Goudotostes pittinoi, 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 : 190-191

Goudotostes pittinoi sp. nov.

( Figs 42 a-l, 77) http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:66C87668-9C9B-416F-B5F1-E56434D579D4

Type series. Holotype, ♂, deposited in the collection of the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA, USA. Madagascar, labelled as follows: / CASTYPE 20276 / CASENT 8135865 / Madagascar: Fianarantsoa 7.6 km 122° Kianjavato , Forêt Classée Vatovavy , elev. 175 m 6-8 June 2005 / 21° 24’ 00” S 047° 56’ 24” E California Acad. of Sciences coll. B. L. Fisher et al. sifted litter extraction (leaf mold, rotten wood) BLF 12296/ Goudotostes pittinoi n. sp. det. A. Ballerio 2020 Holotypus ♂ [distended specimen glued on a card, dissected, male genitalia glued in DMHF resin on a separate card, same pin]. Paratypes [5 ♂♂ dissected]: 71 ♂♂ and 51 ♀♀ (92 in CASC and 30 in ABCB), same collecting data as holotype .

Diagnosis. Goudotostes pittinoi sp. nov can be differentiated from all other species of Goudotostes by the following combination of characters: a) medium size, b) dorsal ocular area absent, c) pronotal sculpturing (apart from anterior and basal carinae) with four paradiscal tubercles (two at each side, the two inner ones larger than the two outer ones), two medio-lateral tubercles (one ateach side), one postero-median transverse carina at each side, one short antero-median longitudinal carina at each side and one lateral transverse carina (the second one being replaced by raised anterior bead), d) pronotal anterior carina monolobate and H- or X-shaped in dorsal view in large specimens, e) pronotal basal carina monolobate, f) elytral median and distal thirds sculpturing consisting of dense raised tubercles with irregular size and shape. The only other Goudotostes having such developed pronotal tubercles are G. fisheri sp. nov. and G. lokobensis sp. nov., which share with G. pittinoi sp. also the strongly asymmetrical right paramere, however none of them has monolobate (H-shaped in dorsal view) anterior and basal pronotal carinae as well as the distinctive sculpturing pattern of pronotum.

Description. Size: HL = 1.1 mm; HW = 1.5 mm; PL = 1.5 mm; PW = 2.5 mm; EL = 2.6 mm; EW = 2.5 mm. Overall morphology as in generic diagnosis. Medium-sized Goudotostes . Body strongly convex. Brown with distinct metallic green sheen especially on tubercles and carinae, shiny, dorsum with setigerous punctures bearing a medium-sized clavate seta (50×), underside, tarsi and antennae dark reddish-brown, setation yellowish-brown. Head: W/L ratio = 1.47; clypeal apex obtuse, apical projection present and sexually dimorphic (extremely developed and sharp in females), sides sinuate with abruptly unaligned genae; dorsal ocular area absent, ventral ocular area medium-sized, genae acute, distinctly protruding outwards, genal suture indistinct; head dorsal surface strongly sculptured, vertex with dense large deep simple punctures, frons and clypeus strongly raised with respect to the remaining head surface, with four large irregular tubercles, one on frons, one bordering the genal area and one, less raised than the others, between the two tubercles bordering the genae, connected to them by an irregularly raised carina, surface of tubercles with dense impressed large simple punctures, surface between tubercles with some sparse impressed large comma-shaped punctures. Head surface bordering eyes marked by a longitudinal narrow deep furrow, vertex covered by dense impressed simple punctures. Interpunctural distance of punctures inferior than punctural diameter. Pronotum: subrectangular (dorsal view) (W/L ratio = 1.83), convex, base and sides broadly rounded, fore angles broadly subtruncate; surface covered by large impressed horseshoe-shaped punctures, with opening directed outwards, each one bearing a setigerous pore inside, horseshoe-shaped punctures, interpunctural distance inferior than punctural diameter. Pronotal bead not appreciable; pronotal base distinctly raised in correspondence with scutellum, fringed with a row of short fine setae partly covering scutellar base; sculpturing made of large and strongly raised tubercles and carinae as follows: monolobate basal carina with one strongly raised tubercle with truncate apical portion inverted Y-shaped (dorsal view), basal outer margins marked by a transverse carina following outer margin and reaching the discal side transverse carina (see below), monolobate anterior carina raised, H- or X-shaped in dorsal view in large specimens, with one large tubercle with truncate apical portion inverted U-shaped (in frontal view), next to it two parallel short longitudinal carinae marking the end of the head insertion, disc and fore margin area with several weakly raised small tubercles giving a granulose appearance, base of disc with two close strongly raised tubercles, sides of disc with one strongly raised irregular tubercle and then one transverse sharp carina reaching the outer pronotal margin. Scutellum : covered by large dense deep simple punctures, each one bearing a medium-sized seta, apical portion smooth. Elytra: almost as long as wide (W/L ratio = 1.00), subovoidal (dorsal view), strongly convex; inferior sutural stria visible complete and deep; striated articular area hardly visible in lateral view, relatively narrow and short; marginal area large and distinctly protrudent outwards; elytral articular process well developed, smooth and shiny and with an inverted V-shaped smooth process; humeral callus marked by a strong oblique tubercle; surface uniformly covered by large horseshoe-shaped punctures with opening directed outwards or backwards and having a setigerous pore inside. Interpunctural distance inferior than punctural diameter. Elytral sculpturing as follows: elytral suture marked by a longitudinal row of raised tubercles and short carinae, base with one longitudinal short carina near apex of scutellum, next to it a longitudinal short carina which marks the beginning of a row of shorter cariniform tubercles, humeral area marked by one large oblique tubercle, remaining elytral surface with two other irregular longitudinal rows of tubercles and short carinae. Sides of elytra with several irregular short rows of tubercles and short carinae. Wings: flightless. Male genitalia: aedeagus (L = 1.6 mm) with parameres as in Figs 42 i-l, spiculum gastrale (L = 1.6 mm) as in Fig. 42 h .

Etymology. Noun in the genitive case. Named after Riccardo Pittino (Milano, Italy), acknowledging his help while making my first steps in the field of Scarabaeoidea.

Distribution and habitat. Known only from the type locality on the estern escarpment of Eastern Madagascar. The type series was collected by sifting leaf litter and rotten wood in rainforest. The vegetation cover consists of “moist evergreen forest” ( Goodman et al. 2018) also known as “humid forest” ( Moat & Smith 2007). The collecting locality falls within the protected area “Paysage harmonieux protegé du corridor forestier Ambositra-Vondrozo”.

Figures

Fig. 42 – Goudotostes pittinoi sp. nov., a, paratype, ventral view of rolled up specimen; b, paratype, dorsal view of rolled up specimen; c, paratype, ventral view of rolled up specimen; d, paratype, pronotum of rolled up specimen; e, paratype, lateral view of rolled up specimen; f, holotype, dorsal view of distended specimen; g, holotype, antero–lateral view of distended specimen; h, holotype, spiculum gastrale; i–l, holotype, four views of aedeagus.