Taichius caeruleopunctatus Ando & Yuan, 2021

Ando, Kiyoshi & Yuan, Cai-Xia, 2021, Nine new species of Cnodalonini (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) from Hainan Island with additional records of other Tenebrionidae, Zootaxa 4965 (2), pp. 321-338 : 329-330

Taichius caeruleopunctatus Ando & Yuan , sp. n.

( Fig. 17 )

Type material. Holotype: ♀, China, Hainan Is.: Mail peak, Mt. Jianfengling , Jianfeng Township , Ledong County, 18˚42′N/108˚52′E, Alt. 1,000–1,300 m, Ɨ南省乐东s尖峰•尖峰岭主峰, 13–15.VII.2017, Local collector leg. ( HBUM).

Description. Body length: 8.8 mm in ♀ (n = 1). Proportions ♀ (n = 1): IE/TD 1.43; PW/PL 1.43; EL/EW 1.57.

Female. Oblong-oval, gently divergent posteriorly, shiny. Colour dark reddish brown; elytra greenish brassy, with striae purplish, and strial punctures distinct violet; mouthparts, basal six antennomeres, and legs in part paler.

Head short and transverse, abbreviated anteriorly; mCG scarcely sinuate; clypeus weakly convex, truncate at apex, with coarse and dense punctures piligerous in part; frontoclypeal suture fine, straight in median major part; genae flat, transverse, 1.73 times as wide as long, finely punctate; frons wide, gently convex, with punctures coarse, nearly as large as and slightly sparser than on clypeus; eyes extremely transverse in dorsal view, with inner ocular sulci shallow and broad, bearing short distance between behind middle and posterior portion of eye; tempora very short, suddenly convergent behind eyes. Antennae long, reaching base of pronotum; distal six antennomeres gently dilated and loosely articulate, forming club; 11th oblong-oval. Ultimate maxillary palpomere short-triangular, almost rectangular at interio-apical angle. Mentum cyathiform, strongly convex, distinctly emarginate at apex, neither elevated nor excavated. Submentum pentagonal, flattened.

Pronotum subtrapezoidal, widest at base, very feebly microsculptured; disc moderately convex forwards, gently declined laterally, distinctly and broadly sulcate along lateral margins, with punctures fine and dense, nearly as large as on frons; anterior margin weakly rounded, finely beaded except for median short distance; lateral margins gently rounded, roundly and evenly narrowed forwards from middle, and sinuate before base, with beads gentle, gradually tapering to apex; anterior corners obtuse, posterior ones acutely angulate. Scutellum large, almost flat, with fine and sparse punctures.

Elytra oblong, widest before apical third, gently beaded at sides; striae weak, rudimental in part, 5th striae reaching base of elytra; strial punctures oval to oblong, rather large and sparse, but very irregular in size and den- sity, not gradually smaller in apical declivity; intervals almost flat, slightly convex on 5th to 8th ones, densely and coarsely punctate; humeral calli oblong, moderately humped; epipleura flat, weakly oblique, impunctate, with fine microsculpture.

Prothoracic hypomera depressed, scarcely punctate, with fine isodiametric microsculpture. Prosternum very short, about 0.28 times as long as coxa in front of coxae, with anterior margin not beaded and without apico-median papilla; prosternal process fusiform, horizontal, weakly bisulcate in middle and acutely rounded at apex. Mesoventral ridge V-shaped, strongly sloping forwards, without anterior angles. Metaventrite strongly convex, finely and rather densely punctate in middle, obliquely rugose and scarcely punctate laterally. Abdomen finely and moderately punctate, densely and irregularly rugose on basal three ventrites.

Legs short. Femora slender, weakly dilated towards apical third. Tibiae feebly incurved, with each inner margin densely pubescent in about apical two-thirds. Protarsi gently dilated; mesotarsi weakly so, with inner lobe (posterior lobe) of 4th tarsomere distinctly shorter than outer one.

Male. Unknown.

Distribution. China (Hainan Is.).

Etymology. The specific epithet is named after the colour of elytral punctures of this new species.

Differential diagnosis. The new species is closely allied to Taichius fukudai ( Masumoto, 1981b) from Taiwan, but is readily different from the latter in having the following characters: anterior margin of prosternum not beaded, without apico-median papilla. Elytra with more irregularly arranged strial punctures and almost flat inner four elytral intervals; strial punctures larger and more distinctly cyaeneous. Prothoracic hypomera depressed and abdomen finely punctate.

Figures

FIGURES 14–21. Tenebrionidae spp. 14. Tetraphyllus hlaicolus sp. n., holotype; 15. Androsus pullus sp. n., holotype; 16. Tetragonomenes sylvestris sp. n., holotype; 17. Taichius caeruleopunctatus sp. n., holotype; 18. Hemicera (Hemicera) viridula sp. n., paratype; 19. Euhemicera hirtipes sp. n., holotype; 20. ditto, venter, showing femoral pubescence and tibial emargination; 21. venter of Euhemicera gebieni (Kaszab, 1941) from Taiwan.