Tetraphyllus hlaicolus Ando & Yuan, 2021

Ando, Kiyoshi & Yuan, Cai-Xia, 2021, Nine new species of Cnodalonini (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) from Hainan Island with additional records of other Tenebrionidae, Zootaxa 4965 (2), pp. 321-338 : 324-326

Tetraphyllus hlaicolus Ando & Yuan , sp. n.

( Figs. 8–10 , 14 )

Type materials. Holotype: ♂, China, Hainan Is.: near Tianchi, Mt. Jianfengling, Jianfeng Township , Ledong Coun- ty, 18˚44′N/108˚52′E, Alt. ca. 800 m, Ɨ南省乐东s尖峰•尖峰岭ƙ池hƎ, 13–22.VII.2017, Local collector leg. ( HBUM) . Paratypes: 2 ♀♀, same locality and date as for the holotype. ( EUMJ) .

Description. Body length: 6.2 mm in ♂ (n = 1); 6.0– 6.6 mm in ♀ (n = 2). Proportions ♂ (n = 1): CW/TD 1.66; PW/PL 2.16; EL/EW 1.22; ♀ (n = 2): CW/TD 1.59; PW/PL 2.17–2.19; EL/EW 1.16–1.18.

Short-oval, strongly convex above, shiny. Colour dark reddish brown; head and pronotum blackish green; elytra iridescent, metallic green basically, reddish purple on humeri, dark green on sutural intervals, each elytron with two reddish purple stripes obliquely on middle, and with short reddish purple fusiform patch on the middle of 7th interval, somewhat golden yellow between dark green area and oblique reddish purple inner stripe; mouthpart, antennae and tarsi somewhat paler.

Male. Head semicircular, strongly convex, gently and arcuately rounded at anterior margin, densely microsculptured; mCG not sinuate; clypeus gently convex, steeply sloping forwards, densely and irregularly punctate, the punctures becoming larger and oblong in middle and smaller along anterior margin; genae almost flat, with punctures smaller and sparser than on clypeus; frontoclypeal suture very fine and rudimental; frons gently convex, with punctures moderate in density, nearly as large as on lateral portions of clypeus; eyes very large and transverse, with inner ocular sulci fine and very tenuous. Antennae slender, reaching base of elytra; distal five antennomeres very weakly dilated and loosely articulated, weakly clavate; 11th oblong, subparallel-sided. Ultimate maxillary palpomeres weakly dilated cyathiform, weakly emarginate at apex. Mentum subquadrate ( Fig. 8 ), depressed, weakly emarginate at apex, with median oval elevation. Submentum vestigial.

Pronotum transversely trapezoidal, widest at base, with very fine microsculpture; disc gently convex, moderately sloping in each lateral third, distinctly and tenuously sulcate along lateral margins, with punctures irregular and dense, larger than on head, and becoming smaller and sparser in each lateral fourth; anterior margin arcuately and deeply emarginate, thickly beaded; lateral margins feebly rounded, evenly convergent forwards, distinctly beaded; basal margin almost V-shaped, weakly bisinuate on each side, strongly bent inwards in each lateral sixth, not bead- ed; anterior and posterior corners obtusely rounded, not produced. Scutellum small, flat and almost smooth, with very fine microsculpture.

Elytra oval, strongly convex, widest at middle, gently beaded at sides, with fine sulci along lateral margins; striae weakly to scarcely impressed; strial punctures rather large and dense, becoming smaller on the apicalmost portions; intervals almost flat, very slightly convex on apical declivity, weakly carinate in a short distance on apical portion of 8th interval, finely and sparsely punctate; humeral calli scarcely humped; epipleura unevenly depressed, impunctate, with very fine microsculpture.

Prothoracic hypomera strongly depressed, impunctate, with compact microsculpture. Prosternum unevenly flat, densely microsculptured, distinctly beaded at apex; prosternal process cuneiform ( Fig. 9 ), horizontal, broadened posteriad and acute at apex, with longitudinal elevation in middle. Mesoventral ridge V-shaped, acutely pointed at each apex. Metaventrite sparsely and coarsely punctate. Abdomen strongly transverse, longitudinally rugose and very finely and sparsely punctate on basal three ventrites, minutely and densely so on 4th and 5th ones; 5th ventrite with an elliptic depression at apex.

Aedeagus short ( Fig. 10 ); basale weakly curved ventrally, 1.48 times as long as apicale, strongly convex dorsally; apicale scarcely curved, evenly convergent towards acute apex, steeply curved ventrad near apex in lateral view.

Legs short. Femora more or less depressed. Tibiae short and robust, slightly incurved, each with two tibial processes. Tarsi slender.

Female. Punctures on head slightly finer; antennae slightly shorter; genae depressed; mentum rather cordate; 5th abdominal ventrite without rounded depression; abdomen very finely and sparsely punctate on middle of 1st ventrite, coarsely so on 2nd and 3rd ones.

Distribution. China (Hainan Is.).

Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from the Hlai people in south Hainan, Ledong Li Autonomous County.

Differential diagnosis. This new species belongs to the scatebrae species-group (sensu Ando, 1991), and resembles Tetraphyllus satoi Ando & Sakai, 1999 from Taiwan, but is readily different from the latter in the following points: body smaller, 6.0– 6.6 mm in length instead of 6.9–8.4 mm in the latter; clypeus entirely rounded at apex; anterior margin of pronotum deeply and slightly angulately emarginate; prothoracic hypomera impunctate; prosternal process not fusiform; mesoventral ridge more acute at apices; and tibiae shorter.

Figures

FIGURES 8–13. Tenebrionidae spp. 8–10. Tetraphyllus hlaicolus sp. n.; 11–13. Androsus pullus sp. n.—8 & 11. mentum (with submentum in fig. 11); 9 & 12. prosternal process; 10 & 13, aedeagi (right: in lateral view; left: in dorsal view). Scale bars. 0.2 mm for fig. 8, 11–13, 0.5 mm for figs. 9–10.

FIGURES 14–21. Tenebrionidae spp. 14. Tetraphyllus hlaicolus sp. n., holotype; 15. Androsus pullus sp. n., holotype; 16. Tetragonomenes sylvestris sp. n., holotype; 17. Taichius caeruleopunctatus sp. n., holotype; 18. Hemicera (Hemicera) viridula sp. n., paratype; 19. Euhemicera hirtipes sp. n., holotype; 20. ditto, venter, showing femoral pubescence and tibial emargination; 21. venter of Euhemicera gebieni (Kaszab, 1941) from Taiwan.