Maxilla as in Fig. 3d; galea and lacinia densely setose; maxillary palpi 4-segmented; P₁ small, about 1/3 as long as P₂; P₂ curved, elongate, subequal in length to P₃; P₂-P₃ with large setae apically; P₄ elongate, slightly longer than P₃. Labium as in Fig. 3c; mentum with one long and one shorter anterolateral setae at each end. Labial palpi 3-segmented; with transverse microsculpture; P₁ longer than P₂; P₂ trapezoidal; both P₁ and P₂ with several long setae; P₃ securiform; P₃ apex wide and with 4-5 rows of sensory setae.

Pronotum subquadrate (Fig. 2); hypomeron expanded (Fig. 4c), with microsculpture; superior and inferior marginal lines of hypomeron separate throughout their lengths; superior line fully visible from above, extending around anterolateral margin of pronotum and contacting inferior line at neck fossa; no portion of dorsum of pronotum visible from below; without postcoxal process. Surface of pronotum shining, with scattered large setose punctures and microsculpture made of microlines (similar to but not as dense as on head); punctures on pronotum denser near anterolateral corners; margins of pronotum with several large setae. Mesoscutellum with dense polygon-shaped microsculpture and multiple rows of small punctures. Basisternum (Fig. 4c) with dense polygon-shaped microsculpture and weak carina; anterior marginal depression present; furcasternum with medial carina pointed vertically; furcasternum without microsculpture.

Elytra subequal to pronotum; with confluent or almost confluent punctures and large setae; with micropunctures but no other microsculpture; elytra appearing shining. Hind wings fully developed. Mesoventrite (Fig. 4d) with anterior margin forming “lip”; with dense polygon-shaped microsculpture and few punctures along edges; without median carina. Metaventrite (Fig. 4d) with dense uniform medium-sized punctures; metaventral process small, rounded, triangular.

Legs. Tarsal segmentation 5-5-5; pro- and mesofemur in both sexes with ctenidium ventrally and proximally; meso- and metatibia with multiple rows of spurs; protibia without multiple rows of spurs but with single row of spurs apically. Protarsus (Fig. 5d​) enlarged in both sexes, with spatulate setae ventrally; mesotarsus (Fig. 5e) not enlarged except tarsomere 1 in males twice as wide as other mesotarsomeres and with spatulate setae ventrally; metatarsus not enlarged. Empodium with two small setae.

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Figure 5.

Scaponopselaphus mutator (Sharp).

a: Tergites II-IV. Scale bar = 1.1 mm.  
b: Sternites III-IV. Scale bar = 1.1 mm.  
c: Sternites VII-IX in males. Arrow points the location of the porose structure on VII. Scale bar = 0.7 mm.  
d: Part of protibia and protarsus. Scale bar = 0.45 mm.  
e: Mesotibia and mesotarsus in males, showing the spatulate setae on tarsomere 1. Scale bar = 0.68 mm.  

Abdomen with paired protergal glands present; expanding from segment III to segment V (widest) and then becoming narrower towards segment VIII. Abdominal tergites III-V (Fig. 5a) with tergal basal carina and curved (arch-like) carina. Tergites and sternites with distinctive microsculpture (Fig. 5a, b) on anterolateral corners, sometimes expanded medially. Males with secondary sexual structures of sternites VII-IX (Fig. 5c): sternite VII with round porose structure anteriorly and U-shaped emargination posteriorly; sternite VIII with deep U-shaped emargination posteriorly; sternite IX with V-shaped emargination.

Male and Female Genitalia. Aedeagus typical of Xanthopygina (Figs 6, 7); with long median lobe and paramere divided into two lobes. Paramere with peg setae and short apical setae. Spermatheca not sclerotized.

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Figure 6.

Aedeagus of S. diaspartos Chatzimanolis.

a: Lateral view.  
b: Dorsal view  
c: Detail view of the ventral side of parameres.  

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Figure 7.

Aedeagus of S. mutator (Sharp).

a: Lateral view.  
b: Dorsal view.  
c: Detailed view of the ventral side of parameres.  

Scaponopselaphus can be distinguished from all other genera in Xanthopygina by the combination of the following characters: (1) Head with distinctive microsculpture (Fig. 4a); (2) labial palpomere 3 (P₃) securiform (Fig. 3c); (3) pronotum with broad and convex lateral margins (Fig. 2); (4) mesotarsomere 1 in males with spatulate setae [unknown in other Xanthopygina] (Fig. 5e); (5) tergites III-V with curved (arch-like) carina (Fig. 5a); and (6) sternite VII in males with small porose structure (Fig. 5c). Male specimens in Scaponopselaphus can always be easily identified by the spatulate state on mesotarsomere 1, but some species in Phanolinopsis Scheerpeltz, Styngetus Sharp, Xenopygus Bernhauer may look superficially like Scaponopselaphus. However, these taxa do not have securiform labial P₃ and their pronotum is not convex. Perhaps the most confusing scenario can be if someone has unsorted female specimens of Scaponopselaphus, Torobus and Zackfalinus Chatzimanolis; all these taxa have securiform labial P₃ and somewhat similar head. However, Scaponopselaphus can be distinguished from these two genera based on the microsculpture of the head and the shape of the pronotum.

