Pseudomeira erinacea, Bellò, Cesare & Baviera, Cosimo, 2011

Bellò, Cesare & Baviera, Cosimo, 2011, On the Sicilian species of Pseudomeira Stierlin (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae), Zootaxa 3100, pp. 35-68 : 45-46

Pseudomeira erinacea sp. n.

( Figs. 18 , 44 , 87 , 101 )

Peritelus (Pseudomeira) solarii Péricart, 1963: 40 (pars). Pseudomeira solarii: Pierotti & Bellò, 1994: 113 (pars).

Diagnosis: Middle-sized (3.70–5.00 mm), suboval. Epistoma impressed, clypeus almost flat and longitudinally rather deeply impressed in middle; elytra clothed by earth-brown scales and rather thin almost erect setae, here and there both paler.

Type series: Holotype female ( BEL) with the following labels: "Ƥ" [white, printed], [transparent label with genitalia in DHMF], "I, Sic.[ilia], Castiglione di Sic.[ilia], 600 m, vaglio sotto Olea sp., 26.V.09, leg. Baviera" [white, printed], "coll. Cesare Bellò" [green, printed]; " MECG 1.2" [green, handwritten], " Pseudomeira erinacea sp. n., Holotype, det. Bellò 2010 " [red, partly printed]. Paratypes: 3 females, I, Sic., Castiglione di Sic., m 600, vaglio sotto Olea , 26.V.09, leg.Baviera ( BAV, BEL); 3 females, I, Sic., Catania, Castiglione di Sicilia, 600 m, vaglio sotto Olea , 19.IV.2010, N 37°52.27’ 6, E 015°07.5’ 8, legg. Baviera & Bellò ( BEL); 9 females, Sicilia, ME, Nebrodi, foresta Malabotta, 23.VI.07, sotto Quercus sp., leg. Bellò ( BEL); 2Ƥ, idem, 23.VI.07, leg. Bellò ( BEL); 4 females, Sicilia, Messina, Peloritani, Bosco di Malabotta, 1300 m, vaglio Fagus , 24.IV.2006, leg. Baviera ( BAV; BEL); 6 females, I, Sicilia, Messina, Floresta, S. Giacomo, vaglio lettiera di Quercus , 29 VI ’10, leg. Baviera ( BAV, BEL), 2females, I, Sicilia, Messina, Floresta, S. Giacomo, vaglio lettiera di Quercus , 21 VII 2010, N 37°57.19’ 1, E 014° 55.06’ 4, leg. Baviera C. ( BAV, BEL). Types are 30 females, genitalia of 6 were studied and of them molecular preparation was made.

Other material: Waiting for more detailed morphological and molecular studies, we consider the additional 105 females (genitalia of 6 of them studied) as belonging to this species. They came from the following localities: Castelvetrano, Vallone Zangara ( BEL; PIE); Ficuzza ( ANG, BEL, DOD, FOR, HOF, LEO, LUI, MAN, SOL, STE, VIT); Ficuzza loc. Alpe Cucco ( BEL); Ficuzza loc. Bosco Fanuso ( BEL); Madonie loc. Ortaggi ( BAV, BEL); Marineo, Bosco Cappelliero ( BEL, PIE); Pioppo f. Oreto ( BEL, PIE); Rocca Busambra ( BEL, PIE); sine patria ( RAG).

Holotype female. Length: 4.85 mm. Robust, oval-shaped, elytra longer than wide. Dorsal vestiture of imbricate, earth-brown and brown scales and almost erect brown rather thin setae; paler small markings are on disc of both elytra and pronotum.

Rostrum subquadrate, sides converging towards apex. Epistoma concave with bulging margins; pterygia inconspicuous; clypeus in front wider than at base, with a longitudinal depression not continuing that on frons. Eyes slightly convex. Antennal scape just slightly more robust than funicle, slightly curved and progressively thickening towards apex; first 4 funicular segments with clubbed setae; first segment as long as than the combined length of the following two, second twice as long as third, segments 4–7 pearl-shaped; club elongate, fusiform and with the first segment widely conical.

Pronotum slightly transverse (length: 1.00 mm, width: 1.20 mm), sides sinuate, disc with punctures usually hidden by the scales.

Elytra oval (length: 3.00 mm, width: 2.00 mm), disc slightly convex, humeri short, round and slightly prominent. Striae inconspicuous, catenulate, interstriae feebly convex.

Legs quite short and robust; femora clubbed, edentate; tibiae short, almost straight, external margin of protibiae blunt, internal one devoid of spines; protarsi short and robust, third joint shortly bilobed, onychium curved, claws short and fused at base.

Spiculum ventrale: see Fig. 87 ; spermatheca: see Fig. 101 .

Paratypes: Only females. Specimens of Castiglione are bigger (mm 4.20–5.00) of Malabotta ones (mm 3.70– 4.20). No significant differences were observed between the holotype and paratypes. Length: 3.70–5.00 mm.

Distribution: Northern and central Sicily.

Etymology: Named after the hedgehog ( Erinaceus europaeus L., 1758) in reference to the erect thin setae on the dorsal surface.

Ecology: This species prefers cool shadowy places, and has been found sifting under Fagus sp., Olea sp., Rubus sp., Quercus sp., Fraxinus sp., Smilax sp. Adults occur in spring and/or autumn, according to the elevation, with diapause in summer or in winter. Pseudomeira erinacea is a parthenogenetic species collected at Castiglione di Sicily together with P. vitalei ; at Malabotta, Marineo and Ficuzza with Heteromeira neapolitana ; at Pioppo with Dolichomeira dubia Pierotti & Bellò, 1994 and at Castelvetrano with Dolichomeira sp..

Reproduction: Parthenogenetic.

Notes: Only detailed morphological, ecological and molecular studies have allowed for the recognition of this cryptic species, incorrectly indicated from some localities as P. s o l a r i i by Péricart (1963) and Pierotti & Bellò (1994).

Figures

FIGURES 10 – 18. Habitus of Pseudomeira ssp. (scale bar: 1 mm).

FIGURES 36 – 44. Lateral view of Pseudomeira ssp. (scale bar: 1 mm).

FIGURES 77 – 90. Spiculum ventrale of Pseudomeira ssp.

FIGURES 91 – 104. Spermatheca of Pseudomeira ssp.