Goudotostes hirtellus, 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 : 178-179

Goudotostes hirtellus sp. nov.

( Figs 60 a-j, 77) http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:553EB71D-536D-42E1-B69E-EEC7AFBA629B

Type series. Holotype, ♂, deposited in the collection of the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA, USA, labelled as follows: / CASTYPE 20266 / Comoros: Mohéli, Ouallah elev. 500 m 12°18’13”S 043°40’06”E 18- 19 January 2009 Calif. Acad. of Sciences coll. B. L. Fisher et al. sifted litter rainforest collection code: BLF 20682 / Goudotostes hirtellus 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: 1 ♂ and 1 ♀ (1 in CASC and 1 in ABCB), same collecting data as holotype .

Diagnosis. Goudotostes hirtellus sp. nov. can be differentiated from all other species of Goudotostes by the following combination of characters: a) medium size, b) dorsal ocular area present, c) head without clypeal tubercle, d) pronotal anterior carina monolobate, e) pronotal basal carina monolobate, f) elytra with tubercles bearing a tuft of short erect setae, g) aedeagus with short asymmetrical parameres. Because of the distinctive presence of pronotal and elytral tubercles bearing a tuft of erect setae this species is isolated within the genus. Because of the shape of aedeagus it can be somewhat linked to G. mayottensis n. sp., which however has a quite different external morphology.

Description. Size: HL = 1.1 mm; HW = 1.6 mm; PL = 1.3 mm; PW = 2.4 mm; EL = 2.5 mm; EW = 2.3 mm. Overall morphology as in generic diagnosis. Medium-sized Goudotostes . Body weakly convex. Reddish-brown with bronze sheen, dorsum with long sharp erect setae (50×), underside, tarsi and antennae dark reddish-brown, setation yellowish-brown. Head: W/L ratio = 1.45; clypeal apex obtuse, apical projection present and sexually dimorphic, sides almost rectilinear apart from slightly unaligned genae; dorsal ocular area present, small, interocular distance about 20 times maximum dorsal ocular area width, genal canthus fused with occipital area of head, ventral ocular area small-sized, genae acute, distinctly protruding outwards, genal suture indistinct; vertex with a short weak longitudinal carina in the middle, clypeus slightly raised with respect to remaining head surface, head dorsal surface covered by small to large impressed transverse comma-shaped punctures with opening direct- ed forwards, fore margin with some irregular transverse lines. Pronotum: subrectangular (dorsal view) (W/L ratio = 1.84), convex and unevenly sculptured with disc slightly raised with respect to remaining surface, base and sides broadly rounded, fore angles broadly subtruncate; surface covered on disc by transverse comma-shaped punctures each one having next a small fine simple setigerous puncture; sides, mainly around fore angles covered by large horseshoe-shaped punctures with opening directed forwards or outwards. Pronotal bead complete although hardly visible from above at pronotal base. Pronotal sculpturing lacking carinae or tubercles, replaced by weak gibbosities, two at each side of disc (paradiscal gibbosities), one near fore angles and one, more raised, at the middle of fore margin. Posterior and anterior carinae monolobate and weakly raised. Scutellum : surface, apart from smooth base, covered by large transverse shallow irregular lines each one having next a fine setigerous fine puncture. Elytra: longer than wide (W/L ratio = 0.95), subrectangular (dorsal view), not very convex; inferior sutural stria complete, weakly impressed; humeral callus indistinct; elytral surface covered by a mixture of longitudinally oriented comma-shaped punctures and a few transversely oriented horseshoe-shaped punctures with opening directed backwards, each puncture having next a setigerous fine puncture; interpunctural distance about equal to puncture width. Elytral sculpturing consisting of a few irregular rows of spaced out weakly raised smooth elongate tubercles, tubercles bearing a tuft of erect sharp setae. Striated articular area hardly visible in lateral view, relatively narrow and short; marginal area medium-sized; elytral articular process developed, smooth and shiny, with a distinct shallow line bordering scutellum. Wings: flightless. Male genitalia: aedeagus (L = 1.3 mm) with parameres as in Figs 60 g-j, spiculum gastrale (L = 1.4 mm) as in Fig. 60 f .

Etymology. Latin adjective in the nominative singular, meaning “a little hairy”, due to the presence of the patches of setae on elytra.

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

Figures

Fig. 60 – Goudotostes hirtellus sp. nov., a, female paratype, dorsal view of distended specimen; b, holotype, ventral view of rolled up specimen; c, holotype, dorsal view of rolled up specimen; d, holotype, pronotum of rolled up specimen; e, holotype, lateral view of rolled up specimen; f, holotype, spiculum gastrale; g–j, holotype, four views of aedeagus.