Goudotostes fisheri, 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 : 177-178

Goudotostes fisheri sp. nov.

( Figs 39 a-l, 77) http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:C606CCC4-3FE9-4235-B546-AC9ADA5A03B0

Type series. Holotype, ♂, deposited in the collection of the Field Museum of Natural history, Chicago, IL, USA, labelled as follows: / Madagascar: Enakara (10 Km NW), Rés. Andohahela, 24°34’S, 46°49’E, 430 m, rainforest, 24.XI.1992 / FMHD #92-161, Winkler extraction of sifted litter (leaf mold, rotten wood) B. L. Fisher #522 (1-50) Field Mus. Nat. Hist. / Goudotostes fisheri n. sp. det. A. Ballerio 1998 Holotypus ♂ / Photographed S. Ware 2020 EMu catalog / FMNHINS 3982343 Field Museum Pinned / [distended specimen glued on a card, dissected, male genitalia glued on a separate card, same pin]. Paratypes [2 ♂♂ dissected]: 3 ♂♂ and 1 ♀ (1 in ABCB e 3 in FMNH): / Madagascar: Enakara (10 Km NW), Rés. Andohahela, 24°34’S, 46°49’E, 800 m, rainforest, 17.XI.1992 / FMHD #92-163, Winkler extraction of sifted litter (leaf mold, rotten wood) B. L. Fisher #492 (1-50) Field Mus. Nat. Hist. /. 3 ♂♂ (1 in ABCB e 2 in FMNH): Madagascar: Enakara (10 Km NW), Rés. Andohahela, 24°34’S, 46°49’E, 430 m, rainforest, 24.XI.1992 / FMHD #92-161, Winkler extraction of sifted litter (leaf mold, rotten wood) B. L. Fisher #522 (1-50) Field Mus. Nat. Hist. /. 2 ♀♀ (1 in ABCB e 1 in FMNH): Madagascar: Eminiminy (6 KM SSW) Rés. Andohahela, 24°44’S, 46°48’E, 330 m, rainforest / 4.II.1992 sifted litter (leaf mold, rotten wood) P. S. Ward # 11820 Field Mus. Nat. Hist. /. 2 ♂♂ and 1 ♀ ( FMNH): Madagascar: Province de Toliara, Réserve Naturelle Intégrale d’Andohahela, Enakara (11 km NW), Rés. Andohahela 24° 34’ S 46° 49’ E, 800 m, 17.XI.1992 / FMHD #92-163, rainforest, (leaf mold, rotten wood), Winkler extraction of leaf litter, B. L. Fisher, mad92, 492 Hist. /. 1 ♀ ( CASC): / Madagascar: Toliara Parc National Andohahela, Col de Tanatana , 33.3 km NW Tolagnaro elev. 275 m 22-24 November 2006 / 24° 45’ 31” S 046° 51’ 13” E California Academy of Sciences coll. Brian L. Fisher et al. sifted litter rainforest collection code: BLF15100 /.

Diagnosis. Goudotostes fisheri sp. nov. is an outstanding species, unmistakable due to the following combination of characters: a) large size, b) dorsal ocular area absent, c) pronotal disc with two parallel longitudinal rows formed by three large tubercles, d) pronotal anterior carina bilobate, e) pronotal basal carina bilobate, f) apical spur of protibiae of males enlarged, g) elongate parameres with the left one having a preapical sharp tooth. The only other Goudotostes having such developed pronotal tubercles are G. lokobensis sp. nov. and G. pittinoi sp. nov., which share with G. fisheri sp. also the strongly asymmetrical right paramere, however none of them has two parallel rows of large tubercles on pronotal disc and the enlarged male protibial apical spur.

Description. Size: HL = 0.9 mm; HW = 1.7 mm; PL = 1.8 mm; PW = 3.1 mm; EL = 3.0 mm; EW = 2.9 mm. Overall morphology as in generic diagnosis. Large-sized Goudotostes . Body strongly convex. Dark brown with bronze/metallic green sheen especially on tubercles and carinae, shiny, dorsum with setigerous punctures bearing a short clavate seta (50×), underside, tarsi and antennae dark reddish-brown, setation yellowish-brown. Head: W/L ratio = 1.92; clypeal apex obtuse, apical projection strongly developed and sexually dimorphic, sides rounded; dorsal ocular area absent, genal canthus indistinct, ventral ocular area medium-sized (visible only laterally), genae acute, distinctly protruding outwards, genal suture distinct; head dorsal surface strongly sculptured, 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, surface along clypeal fore margin covered by some transverse irregular lines. 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: subtrapezoidal (dorsal view) (W/L ratio = 2.00), 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 replaced by irregular lines at sides, interpunctural distance inferior than punctural diameter. Pronotal bead not appreciable at sides and base, visible only at fore margin; 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: posterior carina bilobate and strongly raised, disc with two parallel longitudinal rows of three strong raised tubercles, with the proximal one being larger than the others and the distal ones being slightly transverse, each side with two transverse carinae, the inner one being longer and more raised than the outer one, which reaches the outer pronotal margin, anterior carina bilobate and weakly raised. Surface of tubercles and carinae marked by several deep irregular impressed punctures. Scutellum : base covered by large impressed comma-shaped punctures, sides and apical third smooth. Elytra: longer than wide (W/L ratio = 0.85), subovoidal (dorsal view), strongly convex; inferior sutural stria visible only in correspondence with the reaching the humeral area; humeral callus indistinct; elytral surface uniformly covered by large horseshoe-shaped punctures with opening directed outwards around humeral area and backwards on remaining surface and having a setigerous pore inside. Striated articular area hardly visible in lateral view, relatively narrow and short; inferior sutural stria appreciable only along marginal area; marginal area large and distinctly protrudent outwards; elytral articular process well developed, smooth and shiny. Elytral sculpturing as follows: base with one tubercle near apex of scutellum (parasutural tubercle), next to it a longitudinal short carina which marks the beginning of a row of shorter carinifirm tubercles, humeral area marked by two cariniform longitudinal tubercles, remaining elytral surface with two other irregular longitudinal rows of tubercles, the inner one made of three cariniform tubercles, the outer one made of four tubercles. Surface of tubercles made of deep irregular large punctures. Wings: flightless. Male genitalia: aedeagus (L = 1.8 mm) with parameres as in Figs 39 i-l, spiculum gastrale (L = 1.9 mm) as in Fig. 39 h . Sexual dimorphism: besides the characters indicated in generic description, the males have a strongly developed blunt apical spur of protibiae, with apex bent inwards ( Fig. 39 b ).

Etymology. Noun in the genitive case. Named after Brian Fisher (CAS), myrmecologist and creator of the most accurate survey of leaf litter arthropod fauna ever done in Madagascar.

Distribution and habitat. Known only from various localities in the Andohahela massif, between 275 and 800 m asl. Collected by sifting leaf litter in rainforest. For details on the Andohahela massif collecting localities see un- der Synarmostes tibialis .

Figures

Fig. 39 –Goudotostes fisheri sp. nov., paratypes from Enakara a, dorsal view of distended specimen;b, apical third of male protibia (as: apical spur); c, dorsal view of rolled up specimen; d, ventral view of rolled up specimen; e, dorsal view of rolled up specimen; f, antero–lateral view of distended specimen (t1, t2 and t3: tubercles forming the longitudinal row of tubercles on disc); g, lateral view of rolled up specimen; h, spiculum gastrale; i–l, four views of aedeagus.