Taxonomy
Canthidium darwini illustration © Claudia Aragón
Morphology
The beetle is only 4mm long and has a head green with golden reflections. The wing case is 2.7mm wide, with reddish brown and gold reflections.
This species is distinguished from other Costa Rican species by the following combination of characters:
- head region with three conical tubercles and a V-shaped indentation
- base of the abdomen with minute circular depressions
- wing cases with fine linear indentations that are superficially impressed
- forelegs with two clearly developed lateral teeth and a third weekly developed tooth
- head and wing case surface clearly and evidently shagreened in appearance (having rough scales or points)
Evolution
This species is 1 of 170 in the genus Canthidium. Canthidium beetles are restricted to the new world tropics, 25 species being known from Costa Rica.
It is thought to be the sister species of C. marianelae, based on shared morphological characters.