Corymbitodes chassaini, Schimmel, Rainer & Tarnawski, Dariusz, 2015

Schimmel, Rainer & Tarnawski, Dariusz, 2015, Three new species of the genus Corymbitodes Buysson, 1904 from Nepal and India with a description of the male of Corymbitodes kambaitiana Fleutiaux, 1942 (Coleoptera: Elateridae), Zootaxa 3925 (4), pp. 551-561 : 554-556

Corymbitodes chassaini sp. nov.

(Plate II: figs 8–14)

Type locality. India: Uttarakhand, Nainital district, Bhimtal.

Type material. Holotype ♂ ( CSV): India: Uttarakhand, Nainital district, Bhimtal, 14.IV.1977, 1370 m, leg. Freiha. Paratypes 1♂, 1 ♀ ( CSV): same data as holotype, leg. Freiha.

Diagnosis. C. chassaini sp. nov. is closely related to C. kambaitiana Fleutiaux, 1942 , but can easily be distinguished by the subrectangular pronotum, by the distinctly dense pronotal punctures, by the bi-spicate pronotal hind angles, by the purple violet sheen of the body, and by the shorter antennae, exceeding pronotal apices by the length of the last antennomere.

Description. ♂: Silky (dorsal and ventral sides), subparallel, slightly arched, with micro-reticulated integument and eleven-segmented, moniliform antennae; pronotum longitudinally subrectangular; elytra subparallel; length: 12.2 mm, width: 2.8 mm; black with purple violet sheen, legs and antennae brownish; pubescence very short, barely visible (fig. 8).

Head declined from base to apex, occiput without triangular impression; frons slightly elevated above base of antennae, apically edged; cranium with dense and umbilicate punctures, interstices of punctures rugose and reduced to small and arched wrinkles; pubescence extremely short, almost invisible and declined to apex; eyes spherical; last segment of maxilla dolabriform; mandible bi-spicate, falciform apically; antennae moniliform from third antennomere on, exceeding pronotal apices by the length of the last antennomere; second antennomere subglobular, as long as wide apically; third antennomere subtrapezoidal, 2.2 times longer than wide apically and slightly longer than fourth and following antennomeres; antennomeres 4–10 subtrapezoidal, apically conspicuously obtuse and of decreasing apical width, all of them more than 1.8 times longer than wide apically (fig. 12), last antennomere oblong-elliptic, subapically very slightly constricted, pubescence short and bristly, especially long at apical edges.

Pronotum longitudinally subrectangular, distinctly straight laterally, along median line distinctly longer than wide across posterior angles (length: 3.7 mm, width: 2.7 mm), somewhat arched medially and declined to base; pronotum with a distinct oval median groove from base to apex, lateral edges distinctly arched; posterior angles divergent, with a distinct, apically cuspidate carina (fig. 10), apex bi-spicate (arrow, fig. 10), pronotal lateral edges completely visible in dorsal view; pronotal punctures medially and laterally umbilicate with interstices reduced to small wrinkles (fig. 9), pronotal surface micro-reticulated; pubescence bent from median line to apex and to lateral sides.

Pro-, meso- and metathorax finely punctate, with interstices plain and shiny; pubescence conspicuously long and accumbent.

Sides of mesosternal fossa gradually concave to body axis, declivous throughout length.

Prosternal apophysis straight, subparallel to body axis, with some transverse wrinkles, apex smoothly steplike, apically obtuse.

Sternites finely punctate and covered with bristly and accumbent hairs.

Scutellum lingulate, basally straight, apically arcuate, surface distinctly arched; punctures dense and fine, interstices reduced to small and arched wrinkles; pubescence dense, fine, directed from base to apex and to lateral sides.

PLATE II. FIGURES 8–14. C. chassaini sp. nov. 8—habitus, 9—pronotal punctures, 10—pronotal posterior angle, 11—elytral structure, 12—antennomeres 1–6, 13—elytral apex, 14—aedeagus.

Elytra subparallel, becoming very slightly narrower subapically, elytral apex arcuately bent (fig. 13), apically with a very fine and short thorn on each elytron (arrow, fig. 13); base very slightly shorter than pronotal posterior angles, slightly depressed at scutellum, margins arched, shoulders prominent (winged species); elytral striae with distinctly deep punctures, their interstices with very small, barely visible and fine punctures, conspicuously microreticulated and transversely rugose at basal third (fig. 11); pubescence short, bristly, declined to apex and to lateral sides.

Alae transparent and densely covered with very small, almost invisible brownish bristles.

Legs elongate, moderately long and thin; trochanter trapezoidal, distinctly separated from femur; longitudinally oval femur with a distal groove for accommodation of tibia, with fine and short pubescence; tibiae covered with longer and protruding bristles; tarsomeres up to claws of decreasing length, ventrally with hardly visible, fine pubescence.

Mesosternal coxae proximally convex, gradually tapering to lateral sides.

Aedeagus long and elongate (fig. 14); penis subparallel, subapically distinctly constricted, slightly exceeding paramere apices; parameres apically very slightly cochleariform, laterally almost straight (arrow, fig. 14).

Female (paratype) have the elytra subapically distinctly extended, the antennae are shorter than in males and not reaching pronotal basal apices for the length of the last two antennomeres.

Morphology of larvae unknown.

Etymology. The name of the new species refers to the name of our esteemed colleague and friend, Mr. J. Chassain, Thomery, France.

Distribution. India: Uttarakhand.

Remarks. The species can be included in Group 2 mentioned in the discussion.