Melanopsacus parvulus, Zimmerman, 1942

Zimmerman, Elwood C., 1942, Anthribidae Of Guam, Insects of Guam I, Honolulu, Hawaii: Bernice P. Bishop Museum, pp. 65-72 : 69-70

4. Melanopsacus parvulus , new species (pl. 1, E).

Male: derm piceous to black, appendages yellow; rather evenly and thinly clothed with prostrate golden hair above, pubescence not forming patterns.

Head coarsely reticulate, indistinctly punctate, pubescence short and sparse; eyes almost straight on scrobal side, about one fifth higher than broad; interocular area almost twice as broad as height of an eye; inner margin of scrobes not distinctly elevated but with a minute lateral convexity above insertion of antennae, interscrobal distance hardly more than half as broad as narrowest interocular breadth. Rostrum continuously sculptured with head, as long from insertion of antennae to lateral apical angulation as interscrobal breadth. Antennae with first segment rather vaguely spindle shaped, but one side more inflated than the other, second segment as long as first, rather evenly expanded from base to apex which is almost twice as broad as base, as long as 3 + 4 + 5, fourth segment evidently slightly shorter than 3 or 5, 5 somewhat longer than 6, 6-8 subequal in length, but each successively slightly thicker; segments of club rather symmetrical, entire club as long as preceding five segments, segments subequal in size and shape, first two about as broad as long, terminal one slightly longer. Prothorax about one third broader than long, subhemispherical in outline; densely and minutely punctate; dorsal carina antebasal throughout, very slightly posteriorly concave at middle, lateral angle with lateral carina very slightly more than 90 degrees; lateral carina straight or just perceptibly concave, ending at about one third distance from extreme base to apex of side. Scutell 11m minute, punctiform, hardly discernible. Elytra one seventh longer than broad, twice as long as prothorax, very slightly arcuate on sides from base to apical third, thence broadly rounded, each elytron individually slightly convex at base; punctures arranged in regular stria! rows, intervals broader than punctures; humeral callosities almost obsolete. Pygidimn very slightly broader than long, side margins straightly convergent distally, apex rounded, haJf as broad as base; minutely and indistinctly punctate. Sternum with prosternum coarsely reticulate, densely punctate on sides, slightly shorter between coxal cavity and fore margin than a coxa; mesosternum and metasternum reticulate but not obviously punctate, metasternum not quite as long between mid and hind coxae as a hind coxa at trochanter. Venter reticulate but evidently not punctate; finely setose. Length, 1.25 mm.; breadth, 0.7 mm.

Holotype male, to be deposited in the United States National Museum, labeled " Island Guam, 1425" collected by Fullaway. One paratype-an immature specimen, yellow throughout, collected at Agat from Hernandia , May 31, 1936 by Usinger-is in Bishop Museum.

This minute species is about one half a millimeter smaller than Jordan's minutus or pusillus and is probably the smallest member of the genus thus far described. Its size-together with its antebasal dorsal pronotal carina, the structure of its antennae, head, and venter-and the nature of the sculpture will serve to distinguish it.