Goudotostes rakotonirinai, Ballerio, 2021

Ballerio, Alberto, 2021, The Ceratocanthinae of Madagascar and Comoro Islands: a revision of the genera Synarmostes and Goudotostes, and of the flightless Philharmostes, with description of 64 new species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea, Hybosoridae), Fragmenta entomologica 53 (2), pp. 105-282 : 193-194

Goudotostes rakotonirinai sp. nov.

( Figs 65 a-k, 77) http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:8C3A8BF0-80F1-467E-B1EE-8C600BC42F1D

Type series. Holotype, ♂, deposited in the collection of the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA, USA, labelled as follows: / CASTYPE 20279 / HT: CASENT 8135325 / Madagascar: Toamasina Prov. Reserve Ambodiriana 4.8 km 306° Manompana , along Manompana river elev 125 m 18 Nov. 2005 / 16° 40’ 20” S 049° 42’ 04” E California Academy of Sciences coll. Brian L. Fisher et al. sifted litter, rainforest collection code: BLF 12706/ Goudotostes rakotonirinai n. sp. det. A. Ballerio 2020 Holotypus ♂ / [distended, glued on card, dissected, male genitalia glued in DMHF resin on a separate card, same pin]. Paratypes: 1 ♂ and 1 ♀ ( CASC), same collecting data as holotype .

Diagnosis. Goudotostes rakotonirinai sp. nov. can be differentiated from all other species of Goudotostes by the following combination of characters: a) small size, b) dorsal ocular area absent, c) clypeal apical projection pointed, d) clypeal punctation made of dense impressed transverse comma-shaped punctures, e) fronto-clypeal tubercle present, f) pronotal anterior carina bilobate, g) pronotal basal carina bilobate, h) pronotal disc covered by sparse (interpunctural distance larger than punctural diameter) small simple impressed punctures, i) elytral dorsal area covered by longitudinal rows of irregular blunt carinae of variable length but, on average, short, j) elytral first interstria (area between sutural stria and first longitudinal carina) with sparse punctation (interpunctural distance inferior than punctural diameter), k) left paramere with ventral margin invaginated (a character which places this species in the laevis group of species), l) the distinctive shape of parameres (as in Figs 65 g-k). Within the laevis species group, Goudotostes rakotonirinai sp. nov. is unmistakable because of the combination of transverse comma-shaped punctures on head and sparse simple impressed punctures on pronotum.

Description. Size: HL = 0.9 mm; HW = 1.3 mm; PL = 1.1 mm; PW = 1.9 mm; EL = 2.0 mm; EW = 1.9 mm. Overall morphology as in generic diagnosis. Small-sized Goudotostes . Body strongly convex. Black, shiny, dorsum with extremely short fine setation (50×), underside, tarsi and antennae dark reddish-brown, setation yellowish-brown. Head: W/L ratio = 1.60; clypeal apex obtuse, apical projection strongly developed and sexually dimorphic, sides almost rectilinear with slightly unaligned genae in correspondence with the genal suture; dorsal ocular area absent, genal canthus indistinct, ventral ocular area small-sized, genae rounded, distinctly protruding outwards, genal suture indistinct; head dorsal surface with vertex covered by medium-sized sparse impressed simple punctures becoming larger and transversely comma-shaped on frons and clypeus, fore margin marked by some irregular transverse lines. Interpunctural distance equal to or inferior than punctural diameter. Fronto-clypeal tubercle distinctly raised, small, pointed and smooth. Pronotum: subrectangular (dorsal view) (W/L ratio = 1.90), convex, fore angles distinctly subtruncate; pronotal surface covered by sparse large deep simple punctures becoming comma-shaped at sides, area near fore angles with few irregular lines, interpunctural distance mostly twice to three times punctural diameter; pronotal bead present only along sides and fore angles; bilobate basal carina raised; bilobate anterior carina raised; pronotal sculpturing made of large and gently raised tubercles and carinae as follows: disc with two gently raised tubercles, each side with one gently raised tubercle and one transverse carina reaching outer margin. Scutellum : covered by sparse impressed transverse large comma-shaped punctures. Elytra: longer than wide (W/L ratio = 1.08), subovoidal (dorsal view), strongly convex; humeral callus marked by a tubercle; elytral surface uniformly covered by large sparse deep comma-shaped punctures with opening directed backwards mixed to large impressed simple punctures, interpunctural distance about equal to punctural diameter. Striated articular area hardly visible in lateral view, relatively narrow and short; inferior sutural stria visible complete; marginal area medium-sized; elytral articular process well developed, smooth and shiny, isolated from remaining elytral surface by a deep furrow. Elytral sculpturing as follows: base with one raised large tubercle below articular process (parasutural tubercle), next to it a humeral oblique large raised tubercle (humeral tubercle), dorsal area of elytra with three to four irregular and asymmetrical rows of weakly raised smooth carinae, sides and apical third with some more raised tubercles and longitudinal short carinae. Wings: flightless. Male genitalia: aedeagus (L = 1.2 mm) with parameres as in Figs 65 g-k.

Etymology. Noun in the genitive case. Named after Jean-Claude Rakotonirina ( Madagascar Biodiversity Center, Antananarivo), member of the Malagasy lab team of CAS.

Distribution and habitat. Known only from the type locality (Reserve Ambodiriana) along the coast of Eastern Madagascar. The type series was collected by sifting litter in rainforest. The vegetation cover of the area consists of “humid forest” ( Moat & Smith 2007) also known as “moist evergreen forest” ( Goodman et al. 2018).

Figures

Fig. 65 – Goudotostes rakotonirinai sp. nov., holotype. a, dorsal view of distended specimen; b, ventral view of rolled up specimen; c, dorsal view of rolled up specimen; d, ventral view of rolled up specimen; e, lateral view of rolled up specimen; f, pronotum of rolled up specimen. g–k, five views of aedeagus.