Sciaphobus (Sciaphobus) pelikani, Borovec & Skuhrovec, 2015

Borovec, Roman & Skuhrovec, Jiří, 2015, A review of Sciaphobus (Neosciaphobus) and descriptions of new species of Sciaphobus s. str. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 55 (2), pp. 745-785 : 776-779

Sciaphobus (Sciaphobus) pelikani sp. nov.

( Figs 4U–V , 5K , 8A–D )

Type locality. Montenegro, Rumija Mts., 1 km NE of Stegvaša [or Štegvaša or Shtegvasha], 42°03′51.85″N, 19°22′21.13″E, 485 m a.s.l.

Type material. HOLOTYPE. J, ‘ Montenegro, (Ulcijn), Rumija Mts. , 1 km NE of Stegvaša, 42°03′51.85″ N 19°22′21.13″ E, 485 m, 29.5.2014, vápencové skalky, osmyk vegetace [= limestone rocks, sweeping of vegetation], lgt. J. Pelikán [printed]’ ( NMPC) . PARATYPES: 1J 8♀♀, the same data as holotype (1J 6♀♀ JPHC, 1♀ RBSC, 1♀ JSPC) ; 6JJ, 10 ♀♀, ‘ Monte Negro , 1 km of NE Stegvaša, Mts. Rumija, 29.5. 2014, 475 m. n.m., lgt. Richard Škoda [printed]’ (4J 10 ♀♀ RŠLC, 1 J RBSC, 1 J JSPC) ; 1 J, ‘ Montenegro, (Ulcijn), Brajša env., 42°01′45.39″ N 19°19′00.69″ E, 68 m, 31.5.– 1.6.2014, okraj Querceta, osmyk vegetace [= edge of Quercetum, sweeping of vegetation], lgt. J. Pelikán [printed]’ ( JPHC). All specimens provided with additional red printed labels : ‘ HOLOTYPUS [or PARATYPUS, respectively], Sciaphobus pelikani spec. nov., R. Borovec et J. Skuhrovec det. 2014’.

Description ( Figs 4U–V , 5K , 8A–D ). Body length 3.88 mm holotype, paratypes 3.63–4.38 mm males, 4.41–5.31 mm females. Body black; antennae red brownish with at least apical part of clubs darker; tarsi, tibiae and short apical part of femora brownish to dark brownish. Elytra densely covered with drop-shaped, bright green appressed scales, 6–8 scales across one elytral interval. Each interval with 2–3 dense, irregular rows of short, semierect, whitish, piliform setae, shorter than half the width of one interval, well visible in lateral view. Pronotum densely covered with transversally directed long oval bright green appressed scales, narrower than elytral ones with dense, irregularly scattered appressed, whitish, transversally directed piliform setae, not visible in lateral view. Rostrum and head with identical vestiture as pronotum, only piliform setae on rostrum directed longitudinally and visible in lateral view.

Head ( Figs 6U–V , 8A–D ). Rostrum short and wide, 1.17–1.25× as wide as long; in basal half slightly tapered anteriad, in apical half subparallel-sided with straight sides, at apex 1.05–1.13× as wide as at base. Rostrum flat, on same level as head. Frons shallowly depressed, semicircular, glabrous, shiny, with several individual appressed small scales, separated from epifrons by narrow distinct carina, slightly angular to epifrons. Epifrons subparallel-sided, punctate, punctures completely hidden by scales. Interocular space with narrow, longitudinal fovea. Eyes large, moderately convex, hardly projecting beyond outline of head.

Antennae in females with funicle segments I and II slenderer than in males; in male segment I 1.5× as long as wide; segment II 1.8× as long as wide and 1.1× as long as segment I; in females segment I 1.6× as long as wide; segment II 2.3–2.4× as long as wide and 1.2× as long as segment I; in both sexes segment III 1.6× as long as wide; segment IV 1.5× as long as wide; segment V 1.4× as long as wide; segment VI 1.5× as long as wide; segment VII 1.4× as long as wide; clubs 2.4–2.5× as long as wide.

