Chileanthicus volselifer, Kejval, 2009

Kejval, Zbyněk, 2009, Taxonomic revision of the genus Chileanthicus Werner (Coleoptera: Anthicidae) 2180, Zootaxa 2180 (1), pp. 1-82 : 77-81

Chileanthicus volselifer sp. nov.

( Figs 212–219 )

Type locality. Australia, Northern Territory, 40 km W of Alice Springs.

Description (male, holotype). Head black; pronotum largely black, with rufous brown basal margin; elytra brown black, darker in basal third, with rufous suture and with two, transverse, rather sharply outlined, yellowish rufous bands ( Fig. 212 ), the anterior band nearly joined medially with rufous suture, the posterior band distinctly interrupted medially; antennae brown black, two basal antennomeres paler, rufous brown; legs and palpi rufous brown, femora somewhat darkened distally.

Head 1.3 times as long as wide, evenly rounded posteriorly; tempora distinctly narrowing posteriad; posterior temporal angles absent. Eyes small, moderately convex. Dorsal surface slightly glossy, distinctly punctured ( Fig. 212 ); punctation double, punctures somewhat unevenly spaced, distinctly sparser medially, with indication of glossy medial line, especially anteriorly on frons and clypeus. Setation generally very short and fine, subdecumbent to appressed, with a few, inconspicuous, erect setae. Antennae long, moderately enlarged in terminal third; antennomere III twice as long as wide, slightly longer than IV; antennomere X 1.7 times, XI 2.1 times as long as wide.

Pronotum 1.2 times as long as wide, slightly wider than head including eyes, nearly evenly rounded anteriorly in dorsal view. Pronotal disc rather convex, less distinct, its lateral margins forming rounded edge, lateral outlines nearly straightly narrowing towards base in dorsal view. Dorsal surface slightly glossy, densely punctured; punctation similar to that of head, moderately denser mesally. Setation as on head.

Elytra 1.9 times as long as wide, conjointly rounded apically. Surface rather moderately glossy, densely punctured ( Fig. 212 ); basal punctation nearly simple. Setation more distinct, moderately longer than on head, subdecumbent to appressed, mostly pale to brownish, with setae on transverse bands silvery and distinctly swirled medially; erect setae sparsely scattered and inconspicuous.

Metafemora unidentate ( Fig. 213 ), subapical process rather wide basally, nearly rectangular and pointed apically, facing inner side of tibia; metatibiae with small denticle on inner side apically. Setation rather uniformly short and fine; metatibiae with a stiff, longer seta near apical denticle ( Fig. 214 ).

Abdominal sternum VII and tergum VII simple. Sternite VII ( Fig. 215 ); paired prongs simple, wide, dorso-ventrally flattened, with medial margin moderately sinuous and rounded apex, their surface sparsely setose. Tergite VIII simple, with posterior margin somewhat unevenly rounded, slightly triangular. Segment IX (spiculum) as in Fig. 216 .

Aedeagus ( Fig. 217 ); apical portion of tegmen about twice as long as basal-piece, moderately bent in lateral view, with apex rather wide, flattened and bluntly pointed in dorsal view, narrowed, beak-like shaped in lateral view. Median lobe of aedeagus bilobed apically, with a pair of subapical lateral projections.

Female. Unknown (see Remarks).

Body length (♂). 3.6 mm.

Type material. Holotype: ♂, NT. 40km W of Alice Springs 5 May 1983 83-24 JFL (J.Doyen) Podaxis pistillaris ( ANIC).

Additional material. 1 ♀, Barrow Creek N. T. 3rd May 1938 from fence post attacked by Hetetermes sp. ( ANIC) .

Differential diagnosis. C. volselifer sp. nov. differs from most species by the combination of unidentate metafemora, rather rounded lateral margins of the pronotal disc (no sharp edge), generally rather short body setation (erect setae inconspicuous), simply punctured elytra, with paler marking and setose bands, and double punctation of the head and pronotum. It shares these external characters and similar body form (evenly rounded base of head) with C. quadrimaculatus , but differs by the form of the subapical process of the metafemora (cf. Figs 213 , 193 ), and by all male characters (quite dissimilar morphology of the aedeagus, cf. Figs 215, 216 and 194, 195 ).

Etymology. From Latin volsella (a pair of tweezers) and ferre (carry); refering to the form of male sternite VIII.

Distribution. Australia (Northern Territory).

Remarks. The female specimen examined from Barrow Creek is externally very similar and probably conspecific with the type. However, its identity is uncertain, since numerous closely related species can be reliably distinguished only by male charcters.

Figures

FIGURES 209–219: Chileanthicus uhmanni sp. nov., male, holotype: 209, body form and punctation of head (top) and elytra (bottom); 210, antenna; 211, metafemur; C. volselifer sp. nov., male, holotype: 212, body form and punctation of head (top) and elytra (bottom); 213, metafemur; 214, apex of metatibia; 215, sternite VIII; 216, apex of aedeagus in ventral (right) and lateral (left) view; C. cursor sp. nov. (male, holotype): 217, tergite VIII; 218, segment IX (spiculum); 219, C. quadrimaculatus (King), South Australia (SAMA), male tergite VIII. Scale (1.0 mm): A, 209, 212; (0.5 mm): B, 211, 217, 218, 219; C, 213; D, 210; (0.2 mm): B, 214; E, 215, 216.

FIGURES 192–200: Chileanthicus quadrimaculatus (King), male, South Australia (SAMA): 192, body form and punctation of head (top) and elytra (bottom); 193, metafemur; 194, sternite VIII; 195, apical portion of aedeagus (left) in lateral and tegmen (right) in ventral view; 196, apex of tegmen in ventral view; C. speciosus (King), male, holotype: 197, body form and punctation of head (top) and elytra (bottom); 198, sternite VIII; 199, tergite VIII; 200, apex of aedeagus in ventral (right) and lateral (left) view. Scale (1.0 mm): A, 192; B, 197; C, 199; D, 193; (0.5 mm): C, 198; D, 194, 195, 196; (0.2 mm): E, 200.