Known from the state of Pará in Brazil, the department of Vaupés in Colombia, the province of Sucumbios in Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, the departments of Loreto and Madre de Dios in Peru and from Suriname (Fig. 8).

Figure 8.  

Distribution map of S. diaspartos Chatzimanolis and S. mutator (Sharp).

Specimens of Scaponopselaphus have been collected from wet tropical lowlands, however, further details on their habitat are unkown since almost all taxa have been collected with malaise or flight intercept traps. It is possible that the genus prefers forested habitats near rivers based on recent collecting events.

Habitus as in Fig. 1a. Body length 10.3-10.8 mm. Coloration of head and pronotum dark metallic purple-blue (Fig. 2a); antennae and mouthparts orange; elytra and abdomen shiny brown, except intersegmental membranes yellow, sternite VIII and posterior 1/4 of sternite VIII orange; legs and pronotal hypomeron orange-brown.

Head transverse, width: length ratio = 1.47; surface of epicranium flat; with medium-sized umbilicate punctures throughout surface except medially, distance between punctures varies but typically equals diameter of puncture. Eyes large, length of eyes / length of head = 0.58, distance between eyes as wide as 1.44 times length of eye.

Pronotum subquadrate, width: length ratio = 1.13; with scattered large umbilicate punctures, distance between punctures varies but typically equals 0.5-1 times diameter of puncture. Mesoscutellum with medium-sized punctures, punctures not confluent. Elytra with large, almost confluent punctures; each row with approximately 11 punctures (measured at middle of elytron). Abdominal tergites III-V with strongly delineated curved (arch-like) carina.

Secondary sexual structures. Males with posterior border of sternite VII with deep U-shaped emargination; sternite VIII with deep, broad U-shaped emargination medially; sternite IX with deep V-shaped emargination medially. Females with no obvious secondary sexual structures. Aedeagus as in Fig. 6; paramere divided to near base into two lobes; lobes narrower and subequal in length to median lobe; in dorsal view each lobe converging to rounded apex; in lateral view paramere slightly convex; with peg setae (sensory spinules) as shown in Fig. 6c, scattered throughout length of two lobes. Median lobe in dorsal view converging to narrow pointed apex; with single narrow dorsal tooth; in lateral view becoming much narrower near apex.

Scaponopselaphus diaspartos can be distinguished from S. mutator based on the following characters: epicranium flatter and distance between eyes longer in S. diaspartos than in S. mutator; pronotum punctation more dense in S. diaspartos than in S. mutator (Fig. 2); and elytra punctation more sparse in S. diaspartos than in S. mutator (Fig. 1). Additionally, the following characters can be used to distinguish between males of the two species: in S. diaspartos posterior border of sternite VII with deeper median emargination than in S. mutator; in S. diaspartos peg setae are more scattered in the paramere (Fig. 6c) than the peg setae of S. mutator (Fig. 7c); and the median lobe of in S. diaspartos is as long as the paramere (Fig. 6a) while the median lobe in S. mutator is longer than the paramere (Fig. 7a).

The specific epithet is derived from the modern Greek word διάσπαρτος (scattered) and refers to the distribution of the peg setae on the parameres. The epithet is a noun in apposition.

Known from Vaupés, Colombia.

Trigonopselaphus mutator Sharp, 1876: 144

Habitus as in Fig. 1b. Body length 10.1-10.5 mm. Coloration of head and pronotum metallic blue, green or blue-green (Fig. 2b); antennae and mouthparts orange, except antennomeres 4-11 covered with darker brown setae; elytra and abdomen light brown to brown, except intersegmental membranes yellow, sternite VIII and posterior 1/3 of sternite VIII orange; legs and pronotal hypomeron orange to brown.

Head transverse, width: length ratio = 1.38; surface of epicranium flat to slightly convex; with medium-sized umbilicate punctures throughout the surface except medially, distance between punctures varies but typically equals 1-2 times of puncture. Eyes large, length of eyes / length of head = 0.68, distance between eyes as wide as 1.28 times length of eye.

Pronotum subquadrate, width: length ratio = 1.10; with scattered large umbilicate punctures, distance between punctures varies but typically equals diameter of puncture. Mesoscutellum with confluent medium-sized punctures. Elytra with large, confluent punctures; each row with approximately 15 punctures (measured at middle of elytron). Abdominal tergites III-V with weakly delineated curved (arch-like) carina.

Secondary sexual structures (Fig. 5c). Males with posterior border of sternite VII with shallow U-shaped emargination; sternite VIII with deep [but not as deep as in S. diaspartos], broad U-shaped emargination medially; sternite IX with shallow V-shaped emargination medially. Females with no obvious secondary sexual structures. Aedeagus as in Fig. 7; parameres divided to base into two lobes; lobes narrower and shorter than median lobe; in dorsal view each lobe converging to rounded apex; in lateral view paramere slightly convex; with peg setae (sensory spinules) as shown in Fig. 7c, concentrated near apex of lobes. Median lobe in dorsal view converging to broad pointed apex; with wide bicuspid dorsal tooth; in lateral view becoming narrower near apex.

See the Diagnosis of S. diaspartos.

Known from the state of Pará in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, the department of Loreto in Peru and from Suriname

These two specimens look rather similar to S. mutator, however, I am unable to place them in that species without male specimens from the same locality.