Ottinychus lavae, Kuschel, 2008

Kuschel, Guillermo, 2008, Curculionoidea (weevils) of New Caledonia and Vanuatu: Basal families and some Curculionidae, Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle 197, pp. 99-250 : 181-182

Ottinychus lavae n. sp.

Fig. 78

DESCRIPTION. — Derm shiny black, antennae and legs reddish brown. Scaling dense except on middle of underside and in a postscutellar impression, on dorsal surface dark brown, whitish on sides of rostrum and head, two dots on either side of pronotum, a few dots on eelytal dorsum and a denser patch of scales on and around subapical swelling. Setae recumbent, short, inconspicuous.

Head and frons, in lateral view, in a straight line, rather indistinctly punctate, with a short groove anteriorly on frons. Eyes large, weakly convex, in lateral view as close as scrobes to dorsal surface, 0.77 of an antero-posterior diameter from epistome. Rostrum tapering apicad, in profile strongly curved; intrascrobal distance nearly 0.8 of frons. Prothoprtax 1.15 x wider than long, widening in straight line to about middle, the rounded, transversely convex, longitudinally nearly straight; disc sparsely punctate, with seta in puncta. Scutellum in dorsal view semicircular, in lateral view conical.

Elytra 1.66 x longer than wide, 1.37 x wider than prothorax, converging in nearly straight line to apical one-third, followed by a conspicuous sinus on sides to be independently rounded at apex and leave a rather deep indentation in rear view, transversely convex, in profile straight to beyond middle, then curved to a nearly straight declivity. Striae well-marked, partly sulcate, stria 10 fine from hind coxae onwards, puncta with a fine seta. Interstriae much wider athan striae, in female sutural interstria not impressed, appearing cariniform, interstria 2 distinctly impressed and partly bare behind scutellum; humeral area not compressed but interstria 8 distinctly convex behind shoulders, interstria 10 conspicuously swollen to a tubercle just before apex.

Fore coxae disjunct by the thickness of scape at apex; metasternum in the middle bare, largely impunctate, with a distinct posterior fovea. Ventrites 1 and 2 sparsely, irregularly punctate, with some smooth areas, suture between them sharp, raised, ventyrites 3 and 4 with one row of fine puncta, 5 finely punctate throughout.

Length: 2.35 mm.

TYPE MATERIAL. — Holotype female, 2.35 x 1.5 mm, data as above, BPBM.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Vanuatu. 1 female, Vanua Lava I., Banks Is., 2 km SE Vetoubosor , 50-100 m, 13.IX.1979, G. M. Nishida, G. A. Samuelson .

ETYMOLOGY. — The specific name ‘lavae ’ is Latin genitive of the type locality Lava.

REMARKS. — The postscutellar impression on either side of the sutural interstriae, the raised interstria 10 to an obvious swelling, and elytra independently rounded at apex, leaving a deep indentation between them, are features unique to O. lavae .