Vindex chimalapensis Ariza-Marín, Reyes-Castillo, Moctezuma & Sánchez-Huerta, a new species, is described from the cloud forest in Oaxaca, México. Vindex chimalapensis is like V. sculptilis Bates in the form of lateral elytral punctures and glabrous epipleura, but has dorsal punctures in the pronotum and the form of the aedeagus differs on the basal piece. Male genitalia, female genitalia, and head are shown in photographs. Vindex chimalapensis is the only species known from this genus with dorsal punctures on the pronotum. Ecology, distribution, and biogeography of Vindex and the Mountain Mesoamerican distribution pattern are discussed, with emphasis on V. chimalapensis.
Keywords: Bess beetles; Mountain Mesoamerican pattern; Tehuantepec Isthmus; cloud forest.