Anthelephila androgyna, 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 : 104-105

Anthelephila androgyna n. sp. (NJḃṅù形Ƥ)

Figures. 1–7 , 34

Type material (3 ♂♂): Holotype: ♂, Wanchong Town (109.3121°E, 18.8476°N), alt. 170 m, Ledong Li Autonomous County, Hainan, China, 19.III.2021, leg. Yuchen Zhao & Peng Zhao ( SANXU) . Paratypes: 2♂♂, same data as holotype ( SANXU) .

Description.

Body. Holotype. Total length 3.16 mm, maximum width 0.99 mm; head length 0.80 mm, head width across eyes 0.68 mm, pronotal length 0.71 mm, maximum pronotal width 0.51 mm, minimum pronotal width 0.30 mm, elytral length 1.63 mm, combined elytral maximum width 0.99 mm.

Color. Brown. Antennae largely reddish brown, distinctly darkened towards terminal; elytra brown, unicolored or with basal third more rufous; femora brown, with base reddish. Ventral side brown.

Head. 1.18 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 of 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 1.71 times, X 1.18 times, XI 1.75 times as long as wide.

Pronotum. 1.4 times as long as wide, 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 with 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, 1.65 times as long as wide, humeri distinctly angulate. Postscutellar impression shallow, but distinct. Surface glossy, distinctly punctate. Punctation uneven, setiferous punctures forming whitish transverse band in postscutellar impression. Pubescence decumbent, yellowish before postscutellar impression and apical fifth of elytra, blackish behind impression and before apical fifth of elytra, 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 not passing into small protuberance posteriorly.

Legs. Forelegs less modified ( Fig. 2 ). Profemoral process minute and acute, with unobvious, short setae. Protibia nearly simple. Metatibia lacking subapical tuft of long setae.

Abdomen. Sternum VII with posterior margin less projecting, setose on margins both sides, relatively sparse on middle part ( Fig. 3 ). Tergite VII moderately produced and rounded apically ( Fig. 4 ). Prongs of sternite VIII as in Figure 5 , each prong armed with 1 subapical dent on the inner side. Tergite VIII with simple paired sclerites rounded apically, narrowly connected medially ( Fig. 6 ). Terminal sclerite of segment IX (spiculum) thin and inconspicuous.

Aedeagus. Aedeagus as Figure 7A . Tegmen of aedeagus trilobed apically ( Fig. 7B ). Short and coarse setae on lateral lobes basally. Lateral lobes extend as far as median lobe. Apical portion of tegmen 0.5 times as long as basal piece.

Variation. Body length (♂) in the range of 2.82–3.16 mm. Coloration slight variations, with elytra brownish black to brown.

Diagnosis. Anthelephila androgyna n. sp. belongs to the A. praetor species-group ( Kejval, 1999), it close to A. helferi ( Kejval, 1999) ( Myanmar) due to the nearly simple front legs, but differs by the following characters: posterior margin of male sternite VII with setose relatively sparse in the middle; male sternite VIII sternite denser setae, prongs of sternite VIII wider, each prong with 1 subapical dent on the inner side; and differs by apex of tegmen of aedeagus. It can be confused with A. junpolis n. sp. considering similarity of general appearance, but differs by the simple front legs, and by the morphology and setation of paired prongs of sternite VIII.

Etymology. Derives from the Greek words "andro" (man) and "gyné" (woman) implying that it is difficult to discern the sex of individuals due to their neutral characteristics.

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).

Remarks. Specimens of this species were collected from the same location as Anthelephila junpolis n. sp. on the same time. Upon comparing the female specimens (10♀♀), I was unable to ascertain whether female specimens of both species were collected simultaneously. Therefore, this study does not discuss the female of these species.

Figures

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

FIGURES 1–7. Anthelephila androgyna n. sp. (1) habitus of male; (2) left foreleg, male; (3) sternite VII, male, ventral view; (4) tergite VII, male, dorsal view; (5) sternite VIII, male, (A) ventral view, (B) dorsal view; (6) tergite VIII, male, dorsal view; (7) (A) aedeagus, (B) tegmen. Scale bar: (a) 1mm for fig. 1; (b) 0.4mm for fig. 2, 0.2 mm for figs 5, 7A; (c) 0.2 mm for figs 3, 4, 6.