Laccophilus fuscipennis Sharp 1882

Laccophilus fuscipennis Sharp (Figs. 106-113, 290)
Laccophilus fuscipennis Sharp, 1882b, p. 10. Holotype: female, Oaxaca, Mexico, Hoege, British Museum (Natural History); Zimmermann, 1920, p. 19; Blackwelder, 1944, p. 74.
DIAGNOSIS. — This is a medium-sized species which belongs to the group with brown irrorated elytra, pale venter, metacoxal file, short prosternal process, and sawlike ovipositor. It is sympatric with similar species that share some or all of those characters. It has several distinctive secondary sexual characters, however. It is dorsally similar to mexicanus, salvini, proximus, spangleri, and vacaensis. It differs from the first two in that they are dark beneath. L. proximus, L. spangleri, and L. vacaensis have considerably more pattern on the elytra than fuscipennis (figs. 289, 312-315). L. fuscipennis has a metacoxal file in the male and a sawlike ovipositor in the female, while spangleri and vacaensis lack files and have forklike ovipositors. It may be necessary, if pattern details are obscured, to compare males of proximus (confusus Sharp) and fuscipennis, which have quite different aedeagi.
DESCRIPTION. — Small or medium size (length, 3.9 to 4.7 mm; width, 2.3 to 2.7 mm), light brown, irrorated species, pale beneath; metacoxal file present; prosternal process short; ovipositor sawlike. COLOR. Head: yellowishbrown, with some darkening between the eyes at the base of the pronotum. Pronotum: yellowish-brown. Elytra: pale brownish-yellow background, irroration relatively uniform over the anterior half of the elytra, but considerable suffusion and darkening of color between irrorations in the posterior half; pattern margins poorly defined; apex usually without darker pigment; anterior half of epipleura pale; posterior half may be darkened or pale. Tergite VIII: dark brown. Venter: pale yellowish-brown with some reddish-brown highlights around the mesocoxae, the postcoxal processes, and hind legs. Genitalia: oval plate, bases of parameres, base and tip of aedeagus reddish-brown; parts of parameres and shaft of aedeagus reddish-yellow-brown. ANATOMY. Microreticulation: weakly double on head, pronotum and elytra. Head: supraclypeal seam arching upward at midline. Pronotum: WH PW, 0.70; LP/PW, 0.40. Elytra: epipleural flange in about 50 per cent of all females; expansion starting at about midbody level, i.e., at the front of the position of the midlateral spot; apices slightly truncated. Venter: coxal file only weakly present in males; ridges counted with difficulty (about 25 to 30); prosternal process with well-defined crest; lobes of postcoxal processes rounded and laterally projecting well beyond the midline; male right posterior margin of fifth abdominal segment with slight protuberance; last ventral abdominal segment of male slightly truncated, produced with rugae along the posterior margin; margin of female last ventral segment weakly sinuate on either side and with a distinct groove forming a marginate edge; midline crest well-developed with a nearly acute peak at apex; a few rugae near apex and at middle of each side. Legs: male proand mesotarsi noticeably enlarged in dorsoventral plane; palettes large enough to be easily distinguished at 20 power magnification, fifth tarsal segment on both pair of legs about one and four-fifths as long as corresponding fourth; 5 to 6 setae on both proand mesofemoral margins. Genitalia: oval plate large, with sharp, but not acuminate tip and numerous (20 to 25) raised lines, but with weak crest apparent only near apex; crest and lines all strongly curved to the left; aedeagus with distinctive apical cuneiform projection, bent with groove on one side; right paramere elongated with produced apex; left paramere with rather broad rounded base; ovipositor with about 12 sawlike teeth.
