Ruthmuelleria, Jałoszyński, Paweł & Ślipiński, Adam, 2014

Jałoszyński, Paweł & Ślipiński, Adam, 2014, Ruthmuelleria, a new genus of Carinodulini (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae: Microweiseinae) from South Africa, Zootaxa 3784 (3), pp. 275-280 : 277-278

Genus Ruthmuelleria gen. nov.

Type species: Ruthmuelleria grootdrifensis .

Diagnosis. Antennae eight-segmented; head without supraorbital sulcus; prothorax elongate, with sublateral carinae running from base to anterior pits; pronotum with two pairs of pits located latero-dorsally; prosternum with a pair of pits near anterior part of pronotosternal suture; mesoventrite with a pair of postmesocoxal pits with openings shifted to anterior portion of metaventrite; metaventral postcoxal lines not recurved; abdominal postcoxal lines V-shaped.

Description. Body ( Fig. 1 ) elongate and strongly flattened, covered with short setae, colour light brown; BL around 1 mm.

Head ( Figs. 3–4 ) elongate; vertex and frontoclypeus weakly convex; frontoclypeus slightly longer than length of antennal sockets, with anterior margin shallowly emarginate; supraorbital sulcus and subantennal grooves absent; eyes moderately large and convex, coarsely faceted. Gular sutures obliterated. Antenna ( Fig. 4 ) eightsegmented, with a distinct club composed of large terminal antennomere; antennomeres V–VII transverse. Mandibular apex bidentate; maxillary palp large, with cultriform terminal palpomere; submentum very narrow and broadened in anterior portion; mentum much broader than submentum, strongly elongate, subtrapezoidal; ligula shorter than labial palp, with a fringe of setae along anterior margin; labial palpi broadly separated, palpomeres cylindrical, apex of terminal palpomere truncate.

Prothorax ( Figs. 5–6 ) elongate, with three pairs of pits: two on laterodorsal portion of pronotum and one in anterior portion of prosternum. Pronotum ( Fig. 5 ) weakly convex, lateral margin indistinctly microcrenulate; sublateral carinae extending from pronotal base to anterior pits; posterior margin arcuate and strongly expanding caudad. Prosternum ( Fig. 6 ) in front of coxae about three times as long as coxal cavity, flattened; prosternal intercoxal process with nearly parallel lateral margins in posterior half, truncated at apex and extending beyond procoxal cavities, as narrow as about one third of coxal width.

Mesoventrite ( Fig. 7 ) flattened, procoxal rest not demarcated; mesoventral intercoxal process slightly broadened in posterior part, with posterior margin straight.

Mesoscutellum (not shown) well visible between bases of elytra, subtriangular, transverse.

Elytra ( Fig. 1 ) oval; broadest slightly anterior to middle; epipleura incomplete, fused with elytral margin near posterior margin of abdominal ventrite II.

Metaventrite ( Fig. 7 ) strongly transverse, slightly convex and slightly shorter than abdominal ventrite I; postcoxal lines oblique, broadly separated medially, extending from middle width of mesocoxa to lateral margin of metaventrite; posterior margin of metaventrite between metacoxa nearly straight.

Metathoracic wings absent.

Abdomen ( Fig. 7 ) with six ventrites, ventrite I slightly longer than II and III combined; postcoxal lines Vshaped and reaching posterior margin of ventrite. Pygidium and propygidium ( Fig. 1 ) in all studied specimens strongly sclerotized and exposed in dorsal view.

Legs ( Figs. 6–7 ) short but slender; all tarsi three-segmented.

Male genitalia ( Figs. 8–9 ). Tegmen asymmetrical, penis guide broad and relatively short, parameres articulated, anterior strut very short. Penis about 0.7 times as long as abdomen, without basal capsule.

Distribution and composition. A single species is known to occur in the West Cape province of South Africa ( Fig. 2 ).

Etymology. This genus is named in honour of Ruth Müller, a curator at TMSA.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 2. Ruthmuelleria grootdrifensis sp. n. (1) Dorsal habitus of male; (2) Distribution map.

FIGURES 3 – 6. Ruthmuelleria grootdrifensis sp. n. (3) Head capsule, dorsal view (mouthparts omitted); (4) Head capsule, ventral view; (5) Prothorax, dorsal view; (6) Prothorax, ventral view.

FIGURES 7 – 9. Ruthmuelleria grootdrifensis sp. n. (7) Pterothorax and abdomen, ventral view; (8 – 9) Male genitalia.