Stenidius elegans, Kejval, 2006

Kejval, Zbyněk, 2006, Two new species of Stenidius (Coleptera: Anthicidae) from India and Laos, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 46, pp. 127-132 : 130-132

Stenidius elegans sp. nov.

( Figs. 2 , 8, 9 )

Type locality. Laos, Vientiane province, 35 km NE of Vientiane, Lao Pako.

Type material. HOLOTYPE: J, ‘ LAOS centr., Vientiane pr., LAO PAKO, 35 km NE of Vientiane, 200 m a.s.l., on light 1.- 4.5.2005, Petr Kresl lgt.’ ( NMPC).

Description (male, holotype). Head black, pronotum black with brownish collar and narrowly rufous brown base, elytra black with two paired spots, anterior spots situated posteriorly to humeri, only vaguely indicated, small and brownish, posterior spots situated in basal half, oblique, conspicuous, rather sharply outlined and contrasting yellow; legs with rufous brown tibiae and tarsi, femora largely brown black, distinctly paler basally; antennae dark rufous in basal half, becoming gradually darker, with distal antennomeres partly to entirely black.

Head 1.1 times as long as wide, widely rounded apically; posterior temporal angles round- ed but distinct. Eyes small to medium, rather convex and protruding. Surface less glossy, distinctly and densely punctured; punctation distinctly double, composed of large shallow punctures and fine punctures, rather evenly dense. Setation short, subdecumbent to appressed, erect setae very sparse and short, quite inconspicuous. Antennae distinctly exceeding base of pronotum, moderately enlarged in apical third; antennomere X nearly 1.2 times and antennomere XI 2.2 times as long as wide, respectively.

Pronotum 1.2 times as long as wide, slightly narrower than head including eyes, widely rounded anteriorly, moderately narrowing posteriad, only shallowly impressed postero-laterally in dorsal view; dorsal outline moderately convex, somewhat flattened posteriorly in lateral view; dorsal side with indication of shallow, median longitudinal impression. Surface less glossy owing to dense punctation, impunctate only laterally near procoxal cavities; dorsal punctation as on head, very dense, especially in posterior half. Setation as on head.

Elytra oval, 2.2 times as long as wide, nearly conjointly rounded apically; humeri rounded, only moderately protruding; postscutellar impression slightly indicated. Surface less glossy, rather densely and evenly punctured; punctures homogeneous, somewhat smaller than fine punctures of head and pronotum. Setation similar to that on head, unevenly directed, setae in postscutellar impression medially divergent from suture laterad, setae on anterior spots sharply pointing mediad, setae on posterior spots pointing laterad and convergent with lateral setae; some erect but short and quite inconspicuous setae present in apical third. Metathoracic wings well developed.

Legs. Penultimate tarsomere narrow, with terminal tarsomere articulated apically in middle and hind tarsi; fore legs simply shaped, fore femora of rather normal size (not swollen).

Abdomen. Sternum VII simply shaped, rather evenly rounded posteriorly. Tergum VII evenly rounded posteriorly. Paired prongs of sternite VIII ( Fig. 8 ) simply shaped, narrow, convergent in apical half, bluntly pointed apically, with several conspicuously long setae on lateral and median margin. Tergite VIII evenly rounded posteriorly.

Aedeagus ( Fig. 9 ). Apical portion of tegmen about as long as basal-piece, rather evenly narrowing towards rounded apex, with a pair of sharp, lateral subapical protrusions pointing backwards. Median lobe of aedeagus with conspicuous sclerotized structure near base.

Female. Unknown.

Body length (J). 2.8 mm.

Differential diagnosis. Stenidius elegans sp. nov. can be easily recognized by the combination of its dark coloured body, widely rounded base of the head, rather coarse punctation of the head and pronotum, contrasting yellowish markings, and variably directed setae on the elytra.

Etymology. From Latin elegans (= elegant, handsome); named in reference to the colour pattern and peculiar setation of the elytra.

Bionomics. Unknown. The specimen was caught at a simple light trap (combined UV and normal bulb, white screen) placed near a river bank.

Distribution. Laos.

Remark. I have recently described S. laopako Kejval, 2004 , from Laos and named it after its type locality. The holotype of S. elegans sp. nov. was collected at the same site. It was caught together with two females of S. laopako and several specimens of S. cruciger (LaFerté- Sénectère, 1849) and S. signatus (Pic, 1922) , all deposited in ZKDC.

Figures

Figs. 1-2. 1 – Stenidius bezdeki sp. nov., holotype. 2 – S. elegans sp. nov., holotype.

Figs. 3-9. 3-7 – Stenidius bezdeki sp. nov., holotype. 3 – fore femur; 4 – male sternum VII; 5 – male sternite VIII; 6 – aedeagus in ventral view; 7 – apex of aedeagus in lateral view. 8-9 – S. elegans sp. nov., holotype. 8 – male sternite VIII; 9 – aedeagus in ventral view. Scale = 0.2 mm: A – Figs. 5-9, B – Figs. 3, 4.