H. F. Wickham.
A New Brachelytrous Trogositid Beetle from Colorado.
Psyche 23(5):146-148, 1916.

This article at Hindawi Publishing: https://doi.org/10.1155/1916/35697
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146 Psyche [October
A NEW BRACHYELYTROUS TROGOSITID BEETLE
FROM COLORADO.
BY H. F. WICKHAM,
Iowa City, Iowa.
Nearly twenty years ago, in July, 1897,I spent a few days in the San Juan range of the Rockies, near Ouray, Colo. A considerable
number of wood-frequenting species of Coleoptera were taken at that time, most of which were duly indentified and listed in my published catalogue of the beetles of the state, but a single speci- men of remarkable aspect foiled all attempts to locate in North American genera. In brachypterous structure, it reminded one of the Staphylinidse or of certain Nitidulidse like Conotelus but did not go well into either of these families. Eventually the insect was put aside with a lot of other more or less obscure forms and entirely forgotten, but on looking through some boxes a year ago I came across it again and, after giving it a careful study, decided that the best place for it was in the Trogositidse (or Temnochilidse as the family is often called) although no brachyelytrous genera of this group were known from the United States. A little later,
while looking over the plates of the volume of the Biologia Centrali- Americana containing the Trogositidse (Insecta. Coleoptera, Vol. 11, Part I), I recognized my capture as belonging to Cylidrella and very close to C. mollis Sharp (t. c., p. 389, Tab. XII, fig. 23). Both Sharp and L6veill6 place Cylidrella in the immediate neighborhood of Nemosoma, to which genus it bears considerable resemblance except in the shortening of the elytra. It might, perhaps, be taken at first sight for a Clerid of the Hydnocera type, but does not look just right in that company. Up to this time, the genus has been monotypic and specimens seem to be very rare. The specimen described by Dr. Sharp, and upon which the genus was based, was an unique brought from Cerro Zunil, Guatemala, by Mr. G. C. Champion who writes me, in answer to a query, that he does not know of its occurrence outside of that country. Cer- tainly not many specimens can have been taken in the United States, or they would have attracted the attention of some of our systematists and have been described long before this. The dis- tribution is of very particular interest as showing another example



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19161 Wickham-A New Braciiyelytrous Trogositid Beetle 147 of the extension of genera along this great mountain system and we may now expect that Cylidrella will turn up, at considerable altitudes, in forests at intermediate points between Colorado and Guatemala. The Colorado specimen seems to require a new name and I take great pleasure in dedicating it to Mr. G. C. Champion of London, Eng., in recognition of his masterly work, first as a col- lector and later as a monographer of the Central American beetle fauna. A drawing does not appear to be necessary, since our species so closely resembles the one already known. Cylidrella championi sp. nov.
Form narrow, elongate, subcylindrical, sides almost parallel. Color castaneous, head nearly black, elytra lighter with a yellowish, ill defined, transversely elliptical common spot, slightly ante- median in position, not reaching the lateral margins and occupying between one fourth and one third of the length, the legs (including the front and middle cox= but not those of the hind pair), yellow- ish, posterior femora somewhat infuscate, antennae yellowish throughout. Head very long, narrowed behind the eyes, the front produced into two large, triangular, toothlike processes which cover the mandibular bases, forehead strongly grooved from the angle of the frontal emargination nearly to the middle of the vertex, where the canal becomes evanescent but reappears shortly as a fine line whichagain becomes deeper and wider to the base though not attaining the depth or width of the anterior section; surface minutely alutaceous, punctuation fine, arranged in pretty well defined longitudinal rows which are more distinct anteriorly and become confused and coarser at base, the gense and underside smoother and very sparsely punctured, the latter region polished, shining. Mandibles large, punctured. Palpi yellowish. Eyes round, scarcely prominent. Antennae with large first joint, second much smaller, funicle apparently of six small joints which are not very well defined and probably permit of little motion, club three- jointed, flattened, the terminal articulation subcircular, the others transverse. Prothorax a little narrower than the head and appar- ently of about the same length, very gently narrowing posteriorly to the base, side margins finely beaded, especially behind the middle, surface sparsely, finely and irregularly punctured. Elytra at humeri a little broader than the prothorax, gently widening to



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