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Two New Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Conoderinae) from Cocos Island, Costa Rica
Abstract and Figures
Two species in the weevil subfamily Conoderinae are described from Cocos Island, Costa Rica. The more common Hoplocopturus sherrywernerorum, new species, is sexually dimorphic and has a Lechriops-like pattern of setae similar to the Central American H. ochreicollis Champion, although it does not seem closely related to any mainland species. Copturomimus hoguei, new species, is a larger species with elytral costae similar to the widespread Central American C. octocostatus Champion.
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... Some species are very similar looking to certain Lechriops and Macrocopturus (e.g. H. sherrywernerorum Hespenheide, 2009 andH. costatipennis Champion, 1906, respectively), but the structure of the mesoventrite easily separates the species of Hoplocopturus from those genera. ...
... One species has been collected on treefalls of Sterculia L. Described species. Eighteen species are known from the focal region (with one more described by Hespenheide 2009) and an additional 12 species are known only in South America (Wibmer and O'Brien 1986: 270 Diagnosis. Most species of Lechriops can be distinguished by the following combination of characters: the second antennal funicular article is longer than the first, the mesoventrite has a rostral channel that is bordered laterally by carinae, and the metafemora are carinate and ventrally toothed (Champion 1906b: 91). ...
... Notes. Many species have a white elytral sutural spot (as in Fig. 82b), but this is not exclusive to Lechriops (see Hespenheide 2009 Phylogenetic relationships. Some species look superficially very similar to species of Eulechriops, Macrocopturus, and Hoplocopturus, but the above combination of characters will separate most species. ...
The thirty-nine extant genera of Conoderinae known to occur in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean are reviewed based on external morphology. An identification key is provided along with diagnoses, distributions, species counts, and natural history information, when known, for each genus. Morphological character systems of importance for weevil classification are surveyed, potential relationships among the tribes and genera are discussed, and groups most in need of taxonomic and phylogenetic attention are identified. The following genera are transferred to new tribes: Acoptus LeConte, 1876 from the Lechriopini to the Othippiini (new placement) and the South American genus Hedycera Pascoe, 1870 from the Lechriopini to the Piazurini (new placement). Philides Champion, 1906 and Philinna Champion, 1906 are transferred from the Lechriopini to Conoderinae incertae sedis (new placement) although their placement as conoderines is uncertain. The species Copturomimus cinereus Heller, 1895 is designated as the type species of the genus Copturomimus Heller, 1895.
... Copturomimus species resemble those of Macrocopturus with the elongate second funicular article, unmodified mesoventrite and carinate and ventrally toothed hind femora and can only be distinguished externally from that genus by the obliquely striolate area dorsally on the profemora. Whether the striolate femoral patch identifies a natural group is unknown, but unlikely (Hespenheide, 2009). ...
This datasheet on Macrocopturus aguacatae covers Identity, Overview, Distribution, Dispersal, Hosts/Species Affected, Diagnosis, Biology & Ecology, Environmental Requirements, Natural Enemies, Impacts, Prevention/Control, Further Information.
... The only available keys for genera of Conoderinae of the world were provided by Heller (1894Heller ( , 1895. The delimitation of genera is very difficult because of the lack of a phylogenetic hypothesis of the subfamily and becomes even more difficult with the discovery of large numbers of undescribed species that link genera or do not fit current concepts (Hespenheide, 2009). ...
Timorus sarcophagoides, new species (type-locality: Brazil, Minas Gerais, Santana do Riacho - Serra do Cipó, 43o 35'W 19o 17'S, 1200–1300m ASL), is described and illustrated. The new species can be distinguished mainly from the other species of the genus by the sexual dimorphism of the male rostrum armed with a hooked tubercle at the base of the dorsal carina, while the tubercle is absent in the female and the corresponding region of the carina is only tumid. The new species has a striking pattern of coloration and behavior that mimics flesh-flies in the family Sarcophagidae. Observations on the natural history of the new species are reported and discussed.
