THE CATOPINAE (COLEOPTERA; LEIODIDAE) OF PUERTO RICO*

Only three species of Catopinae have been reported from the Greater Antillean Islands: Dissochaetus portoricensis Hatch 1933 from Puerto Rico; Ptomaphagus (Adelops) darlingtoni Jeannel I936 from Cuba; and Proptomaphaginus apodemus Szymczakowski I969 from Cuba. These three species are known trom a total of four specimens. In December-January I966-I967 I had the opportunity to collect in Puerto Rico and to begin field studies on the evolution and distribution of West Indian Leiodidae. This paper reports on the Puerto Rican collections. Seventeen days were spent in the field. Twelve collecting visits were made to caves along the north slope of the island. Carrion (rotted liver) and yeast baited pitfall traps were .set in the moist forests of the eastern and central parts of the Island. The collecting stations yielding Catopinae are shown in fig. I. Collected were 230 Dissochaetus portoricensi and 60 specimens of a new species of Proptomaphaginus. Additional information is given for Cuban Proptomaphaginus.

In December-January I966-I967 I had the opportunity to collect in Puerto Rico and to begin field studies on the evolution and dis- tribution of West Indian Leiodidae.This paper reports on the Puerto Rican collections.Seventeen days were spent in the field.Twelve collecting visits were made to caves along the north slope of the island.Carrion (rotted liver) and yeast baited pitfall Type: femal.e,E1 Yunque, Puerto Rico, alt.295o', Feb. 19oo, L. Stejneger leg., in U. S. National Museum.I have seen the type.
Up to now the species was known only from the single type female.The collection of several males allo.wsadditional descrip- tion.
Zoogeography.The genus is most closely related to Ptomapha- ginus (with 23 species limited to the Indo-Malayan region).When Szymczakowski (i969) described Proptomaphaginus and the Cuban species apodemus he pointed out the possible ancient significance of this disjunct distributional relationship.His views are not weakened by the addition of the following Puerto Rican species and the following transfer of Ptomaphagus (Adelops) darlingtoni to this genus.
Additional evidence is now available on the source of the original West Indian colonization o.f Proptomaphaginus or its ancestor.The genus occurs on the island of Hispa,niola (I have seen one female of a possibly undescribed species in the MCZ collections).
I did not t]nd it in two weeks of (ield work in Jamaica in 1968.Very similar to P. apodemus and P. darlingtoni o Cuba in external appearance.Differing mostly in shape o internal male and emale genital structures.The male aedeagus o pue'r- toricensis when seen in lateral view has higher and broader lateral extensions at its posterior (fig.6), than darlingtoni (fig.3) and apodemus.The aedeagus o p,uertoricensis in dorsal view is wider and shows more regularity in the external outer surfaces at its posterior (fig.5) than in darlingtoni (fig.2) or apodemus (fig.4).The emale spermatheca of puertoricensis is more slender (fig.7) than apodem,us (fig.8).
Color reddish brown.Shape elongate oval, convex.Pubescence short and thick.Head width o.55 mm.Eyes large, anterio-posterior diameter 4 times wider than distance between eye and antennal insertion.
Antennal club flattened, segments as in fig.IO.Pronotum convex, width o.83 ram, length o.48 ram, widest at point 3 along length, posterior margin even.Distinct transverse striae.Hind margin slightly sinuous, hind angles drawn out.
Fully developed flight wings.Mesosternal carina low.
Ecology.Most of the cave collections were from bat guano, found in association with their larvae, and not far from the cave entrance.It would .seemthat the lowland cave populations may now be at least partially isolated from the montane forest populations since the clearing and destruction of much of the lowland forest for agri- cultural purposes.I visited Cueva de los Alfaros where Sanderson found the beetles abundant, and found none.The Cerro Dona Juana forest collections were from traps in moist closed-canopy forest with a good ground cover of herbaceous plants.Floor litter was abundant at higher elevations.The beetles are more.abundant in the Cerro Dona Juana forest.Four carrion and one yeast baited trap in the Cerro Dona Juana forest caught 13 beetles, compared with 3 beetles from 6 carrion and 3 yeast traps in the Luquillo forest.A possible explanation for the lower catch in the montane Luquillo rain forest is that it may be too wet.
Examination and dissection of the type show it to be a male (not a female as Jeannel stated, because of the narrow pro-tarsomeres, a female character in other Catopinae), and to have an aedeagus very similar to P. apodemus.
The similarity of the two species is very .striking.The only available characters to separate them are the smaller size of dar- lingtoni (I.6 ram) compared to apodemus (2.o-:z.:zram), and a few minor details of the aedeagus.The aedeagus of darlingtoni is smaller and has a greater constriction at the base of the lateral lobes (arrow in fig.2), than apodemus (fig.4), the aedeagus tip is broad in darlingtoni between the lateral lo.bes and narrow in apodemus so that a space shows along the lobes in their interior side (arrow in fig.4).There i.s a possibility that darlingtoni and apodemus are co,n- specific.Only further collecting will show if the differences are distinct between populations, or only extremes of variation within populations.The two localities are 3o km from each other, and on opposite sides of the Island.

Psyche
[June I believe the species is still known only rom the type.I discount the records o Jeannel and Henrot (949: 98) o the .speciesfrom San Jose and Reventazon in Costa Rica.These .specimensmust be reexamined.Their identity will influence uture zoogeographic conclusions.

Proptomaphaginus apodemus Szymczakowski
Fig. 8 Described from two males from Humbolt Cave, traps were .set in the moist forests of the eastern and central parts of the Island.The collecting stations yielding Catopinae are shown in fig.I. Collected were 230 Dissochaetus portoricensi and 60 specimens of a new species of Proptomaphaginus.Additional infor- mation is given for Cuban Proptomaphaginus.Dissochaetus portoricensis Hatch 1933 Fig. 9
The genus occurs in Mexico (I found an undescribed edaphobitic species in a cave in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi in 1969).It has not been found in Central America.I found none in field work in 965 in Panama and Costa Rica or in 969 in Guatemala, and none are in Dybas' 'extensive 959 Panama collections in the Field Museum.This pattern of occurrence on three Greater Antil- lean Islands and in Mexico and absence from Jamaica and Central America suggests initial derivation from Mexican lands, and not Central American lands by way of Jamaica.
Punta Caguanes, Las Villas Province, Cuba.Through the kindness o Ing.Fernando de Zayas, Academy o Sciences, Havana, Cuba, I have had the opportunity to examine two additional males and two emales.The e.male .specimensallow me to illustrate the emale sper- matheca (fig.8) and compare it to that apodemus it is swollen at one end, and gradually curves and con- stricts to a point at the other end.The spermatheca o darlingtoni is unknown.The specimens came rom "Cueva Caguanes", May I958, F. de.Zayas collector.They are either from the type .cavepopulations, or ro.m another cave very near by.