Cachiporra Chamorro & Konstantinov

Body small, about 1.8 mm in length, moderately shiny, black. Head without midcranial and frontal sutures. Frontoclypeus swollen, notched in middle. Eye entire, not notched. Antenna capitate with last 4 antennomeres tightly fused to form sphere (Figs 16, 18).

Pronotum basally sinuate (Fig. 15), medially extending posterad beyond elytral base. Side swollen and bent ventrally so that lateral border not visible from above (Figs 17, 18). Lateral border of pronotum situated close to posterior margin of prosternum leaving hypomera extremely thin and limiting prosternum to small triangle.

Scutellum triangular, equilateral, small (Fig. 15). Side of elytron with long lobe directed ventrally covering significant part of metepisternite. Epipleura vertical, evenly narrow throughout (Fig. 11). Elytral punctation confused with weak tendency to form rows (Fig. 15). Each puncture of pronotum and elytra with light-colored seta. Tibial apices without long setae and without excavation. Tarsal claws simple and free. Last abdominal ventrite without stridulatory file on distal border. Pygidium exposed (Fig. 18).

Cachiporra extremaglobosa Chamorro & Konstantinov

Body small, 1.81–1.85 mm long, 1.43–1.47 mm wide, and 1.01–1.04 mm thick, broadly oval.

Color. Body entirely black with bluish or bronzish tint, antennal capitulum and mouth parts deep reddish brown.

Head flat in lateral view, 1.42 times wider than long in frontal view, completely lacking hairs (except on labrum). Midcranial and frontal sutures absent. Top of frons and bottom of vertex with oval impression. Orbital area swollen and situated above eye level. Internal margin of eye entire, not notched. Distance between eyes 2.64 times as large as transverse diameter of eye. Labrum with three setae on each side placed symmetrically on anterior margin. Antennae extremely capitate with last 4 antennomeres tightly fused to form sphere (Figs 16, 18), inserted slightly above lower eye level with side of antennal socket adjacent to eye margin. Antennomere 1 wide with triangular lobe directed dorsolaterally. Antennomere 2 cylindrical, shorter than wide. Antennomers 3 to 7 dorsoventrally flat, about as long as antennomere 2, but narrower.

Prothorax. Pronotum apically shallowly sinusoidal, basally sinuate, medially extending posterad beyond elytral base. Each pronotal puncture with short seta. Sides swollen and bent ventrally so that lateral border not visible from above. Lateral border situated close to posterior margin of prosternum leaving hypomera extremely thin and limiting prosternum to small triangle. Intercoxal prosternal process in ventral view slightly longer than wide (length to width ratio 1.26), sides constricted above middle, anterior margin evenly concave with obtuse denticle in middle, posterior margin straight. Intercoxal prosternal process in lateral view nearly straight in middle, abruptly bending posterodorsally. Procoxal cavity open posteriorly.

Mesothorax. Scutellum triangular, equilateral, small (Fig. 15). Elytra with well developed humeral calli. Side of elytron with long lobe directed ventrally covering significant part of metepisternite (Fig. 11). Elytral punctation confused, with a tendency to form longitudinal rows. Each elytral puncture bearing short seta. Epipleura narrow. Mesosternum vertical, nearly completely covered with intercoxal prosternal process and anterior process of metasternum separating mesocoxae.

Metathorax. Anterior process of metasternum rectangular with straight anterior margin (Fig. 16). Posterior margin curved. Surface shallowly shagreened with relatively large punctures placed more densely anteriorly.

Wing fully developed (Fig. 19). Radial (RA) sinusoidal, wide, and strongly sclerotized laterally, bending posteriorly. RP connected to posterior arm of radial cell, divided into two parts: poorly sclerotized median and strongly sclerotized lateral. AA better developed than CuA. RA 3+4 absent. Cu and A form only one complete cell.

Abdomen. First visible abdominal ventrite as long (medially) as rest of abdomen. Second visible ventrite narrowest, half as narrow medially as either third and fourth. Third and fourth of equal length (Fig. 12). Last abdominal ventrite three times longer than preceding, without stridularoty file (device) on distal border. Pygidium exposed.

Kotpresse without dorsal or ventral sclerites with chitinpolster dorsally and ventrally; long lateral fold sclerotized and bent upward and with small denticles (Fig. 22).

Legs. Femora dorsoventrally flat with anterior and posterior sides nearly parallel to each other. Tibiae slightly curved in ventral view gradually widening apically. All tibial apices with small spur, but without long setae and excavation. Tarsal claws relatively small, simple, and free.

