Selasia socotrana, Kundrata, 2012

Kundrata, Robin, 2012, Description of Selasia socotrana sp. nov. (Elateridae: Agrypninae: Drilini) from Socotra Island, with notes on S. homhilia, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 52 (2), pp. 213-218 : 214-217

Selasia socotrana sp. nov.

(Figs. 1–2, 4, 8, 10)

Type material. HOLOTYPE: J, YEMEN, SOCOTRA ISLAND / Dixam plateau, TUDHEN / shrubland with Commiphora / planifrons 18.–22.vi.2012 / 12°32.7′N, 53°59.9′E, 1135 m [printed] // SOCOTRA expedition 2012 / J. Bezděk, J. Hájek, V. Hula, / P. Kment, I. Malenovský, / J. Niedobová & L. Purchart leg. [printed] ( NMPC). PARATYPE: J, SOCOTRA: / Kishin. / 700 m. / 18.iv.1967 / K. Guichard [printed] / B.M.1967–455 [handwritten] ( BMNH).

Description. Male. Body medium-sized, elongate, almost parallel-sided, 2.76–2.78 times as long as wide at humeri, moderately convex dorsally (Fig. 1). Head, prothorax and elytra brown, antennomeres 2–11, abdomen, meso- and metathorax black, legs brown to dark brown with apical parts of femora and basal parts of tibiae black, scapus and tarsomeres dark brown or black. Entire body covered by sparse, yellow pubescence.

Head including eyes slightly wider than anterior margin of pronotum. Cranium punctured, with depression between conspicuous antennal sockets, dorsally with long, sparse, erected pubescence; clypeus with frontal margin widely concave. Eyes medium-sized, hemispherically prominent, their frontal distance 1.98–2.04 times eye diameter. Mandibles slender, long, shiny, considerably curved, incisor margin with small tooth in middle part ( Fig. 8 ). Maxillary palpi tetramerous, apical palpomere longest, narrow, obliquely cut, flattened apically. Labial palpi trimerous, tiny, apical palpomere pointed. Antennae robust, flabellate, reaching one third of elytral length, with flattened lamellae from antennomere 3; scapus long, robust, more than two times longer than pedicel; pedicel short, minute; antennomeres 3–10 flabellate, antennomere 3 longest; its lamella robust, almost half length of rest of lamellae, widely attached; base of lamella of antennomere 3 almost two times longer than base of lamella of antennomere 4, antennomeres 4–10 gradually shortened to apical part, with long, slender lamellae, apical antennomere long, simple, about same length as lamella of penultimate antennomere ( Fig. 2 ).

Pronotum slightly convex, widest in middle part, 1.32–1.33 times wider than length at midline. Anterior margin slightly emarginate in middle part, lateral margins convex, posterior margin widely sinuate medially. Anterior angles obtuse, posterior angles prominent, acute; surface of disc finely punctured, with sparse, erected, long setae ( Fig. 10 ). Prosternum transverse, pros-

ternal process present, apically narrowed.

Scutellum flat, triangle-shaped. Mesovent-

rite narrow, with emarginate frontal margin;

both mesanepisternum and mesepimeron in contact with coxal pit. Metaventrite large,

punctured sparsely; pubescence sparse in middle part and denser around margins.

Elytra almost parallel-sided, widest at humeri, 1.76–1.84 times longer than width at humeri, tapered apically, punctured,

covered by sparse pubescence.

Abdomen short, slender; ventrites with fine microstructure and sparse, long setae.

Legs slender, slightly compressed, with sparse, long, erected setae, coxae long,

robust, trochanters slender, obliquely attached to femora, tarsomeres 1–3 subequal Fig. 1. Selasia socotrana sp. nov., habitus of holotype. in length, tarsomere 4 shortest, apical tar- Scale bar = 2 mm.

somere long, narrow, claws simple, slender,

slightly curved. Male genitalia compact, with strong phallus; phallus longer than parameres, considerably curved, with hook in middle part; robust, wide parameres with membranous apical parts, with sparse setae apically; phallobase robust, longer than parameres ( Fig. 4 ). Measurements. BL 5.80–6.55 mm, EL 3.70–4.35 mm, WH 2.10–2.35 mm, PL 1.21–1.50 mm, PW 1.60–2.00 mm, Edist 0.81–0.94 mm, Ediam 0.41–0.46 mm. Differential diagnosis. Selasia socotrana sp. nov. and S. homhilia can be distinguished by the following characters – S. socotrana sp. nov. has the black meso- and metathorax, mandibular incisor margin with tooth in middle part ( Fig. 8 ), antennomere 3 with triangular lamella ( Fig. 2 ), pronotum widest in middle part ( Fig. 10 ), short parameres, and phallus curved with median hook ( Fig. 4 ), while S. homhilia has light brown meso- and metathorax, mandibular incisor margin simple, without tooth ( Fig. 9 ), antennomere 3 with narrow lamella ( Fig. 5 ), pronotum widest in posterior angles ( Fig. 11 ), parameres long ( Fig. 7 ), and phallus straight, simple ( Fig. 6 ). Selasia arabica Geisthardt, 2003 from the Arabian Peninsula differs from S. socotrana sp. nov. by bicolor elytra, uniformly brown ventral body parts, more transverse pronotum and shorter parameres.

Etymology. The species name socotrana is derived from the type locality.

Biology and ecology. Larvae and females are unknown and no information about the lifehistory of S. socotrana sp. nov. is available. I suppose that larvae and neotenic females feed on land snails like other Selasia species ( KUNDRATA & BOCAK 2007). Selasia socotrana sp. nov. lives in a limestone area of Dixam plateau so larvae and females may attack snails occurring in limestone rocks similarly to the Mediterranean drilines ( SCHILTHUIZEN et al. 1994).

Distribution. Selasia socotrana sp. nov. is so far known only from two localities at the base of Hagher Mts., central Socotra.

Figures

Figs. 2–11. 2, 4, 8, 10 – Selasia socotrana sp. nov.: 2 – antenna; 4 – aedeagus in ventral view; 8 – mandibular incisor margin; 10 – head and pronotum. 3, 5, 6–7, 9, 11 – S. homhilia Geisthardt, 2003: 3 – habitus of holotype; 5 – antenna; 6 – phallus with paramere (no phallobase has been preserved in holotype); 7 – paramere; 9 – mandibular incisor margin; 11 – head and pronotum. Scale bars = 0.1 mm (Figs. 8–9), 0.25 mm (Figs. 4, 6–7), 1 mm (Figs. 2, 5, 10–11), 2 mm (Fig. 3).