Beetles (Coleoptera) are a charismatic group of insects targeted by collectors and often used in biodiversity surveys. As part of a larger project, we surveyed a small (4 hectare) plot in the Boston Mountains of Arkansas using 70 traps of 12 trap types and Berlese-Tullgren extraction of leaf litter and identified all Buprestidae, Carabidae, Cerambycidae, and Curculionoidea (Anthribidae, Attelabidae, Brachyceridae, Brentidae, and Curculionidae excluding Scolytinae) to species. This resulted in the collection of 7,973 specimens representing 242 species arranged in 8 families. In a previous publication, we reported new state records and the number of specimens collected per species. In this publication, we used these data to determine the most effective collection method for four beetle groups: Carabidae, Cerambycidae, Curculionoidea (excluding Scolytinae), and Buprestidae. We found that the combination of pitfall and Malaise traps was most effective for Carabidae, Cerambycidae, and Curculionoidea, but that the combination of Malaise and green Lindgren funnel traps was most effective at collecting Buprestidae. Species accumulation curves did not become asymptotic and extrapolated rarefaction curves did not become asymptotic until 350-1,000 samples, suggesting that much more effort is required to completely inventory even a small site. Additionally, seasonal activity is presented for each species and the similarity and overlap between collecting dates and seasons is discussed for each family.
Cocos Island, Costa Rica, is a small and lushly forested island in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean between Costa Rica and the Galapagos Archipelago. During two expeditions there, I quantified the stomach contents, available food (i.e., foliage-inhabiting arthropods sampled with sweep nets), foraging behavior, and morphology of the endemic Cocos Island Flycatcher (Nesotriccus ridgwayi, Tyrannidae). Nesotriccus individuals captured a diversity of arthropods in proportion to their availability (P » 0.1), using diverse foraging tactics. Stages of the birds' annual cycles differed during the two expeditions, but diet and foraging behavior were remarkably consistent. Fulgoroid Homoptera dominated stomach contents (43-64% of prey individuals), and probably explain why Nesotriccus foraged regularly with acrobatic pursuits (11-12% of all feeding tactics) much like a mainland Homoptera specialist, Terenotriccus erythrurus. Nesotriccus is morphologically and behaviorally distinct from its primarily frugivorous mainland relatives, Phaeomyias and Capsiempis; its wings and tail are structurally convergent with those of Terenotriccus, but its bill is comparatively longer and probably evolved for the capture of non-homopteran insects. Nesotriccus is a food specialist or generalist depending on one's frame of reference--available food, mainland insectivorous flycatchers, closest mainland relatives, or other resident land birds on the island. The diet and adaptations of Nesotriccus, in combination with other evidence, strongly support the hypothesis that insufficient abundance of many resource types precludes persistence in Cocos Island forests by virtually all but the endemic land birds. High endemism of the depauperate land bird fauna on the island appears to have resulted as much from this ecological impoverishment as from a lack of potential immigrants. /// La Isla del Coco es una isla costarricense pequeña y densamente arbolada en el océano Pacífico tropical, entre Costa Rica y el Archipiélago de las Galapagos. Durante dos expediciones a la isla cuantifique los contenidos estomacales, alimento disponible (es decir artrópodos habitantes de los follajes muestreados con redes a mano), comportamiento de forraje y morfologia del atrapamoscas endémico (Nesotriccus ridgwayi, Tyrannidae) de la Isla del Coco. Individuos de Nesotriccus utilizan diversas tacticas de forraje para capturar una diversidad de artrópodos en proporción a disponibilidad (P » 0.1). Las etapas del ciclo anual de las aves fueron diferentes durante las dos expediciones, pero la dieta y el comportamiento de forraje fueron consistentes de manera remarcable. Los contenidos estomacales estuvieron dominados por Homoptera (Fulgoroidae, 43-64% de los individuos presa) y probablemente eso explique porque Nesotriccus forrajea regularmente con cazas acrobáticas (11-12% de todas las tácticas de alimentación) de manera muy similar a la especialista en Homoptera del continente Terenotriccus erythrurus. Nesotriccus es morfológicamente y por su comportamiento, distinto de sus parientes del continente, primariamente frugívoros, Phaeomyias y Capsiempis; sus alas y cola son de estructura convergente con aquellas de Terenotriccus pero su pico es comparativamente mas largo y probablemente ha evolucionado para capturar insectos no-homopteros. Nesotriccus se alimenta como un especialista o no-especialista, dependiendo del marco de referenda en el que se lo ubique--comida disponible, los atrapamoscas insectívoros del continente, parientes más cercanos del continente u otras aves terrestres residentes en la isla. La dieta y adaptaciones de Nesotriccus, en combinación con otra evidencia, apoya fuertemente la hipótesis de que las aves, con exceptión de las terrestres endémicas, al no disponer de manera abundante de muchos tipos de recursos se les hace imposible la permanencia en bosques de la Isla del Coco. El alto endemismo de la paupérrima fauna de aves terrestres de la isla, parece haber resultado tanto por su empobrecimiento ecológico como por la falta de inmigrantes potenciales.
