Terry L. Erwin; Laura S. Zamorano

“ The wide geographical range from near the mouth of the Río Amazon at Belém to the black-waters of Pacaya-Samiria Reserve in Perú on the upper Amazon drainage system is unusual for this genus. But as pointed out in the introduction, very small carabid beetles are not collected by any but carabid specialists, and there have been few of those, working the Amazon Basin. ”

“ Adults of this species are active in lowland Igapó rainforest during the rainy season. They have been found in wet leaf litter at the edge of small streams and lake shores as well as in old levee forests of Attalea palms near a black water river; they also occur on mud with grasses and among crumbly clods of yellowish clay at salt licks, as well as near rotting tree trunks at the water’s edge in low lying inundation forest at the edge of a black water lake and on sandy shorelines with matted rhizomes and dry leaf litter. ”

“ From Liebke’s drawing, enhanced here (Fig. 53) , we can classify this species in the pulchripennis species group because the pronotum is not laterally explanate, an attribute that is always associated with an aedeagal endophallus having only two spines. We have seen no specimens from Guyana, nor any specimens matching this illustration from anywhere. The distinguishing attribute is the pale elytral margin extended from the apex into quadrant A (Fig. 53) . A neotype will be needed upon discovery of more specimens from Guyana that match Liebke’s description and illustration. ”

“ Adults of this species have a slightly explanate pronotal margin; however, they have the male endophallus of the pulchripennis group, thus the placement we suggest here. We have a specimen, in poor condition, that represents an undescribed species from Posto Jacaré, Brazil that also has a slightly explanate pronotal margin; however, it has the male endophallus of the hilaris group. With additional collecting and more specimens in the future, there may be an additional species group that we cannot, at present, define. ”

“ Attributes of the rarely collected adults of this genus are sufficiently distinctive that they may deserve a subtribe of their own (and that subtribe may also include three undescribed genera of which we have only six specimens and are reluctant to describe at present – one of these, with three species, has evolved somewhat parallel to the members of Rhadine LeConte, 1848, a platynine genus) . ”

“ Also studied were the lectotype of Asklepia lebioides Bates and holotypes of Asklepia pulchripennis, Asklepia geminata, and Asklepia hilaris from the Muséum National d‘Histoire Naturelle, Paris (MNHP, Azadeh Taghavian, Collection Manager) and a paralectotype of Asklepia lebioides from the Natural History Museum in London (BMNH, Beulah Garner, Curator) . Primary type specimens of new species will be deposited in their countries of origin if required by legal agreements, or museums of ownership at the conclusion of our studies on this tribe. ”

“ Eucaerina LeConte contains Amphithasus, Aporesthus, Asklepia, Eucaerus, Guatemalteca, and Lachnaces, all of which have adults with little, or no general setation and except for Amphithasus are of planate body form; and Lachnophorina LeConte contains Anchonoderus, Calybe, Ega, Euphorticus, Lachnophorus, Pseudophorticus, Peruphorticus, and Selina, adults of which are richly invested with setae and/or pubescence and of a medium to markedly convex body form. Given that Selina is the only Eastern Hemisphere taxon in this group, its adult similarity to Ega adults may be convergence. ”

“ Dorsal surface devoid of microsculpture, surface luster very shiny. Pronotum markedly convex with lateral margin effaced except just anterior to hind angle and there a simple bead; anterior angles feebly produced, hind angle slightly prominent, median line markedly defined. Elytral interneurs effaced from the greater part of the elytron surface, only evident as pale coarse punctures in the apical proximal quadrant and with scattered punctures in the medial quadrants, as well as along entire interneurs 1 and 2. ”

“ Adults with head fuscous, prothorax fulvous, elytral maculae fulvous or slightly aurantiacus in some individuals; elytron fuscous with a slender triangular flavous macula in the lower right corner of the proximal apical quadrant, broad flavous macula ending in hook crossing from medial lateral quadrant to right half of medial proximal quadrant, small triangular flavous macula in the upper right corner of basal proximal quadrant, apical and lateral margin fulvous, macula does not reach the humerus ”

“ Beauty-bearing beetles Figs 11, 24# Euphorticus G. Horn, 1881:144
Type species.
Lachnophorus pubescens Dejean, 1831:30
Way of life.
Size range – 4.0 mm to 4.9 mm; these beetles are somewhat ubiquitous. They occur near water or at damp places, on a variety of soil types. Adults of all species are dark, often black, and one new species from Paraguay is vividly metallic. Adults of another new species from Perú was found readily under clumps of cut grass in an open field, as well as on algae covered sandy clay running in the bright sunshine. Adults are attracted to lights. ”

“ The lachnophorine assemblage is species rich as evidenced by vast collections in museums. Adults are diverse and divergent in physical attributes ranging from the agonine-like Anchonoderus and Homethes to the rather elegant and bizarre ant-like Ega, Selina, and Stenocheila. ”

“ These beetles are macropterous and probably capable of flight. They are moderately swift and agile runners.
Distribution.
(Fig. 78) . This species has been found at only one location on a lake shore near the white-water system of the Río Napo drainage system. But that does not at all indicate its real distribution: as has been pointed out above, very small beetles are inadequately sampled, especially in the Neotropics.
Way of life.
See [35] for a general description of the genus. Adults of this species are active in the rainy season on the shore of a small lake in lowland rainforest. ”

“ Perú, Madre de Dios, BIOLAT Biological Station, Pakitza, Zone 9, 11.8931°S, 71.2564°W, 382m, 1 October 1989 (T.L. Erwin) (MUSM: ADP132509, male) .
Derivation of specific epithet.
The specific epithet, biolat, is used as a noun in apposition based on the acronym of the Smithsonian Institution’s past program “Biodiversity in Latin America” (BIOLAT) which sought to field-train young Latin American biology students in biodiversity techniques and did so for more than 200 of them between 1987 and 1991 in Perú and Bolivia. These beetles were collected under the auspices of the BIOLAT Program. ”

“ It is probable that the nine additional species are new to science; however, types of the genera Lachnophorus and Euphorticus need to be examined to make sure they are rightfully assigned to those genera and not Peruphorticus. ”