Pronotum ( Figs 8A–D ) wide, in males 1.30–1.32× as wide as long, in females 1.35–1.41× as wide as long; widest just before midlength, with rounded sides, anteriorly more tapered than posteriorly; disc finely, regularly, densely punctate, distance between two punctures shorter than puncture diameter, punctures hidden by scales.

Scutellum small, triangular, glabrous, shiny.

Elytra ( Figs 8A–D ) oval, distinctly narrower in males than in females, in males 1.57–1.60× and in females 1.35–1.42× as long as wide, with regularly rounded sides, in females more than in males, posteriad narrowly tapered; humeral calli rounded, not laterally projecting. Striae narrow, punctate; intervals wide and flat.

Legs. All femora unarmed in both sexes. Tarsomere II 1.1–1.2× as wide as long; tarsomere III 1.5–1.6× as wide as long and 1.3–1.4× as wide as II; onychium 1.2× as long as tarsomere III.

Sexual dimorphism. For more details see body size, antennae, pronotum and elytra.

Male genitalia. Aedeagus ( Fig. 5K ) long and slender, equally wide in whole length in ventral view, subparallel-sided, apex tapered with faintly convex sides, apex slender, short; regularly curved in lateral view, equally wide in whole lengt, apex elongate with well visible short denticle. The male from Brajša has apex of aedeagus slightly wider in ventral view.

Female genitalia. Spermatheca ( Fig. 6I ) U-shaped; cornu faintly curved, rounded at apex; corpus long, ramus small but distinct, isodiametric; nodulus not developed.

Differential diagnosis. Sciaphobus (S.) pelikani sp. nov. is the only species within the nominotypical subgenus having 2–3 irregular rows of short, semierect setae well visible in lateral view, while all other species have either conspicuously long, erect setae, or only one irregular row of short, semiadherent setae hardly visible in lateral view. The bright green elytra with strongly rounded sides in females ( Figs 8A, C ) place S. (S.) pelikani sp. nov. next to S. (S.) rasus ( Figs 8E, G ), from which it can be distinguished, apart from elytral setae, also by funicle segment II longer than segment I ( S. (S.) rasus has segments I and II equally long), longer elytra in both sexes, in males 1.57–1.60× and in females 1.35–1.42× as long as wide ( S. (S.) rasus has elytra in males 1.42–1.48× and in females 1.29–1.38× as long as wide), more tapered apical part of aedeagus in ventral view ( Fig. 5K ) ( S. (S.) rasus has apical part of aedeagus less tapered ( Fig. 5L )) and larger body size, 3.6–5.3 mm long ( S. (S.) rasus is 2.8–3.8 mm long). Sciaphobus (S.) pelikani sp. nov. has aedeagus and spermatheca very similar to S. (S.) dorsualis (characters of it in parentheses), but S. (S.) pelikani sp. nov. differs in unicoloured green elytra and pronotum (brownish spot on elytra and pronotum), elytra with regularly rounded sides with humeral calli rounded (subparallel-sided with slightly laterally projecting humeral calli), scutellum triangular, glabrous (subquadrate and at least at base squamose), 2–3 rows of elytral semierect setae, shorter than half the width of one interval, well visible in lateral view (2–3 rows of semiadherent setae hardly longer than length of appressed scales and barely visible in lateral view). The whitish elytral setae of S. (S.) pelikani sp. nov. make it partly similar also to S. (S.) scitulus ( Germar, 1824) , the only other species with whitish long erect setae on elytra, having also green body vestiture, slender funicle segments, pronotum without erect setae and metafemora unarmed, but S. (S.) scitulus has elytral setae long, erect, forming 1–2 regular rows ( S. (S.) pelikani sp. nov. has setae short, semierect, forming 2–3 irregular rows), funicle segments I and II equally long ( S. (S.) pelikani sp. nov. has segment II longer than segment I) and aedeagus wider at apex ( S. (S.) pelikani sp. nov. has aedeagus slender at apex).

