Aphanerostethus decoratus Lewis & Kojima, 2024

Lewis, Jake H., Kojima, Hiroaki, Suenaga, Miyuki, Petsopoulos, Dimitrios, Fujisawa, Yusuke, Truong, Xuan Lam & Warren, Dan L., 2024, The era of cybertaxonomy: X-ray microtomography reveals cryptic diversity and concealed cuticular sculpture in Aphanerostethus Voss, 1957 (Coleoptera, Curculionidae), ZooKeys 1217, pp. 1-45 : 1-45

Aphanerostethus decoratus Lewis & Kojima sp. nov.

Figs 4 E , 10 D , 11 B , 14 C, D

Specimens examined.

Holotype: Malaysia: • Cameron Highlands , 2. IV. 1990, J. Mateu, deposited in KUM, JHLHY_DAR_079 .

Diagnosis.

Body length 2.2 mm. Cuticle covered in dark to pale brown scales, with distinct, dark, V-shaped band across anterior part of elytra. Funicle with six articles. Procoxae contiguous. Prosternal cavity prominent and with steep lateral ridges. Only odd-numbered elytral intervals with erect scales. Elytral scales concentrated in bundle on first interval at midpoint. Scutellum prominent. Femora with large ventral tooth at midpoint. Metaventrite with a distinct elevated transverse ridge separating the meta- and mesocoxae.

Distribution.

This species is currently only known from one specimen collected at Cameron Highlands, Malaysia.

Etymology.

The specific name decoratus is a Latin participle in reference to the posterior half of the elytra which is adorned with a dense tuft of erect scales.

Figures

Figure 4. X-ray microtomography generated 3 D models of Aphanerostethus pronota with scales removed, revealing otherwise hidden differences in underlying puncture morphology A Aphanerostethus armatus sp. nov. (JHLHY _ DAR _ 078) B – D Aphanerostethus bifidus sp. nov. (JHLHY _ DAR _ 092, 101, and 103, respectively) E Aphanerostethus decoratus sp. nov. (JHLHY _ DAR _ 079) F Aphanerostethus spinosus sp. nov. (JHLHY _ DAR _ 077).

Figure 10. X-ray microtomography generated 3 D models of Aphanerostethus elytra with scales removed, revealing differences in the length of the 10 th elytral stria. The yellow and red arrows indicate the base and apex of the 10 th elytral stria, respectively A Aphanerostethus bifidus sp. nov. (JHLHY _ DAR _ 092) B A. falcatus sp. nov. (JHLHY _ DAR _ 172) C A. morimotoi sp. nov. (JHLHY _ DAR _ 115) D A. decoratus sp. nov. (JHLHY _ DAR _ 079) E A. distinctus (Morimotoi & Miyakawa, 1985) (OKENT 0089414) F A. taiwanus sp. nov. (JHLHY _ DAR _ 070).

Figure 11. X-ray microtomography generated 3 D models of Aphanerostethus with the right elytron removed, revealing differences in the length, width, and venation of the hindwing (as shown here, the hindwing is affixed to the inner surface of the elytron in most specimens). A lateral view of the full body is shown below each close-up for reference. The red, blue, and yellow arrows indicate the base, midpoint, and apex of the hindwing, respectively A Aphanerostethus bifidus sp. nov. (JHLHY _ DAR _ 092) B A. decoratus sp. nov. (JHLHY _ DAR _ 079) C A. japonicus sp. nov. (JHLHY _ DAR _ 041) D A. magnus sp. nov. (JHLHY _ DAR _ 032).

Figure 14. Lateral and dorsal photographs of Aphanerostethus species A, B Aphanerostethus bifidus sp. nov. (JHLHY _ DAR _ 092) C, D Aphanerostethus decoratus sp. nov. (JHLHY _ DAR _ 079). Scale bars: 0.5 mm.