Tychius bajtenovi Caldara, 1986

Jiang, Chunyan, Caldara, Roberto & Zhang, Runzhi, 2020, The genus Tychius Germar (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Curculioninae) in China, with description of three new species, Zootaxa 4856 (1), pp. 1-62 : 33

31. Tychius bajtenovi Caldara, 1986

( Figures 101–102, 223–224, 297–298, 334, 347, 359, 390, 426)

Tychius bajtenovi Caldara, 1986: 186 .

Lepidotychius mongolicus Bajtenov, 1977 (not Csiki, 1901): 161. Caldara, 1986: 186 ( Tychius ).

Material examined. CHINA: Inner Mongolia: Yimengdaqi , 22-VII-1987, leg Zhanrong Qiao (1) .

Redescription. Length 2.70–3.00 mm ( Fig. 101–102). Dorsal integument completely hidden by very dense, overlapped, broad, rounded to oval, yellowish scales (paler at sides), irregularly arranged on elytral interstriae with a few slightly elongate subelliptical scales intermixed. Rostrum ( Fig. 223–224) in lateral view feebly curved in both sexes (Rl/Rw 4.90–5.00 in male, 5.03–5.50 in female; Rl/Pl 0.77–0.81 in male, 0.89–0.93 in female). Eyes flat. Pronotum subquadrate (Pw/Pl 1.02–1.12), with weakly curved sides in basal half, moderately convex. Elytra elongate, rectangular (El/Ew 1.55–1.70; Ew/Pw 1.25–1.36), subparallel-sided in basal two thirds, weakly convex. Femora ( Fig. 297–298) unarmed, protibiae ( Fig. 334) distinctly curved in male. Third tarsomere distinctly wider than second tarsomere ( Fig. 347). Claws ( Fig. 359) with small medial teeth as long as half of claw, fastened to claw in basal half. Male genitalia: body of penis ( Fig. 390) moderately wide and with sides very slightly convergent in basal 2/3, then distinctly narrowed and parallel sided to apex, with wide and blunted tip ( Fig. 426); apex in lateral view downturned, longer than apodeme. Female genitalia ( Caldara 1986): spermatheca with long parallel-sided ramus, short robust collum, robust nodulus, cornu gradually narrowing to apex; spiculum ventrale with arms slightly spaced and convergent in basal third, then joined to apex.

Remarks and comparative notes. This species differs from T. kaszabi by the very dense dorsal vestiture formed by ruffled, irregularly arranged broad scales, from T. gracilitubus by the slightly curved rostrum in lateral view and from T. crassifemoris by longer rostrum in both sexes and lack of particular abdominal characters in female.

Biology. This species probably lives on Hedysarum sp. (Karasjov, 1991).

Distribution. This species was previously known only from Mongolia. New record from China (NMO).