Parallocorynus (Parallocorynus) salasae, O’Brien & Tang, 2015

O’Brien, Charles W. & Tang, William, 2015, Revision of the New World cycad weevils of the subtribe Allocorynina, with description of two new genera and three new subgenera (Coleoptera: Belidae: Oxycoryninae), Zootaxa 3970 (1), pp. 1-87 : 40-41

Parallocorynus (Parallocorynus) salasae Tang and O’Brien, new species

Figures: habitus: 57–60; antennal pockets: 115; male genitalia: 153–154, 187, 227; female genitalia: 254, 267.

DESCRIPTION—Body small to large (range 2.7–5.8 mm, mean = 4.2 mm, n = 54), robust, elongate broad-oval; bicolored, black to brownish orange.

Male (holotype). Rostrum: very long, 1.23 X longer than pronotum; piceus to black; strongly coarsely denticulate dorsally, from base nearly to apex; weakly expanded near apex; very weakly somewhat evenly curved in lateral view. Head: behind eyes and vertex with moderately dense, moderately fine, shallow punctures; forehead coarsely, rugosely punctate, with distinct, long, moderately broad, deep, median sulcus; forehead strongly narrowing apically, 0.64 X as wide between median basal margin and apical margin of eyes; eyes small, bulging with edge produced by narrowing of eye at junction with head. Antennae: scape 1.94 X longer than eye and 1.34 X longer than desmomeres 1+2, 1–5 elongate with symmetrical shape, 6–7 slightly shorter and moderately transverse; scape and desmomere 1 light brown, 2–3 transitional, 4–7 piceus to black; club piceus to black. Prothorax: strongly transverse, 1.31 X wider than long; wider than width of elytral base; apex moderately narrow, sides strongly roundly expanded to basal 1/4, there strongly rounded to base; lateral margins not denticulate, and as disc with fine, small, sparse, widely separated punctures; uniform brownish orange. Mesothorax: with mesepisternum and mesepimeron black. Scutellum: brownish orange with lateral margins straight and subparallel, apically tapered, but broadly rounded at tip; with densely rugose small punctures and scarcely evident, short, fine, recumbent, pale colored setae. Elytra: 0.61 X as wide as long; subparallel behind rounded humeri to expanded declivity, there suddenly evenly broadly rounded to slightly emarginate apices; with small, fine, dense, well-separated punctures on entire surface, overall smooth, shining, not shagreened; uniformly black. Legs: moderately robust, procoxae moderately convex, lacking processes; profemora moderately symmetrically swollen, with small apical pit-like impression receiving base of tibia, apical margins with weak obtuse process, dorsally moderately punctured, appearing shagreened; protibiae moderately stout in lateral view, with base angulately rounded with obtuse bend, lacking inner tooth, inner surface very weakly medially narrowly excavate from middle and broadened to near apex, only inner margin of groove denticulate, apex with small anterior mucro and subequal tooth. Meso- and metafemora brownish orange. Abdomen: black. Length, pronotum and elytron: 4.3 mm.

Female. Same as male except: Rostrum: 1.44 X longer than pronotum; moderately strongly, evenly curved. Antennae: desmomere 1 strongly asymmetrical. Prothorax: 1.32 X wider than long; slightly narrower than width of elytral base; apex narrow, rounded from narrowed apex to slightly narrowed base. Mesothorax: with mesepisternum and mesepimeron brownish orange. Abdomen: brownish orange. Length, pronotum and elytron: 4.94 mm.

Genitalia and Associated Structures— Male. Length of penis and apodemes together 1.38–1.58 mm (n = 3). Penis: in dorsal view apex at gonopore noticeably widening, then tapering to rounded point, apex triangular, about as long as wide (Figs. 153–154, 187). Tegmen: with distal margin with more than 20 setae (Fig. 227). Female. Sternite VIII: (Fig. 254) 1.23–1.37 mm long (n = 4), arms more than half as long as apodeme, diverging from apodeme at angle between arms of ~ 25˚ for 1/3 of length, then angle increasing gradually up to ~ 45˚ for another 1/ 3 of length, then arms forming sharp angulate bend, then converging.

Intraspecific Variation— The rostral length relative to the pronotal length of males = 1.09–1.28 (mean = 1.18, n = 30) and of females = 1.33–1.64 (mean = 1.47, n = 24); the pronotal width relative to the pronotal length of males = 1.18–1.37 (mean = 1.28, n = 30) and of females = 1.25–1.40 (mean = 1.33, n = 24).

Etymological Note— This species is named in honor of Silvia Hortensia Salas-Morales, co-founder of SERBO (Sociedad para el Estudio de los Recursos Bióticos de Oaxaca), for her contributions to the taxonomy, ecology and conservation of cycads and other flora of Oaxaca, Mexico, and for her contribution of specimens to this study .

Remarks— This species is part of a complex of closely related species that includes P. jonesi and P. bicolor . These species may be distinguished by host species. Furthermore, P. salasae may be distinguished from P. bicolor by the greater RL/PL of the males of P. bicolor (range = 1.29–1.40, mean = 1.36) and from P. jonesi by the greater PW/PL of females of P. jonesi (range = 1.28–1.51, mean = 1.43).

Biology— This species inhabits male cones of Dioon holmgrenii and can be found together with Parallocorynus (Eocorynus) schiblii .

Range— Known to occur in Mexico, in the state of Oaxaca. In Oaxaca the host inhabits the Pacific slopes of the Sierra Madre del Sur .

Material Examined— Holotype (by designation) male with the following labels: 1) [rectangular; white; printed in black ink] MEXICO: Oaxaca, San Bartolomé Loxicha, ex ♂ cone Dioon holmgrenii , 5-XII-2008, F.Maldonado-Ruiz; 2) [rectangular; red; printed in black ink] HOLOTYPE ♂ / Parallocorynus (Parallocorynus) / salasae/ Tang & O’Brien 2015 (CAS). Paratypes: same label data, (35). MEXICO: Oaxaca: Jamiltepec, Tetepec, detour to Soledad el Carrizo y Parral, ♂ cone Dioon holmgrenii 6-II-2011, emerged 5-VIII-2011, F. Maldonado-Ruiz (93); Rancho Limón, [GPS coord. omitted], 620m, ex Dioon holmgrenii ♂ cone, 12-XI-2012, W. Tang (3873). Paratypes (4001) are deposited at ANIC, ASUT, BMNH, CAS, CMNC, CSCA, CWOB, EMEC, FMNH, FSCA, IADIZA, IEXA, INbio, IZCAS, MIUP, MNHN, STRI, UCFC, UNAM, USNM, ZMHB.