Strabonus vitticollis, 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 : 189-190

Strabonus vitticollis n. sp.

Figs 83, 134, 135

DESCRIPTION. — Shiny black, elytra with bluish sheen. Vestiture consisting of rather dense, fine, short pubescence and white scales, these forming a complete or interrupted stripe on sides of prothorax; pubescence for most part dark, but whitish on basal quarter of suture and on declivity, here directed obliquely outwards.

Head shiny, sparsely punctulate behind frons and eyes. Eyes slightly elongate ovate, in male separated by not more than thickness of funicle, in female by more than a width of scape. Rostrum straight, 0.77 x length of prothorax; postrostrum in male tectiform, densely punctate, in female somewhat depressed, punctate only near eyes, in both sexes with a rather fine sulcus against scrobes; prorostrum as long as wide, with obsolescent puncta. Scape extending to about middle of eyes, compressed; segment 2 of funicle as long as 3 + 4; club as long as the six preceding segments combined.

Prothorax distinctly wider than long, shiny, densely, finely punctate, with puncta somewhat transversely aligned. Scutellum with dense, very fine white pubescence.

Elytra at shoulders 1.47 x wider than prothorax, 1.37 x longer than combined width, parallel or slightly widening towards middle, broadly rounded at apex; in lateral view dorsally straight at basal quarter, strongly convex on remainder, about as deep as in S. caledonicus . Striae complete; stria 10 at base with seven or eight puncta. Interstriae 1-5 with several rows of fine puncta.

Fore femora with small tooth, others with larger tooth.

Mesosternal pleurites abundantfly punctulate. Metepisternum with dense, shallow piliferous puncta on anterior half.

Male: aedeagus as in Figs 134, 135, 0.117 mm long, body 2.7 x longer than wide, a fraction shorter than apodemes; ventral surface pigmented; tectum submembranous, showing distinct boundary against pedon.

Female: not dissected.

Length: 2.6-3.0 mm.

TYPE MATERIAL. — Holotype male, 2.7 x 1.35 mm, Mt. Koghi , 29.I.1963, G. Kuschel , NZAC. Paratypes: BPBM, MNHW, QMBA, NZAC .

MATERIAL EXAMINED.— New Caledonia. 2 males, Mandjélia, 580 2 females, Aoupinié, 900-950 m, 8.II.2004, M. Wanat; 1 female, Mt. m, 13.XII.2004, G. B. Monteith; 1 female, Pic d’Amoa nr Poindimié, Mou, 22°04’S, 166°21’E, 1200 m, 27-28.XII.2004, G. Monteith; 500 m, 26.X.1978, beaten off Nothofagus aequilateralis, G. Kuschel ; 1 1 male, 1 female, Mt. Koghi , 500-600 m, 29.I.1963, G. Kuschel; 1 female, Mt. Rembai, 700-900 m, 9.V.1988, G. Monteith & D. Cook; male, Mt. Koghi, 500 m, 28.I.1963, C. M Yoshimoto. 10 specimens .

ETYMOLOGY. — The species name ‘vitticóllis’ is an adjectivised Latin noun from ‘vitta’ = stripe, and ‘collum’ for prothorax.

REMARKS. — S. vitticollis is recognised from the features given in the key to species. As no Nothofagus species occurs in the vicinity of the Mt. Koghi collecting area, the record of one specimen having been beaten from Nothofagus is best ignored.