Parallocorynus (Parallocorynus) gregoryi O’Brien, 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 : 41-43

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

Figures: habitus: 61–64; wing: 98; antennal pockets: 116; male genitalia: 155–156, 188, 228; female genitalia: 255. (female habitus illustrated in Vovides 1991)

DESCRIPTION—Body small to large (range 2.9–5.7 mm, mean = 4.2 mm, n = 93), very robust, elongate broad-oval; bicolored, dark orange and brown.

Male (holotype). Rostrum: very long, 1.24 X longer than pronotum; piceus to black; except red-brown near apex; 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 with distinct, short, narrow, deep, median sulcus; forehead strongly narrowed apically, 0.67 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 1.52 X longer than eye and 1.22 X longer than desmomeres 1+2, 1–4 elongate with symmetrical shape, 5–6 slightly shorter and strongly transverse, 7 small and short, almost as long as wide; scape and desmomere 1 pale yellowish, 2–7 dark brown to black (darkening apicad); club with rhopalomeres 1–2 piceus to black, apical rhopalomere paler brown. Prothorax: transverse, 1.21 X wider than long; slightly wider than width of elytral base; apex moderately narrow, evenly weakly roundly expanded to basal 1/4, there moderately strongly rounded to base; lateral margins not denticulate, with moderately large, shallow moderately coarse punctures; disc with fine, small, sparse, widely separated punctures; uniform dark orange. Scutellum: lateral margins straight and subparallel, trapezoidal; apically broadly rounded; with densely rugose small punctures and scarcely evident, short, fine, recumbent, pale colored setae. Elytra: 0.60 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 rugosely 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. Length, pronotum and elytron: 4.50 mm.

Female. Same as male except: Rostrum: 1.56 X longer than pronotum; moderately strongly, evenly curved. Antennae: desmomere 1 strongly asymmetrical Prothorax: 1.34 X wider than long; not wider than width of elytral base; apex narrow, strongly rounded from narrowed apex to slightly narrowed base. Length, pronotum and elytron: 4.80 mm.

Genitalia and Associated Structures— Male. Length of penis and apodemes together 1.49–1.65 mm (n = 10). Penis: in dorsal view apex at gonopore noticeably widening, then tapering immediately, apex triangular, about as long as wide (see Figs. 155–156, 188). Internal sac: when fully extruded with dorsal pleats, covered with scales on lateral and ventral surfaces. Tegmen: with distal margin with more than 20 setae (Fig. 228). Female. Sternite VIII: (Fig. 255) 1.24–1.29 mm long (n = 3), arms approximately half as long as apodeme, diverging from apodeme at angle between arms of ~ 15˚ for ~ 1/4 of length, then angle increasing to ~ 60˚ for the next half of length, then arms forming sharp angulate bend, then converging.

Intraspecific Variation— The rostral length relative to the pronotal length was found to be fairly uniform among populations within this species and to be useful in distinguishing this species from other related species; the RL/PL of males = 1.18–1.40 (mean = 1.30, n = 44) and of females = 1.41–1.65 (mean = 1.55, n = 49); the pronotal width relative to the pronotal length of males = 1.18–1.32 (mean = 1.24, n = 44) and of females = 1.28–1.42 (mean = 1.36, n = 49).

Etymological Note— This species is named in honor of Tim Gregory, who collected part of the type series, and for his contributions to the taxonomy, ecology and conservation of Mexican cycads.

Remarks— Parallocorynus gregoryi is a member of a species complex in which there are few morphological characters to distinguish different populations living on different, but closely related host species of Dioon . The most consistent morphological character distinguishing P. gregoryi from other Parallocorynus is the presence of black colored meso- and metafemora (contrasting with paler brown, orange or yellowish colored femora in all other members of this genus. Molecular analysis of the 16S rRNA gene of six populations with black meso- and metafemora, from Dioon argenteum , D.califanoi and D. purpusii support the use of this character to identify members of this species ( Tang et al. in prep.).

Biology— This species is found on a species complex of Dioon , which includes D. califanoi , D. purpusii and D. argenteum . These host species inhabit the ecotone between thorn forest and oak/pine forest at elevations between 1400–2000 m and are believed to have spread and speciated since the end of the Wisconsin glaciations ca. 12,000 years ago, when this habitat shifted from near sea level up to current elevations in the mountains of eastern Oaxaca in Mexico ( Gregory & Chemnick 2004). Although small morphological and genetic variation may exist in these weevils on different host populations, we treat them as one variable species until more detailed genetic or morphological evidence indicates otherwise. Usually 1– 5 larvae develop within a single sporophyll of a male cone ( Tang , unpublished obs.) and when cones were brought into the lab, adults continued to emerge. On D. califanoi male cones this species can be found together with adults of Parallocorynus (Eocorynus) chemnicki .

Range— Known from Mexico, in the eastern portion of the state of Oaxaca and the southern portion of the state of Puebla.

Material Examined— Holotype (by designation) male with the following labels: 1) [rectangular; white; printed in black ink] Oaxaca, Mexico 1450m elev./ 2km so. Ejido Carrizal/ [GPS coord. omitted]/ ex: Dioon argenteum M cone/thorn & oak/pine forest trans./ steep limestone slope of an/ alluvial fan/ coll. Tim Gregory XI-5-2001; 2) [rectangular; red; printed in black ink] HOLOTYPE ♂ / Parallocorynus (Parallocorynus) / gregoryi/ O’Brien & Tang 2015 (CAS). Paratypes: same label data, (14). MEXICO: Oaxaca: Ixtlan de Juarez, 30-IX-80, Ceratozamia sp. [prob. Dioon argenteum ], Col. E.Guizar (11); Carizal, 1494m, [GPS coord. omitted], cone ♂ Dioon argenteum , 14-XI-2012, W. Tang & S. Salas (3); Papalo, ex: Dioon pupusii dried ♂ cone, coll. T.Gregory, early Feb 2000 (7); 1450m elev., 2km so. Concepción Pápalo, Mina de Asbesto , ex ♂ cone Dioon purpusii , 24-I-2005, J. Donaldson (2); Cuicatlan, Concepción Papalo, detour to San Lorenzo Papalo, ex ♂ cone Dioon purpusii , 18-III-2011, F. Maldonado Ruiz (26); Cuicatlan, San Juan Coyula, ex ♂ cone Dioon purpusii , 9-VIII-2011, Fátima Maldonado Ruiz (28); Santa Catarina, [GPS coord. omitted], 1400m, Dioon purpusii ♂ cone, 5-XI-2012, W. Tang (42);Teotitlan del Camino, 1800 m deciduous thorn-forest on metamorphic soil, ex ♂ cone of Dioon califanoi , 24v iii 1992, A.P. Vovides (10); Puebla: 12km N road to Huautla, ex ♂ cone Dioon califanoi , 23-I-2005, J. Donaldson

& S. Salas (2); Oax. border, Teotitlán, [GPS coord. omitted], 1890 m, ex Dioon califanoi ♂ cone, 7-XI-2012, W. Tang (192). Paratypes (337) are deposited at ANIC, ASUT, BMNH, CAS, CMNC, CSCA, CWOB, EMEC, FMNH, FSCA, IEXA, IZCAS, MIUP, MNHN, STRI, UNAM, USNM, ZMHB.