Ebenacobius pedi Haran, 2022

Haran, Julien, Benoit, Laure, Procheş, Şerban & Kergoat, Gael J., 2022, Ebenacobius Haran, a new southern African genus of flower weevils (Coleoptera: Curculioninae: Derelomini) associated with dicotyledonous plants, European Journal of Taxonomy 818 (1), pp. 1-54 : 38-40

Ebenacobius pedi Haran gen. et sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:A03ED41A-311F-42BA-A64C-EA6124508AC5

Figs 3C , 5C , 6L

Differential diagnosis

Ebenacobius pedi gen. et sp. nov. can be distinguished by the following combination of features: claws simple, prothorax and elytra similarly pale brown, with two longitudinal dark bands on prothorax not reaching apical margin and glabrous elytra ( Fig. 3C ), lacking a visible row of recumbent setae on interstriae. This species shows a peculiar body of penis, regularly widening from base to apex in dorsal view, with the apex truncate ( Fig. 6L ). This species is very close to E. tsonga gen. et sp. nov., but the latter species shows distinct rows of setae on interstriae 5–10 of elytra. Ebenacobius pedi is also closely related to E. hippopotamorum Haran gen. et sp. nov. but in the latter species the scutellar shield and the base of first interstriae is dark brown and the dark bands on prothorax are generally reaching the apical margin ( Fig. 3E ).

Etymology

This species name is dedicated to the Pedi people, inhabitants of the northern provinces of the Republic of South Africa. These peoples share this land with the Tsonga peoples, as do E. pedi gen. et sp. nov. and E. tsonga gen. et sp. nov., apparently on the same host plant.

Type material

Holotype REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA • ♂; “S. Afr [REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA]; Limpopo Prov; Meletse NatRes ; 1003m; 24.36S – 27.39E ” “ 13.ii.2016; E-Y: 3986; Sifting forest litter ; Leg. Ruth Müller ” “Holotype; Ebenacobius pedi ; Haran 2022”; TMSA.

Paratypes REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA – Limpopo Province • 1♂;same collection data as for holotype; TMSA • 1 ♂; Lajuma near Vivo Wilderness Camp; 23°02.358′ S, 29°26.954′ E; 11 Dec. 2017; R. Borovec leg.; light trap collection in indigenous forest; FFWS . – Gauteng Province • 1 ♂; Magaliesburg, Tonquane ; 25°51′ S, 27°29′ E; 1 Jul. 1973; Endrödy-Younga leg.; sifted humus; E-Y:89; TMSA . – Mpumalanga Province • 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀, 2 specs (preserved in ethanol); Mbombela [formerly Nelspruit]; 25°30′02.7″ S, 30°57′16.5″ E; 4 Apr. 2018; J. Haran leg.; on flowers of Acokanthera oblongifolia (Hochst.) Codd (Apocynaceae) ; JHAR00838_0102/4/6 ; CBGP.

Description

Male

BODY LENGTH. 2.7–3.1 mm.

COLOUR. Body integument pale brown, head reddish; prothorax with 2 longitudinal dark bands on each side of the median line, not reaching apical margin of prothorax, bands sometimes interrupted in middle of length; dark pattern on elytra generally forming elongated dots on interstriae 3 and 5, one before and one beyond middle of length on interstriae 3 and one near basal ¼ and one near middle of length on interstriae 5, dark dots sometimes contiguous on interstriae 5 or almost absent on elytra; dorsum (prothorax + elytra) with minute recumbent setae, not contiguous, integument glabrous in appearance.

HEAD. Rostrum slightly shorter than prothorax in lateral view, strongly downcurved in basal ⅓, slightly downcurved in apical ⅔; underside with a row of setae, as long as 2 nd segment of funicle, integument forming a small tubercle before apex; in dorsal view covered with short recumbent and non-contiguous setae; antennae inserted near apical 1/4 of length; head capsule coarsely punctate in dorsal view, with minute recumbent whitish setae, shorter than diameter of punctures; eyes convex, exceeding the lateral curve of head capsule in dorsal view; antennal funicle with first segment 1.5 × longer than wide, as long as 2–4, 3–7 wider than long.

PROTHORAX. Wider than long (W:L ratio: 1.37), widest near base, slightly narrower there than elytra at humeral angles; sides straight or slightly convex, moderately converging apicad, abruptly converging in apical 1/5, apical constriction narrower than width of funicle at apex; integument densely punctate, space between punctures smooth, shiny, at most 2× wider than diameter of punctures; setae of larger punctures shorter than diameter of punctures in the central area; prosternal process oriented forward, only moderately exceeding the level of procoxae, forming a spatula in dorsal view.

ELYTRA. Sides slightly convex, widest near middle of length (W:L ratio: 0.75); humeri raised; apex jointly rounded; striae with punctures well aligned, 1.5–2 × narrower than interstriae; interstriae slightly convex, 1, 3 and 5 slightly more convex apically, 9 entirely convex; scutellar shield rounded, glabrous.

