Goudotostes phantasticus, 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 : 189-190

Goudotostes phantasticus sp. nov.

( Figs 6 c , 72 a-m, 77) http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:28B3C8F3-E83C-4479-AD62-D5C6C7642AC9

Type series. Holotype, ♂, deposited in the collection of the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA, USA, labelled as follows: / CASTYPE 20275 / CASENT 8135435 / Madagascar: Toamasina Prov., Reserve Betampona Camp Rendrirendry 34.1 km 332° Toamasina el. 390 m 28 November 2005 / 17° 55’ 26” S 049° 11’ 59” E California Acad. of Sciences coll. Brian L. Fisher et al. sifted litter, rainforest collection code: BLF 13125/ Goudotostes phantasticus n. sp. det. A. Ballerio 2020 Holotypus ♂ / [distend- ed, glued on card, dissected, male genitalia glued in DMHF resin on a separate card, same pin]. Paratypes: 6 ♀♀ (4 in CASC and 2 in ABCB), same collecting data as holotype .

Diagnosis. Goudotostes phantasticus 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 large simple punctures, e) pronotal anterior carina monolobate, f) pronotal basal carina monolobate, g) pronotal disc covered by sparse (interpunctural distance about as long as punctural diameter) large simple impressed punctures, h) pronotum with base raised to form a short inverted T-shaped carina (dorsal view), i) elytral dorsal area covered by five (including sutural one) longitudinal continuous blunt carinae occupying about three quarters of elytral length, j) parameres strongly asymmetrical, long less than one third the length of phallobase, as in Fig. 72 i-m, k) spiculum gastrale with strongly developed ninth hemisternite, shaped as in Fig. 72 g-h, l) apical spur of protibiae very long and thin, distinctly longer than in all other known Goudotostes . Goudotostes phantasticus sp. nov. because of its small size could be mistaken for a species belonging to the laevis group of species, however, due to the monolobate pronotal basal and anterior carinae, to the presence of four basal elytral carinae and to the parameres lacking the distinctive invagination found in the laevis group, it represents an isolate species, whose closest relationships remain unclear.

Description. Size: HL = 0.7 mm; HW = 1.3 mm; PL = 1.2 mm; PW = 2.1 mm; EL = 2.2 mm; EW = 2.1 mm. Overall morphology as in generic diagnosis. Small-sized Goudotostes . Body strongly convex. Dark brown with bronze sheen especially on carinae, shiny, dorsum with extremely short fine setation (50×), underside, tarsi and antennae dark reddish-brown, setation yellowish-brown. Head: W/L ratio = 1.79; clypeal apex obtuse, apical projection strongly developed and sexually dimorphic, sides relatively rounded with slightly unaligned genae; dorsal ocular area absent, genal canthus indistinct, ventral ocular area small-sized, genae acute, distinctly protruding outwards, genal suture indistinct; head dorsal surface covered by large impressed simple punctures on vertex becoming transversely comma-shaped on frons and clypeus (clearly as a result of the fusion of two or more simple punctures). Interpunctural distance equal to or inferior than punctural diameter. Frons bearing a longitudinal irregular swelling extending to the proximal portion of clypeus. Pronotum: subrectangular (dorsal view) (W/L ratio = 1.87), convex, fore angles broadly subtruncate; pronotal disc covered by short large impressed simple punctures becoming shallow- er and horseshoe-shaped with opening directed outwards punctures at sides and base, each one bearing a fine setigerous pore inside, interpunctural distance about equal to punctural diameter; pronotal bead present only along fore margin; pronotal base distinctly raised in correspondence with scutellum; fore margin distinctly raised in correspondence with head insertion; pronotal sculpturing made of large and raised tubercles and carinae as follows: monolobate basal carina smooth inverted T-shaped in dorsal view, with branches of T being longer than the main axis, base of disc with two raised tubercles, each side with two raised transverse carinae, monolobate anterior carina distinctly raised to form one small weakly raised tubercle with a coarse U- or V-shaped apex (frontal view). Scutellum : base smooth, median area covered by impressed transverse short comma-shaped punctures, apical third and sides smooth. Elytra: longer than wide (W/L ratio = 0.95), subovoidal (dorsal view), strongly convex; humeral callus marked by a tubercle; elytral surface uniformly covered by small narrow horseshoe-shaped punctures with opening directed backwards and having a setigerous pore inside, interpunctural distance about equal to punctural diameter; inferior sutural stria weakly developed, striated articular area hardly visible in lateral view, relatively narrow and short, marginal area medium-sized; elytral articular process well developed, smooth and shiny. Elytral sculpturing as follows: base with two strongly raised large oblique carinae near apex of scutellum, next to them a humeral oblique longer carina; elytral suture marked by a longitudinal line almost reaching the scutellum, elytral dorsally with five longitudinal continuous carinae occupying about three quarters of elytral length, elytral sides with irregular rows of short longitudinal carinae. Protibiae with apical spur thin and distinctly longer than in all other Goudotostes . Wings: flightless. Male genitalia: aedeagus (L = 1.4 mm) with parameres as in Figs 72 i-m, spiculum gastrale with strongly developed ninth hemisternite (L = 1.6 mm) as in Figs 72 g-h.

Etymology. Latin adjective in the nominative singular, meaning “amazing” or “admirable”, due to the extremely unusual and beautiful dorsal sculpturing.

Distribution and habitat. Known only from the type locality. Collected by sifting litter in rainforest. For details on the collecting localities see under Synarmostes compactus sp. nov..

Figures

Fig. 6 – Posterior view of elytral apex. a, Goudotostes antsahabensis sp. nov.; b, Goudotostes randrianirinai sp. nov.; c, Goudotostes phantasticus sp. nov.; d, Synarmostes sp.; e, Synarmostes sp.; f, Synarmostes separatus sp. nov.; g, Synarmostes tibialis; h, Philharmostes scapulatus sp. nov.; i, Pseudosynarmostes mitsinjo.

Fig. 72 – Goudotostes phantasticus sp. nov., a, paratype, dorsal view of distended specimen; b, paratype, ventral view of rolled up specimen; c, paratype, dorsal view of rolled up specimen; d, paratype, lateral view of rolled up specimen; e, paratype, ventral view of rolled up specimen; f, paratype, pronotum of distended specimen; g–h, holotype, dorsal and ventral view of spiculum gastrale; i–m, holotype, five views of aedeagus.