Parallocorynus (Neocorynus) inexpectatus 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 : 50-51

Parallocorynus (Neocorynus) inexpectatus O’Brien and Tang, new species

Figures: habitus: 81 – 84, 275; antennal pockets: 121; male genitalia: 165 – 166, 193, 233; female genitalia: 260.

DESCRIPTION—Body small to medium-sized (range 2.6 – 3.8 mm, mean = 3.2 mm, n =16), not robust, elongate-oval; distinctly bicolored, orange-brown and black.

Male (holotype). Rostrum: long, 1.16 X longer than pronotum; blackish brown; coarsely, scarcely rugosely, substriately punctate from base nearly to apex; not clearly expanding near apex, weakly somewhat evenly curved in lateral view. Head: just behind eyes, and forehead between eyes with few sparse large punctures; forehead with distinct, long, narrow, median sulcus; forehead nearly equal in width between median basal and apical margin of eyes. Antennae: with scape 1.20 X longer than eye and as long as desmomeres 1+2, 1 – 4 elongate, 5 – 7 shorter and transverse; scape and desmomeres 1 – 4 reddish brown, 5 – 7 piceus to black; club with rhopalomeres 1 & 2 piceus to black, apical rhopalomere pale yellowish. Prothorax: transverse, 1.12 X wider than long; apex moderately narrow, evenly roundly expanded to basal 1/4, there strongly rounded to base; lateral margins not denticulate, with large coarse punctures; disc with moderately coarse, sparse, widely separated punctures; laterally subrugose; uniform orange-brown. Scutellum: with sides basally subparallel; apically narrowed and rounded, with dense small punctures. Elytra: 0.55 X as wide as long; subparallel behind rounded humeri, to very slightly expanded near declivity, there suddenly evenly narrowed to rounded moderately emarginate apices; unevenly coarsely punctured, humeral area with discrete punctures, medially and apically transversely moderately rugosely punctured; with basal 1/4 brown, remainder of disc uniformly brownish black. Legs: very robust, procoxae weakly convex, lacking processes; profemora strongly asymmetrically swollen, with apical pit-like impression receiving base of tibia, each margin with small apical, blunt, not toothlike process, inner surface granulate at area of greatest swelling; protibiae stout in lateral view, with base rounded with strong rounded bend, lacking inner tooth, inner surface weakly medially broadly excavate from base to near apex, subcarinate margins of groove denticulate, apex with small anterior mucro and subequal posteriorly directed tooth. Length, pronotum and elytron: 3.10 mm.

Female. Same as male except: Rostrum: 1.62 X longer than pronotum, smooth, nearly impunctate. Antennae: with desmomeres 1 – 6 elongate, 7 transverse, 1 – 6 pale yellowish, 7 blackish brown; club with rhopalomere 3 basally black, apical 4/5 pale yellowish. Prothorax: 1.24 X wider than long; apex narrow, apical 1/3 strongly rounded, there subparallel to slightly narrowed broad base. Elytra: 0.50 X as wide as long. Length, pronotum and elytron: 3.80 mm.

Genitalia and Associated Structures— Male. Length of penis and apodemes together 1.12 – 1.22 mm (n = 3). Penis: in dorsal view lateral margins tapering gradually toward apex from transverse bridge at base, greatest width 0.18 mm basal to gonopore, barely perceptible bulge at gonopore, beyond gonopore apex tapering more rapidly to blunt or rounded point, apex relatively narrow, width of apex ~ 60% length of apex (Figs. 165 – 166, 193). Female. Sternite VIII: 1.08 mm long (n = 1), arms ~ half as long as apodeme, diverging from apodeme with gradually increasing angle between arms (maximum angle reaching 83˚) for ~ 2/5 of length, then curving gently inward without sharp angulate bend, then converging in final half of length (Fig. 260).

Intraspecific Variation— The rostral length relative to the pronotal length of males = 1.04 – 1.12 (mean = 1.08, n = 7) and of females = 1.58 – 1.68 (mean = 1.62, n = 7); the pronotal width relative to the pronotal length of males = 1.10 – 1.15 (mean = 1.13, n = 7) and of female = 1.16 – 1.24 (mean = 1.20, n = 7). In addition to a granular field, major males exhibit a pronounced angulation on the ventrodistal surface of the profemora (Fig. 275).

Etymological Note— This species epithet refers to the unexpected presence and behavior of this species.

Remarks— This species is found together with Parallocorynus (Parallocorynus) n orstogi in the male cones of Dioon angustifolium . Female individuals of the two species are similar, but can be distinguished by RL/PL, which is smaller (1.27 – 1.48) in P. norstogi .

Biology— Found in the male cones of Dioon angustifolium , formerly known as Dioon edule var. angustifolium (see González-Astorga et al. 2005), and D. sp. aff. angustifolium in Nuevo León, San Luis Potosi and Tamaulipas and probably Hidalgo and Querétaro states north of the Mexican transvolcanic belt. Unlike most other Allocorynina , the larvae inhabit, but do not pupate in male cones of its host; rearing experiments conducted over an 8 year period by the senior author on a male cone collected from the wild in which adults of this species were collected demonstrated that no pupae of this species developed and emerged as adults from the cone; during the same period another Allocorynina , Parallocorynus norstogi , emerged yearly from this cone during the study period. Large amounts of cycad pollen grains found in the gut of an adult P. inexpectatus suggests it feeds on the pollen of the host.

Range— Known from Mexico in the states of Nuevo León, San Luis Potosi, Tamaulipas .

Material Examined— Holotype (by designation) male with the following labels: 1) [rectangular; white; printed in black ink] MEX., N.L., 16 mi. / W. Linares 3600’/ VIII-15-1971 C&L/ OBrien & Marshall; 2) ex: male strobile/ Dioon edule [ angustifolium ]; 3) [rectangular; red; printed in black ink] HOLOTYPE ♂ / Parallocorynus (Neocorynus) / inexpectatus/ O’Brien & Tang 2015 (CAS). Paratypes: same label data, (161). MEXICO: N.L. [Nuevo León]: 2400’ 16mi. W.Linares, Hwy. 58, IX-11-1982 C.W. & L. O’Brien & G.Wibmer, ex: male strobile Dioon edule [ angustifolium ] (933); S.L.P. [San Luis Potosi]: Hwy 70, 23k E. Cd. Valles, tunnel, [GPS coord. omitted], 335m, Dioon sp. “minima” cone ♂, 13-XI-2014, W. Tang (102); Tamps. [Tamaulipas]: Mpo. Villa Mainero, Rancho Paso de las Nogales T.Sheridan P., 580m., 99o39’, 24 o32’ ex: male strobile Dioon edule [ angustifolium ], 1982 (8). Paratypes (1204) are deposited at ANIC, ASUT, BMNH, CAS, CMNC, CSCA, CWOB, EMEC, FMNH, FSCA, IADIZA, IEXA, INBio, IZCAS, MIUP, MNHN, STRI, UCFC, UNAM, USNM, ZMHB.