Female genitalia (Figs 20, 21). Paraproct (pleurite of segment IX) narrow. Proctiger (upper layer of tergite IX) widely triangular, with setae on their apical margins, moderately sclerotized and narrow membranous stripe between them. Stylus parallel-sided, at base much narrower than long, separated by distinct border from coxite (apical part of appendage of segment IX). Spermatheca without border between pump and receptacle. Base of spermatheca constricted forming short canal branching into gland and duct. Gland and duct relatively short making no loops. Tignum absent.

“Cachiporra” is the Spanish word for “billy” club (capitulum). “Cachiporra” alludes to the club-shaped antenna of this lamprosomatine. Feminine.

Brazil, Rio Grande do Norte, Natal.

Brazil, Rio Grande do Norte, Natal.

Length 1.81-1.85 mm. Color black, with bluish and bronzish tint. Head with frons and vertex shagreened, covered by sparse, sharply defined punctures.

Pronotum strongly shagreened, evenly covered with sharply impressed small punctures, each bearing a single, small seta. Diameter of punctures four to ten times smaller than distance between them.

Elytral surface strongly shagreened, with numerous wrinkles, some of which short and placed diagonally, some exceptionally long and stretched from base of elytron to and beyond middle. Punctures with tendency to form rows.

Female genitalia. Median side of the lateral sclerotization of tergite IX strongly oblique. Stylus attached slightly anteriorly from apex. Receptacle of spermatheca slightly longer than pump, slightly S-shaped with small bump near base and apically. Apex of spermathecal pump bulbous, wider than receptacle and base of pump.

Holotype, female: 1) Brazil RG Norte, Papari: III. 1952. M. Alvarengo; 2) F. Monrós Collection, 1959; 3) Holotype Cachiporra extremaglobosa Chamorro & Konstantinov, des. 2010 (NMNH).

Paratype, female: 1) Brazil Natal, R.G. Norte, 24.IX. 1951. M. Alvarengo; 2) F. Monrós Collection, 1959; 3) Paratype Cachiporra extremaglobosa Chamorro & Konstantinov, des. 2010 (NMNH).

Named for the extremely globular antennal club (capitulum). The epithet is treated as a noun in apposition.

Unique features of Cachiporrini include the following: antenomeres 7–11 fused into a tight capitulum (2:0); explanation of lateral margin of pronotum situated ventrally essentially covered from above by expansion of upper side of pronotum laterally (5:1); pronotal and elytral punctures with setae (15:0); wings with RA 3+4 absent (18:1); absence of sclerotized rim of kotpresse (23:1); and stylus of female genitalia longer than wide.

Among various lamprosomatine genera, Cachiporra is superficially most similar in color, size, wing venation, and overall body shape to Oomorphus. The pronotum of Cachiporra is considerably different from that of Oomorphus and all other lamprosomatines in having the sides swollen and bent ventrally so that the lateral border is not visible from above. The lateral border is therefore located very close to the posterior margin of the prosternum, leaving hypomera extremely thin and limiting the intercoxal prosternal process to the shape of a small triangle. In Oomorphus the sides of the pronotum are not bent ventrally and the hypomera and the prosternum itself occupy most of the ventral side of the lateral part of prothorax. Furthermore, dorsally the pronotum in Cachiporra is basally sinuate and medially extending posterad beyond elytral base (Fig. 15) and side of elytron have an extended lobe directed ventrad nearly concealing all of metepisternite (Fig. 11).

Cachiporra has a number of pleisiomorphies also present in African Neochlamysini. These are absence of a stridulatory device (also absent in Sphaerocharini), entire eyes, completely exposed pygidium, and free and simple claws.

Synapomorphies of Lamprosomatinae (Fig. 29) include the loss of canthus of the eye, character 1 state 1 (1:1); antennomeres 6–8 strongly transverse, more than twice as wide as long, 3:0; triangular scutellum, 8:1; smooth elytra, 12:1; tarsal claws simple and free, 16:1; and have CuA 3+4 and spurt RP distant from each other, 19:1. Of the four tribes, Lamprosomatini has the greatest support with at least four synapomorphies and a number of homoplasious character states (Figs 29–31). Sides of elytra extended in wide relatively short lobe, not concealing much of metepisternite (character 11:1) (Fig. 12) supports the monophyly of Neochlamysini under slow optimization (Fig. 30). The transformation of the sides of elytra into a narrow lobe concealing nearly all posterior part of metepisternite (character 11:2) (Fig. 13) is a shared derived feature of Sphaerocharini + Lamprosomatini (Fig. 30) under slow optimization. In Cachiporrini this lobe is wide and long concealing most of middle to posterior part of metepisternite (character 11:0) (Fig. 11); a unique feature of this tribe.