Procas picipes levantinus, Thompson, 2006

Thompson, Richard T., 2006, A revision of the weevil genus Procas Stephens (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea: Erirhinidae), Zootaxa 1234 (1), pp. 1-63 : 23-24

Procas picipes levantinus subsp. n.

( Fig. 1 )

[?] Procas armillatus (Fabricius) : Bodenheimer 1937: 153. [Misidentification].

Procas alepensis auctt. (non Pic).

Description

Length 4.2–5.9 mm, mean (12) = 5.1. Head with rostrum (both sexes) × 4.2–4.7 as long as broad, mean (12) = 4.4.

Antennae with lengths of funicle segments 1–3 in ratio 10: (7.2–9.5): (4.5–6.3), mean (13) = 10: 7.9: 5.9; segment 2 × 1.2–1.7 as long as 3, mean (13) = 1.35.

Prothorax (male) × 0.83–0.86 as long as broad, mean (4) = 0.84; prothorax (female) × 0.81–0.88 as long as broad, mean (8) = 0.84.

Legs with middle and hind tibiae with dense pale setae throughout or with, at most, a small dark zone on dorsal edge, near base; basal circlet of white setae usually absent.

Vestiture coarser than in P. p. picipes ; elytra with many prominent white setae ( Fig. 2 ).

Terminalia. Male sternite 8, fig. 82; female sternite 8, figs 24, 25; spermatheca, figs 49, 50.

Type material

HOLOTYPE, female, JORDAN: Amman, 800 m, 22.iii.1957 (J. Klapperich), with ‘ Procas spec. Dieckmann det. 1987’ in BGO. The specimen is 4.9 mm long, carded and undissected; some of its tarsi are imperfect . PARATYPES: 1 female, same data as holotype ( BGO) ; 1 ex. Amman, 12.iv.1935 (W. Wittmer)( MCSN) . ISRAEL / PALESTINE: 1 ex. with ‘ Palaestina / Reitter’ (printed), C 12892 and ‘ Procas armillatus’ (unknown hand)( TAU) ; 8 ex. Jerusalem , 12.iii.1933 (Schatzmayr), (5 MCSN, 2 NMB, 1 BMNH) ; 3 ex. ditto, except 13.ii.1933, Oliveto (2 NMB, 1 MCSN) ; 1 female, Jerusalem , iii.1933 (M. Aigner)( NMB) ; 1 female, Jerusalem , ii.1935 (F. S. Bodenheimer)( BMNH) ; 1 ex. Ben Schemen , 14.i.[19]26 ( MZPW) ; 1 male, Mt Carmel , iii.1933 (M. Aigner)( ZMB) . CYPRUS: 1 female, Limassol, 12.v.1920 (G.A. Mavromoustakis) ; 1 female, ditto, except 6.x.1923 (both BMNH) ; 1 female, no locality (Madon)( IRSN) . TURKEY: 1 ex. with ‘40188’ (A. Fry MS) , Turcomenia, Kurdistan [pre­1872]( Millingen ), A. Fry Collection, B.M. 1905­100 ( BMNH) . Total : 23 specimens.

Comments

This subspecies is named after the region it mainly inhabits. It is strange that it should have been confused with ‘P.’ alepensis , since Pic’s description indicates a species with “... larges squamules denses qui garnissent le dessus de son corps.” Records of P. alepensis Pic in Korotyaev 1991 refer to Notodermus sp. (specimens examined).

Figures

FIGURES 1–8. 1. Habitus, dorsal, of Procas picipes levantinus; 2–8. Elytra, dorsal, of (2) P. p. levantinus, (3) P. granulicollis (normal form), (4) ditto (‘shaggy’ form), (5) P. p. picipes, (6) P. lecontei, (7) P. armillatus, (8) P. biguttatus.