Promanodes alleni, Kolibáč, Jiří, 2011

Kolibáč, Jiří, 2011, Promanodes alleni sp. nov., the second species of the Tertiary genus Promanodes Kolibáč, Schmied, Wappler et Kubisz, 2010, with improved diagnosis of the genus and remarks on its phylogeny (Coleoptera: Trogossitidae), Zootaxa 2928, pp. 57-63 : 59-62

Promanodes alleni sp. nov.

( Figs 1–7 )

Holotype. Sex unknown, Baltic amber. Exact place of collecting unknown (East Baltic coast?), probably Eocene. Amber piece yellowish-orange, elongate, approximate size 44×9× 4 mm. Deposited in the Moravian museum, Brno, Czechia (J. Kolibáč collection).

Differential diagnosis. Body shape as same as in P. serafini but the new species is distinctly smaller (ca. 3 mm vs. 5 mm in P. serafini ), head, pronotum and elytra with distinct pubescence (head bare, pronotum and elytra pubescent along margins in P. serafini ), pronotum with much finer sculpture than that in P. serafini , procoxal cavities maybe perfectly closed externally.

Description. Body flat, lateral margins of pronotum and elytra distinctly explanate; dorsal and ventral surface probably unicolorous, dark. Head with coarse but sparse punctation (similar to that in P. serafini ) formed by round and relatively deep punctures (interspaces among punctures as large as or larger than their diameter); sculpture of pronotum fine and sparse; each elytron with 7 carinae, 7th carina (running along elytral margin) coalescent with 6th in basal quarter of elytron; two regular rows of punctures situated between adjacent carinae; head with thick, relatively long, erect, sparse pubesce; pronotum and elytra with fine, short and sparse pubescence. Ventral side without pubescence, smooth or with very fine and sparse punctures only.

Head prognathous, approximately as wide as long; gular sutures not observed; eyes relatively large and distinctly elevated, coarsely faceted; space between eyes about four times wider than eye diameter; frontoclypeal suture deep, incurvate backwards, but not so distinct as in P. serafini ; distinct subantennal grooves present. Antennae probably 10-segmented: scapus robust, pedicellus short but thick, segments 3 to 7 short (not clearly visible), antennal club 3-segmented, large, weakly asymmetrical. Mandibles robust, distinctly bidentate at apex. Maxilla with 4-segmented palpi; the last segment coniform and elongate (not securiform) – little longer than two previous segments together. Labial palpi distinctly shorter than maxillary ones; the last segment widened at apex, truncate.

Prothorax distinctly transverse; lateral margins of pronotum broadly explanate, denticulate and distinctly pubescent along side margins; anterior corners not projecting. Prosternal intercoxal process long and slender, not dilated at apex; prosternal process area distinctly elevated above prosternum. Coxal cavities widely transverse, narrowly separated, surely externally closed in more than half of coxal width or maybe perfectly closed by postcoxal projection of hypomeron.

Mesothorax wide and flat; mesepimeron and mesepisternum not distinctly visible; mesocoxal cavities weakly transverse, narrowly separated; mesosternal process slender, narrowed towards apex (as in P. serafini ). Elytral epipleure somewhat narrower than in P. serafini , the widest at humeral portion, than fluently narrowed; elytra widest at 2/3 of length, their humeral portion as wide as pronotal base. Elytra with distinct 7 carinae, rounded at apex.

Metathorax wide, flat, very sparsely and finely punctured; metepisterna relatively wide and nearly parallelsided. Discriminal line (discrimen) inconspicuous, probably absent; paracoxal sutures distinct. Winged (apices of wings visible), wing venation hidden under elytra.

Legs. All pairs of coxae narrowly separated; procoxae relatively small, transverse; mesocoxae somewhat projecting, nearly rounded; metacoxae elongate, flat, reaching elytral epipleure; trochanters very small, triangular; all pairs of femora conspicuously clavate; tibiae slender, with at least one long and straight apical spine, without hooked apical spine and without conspicuous lateral spines along sides of tibiae and apical spines at tibial apex. Tarsi elongate, extremely long – as long as respective tibiae; tarsomeres without lobes; the last tarsomere as long as tarsomeres 1–4 together; basal tarsomeres shorter than each of others; claws long – as long as each of tarsomeres 2–4; empodium distictly bisetose.

Abdomen distinctly with six visible ventrites as in P. serafini .

Measurements. Body length (without mandibles) 3.15; width of head incl. eyes 0.77; pronotum length in middle 0.53; pronotum maximal width 1.30; elytral length 2.33; elytron width at base 0.53; elytron maximal width 0.70. (All measurements in mm.)

Etymology. The new species is named in honour of Mr. Albert Allen (Boise, Idaho, USA), who generously donated the specimen for study.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 4. Promanodes alleni sp. nov.: (1) body dorsally; (2) body ventrally; (3) head and pronotum dorsally; (4) hind legs.

FIGURES 5 – 7. Promanodes alleni sp. nov.: (5) body ventrally, partial reconstruction; (6) hind legs (excl. coxae); (7) head ventrally.