Author Institution: Department of Zoology and Entomology, The Ohio State University, Columbus 1

Triplehorn, Charles A.

The Ohio Journal of Science

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60 J. ALLAN CAIN AND WALTER A. BECKMAN, JR. Vol. 64A NEW SPECIES OP ELEODES FROM COLORADO(COLEOPTERA: TENEBRIONIDAE)CHARLES A. TRIPLEHORNDepartment of Zoology and Entomology, The Ohio State University, Columbus 10A large series of the following species has been on hand for a number of years.Since no further specimens have been encountered and no immediate extensivework on the Genus Eleodes is contemplated, it seems advisible to describe thisrather remarkable beetle at this time.Eleodes (Litheleodes) hirtipennis NEW SPECIESDESCRIPTIONElongate, fusiform (male) to robust and broadly oval (female), subopaque, elytra denselyclothed with moderately long setae. Head twice as broad as long, slightly convex, finely andsparsely punctured, each puncture with a conspicuous brownish seta projecting cephalad. An-tennae relatively short and stout, segments 5-7 subequal in width and length, segments 8-10broader than long, terminal segment obliquely quadrangular. Pronotum subquadrate, broadestat anterior third, lateral margins arcuate, straight to broadly sinuate behind, briefly sinuate justbehind apex; anterior margin truncate, angles rectangular, not prominent, basal margin arcuate,angles obtuse; disc moderately and uniformly convex, surface finely and sparsely punctured,each puncture with a minute, inconspicuous, easily removed seta. Scutellum smooth, impunctate.Elytra elongate-oval, broadest about the middle, base feebly emarginate, contiguous to the pro-thoracic base which it scarcely exceeds in width; humeri acute and slightly prominent anteriorly,embracing basal angles of pronotum; lateral margin evenly arcuate, apex narrowly rounded,especially in male, not produced; disc moderately convex, strongly and broadly rounded laterally;entire surface including inflexed portions uniformly finely and densely papillose with a suggestionof longitudinal striae .densely clothed with long, conspicuous brownish setae. Epipleura mod-derately narrow, broad at base beneath humeri, thence gradually narrowing to apex, not quitevisible from above at humeral angle; surface sparsely and minutely punctured, punctures feeblyasperate. Legs densely clothed with conspicuous setae, coarsely spinose on tibiae and ventralsurfaces of tarsi, much finer on femora; tibial spurs large and subequal in size on middle andhind legs; inner tibial spur of pro thoracic leg much larger than outer spur; all tarsal claws large,as long as or longer than apical tarsal segment on which they are borne.Male.—Ovate-fusiform, somewhat elongate and narrow; anterior femora armed with a dis-tinct tooth; inner prothoracic tibial spur large and tapering gradually to apex. Length: 10.2 to14.0 mm; width: 4.3 to 5.7 mm.THE OHIO JOURNAL OF SCIENCE 64(1): 60, January, 1964.No. 1 NEW COLORADO ELEODES 61Eleodes hirtipennis new species (Male). Line equals 5 mm.Female.—Ovate, robust: anterior femora mutic or only feebly sinuate on distal fourth; innerprothoracic tibial spur larger and broader than that of male, parallel-sided throughout most oflength. Length: 10.8 to 14.9 mm; width: 5.0 to 6.8 mm.TYPESThe entire type series of 79 specimens was collected at Great Sand Dunes, Alamosa Co.,Colorado, July 20-21, 1954, by H. E. and M. A. Evans. Holotype, d\ allotype and paratypesare desposited in the collection of The Ohio State University; paratypes distributed to the UnitedStates National Museum, Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University, CaliforniaAcademy of Sciences and Cornell Univeisity.62 CHARLES A. TRIPLEHORN Vol. 64DISCUSSIONThe placement of this species in existing subgenera has been difficult. Thetoothed anterior femora of the male and mutic femora of the female suggestLitheleodes. The large and sexually dimorphic inner tibial spurs of the prothoraciclegs are as those of members of the E. quadricollis section of the Subgenus Melanele-odes. In this group, the inner spur of the protibia is decidedly thickened in bothsexes but more strongly so in the female. On the other hand, the anterior femoraare mutic in both sexes of all species of Melaneleodes. Long, more or less erecthairs are uncommon in Eleodes except for the Subgenus Tricheleodes to which thepresent species apparently bears no close affinity. Hairs are found in Litheleodeshowever. Eleodes letcheri Blaisdell, a member of this subgenus, has similar hairsbut much more sparsely arranged. Neither male nor female genitalia are veryuseful in separating closely related species of Eleodes, however, the female genitaliaare used in dividing the genus into subgenera (Blaisdell, 1909). The femalegenitalia and general facies of E. hirtipennis appear to fit the general patternfound in other species of Litheleodes.The subgenus Litheleodes was reviewed by Blaisdell (1942) who divided it intothree groups. E. hirtipennis clearly belongs to the E. granulata group, character-ized by strongly sculptured and more or less granulate, muricato-tuberculate orsimply tuberculate elytra. Unlike other members of this group, however, thepresent species has the anterior femora distinctly dentate ventrally in the maleand frequently strongly angulate in the female.The only species which approaches E. hirtipennis in the abundance of longconspicuous setae clothing the elytra is E. letcheri Blaisdell. Through the courtesyof Mr. Hugh B. Leech of the California Academy of Sciences, I was able to studyfour specimens (three females and one male) of the type series of the latter speciesfrom Verdi, Nevada. E. letcheri may be characterized as follows: the tarsal clawsare shorter than the terminal tarsal segment on all legs; the entire dorsal surfaceis uniformly feebly shining in luster; the lateral margins of the pronotum arebroadly arcuate; the anterior femora are never toothed ventrally but are at mostangulate in the male, unmodified in the female; the hairs of the elytra all arise fromdiscreet, well-separated, minute papillae which are smooth and shining but in-conspicuous except at high magnification; the setae are absent from inflexed por-tions of the elytra; the inner tibial spurs of the prothoracic leg are not conspicuouslyenlarged.In contrast, E. hirtipennis has large tarsal claws, fully as long as or longer thanthe terminal tarsal segment on each leg; the pronotum is virtually glabrous andstrongly shining while the elytra appear much duller in luster; the lateral marginsof the pronotum are much less arcuate than in E. letcheri and are feebly sinuatebefore the base; the basal margin is also much more strongly arcuate; the anteriorfemora are armed with a prominent ventral tooth in the male and are stronglyangulate in the female; the hairs of the elytra arise from both elevations anddepressions of the densely and irregularly, finely convoluted surface; the inflexedportions of the elytra are also densely hairy.This species is apparently an extreme modification of the general E. letcheriline of evolution and should follow the latter in the checklist of species of theGenus Eleodes, the most recent being that of Tanner (1961).REFERENCESBlaisdell, F. E. 1909. A monographic revision of the Coleoptera belonging to the tenebrionidetribe Eleodiini inhabiting the United States, Lower California, and adjacent islands. U. S.Nat. Mus. Bull. 63: 1-524, pis. 1-13.. 1942. Miscellaneous studies in the Coleoptera, No. 6 (Melyridae and Tenebrionidae).Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc. 68: 129-149.Tanner, V. M. 1961. A check-list of the species of Eleodes and descriptions of new species(Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Great Basin Nat. 21(3): 55-78.

A New Species of Eleodes from Colorado (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

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A New Species of Eleodes from Colorado (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

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