Anthelephila junpolis, Zhao & Wang, 2024

Zhao, Yuchen & Wang, Xinpu, 2024, New species and records of Anthelephila praetor species-group (Coleoptera: Anthicidae) from China, Zootaxa 5447 (1), pp. 103-112 : 106-107

Anthelephila junpolis n. sp. (¥坡ṅù形Ƥ)

Figures. 20–26 , 34

Type material (14 ♂♂): Holotype: ♂, Wanchong Town (万ṗae) (109.3121°E, 18.8476°N), alt. 170 m, Ledong Li Autonomous County (乐东Ŧdzh治县), Hainan, China, 19.III.2021, leg. Yuchen Zhao & Peng Zhao ( SANXU) . Paratypes: 13♂♂, same data as holotype ( SANXU) .

Description.

Body. Holotype. Total length 3.13 mm, maximum width 0.98 mm; head length 0.76 mm, head width across eyes 0.69 mm, pronotal length 0.71 mm, maximum pronotal width 0.49 mm, minimum pronotal width 0.31 mm, elytral length 1.65 mm, combined elytral maximum width 0.98 mm.

Color. Head, pronotum and legs brown, elytra brownish black unicolored or slightly paler near postscutellar impression; antennae largely reddish, distinctly darkened brownish in terminal third.

Head. 1.10 times as long as wide, evenly rounded posteriorly. Tempora strongly narrowed posteriad, temporal angles entirely absent. Neck short, well differentiated from head. Eyes medium-sized, moderately convex. Dorsal surface of head distinctly, irregularly punctured, with black, decumbent pubescence and yellowish, erect tactile setae. Punctures on frons larger than those on basal of head, becoming finer and more widely spaced towards head base. Antennae filiform, extending beyond base of elytra, moderately enlarged in terminal third; antennomere I 1.54 times, X 1.17 times, XI 1.84 times as long as wide.

Pronotum. Slim, 1.45 times as long as wide, much narrower than head across eyes, rounded in front, constricted laterally shortly before posterior third in dorsal view; pronotal disc convex anteriorly, distinctly impressed posteriorly and slightly bulging again in front of base in lateral view, anterior convex part with shallow median longitudinal impression/groove, posterior bulge divided by shallow median longitudinal impression; anterior surface sparsely punctate, while median longitudinal impression/groove and postero-lateral sides impunctate; pronotum with prominent longitudinal wrinkles on constricted area, with numerous densely spaced, coarse punctures between constricted area and posterior bulge; posterior bulge glossy. Pubescence appressed, black on disc, rest yellowish.

Elytra. Longitudinally elliptical, 1.68 times as long as wide, humeri distinct; postscutellar impression distinct. Surface glossy, distinctly punctate; punctation uneven, setiferous punctures forming whitish transverse band in postscutellar impression. Pubescence decumbent, yellowish before postscutellar impression and blackish behind impression, except ordinary, pale setae with transverse, narrow band of whitish, somewhat thicker, decumbent setae in postscutellar impression, erect tactile setae yellowish.

Metathoracic wings fully developed.

Ventral side. Mesosternum simple; submedian near metacoxae on metasternum with slightly dense pubescence, not passing into small protuberance posteriorly.

Legs. Forelegs modified ( Fig. 21 ); profemoral process short, bluntly pointed, with unobvious, short fringe of stiff setae subapically; protibiae slightly impressed and with slightly acute, small lobule on inner side in distal third; setae on median side subapical of metatibiae longer than on metatibiae base, not tufted.

Abdomen. Sternum VII with rounded median lobe, coarsely setose on margins ( Fig. 22 ). Tergite VII moderately produced rounded medially and slightly subtruncate posterior margin ( Fig. 23 ). Prongs of sternite VIII as in Figure 24 . Tergite VIII with simple paired sclerites rounded apically, narrowly connected medially ( Fig. 25 ). Terminal sclerite of segment IX (spiculum) thin and inconspicuous.

Aedeagus. Aedeagus as Figure 26A ; tegmen of aedeagus trilobed apically ( Fig. 26B ); lateral lobes extend forward beyonds median lobe; apical portion of tegmen 0.4 times as long as basal-piece.

Variation. Body length (♂) in the range of 2.84–3.33 mm. Coloration slight variations, with elytra black to brown, but basal of elytra more or less slightly lighter.

Diagnosis. Anthelephila junpolis n. sp. belongs to the A. praetor species-group ( Kejval 1999), is similar to A. celer ( Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and new record from China (Yunnan )), A. balijava Kejval, 2019 ( Indonesia) and A. promiscua (Krekich-Strassoldo, 1929) ( Philippines) by general appearance of male sternite VII/VIII. A. junpolis n. sp. differs from A. celer by sternite VIII with only an inner single minute denticle, differs from A. balijava in the subapical denticle situated not very near apex. Compared to A. promiscua , A. junpolis with paired prongs more slender and fewer outer thick setae subapically, lateral lobes of tegmen extend forwards beyond median lobe and with profemoral process not obliquely truncated apically.

Etymology. This species is named " junpolis ", its type collection date coincides with the local Li nationality traditional festival known as "Junpo Festival"; adjective.

Ecology. This species was collected near a pond adjacent to the town, obtained by sweeping grasses, some of them crawl on the ground beneath the grass ( Fig. 34 ).

Distribution. China (Hainan).

Figures

FIGURE 34. Habitat of Anthelephila androgyna n. sp. and A. junpolis n. sp.

FIGURES 20–26. Anthelephila junpolis n. sp. (20) habitus of male; (21) left foreleg, male; (22) sternite VII, male, ventral view; (23) tergite VII, male, dorsal view; (24) sternite VIII, male, (A) ventral view, (B) dorsal view; (25) tergite VIII, male, dorsal view; (26) (A) aedeagus, (B) tegmen. Scale bar: (a) 1mm for fig. 20; (b) 0.4mm for fig. 21, 0.2 mm for figs 24, 26A; (c) 0.2 mm for figs 22, 23, 25.