ABDOMEN. Underside covered with recumbent whitish setae, not contiguous.

LEGS. Profemora strongly thickened near middle of length, smooth internally; protibiae with external margin straight, meso- and metatibiae slightly curved outward in apical half; tibiae armed with a small apical mucro; claws simple.

TERMINALIA. Body of penis elongate (W:L ratio: 0.40), 0.7 × as long as apodemes; sides straight and regularly widening apicad in basal 3/ 4 in dorsal view, widest near apical 1/4, convex in apical 1/4, apex truncate; in lateral view curvature stronger in basal half, width expanding from base to apex ( Fig. 2A ).

Sexual dimorphism

Females can be distinguished from males by their rostrum which is less downcurved in lateral view, almost straight in apical half and by the absence of prosternal process between procoxae.

Remarks

Ebenacobius pedi gen. et sp. nov. is morphologically remarkably closely related to E. tsonga gen. et sp. nov., the two species are only distinguished externally by subtle morphological differences. The contrasted shape of the penis body between these species and the genetic distances allows, however, to distinguish them unambiguously ( Figs 6 , 8). The two species were collected in sympatry in two distant localities and were observed on flowers of the same plant in one of the two sites (JHAR00838). These species might represent another case of sister-species sympatric assemblage, as it has been described in other Derelomini ( Franz & Valente 2005; Haran et al. 2021).

Life history

The specimens from Mbombela (data JHAR00838) were all collected on flowers of Acokanthera oblongifolia (Hochst.) Codd (Apocynaceae) around 5 p. m. Despite repeated attempts, specimens were not observed on these flowers earlier or later in the day. Such timed phenology on flowers has been described in other plant-weevil pollination mutualism ( Auffray et al. 2017; Saunders 2020), suggesting that Acokanthera might constitute the host plant for E. pedi gen. et sp. nov. rather than only a refuge. This species was collected using light traps and by sifting leaf litter. Adults were collected in February, April, July and December.

Distribution

Republic of South Africa (Limpopo, Gauteng and Mpumalanga Provinces).

Figures

Fig. 3. A–I. Habitus of males of Ebenacobius Haran gen. nov. in dorsal view (part 2). A. E. mulanjensis Haran gen. et sp. nov. B. E. hessei Haran gen. et sp. nov. C. E. pedi Haran gen. et sp. nov. D. E. tsonga Haran gen. et sp. nov. E. E. hippopotamorum Haran gen. et sp. nov. F. E. incognitus (Hesse, 1929) gen. et comb. nov. G. E. oberprieleri Haran gen. et sp. nov. H. E. turneri (Marshall, 1935) gen. et comb. nov. I. E. rhodesianus (Hesse, 1929) gen. et comb. nov. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Fig. 5. A–H. Habitus of males of Ebenacobius Haran gen. nov. in lateral view (part 2). A. E. hessei Haran gen. et sp. nov. B. E. incognitus (Hesse, 1929) gen. et comb. nov. C. E. pedi Haran gen. et sp. nov. D. E. oberprieleri Haran gen. et sp. nov. E. E. tsonga Haran gen. et sp. nov. F. E. turneri (Marshall, 1935) gen. et comb. nov. G. E. hippopotamorum Haran gen. et sp. nov. H. E. rhodesianus (Hesse, 1929) gen. et comb. nov. A–H = not to scale.

Fig. 6 (part 1). A–I. Male genitalia of Ebenacobius Haran gen. nov., penis in dorsal (left) and lateral (right) view.A. E. curvisetis Haran gen. et sp. nov.B. E. rectirostrisHaran gen. et sp. nov.C. E. duplicatus Haran gen. et sp. nov. D. E. grobbelaarae Haran gen. et sp. nov. E. E. costalis (Fåhraeus, 1844) gen. et comb. nov. F. E. thoracicus Haran gen. et sp. nov. G. E. xhosa Haran gen. et sp. nov. H. E. san Haran gen. et sp. nov. I. E. kuscheli Haran gen. et sp. nov. A–I = not to scale.

Fig. 2. A–I. Habitus of males of Ebenacobius Haran gen. nov. in dorsal view (part 1). A. E. curvisetis Haran gen. et sp. nov. B. E. rectirostris Haran gen. et sp. nov. C. E. duplicatus Haran gen. et sp. nov. D. E. grobbelaarae Haran gen. et sp. nov. E. E. costalis (Fåhraeus, 1844) gen. et comb. nov. F. E. thoracicus Haran gen. et sp. nov. G. E. xhosa Haran gen. et sp. nov. H. E. san Haran gen. et sp. nov. I. E. kuscheli Haran gen. et sp. nov. Scale bars = 1 mm.