Amicromias platanegrachei, Germann, 2017

Germann, Christoph, 2017, Five new species of Amicromias Reitter, 1912 from Greece (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae: Omiini), Zootaxa 4312 (2), pp. 311-322 : 314-315

Amicromias platanegrachei sp. n.

( Figs 3 , 17–21 )

Type locality. Greece NW, Ipiros, Tymphi Mts., village of Ano Klidonia , 930 m.

Type material. Holotype: ♀,‘ Greece NW, Ipiros, Tymphi Mts., village of Ano Klidonia , 06/V/ 2016, 930 m, sweeping of herbs, G. Kakiopoulos lgt.’ ( MCZR).

Description. Body length: holotype female 2.67 mm.

Body blackish, antennae and legs paler, reddish brown, monochromatic, only clubs slightly darker. Elytra with densely placed long oval greyish scales, almost concealing integument ( Fig. 20 ), 5 across width of one interval and slightly smaller, short oval, light brownish scales. Appressed vestiture of pronotum and head missing. Erect setae on elytra inconspicuous, slender, parallel-sided, pointed apicad, create one regular sparse row on each interval, slightly shorter than half the width of one interval, distance between two setae on interval longer than length of one seta. Pronotum and head with rostrum moderately densely covered with erect, slender, almost piliform setae, apically curved. Antennal scape and funicle segments with semierect long, bristle-shaped, translucent setae. Femora and tibiae with shorter semierect setae.

Rostrum ( Figs 17, 18 ) wide and short, 1.46× as wide as long, widest at base, at basal third distinctly tapered anteriad, then parallel-sided, at base 1.27× as wide as at apex, pterygia not projecting from outline of rostrum. Epifrons very narrow, parallel-sided, shallowly longitudinally deepened. Frons glabrous, reaching posteriad to antennal insertion. Epistome hardly visible, U-shaped. Antennal scrobes dorsally pit-shaped, visible in apical half of rostrum; laterally very short, somewhat enlarged posteriad. Rostrum separated from head by shallow transverse furrow, densely regularly punctate. Eyes moderately small, distinctly prominent from outline of head; vertex very wide.

Antennal scape regularly curved and enlarged apicad, at apex 0.9× as wide as clubs. Funicle segment 1 1.7× as long as wide and 1.4× as long as segment 2, which is 1.5× as long as wide; segment 3 1.1× as long as wide; segment 4 isodiametric; segments 5 and 6 1.2× as wide as long and segment 7 1.5× as wide as long; club 1.9× as long as wide.

Pronotum ( Fig. 19 ) wide, 1.51× as wide as long, widest at basal third, distinctly more tapered anteriad than posteriad, with distinctly rounded sides, weakly constricted behind anterior border. Disc regularly vaulted, finely, densely, regularly punctured.

Elytra ( Fig. 19 ) oval, 1.15× as long as wide, humeri regularly rounded, apex broadly rounded; in lateral view distinctly vaulted. Striae narrow, punctured; intervals wide, flat, smooth, 3–4× as wide as striae.

Apex of protibiae subtruncate, with fringe of fine yellowish setae, longer at outer than at inner part. Protibiae moderately short and robust, with outer margin straight. Tarsi with segment 2 1.4× as wide as long; segment 3 1.4× as wide as long and 1.6× as wide as segment 2; onychium 0.9× as long as segment 3; claws fused at short basal part.

Abdominal ventrites glabrous, sparsely covered with short piliform appressed setae.

Female genitalia. Spermatheca ( Fig. 21 ) with only slightly curved and regularly tapered cornu; ramus long, straight, parallel-sided, more than twice as long as wide; nodulus distinctly shorter, subtrapezoidal. Gonocoxites long, subtriangular, evenly tapered apicad, moderately short, with fine setae, without styli. Sternite VIII with small subtriangular plate with sclerotised basal margin and long and slender apodeme.

Etymology. The name of the new species, is dedicated to the Spanish entomologist Paulino Plata Negrache (1942–2015). His long-term research and his numerous publications, mainly on the family Malachiidae , particularly improved the understanding and contributed considerably to the accurate recording of the western Palaearctic fauna.

Bionomy. The unique type specimen was found on the slope of a rocky elevation, on the edge of a semiabandoned small village, immediately after an intense rain, in late twilight. The vegetation of the area consisted of high macchia (mainly evergreen Quercus ) and scattered small pastures.

Differential diagnosis. By lacking appressed scales on the head (including rostrum) and pronotum, and by the dense cover of slender erect setae, Amicromias platanegrachei sp. n. is easily distinguishable from all other Amicromias species presently known. The only species showing the same vestiture of pronotum and head with rostrum is A. tricholepis Yunakov & Germann, 2008 , described from the Greek island of Lesbos. The species can be distinguished by the following set of characters:

1. Rostrum at basal third distinctly tapered anteriad, then about parallel-sided, dorsally with concave sides. Protibiae more robust, 5× as long as wide at midlength, apically widened inside and straight outside, at apex distinctly equally wide as at midlength. Antennal scape more robust, at apex 0.9× as wide as club. Elytral intervals 4× as wide as striae..... A. platanegrachei sp. n.

- Rostrum dorsally almost evenly tapered apicad. Protibiae slender, 7× as long as wide at midlength, apically widened outside and inside, at apex distinctly wider than at midlength. Antennal scape more slender, at apex 0.7–0.8× as wide as club. Elytral intervals twice as wide as striae......................................... A. tricholepis Yunakov & Germann, 2008

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 6. Habitus of new Amicromias species: 1) A. cunevi sp. n., holotype; 2) A. osellai sp. n., holotype; 3) A. platanegrachei sp. n., holotype; 4 – 5) A. thracicus sp. n., male holotype and female paratype; 6) A. yunakovi sp. n., holotype (Photos: Christoph Germann).

FIGURES 7 – 21. Figs 7 – 11, Amicromias cunevi sp. n.: 7 — head with rostrum, dorsal view. Scale = 0.50 mm; 8 — head with rostrum, lateral view. Scale as in dorsal view; 9 — pronotum and elytra, dorsal view. Scale = 1.00 mm; 10 — detail of elytral vestiture. Without scale; 11 — spermatheca. Scale = 0.25 mm. Figs 12 – 16, A. osellai sp. n.: 12 — head with rostrum, dorsal view. Scale = 0.50 mm; 13 — head with rostrum, lateral view. Scale as in dorsal view; 14 — pronotum and elytra, dorsal view. Scale = 1.00 mm; 15 — detail of elytral vestiture. Without scale; 16 — spermatheca. Scale = 0.25 mm. Figs 17 – 21, A. platanegrachei sp. n.: 17 — head with rostrum, dorsal view. Scale = 0.50 mm; 18 — head with rostrum, lateral view. Scale as in dorsal view; 19 — pronotum and elytra, dorsal view. Scale = 1.00 mm; 20 — detail of elytral vestiture. Without scale; 21 — spermatheca. Scale = 0.25 mm.