Afromicracis depilata Jordal, 2021

Jordal, Bjarte, 2021, Small, uniform, and rarely collected-an integrated taxonomic revision of Afromicracis bark beetles (Coleoptera, Scolytinae), Zootaxa 4981 (1), pp. 70-88 : 85

Afromicracis depilata Jordal , sp. nov.

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( Figs 47, 49, 51, 52 )

Type material. Holotype, male: Uganda, Fort portal, Kibale Forest Reserve [GIS: 0.562, 30.358], 1100 m, 23.June.1998, ex Neoboutonia [petiole], B. Jordal, leg. Allotype and paratype: same data as HT . Holotype and allotype in ZMUB, one paratype in NHMW.

Diagnosis. Body black and shiny; pronotum in males with four projecting teeth along the anterior margin, pronotal vestiture hair-like; elytral vestiture consisting of rows of sparse and very short bristle-like setae, appearing nearly glabrous.

Description, male. Length 1.2–1.3 mm, 2.3–2.4 × as long as broad. Colour black. Frons smooth, shiny and impunctate on lower central half, finely granulated elsewhere, vestiture scant. Scapus nearly glabrous; antennal club with basal two-thirds corneous, with one distinct procurved suture on apical third. Eyes separated above by 2.7–3.1 × their width. Pronotum narrowly rounded in front, with four projecting raised teeth along anterior margin, on anterior two-thirds with coarse subcontiguous asperities; vestiture hair-like. Elytral striae not impressed, interstriae smooth and shiny, punctures faint, vestiture consisting of very short bristle-like setae separated by 3–5 × their length. Legs. Protibiae narrow, with one lateral and two apical small denticles. Ventrites. Ventral setae fine and long, rather scant.

Female identical to male except pronotum less projecting, without strongly raised teeth along anterior margin, scapus with a fine tuft of 8–10 short setae on its dorsal side, and median half of the frons with about 20 medium long setae.

Etymology. The species epithet is a Latin feminine participle meaning plucked or depilated, referring to the small and sparse setae on the elytra of this species, appearing almost glabrous at low magnification.

Distribution and biology. Only known from the type locality where it was feeding on fallen petioles of Neoboutonia (Euphorbiaceae) .

Figures

FIGURES 47–53. Dorsal lateral and front view of Afromicracis depilata male holotype (47, 49, 51) and female allotype (52), and Afromicracis natalensis holotype (48, 50, 53).