Etymology. The species is dedicated to Jan Pelikán (Hradec Králové, Czech Republic), specialist in Chrysomelidae , one of the collectors of the type series.

Distribution. Montenegro.

Collection circumstances. The type material was collected by sweeping of low vegetation in limestone rocky terrain in Stegvaša ( Fig. 9A ) and by sweeping of low vegetation at the edge of oak forest in Brajša (J. Pelikán, pers. comm.).

Figures

Fig. 4. Rostra of Neosciaphobus and Sciaphobus (s. str.) species: Sciaphobus angustus sp. nov., holotype, male (A); S. globipennis Apfelbeck, 1922, male (B), female (C); S. ningnidus (Germar, 1824), female (D); S. reitteri (Stierlin, 1884), male (E), female (F); S. scheibeli Apfelbeck, 1922, male (G), female (H); S. squalidus (Gyllenhal, 1834), male (I), female (J); S. subnudus (Desbrochers des Loges, 1892), male (K), female (L); S. vittatus (Gyllenhal, 1834), male (M), female (N); S. abbreviatus (Desbrochers des Loges, 1871), male (O), female (P); S. dorsualis (Gyllenhal, 1834), male (Q), female (R); S. formaneki sp. nov., holotype, male (S), paratype, female (T); S. pelikani sp. nov., holotype, male (U), paratype, female (V); S. rasus (Seidlitz, 1867), male (W), female (Y).

Fig. 5. Aedeagus of Neosciaphobus and Sciaphobus (s. str.) species; Sciaphobus angustus sp. nov., holotype (A); S. globipennis Apfelbeck, 1922 (B); S. reitteri (Stierlin, 1884) (C); S. scheibeli Apfelbeck, 1922 (D); S. squalidus (Gyllenhal, 1834) (E); S. subnudus (Desbrochers des Loges, 1892) (F); S. vittatus (Gyllenhal, 1834) (G); S. abbreviatus (Desbrochers de Loges, 1871) (H); S. dorsualis (Gyllenhal, 1834) (I); S. formaneki sp. nov.: holotype (J); S. pelikani sp. nov.: holotype (K); S. rasus (Seidlitz, 1867) (L).

Fig. 8. Habitus of Sciaphobus (s. str.) species. Sciaphobus pelikani sp. nov., holotype, male (A – dorsal view, B – lateral view), paratype, female (C – dorsal view, D – lateral view); S. rasus (Seidlitz, 1867), male (E – dorsal view, F – lateral view), female (G – dorsal view, H – lateral view).

Fig. 6. Spermatheca, male tegmen and sternite IX, female ovipositor and sternite VIII of Neosciaphobus and Sciaphobus (s. str.) species; Spermatheca of Sciaphobus globipennis Apfelbeck, 1922 (A); S. ningnidus (Germar, 1824) (B); S. reitteri (Stierlin, 1884) (C); S. scheibeli Apfelbeck, 1922 (D); S. squalidus (Gyllenhal, 1834) (E); S. subnudus (Desbrochers des Loges, 1892) (F); S. vittatus (Gyllenhal, 1834) (G); S. formaneki sp. nov.: paratype (H); S. pelikani sp. nov.: paratype (I); S. rasus (Seidlitz, 1867) (J). Tegmen of Sciaphobus scheibeli (K); S. vittatus (L). Male sternite IX of Sciaphobus scheibeli (M). Ovipositor of Sciaphobus ningnidus (N). Female sternite VIII of Sciaphobus ningnidus (O).

Fig. 9. Habitats of Sciaphobus species; Stegvaša, Montenegro, type locality of S. pelikani sp. nov., foto J. Pelikán (A); bank of Elbe river in Hradec Králové (Czech Republic), locality of S. ningnidus (Germar, 1824), foto J. Krátký (B); Dobrogea in Babadag Mts.(Romania), locality of S. squalidus (Gyllenhal, 1834), foto J. Krátký (C); Mariagyüd in Villányi Mts. (Hungary), locality of S. squalidus (Gyllenhal, 1834), foto J. Krátký (D).