A new genus, Galapagonotus Anderson and Lanteri, is described to accommodate Otiorhynchus cuneiformis Waterhouse from the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Galapagonotus cuneiformis (Waterhouse) is redescribed and a neotype is designated. Galapagonotus is placed within the tribe Entimini, likely in or near the Eustylus group of genera. The species appears restricted to elevations from 300 to 790 m in native Scalesia, Miconia, and fern-sedge habitats in the archipelago. A second new genus, Coconotus Anderson and Lanteri, also is described to accommodate three new species from Cocos Island, Costa Rica. These species, described herein are C. williamsi Anderson and Lanteri, C. kuscheli Anderson and Lanteri, and C. tuberculatus Anderson and Lanteri. Coconotus is placed within the tribe Entimini, with tentative affinities with the Lachnopus-Exophthalmus group of genera. No details are known of the natural history of any Coconotus species.
As a population, Cocos Finches exhibit a broad range of feeding behaviors spanning those of several families of birds on the mainland, while individuals feed as specialists year-round. Although this extreme intraspecific variability occurs as predicted in a tropical oceanic island environment, these specializations challenge contemporary ecological theory in that they are not attributable to individual differences in age, sex, gross morphology, or opportunistic exploitation of patchy resources. Instead, they appear to originate and be maintained behaviorally, possibly via observational learning. This phenomenon adds another direction to the evolutionary radiation of the Darwin's Finches and underscores the necessity for detailed behavioral and ecological studies at the individual level for understanding animal feeding systems and the causation of phenotypic variation.
Cocos Island is a small oceanic island midway between Costa Rica and the Galápagos Archipelago; about 2 Myr in age, it is the only tropical oceanic island in the eastern Pacific with tropical wet forest. We identified several hundred bark beetle specimens collected during recent expeditions by INBio, the National Biodiversity Institute of Costa Rica, and re-examined all specimens from earlier collections. We report 19 species in ten genera, seven or eight of which are endemic, making scolytines the largest group of beetles known from the island. We describe as new Pycnarthrum pseudoinsulare, Xyleborinus cocoensis, and Xyleborus sparsegranulosus, resurrect Xyleborus bispinatus as separate from X. ferrugineus, and report six other species as new to Cocos Island. Three-quarters of the scolytines reproduce by brother–sister mating, and we argue that inbreeders are superior island colonists because they are less affected than are outbreeders by problems of mate location and inbreeding depression. The fauna and flora of Cocos Island arrived by dispersal and human transport. We examine natural colonization patterns for the fauna, using the distributions of the relatives of island endemics: most colonization came from the Americas, but the closest relatives to some endemics are found on Caribbean or Galápagos islands. © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2006, 89, 729–743.
A new species of Halecia from Cocos Island, Costa Rica, with a review of the Neotropical genera of the tribe Chalcophorini (Coleoptera: Buprestidae)
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Evenhuis, N. L. 2007. The Insect and Spider Collections of the World Website. Available
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