Tarphius gabrielae Borges & Serrano

Borges, Paulo A. V., Amorim, Isabel R., Terzopoulou, Sofia, Rigal, François, Emerson, Brent C. & Serrano, Artur R. M., 2017, Cryptic diversity in the Azorean beetle genus Tarphius Erichson, 1845 (Coleoptera: Zopheridae): An integrative taxonomic approach with description of four new species, Zootaxa 4236 (3), pp. 401-449 : 421-423

Tarphius gabrielae Borges & Serrano , new species

( Fig. 13 )

Tarphius azoricus in Gillerfors (1986a , p. 21) (Pico Isl.)

Tarphius depressus in Borges et al. (2005b , p. 207) (Pico Isl.) Tarphius depressus in Oromí et al. (2010 , p. 232) (Pico Isl.) Tarphius depressus in Amorim et al. (2012, Fig. 2 ) (Pico Isl.)

Type locality. The Azores, Pico Island, Lagoa do Caiado.

Type material. HOLOTYPE, male, deposited at DTPC, labeled: Lagoa do Caiado, 18/08/2003, (UTM 26S 390266, 4257172) (António Machado leg.). PARATYPES, Lagoa do Caiado, 18/08/2003 (7 exx); Lagoa do Caiado, VIII.2009 (2 exx), (UTM 26S 390 266, 4257172), (Fernando Pereira leg.). Deposited at FCULC, SNM and DTPC.

Etymology. The name refers to the bryologist and naturalist Rosalina Gabriel in honor of her important work in the study of Azorean native forests.

Diagnosis ( Fig. 13 ). Medium to large species (3.24–4.64 mm; mean: 3.72± 0.39 mm); body dorsal surface uniform reddish to reddish-brown, antennae, mouth-parts and legs reddish; body arched (convex); lateral margins of pronotum clearly arcuate ( Fig. 6 C) in contrast with a more straight latera-posterior sides in T. depressus ( Fig. 6 E) small and narrower than elytra, transverse. On average 1.39 times as broad as long (1.35x and 1.42x), disc with dense, medium rounded granules, each one with a yellowish medium, obtuse, semi-erect rigid seta ( Fig. 5 C); width ratio pronotum/ elytra 0.95±0.15 (see Appendix S6).

Description. Body length of holotype: 4.50 mm; medium to large size (length 3.24–4.64 mm; mean: 3.72± 0.39 mm); width 1.61 mm – 2.20 mm (mean: 1.82± 0.18 mm), body convex and subquadrate-ovate, reddish or reddishbrown, setose, with rigid obtuse setae and medium granules.

Head: Genae parallel; anterior clypeal margin straight; vertices protrude under the anterior margin of pronotum; surface brown or reddish brown, lighter in clypeus, with dense medium granules, except in clypeus which is more or less smooth, each one with one semi-erect fine hair-like seta slightly directed anteriorly; eyes clearly protruding, glabrous; antennae with segment II shorter than III, segment III longer than IV, V a little shorter than IV, VI shorter than V, segments VI–VIII as long as wide, compact club 2-segmented (segments X and XI); mouth-parts with mandibles brown, the other pieces lighter showing the general morphological pattern of the genus.

Pronotum: Transverse, on average 1.39 times as broad as long, little variable (1.35x to 1.42x); surface reddish-brown to reddish, widened in the middle; anterior margin deeply bisinuate, anterior angles strongly protrude and acuminate ( Fig. 6 C); hind margin largely bisinuate, in middle broadly produced rearwards; lateral margins arcuate ( Fig. 6 C), contrasting with straight lateral sides in T. depressus ( Fig. 6 E) with two irregular rows of medium, semi-erected obtuse setae (30–32 each one) ( Fig. 6 C), slightly sinuate just before the posterior angles which are prominent; disc with a clear median longitudinal sulcus, half medium latera-posterior region with a slight nodule; a distinct transverse channel just before the extreme base between the two lateral notches; lateral surface variable in terms of flatness; dorsal upper surface with uniformly dense distinct medium rounded granules, each one with one rigid semi-erect obtuse yellowish seta ( Fig. 6 C); ratios width pronotum/width elytra 0.95 +0.15 and length pronotum/length elytra 0.60+0.02 (see Appendix S6).

Elytra: On average 0.88 times as broad as long, little variable (0.82x to 0.91x); in general 1.06 x (mean) as broad as pronotum, and 1.67x (mean) as long as pronotum (in T. depressus 1.5x), at shoulders distinctly broader than pronotum between hind angles; disc reddish to reddish-brown, convex, rugosely seriate-punctate, and wrinkled transversally on dorsal surface which is covered with dense granules each one with a recumbent, obtuse yellowish or golden seta ( Fig. 5 C); nodules or gibbosities distinct with a pattern formula 3, 3, 2, 1, covered with setae more aggregate conferring a pom-pom appearance.

Ventral side. Prosternum as granulose as mesosternum and metasternum; grooves on anterior half of prosternal sides slightly present.

Legs. Tibia normal not expanded apically; tarsi 4-segmented, simple, first three tarsomeres of all legs and in both sexes covered ventrally with several very long hyaline fine setae.

Aedeagus: Similar to T. tornvalli (see Fig. 6 in Gillerfors 1985).

Bionomics. Most specimens were collected in dead twigs of Euphorbia stygiana .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Bayesian inference tree for Tarphius beetles of the Azores based on 915 bp of nuclear DNA (Elongation Factor 1 alpha). Clade credibility values are shown for nodes with a posteror probability ± 0.95.

FIGURE 5. Details of setae in elytra for the species in of the complex “ azoricus-wollastoni-depressus ”: T. azoricus (restricted to São Miguel and Flores) (A); Tarphius wollastoni (restricted to Faial) (B); Tarphius gabrielae sp. nov. (restricted to Pico) (C); and Tarphius floresensis sp. nov. (restricted to Flores) (D). Scale 0.1 mm (Photos: Erno-Endre Gergely).

FIGURE 6. Details on the number of seta on the external row of the lateral margin of pronotum in the complex “ azoricuswollastoni-depressus ”: T. azoricus (restricted to São Miguel and Flores) (A); Tarphius wollastoni (restricted to Faial) (B); Tarphius gabrielae sp. nov. (restricted to Pico) (C); Tarphius floresensis sp. nov. (restricted to Flores) (D); and T. depressus (restricted to S. Maria) (E). Scales 0.25 mm (Photos: Erno-Endre Gergely).

FIGURE 13. Habitus of Tarphius gabrielae sp. nov.. Scale 0.5 mm (Photo: Erno-Endre Gergely).