NOMENCLATURAL NOTES. — There appears to be no synonymy in this species, even though Sharp described it from just two females and it has a fairly wide distribution over Mexico. The type locality is Oaxaca, Mexico. I have not been able to collect this species from near Oaxaca City, but I have taken it at a lower elevation on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Apparently, some males from other species were placed with the two females in the collection of the British Museum (Natural History); but Sharp clearly marked a type. I have seen the cotype, which appears to be practically identical with the type, and have compared the cotype with numerous other specimens.
VARIATION. — Some individuals have less uniform irroration than others, with darker pigment accumulating in the posterior half of the elytra in a manner suggestive of salvini or mexicanus; but the variation does not seem to have a geographical basis.
Females from the west coast generally have smaller epipleural flanges than do those from Veracruz. The incidence of females with flanges is just as high, however.
The sexes are about the same size. The peaks in length frequency distributions are at the same measurement — about 4.75 mm. The overlap is nearly complete, but the largest individuals were males and the smallest ones were females. Populations from both coasts agree closely in quantitative characters and give no indication of any racial difference (Fig. 16). — This is a Mexican species that occurs commonly on the coastal lowlands and rarely at higher elevations. It has been taken from all across the Isthmus and northwestern Chiapas to San Luis Potosi and on the west coast from the southern coast of Jalisco to Mazatlan. There is a large gap between east and west coast populations, undoubtedly due to a lack of collections. It occurs mainly in temporary situations in clay soils. I have collected it most frequently in roadside ditches and cattle ponds that have little vegetation and few rocks or gravel. It is clearly a tropical species that has its northern limits restricted by freezing temperature (Fig. 12). MEXICO. — CHIAPAS. Near Pichucalco, 13,12, xii.26.63, JRZ (NMSU) . CHIHUAHUA. Hidalgo del Parral, 1 S, xii.9.62, JRZ (NMSU). JALISCO. Barra de Navidad, 1 3 , x.25.66; La Huerta, 5m. N., 1 3 , x.25.66, A. H. Smith & JRZ; Mezquitan, 3 3 , 1 2 , iii.28.64, JRZ (NMSU). MORELOS. Cuernavaca, 1 2, viii.— .55, L. H. Krauss (CAS). NAYARIT. Acaponeta, 8 m. NW„ Rio de las Canyas, 6 3,2 2, xi.25.48, H. B. Leech (CAS); 12 m. S.,
1 2, vii.31.62, JRZ (NMSU). Pena, 12 m. N., 1 3, 3 2, xi.26.48, H. B. Leech (CAS). San Bias, 5 m. E., 3 3,12, vii.31.62, JRZ (NMSU). Tepic, 18 m. NW., 1 3, xi. 27.48, H. B. Leech (CAS). OAXACA. Matias Romero,
2 2, ix.9.64; Juchitan, 20 km. N., 1 3, 1 2, ix.7.64, JRZ (NMSU). PUEBLA. Near Maria Andrea, 12 3,192, ix.10.64, JRZ (NMSU) . SAN LUIS POTOSI. Comoca, Rio Axtla, Rd. 85, 7 3, 4 2, iii.23.63, JRZ (NMSU). Cuidad del Maiz, 1 2, xi. 19.48, H. B. Leech (CAS). SINALOA. Concordia, 8 m. E., 2 3, 1 2, xii.12.62; Mazatlan, 16 3, 15 2, xii. 11.62; 7 m. S., 7 3 , 16 2 , xii.11.62, JRZ (NMSU). VERACRUZ. Acayucan, 20 m. S., 10 3, 11 2, ix.7.64; Catemaco, 13, 12, viii.26.62, JRZ (NMSU). Cuitlahuac, 20 3, 20 2, viii. 10-12.64, P. J. Spangler (USNM). Huatusco, 25 km. E., 1 3, 3 2, ix.9.64, JRZ (NMSU). Near Garro, 13 3, 10 2, ix.8.64; J. D. Covarrubia, 13,4 2, viii.26.62; Martinez de la Torre, 5 km. E., 5 3, 9 2, ix.9.64; near La Tinaja, 2 3, 1 2, viii.25.62; Papantla, 18 km. E., 2 3, 1 2, ix.9.64; Paso del Toro, 15 km. W., 1 3, 1 2, ix.8.64, JRZ (NMSU). Poza Rica, 9 m. W.. 2 3,12, viii.27.65, P. J. Spangler (USNM). Puenta Jula, 13,2 2, xii. 18.48, H. B. Leech (CAS). Santiago Tuxtla, 10 km. S., 2 3, 2 2, ix.8.64, JRZ

Laccophilus fuscipennis adolah kumbang dari famili Dytiscidae. Spesies ko juo marupokan bagian dari ordo Coleoptera, kelas Insecta, filum Arthropoda, dan kingdom Animalia.

Laccophilus fuscipennis là một loài bọ cánh cứng trong họ Bọ nước. Loài này được Sharp miêu tả khoa học năm 1882.