Accepted by M. Toledo: 13 Mar. 2012; published: ?? Month 2012 ZOOTAXA ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) Copyright © 2012 · Magnolia Press Zootaxa 0000: 0–0000 (2012) www.mapress.com/ zootaxa/ Article 1 A new species of Suphisellus Crotch, 1873 (Coleoptera: Noteridae) from “Los Llanos”, Venezuela MAURICIO GARCÍA¹, CESAR JOÃO BENETTI² & JESÚS CAMACHO³ ¹El Insectario, Laboratorio de Ecosistemática de Coleópteros Acuáticos, Unidad Técnica Fitosanitaria, Museo de Artrópodos (MALUZ), Facultad de Agronomía, La Universidad del Zulia, Apartado 526, Maracaibo 4001-A, Edo. Zulia, Venezuela. E-mail: mauriciogrm2009@aol.com; globulosis@gmail.com 2 Departamento de Ecología y Biología Animal, facultad de Biología, Universidad de Vigo, Campus Lagoas Marcosende, 36310, Vigo, España. E-mail: cjbenetti@uvigo.es ³Departamento Fitosanitario, Museo de Artrópodos (MALUZ), Facultad de Agronomía, La Universidad del Zulia, Apartado 526, Maracaibo 4001-A, Edo. Zulia, Venezuela. E-mail: jcamacho101@hotmail.com Abstract Suphisellus shorti sp. n. is described from “Los Llanos”, Venezuela, which brings to six the number of species included in the Noteridae genus Suphisellus Crotch, 1873 recorded in this country. Specimens were collected in The Plains region in Venezuela (Apure and Guarico states) using either a light trap or a net. Description and illustration of the new species are provided along with a discussion of its systematic position. The new species can be distinguished from the other spe- cies of the genus by the following main characters: crease at posterolateral angle of pronotum weakly marked; numerous setae covering entire surface of prosternal process and medial part of prosternum; shape of male genitalia. Key words: Coleoptera, Noteridae, Noterini, Suphisellus, new species, Plains Region, Venezuela, wetlands Resumen Se describe la especie Suphisellus shorti sp. n. de Venezuela, con lo que aumenta a seis el número de especies incluidas en el género Suphisellus Crotch, 1873 (Noteridae) citadas en este país. Los especimenes fueron colectados en Los Llanos de Venezuela (estados de Apure y Guarico) con una trampa de luz y directamente en el medio acuático. Se describe e ilus- tra la nueva especie y se discute su posición sistemática. La nueva especie se diferencia de las demás especies del género por los siguientes caracteres principales: la línea posterolateral del ángulo del pronoto débilmente marcada, numerosas sedas que cubren la superficie del proceso prosternal y la parte central del prosternon y la forma de la genitalia masculina. Introduction Noteridae were originally treated as a subfamily of Dytiscidae, but currently it is considered a valid family (Beutel et al. 2006; Nilsson 2011). In his World catalogue Nilsson (2011), proposed three subfamilies (Noterinae, Notomi- crinae and Phreatodytinae) with Noterinae, as the more rich in taxa, subdivided into four tribes after the recent description of Tonerini Miller, 2009 (Nilsson 2011). Among these, the worldwide tribe of Noterini is the largest one, with 10 genera and 207 species currently known (Nilsson 2011). In recent years, new taxa of this family have been described from different regions of the world, in different kind of freshwater habitat, ranging from ponds to springs, including stygobiontic species (Spangler 1996; Miller 2001; Toledo 2003; Toledo & Hendrich 2006; Toledo 2008; Miller 2009; Toledo 2010). Besides, Noteridae has undergone several taxonomic changes, including the recently new status for the neotropical Liocanthydrus Gui- gnot, 1957 risen to genus (Miller 2009), previously a subgenus of Canthydrus Sharp, 1882: actually the largest genus of Noteridae, occurring in the Old World and definitely foreign to the Neotropics (Nilsson, 2011). With, so far, 51 known species, the strictly American Suphisellus Crotch, 1873, is second in size respect the