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Issue: Vol. 73 No. 2: 10 Dec. 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-12-10
DOI: 10.12976/jib/2025.73.2.2
Page range: 47-57
Abstract views: 96
PDF downloaded: 2

A new species and new records of Ectinogonia (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) from the Atacama Desert: Pushing the boundaries towards hyperaridity!

Programa de Doctorado en Sistemática y Biodiversidad, Universidad de Concepción, Barrio Universitario s/n. 160-C, Concepción, Chile
2Escuela de Ciencias Agrícolas y Veterinarias, Universidad Viña del Mar, Agua Santa 7055, Viña del Mar, Chile.
Institut fur̈ Zoologie, Universität zu Köln, Zülpicher Straße 47b, 50674 Köln, Germany.
polymorphism distribution arid refugee Ectinogonia angulicollis Ectinogonia barrigai Ectinogonia camanchaca sp. nov. Ectinogonia fastidiosa Ectinogonia pruinosa genetic distance

Abstract

The genus Ectinogonia Spinola is a diverse group of jewel beetles of the western slope of Andes Cordillera. Recent expeditions to Atacama Desert find a new taxon of Ectinogonia in hyperarid environments, which is morphologically different from all previously described species, and new populations of Ectinogonia fastidiosa (Fairmaire & Germain) and Ectinogonia pruinosa Pineda & Mondaca bringing their range of distribution closer to the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert. The aim of this work is to describe this new taxon of Ectinogonia using integrative taxonomy, combining external and genital morphology with molecular evidence. To establish differences between species, we compared the specimens from new localities with those morphologically and geographically closer taxa and analyzed genetic divergence with the mitochondrial gene Cytochrome Oxidase I. We also compared the genetic distance of the new populations with their conspecifics. The new species exhibit unique combinations of traits in their cuticle coloration, pronotal sculpture, pilosity and genital structures, as well as clear genetic distance (over 2.6%) from their closest relatives. Other species in the study area were E. pruinosa and E. fastidiosa, last one showing a very high morphological variability. These new explorations extend the known distribution of Ectinogonia closer to the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert (22°S–24°S), a region previously considered a gap in their distributional range.

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