Beenenia scanticola, Bezděk, 2012

Bezděk, Jan, 2012, Galerucinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) of Socotra Island, with a review of taxa recorded from Yemen, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 52, pp. 403-428 : 406-409

Beenenia scanticola sp. nov.

( Figs. 1 , 3–8 )

Type locality. Yemen, Socotra Island, Al Haghier Mts., wadi Madar, 12°33.2′N, 54°00.4′E.

Type material. HOLOTYPE: ♂, ‘ YEMEN, SOCOTRA Island / Al Haghier Mts. / wadi Madar, 1180-1230 m / 12°33.2′N, 54°00.4′E, / J. Bezděk leg., 12-14.xi.2010 [w, p]’ ( NMPC) . PARATYPES: 3 ♂♂ 4 ♀♀, same data as holotype ( JBCB) ; 12 ♂♂ 9 ♀♀, ‘ YEMEN, SOCOTRA Island / Al Haghier Mts. / wadi Madar, 1180-1230 m / 12°33.2′N, 54°00.4′E, / 13-14.xi.2010, L. Purchart lgt. [w, p]’ (4 ♂♂ 2 ♀♀ in JBCB, 3 ♂♂ 3 ♀♀ in NMPC, 2 ♂♂ 1 ♀ in RBCN, 1 ♂ 1 ♀ in BMNH, 1 ♂ 1 ♀ in NHMB, 1 ♂ 1 ♀ in ZMHB) . The specimens are provided with additional printed red label: ‘ HOLOTYPUS [or PARATYPUS], / Beenenia / scanticola sp. nov., / J. Bezděk det., 2011’.

Description. Body length: males 5.7–6.1 mm (holotype 6.0 mm); females 5.9–7.3 mm.

Male (holotype, Fig. 1 ). Body moderately flat, parallel, densely pubescent, semiopaque. Dorsum metallic black with slight dark green tint. Labrum with brownish anterior margin. Head anterolaterally, genae and small transverse spot on clypeus brown. Pronotum with anterior and posterior margins brownish. Elytra with apical and lateral margins in posterior third brownish.Antennae completely black. Underside black. Mouthparts partly brownish, mid part of head brown. Mesoventrite with two brown spots in front of mesocoxae. Metaventrite with brown posterior margin. All ventrites with brown posterior margins. Legs black, trochanters and apical parts of coxae of all legs brownish.

Labrum transverse with lateral margins round and convergent, anterior margin widely shallowly concave, surface covered with 6–8 long pale setae in transverse row. Anterior part of head lustrous, impunctate, with long pale setae along anterior margin of antennal insertions. Interocular space wide, 3.70 times as wide as transverse diameter of eye. Frontal tubercles large, subtriangular, impunctate, moderately elevated, with anterior tips divergent. Tubercles separated from each other by thin sulcus, which shallowly continues through vertex. Frons slightly impressed behind frontal tubercles. Interantennal space 2.40 times as wide as transverse diameter of antennal socket. Vertex semiopaque, densely covered with large punctures, fine microsculpture and long pale setae adpressed on disc and erected near eyes. Lateral side of head behind eyes lustrous, covered with very fine wrinkles and sparsely with long pale setae. Antennae relatively robust, 0.60 times as long as body, length ratios of antennomeres I–IX equal 20-9-12-14-13-12-12-12-11-11-17. Antennomeres VI–X 1.20–1.30 times as long as wide. Antennomeres II–VI shiny, covered with long pale setae, with narrower bases, flattened, antennomeres VII–XI semiopaque, covered also with dense short setae and microsculpture, gradually less flattened, last two antennomeres almost tubular. Antennomeres IV–VII slightly impressed on inner side near base.

Pronotum transverse, 1.86 times as broad as long, widest in middle. Surface semiopaque, densely covered with large punctures and short pale setae. Pronotal disc with shallow depressions laterally and in middle of both anterior and posterior part of pronotum. Both anterior and posterior margins with row of dense short setae directed anteriorly (posteriorly, resp.). Anterior margin nearly straight, with mid part slightly concave, posterior margin nearly straight in middle, lateral parts of posterior margin oblique, lateral margins slightly rounded. Anterior margin thinly bordered only at sides, in middle unbordered, lateral and posterior margins shallowly thinly bordered. Anterior angles prominent, swollen, slightly produced laterally, nearly rectangular, posterior angles distinct, obtusangulate. Anterior angles bearing four to six very long pale setae, posterior ones with two or three long pale setae. Scutellum wide, subtriangular, with widely rounded apex, covered with fine microsculpture and distinct punctures, pubescent.

Elytra semiopaque, parallel, 0.70 times as long as body, 1.77 times as long as wide (measured at humeral calli), densely covered with small confused punctures and with two kinds of setae: shorter adpressed setae and longer semierected to erected setae. Humeral calli well developed. Elytral disc flattened, distinctly impressed in postscutellar area. Lateral margins slightly explanate. Epipleura missing. Macropterous.

Ventral surface semiopaque to shiny, covered with fine punctures and long pale setae, abdomen opaque covered also with microsculpture. Last ventrite wide and short, posterior margin widely shallowly concave, with wide and short triangular impression ( Fig. 4 ).

Legs moderately long and narrow, semiopaque to shiny covered with pale setae. Protarsomere I elongate, apically slightly dilated, 0.70 times as long as two following tarsomeres combined, as wide as protarsomere II. Length ratios of protarsomeres I–IV equal to 12-10-7- 15. Metatarsomere I elongate, apically slightly dilated, as long as two following tarsomeres combined, slightly narrower than metatarsomere II. Length ratios of metatarsomeres I–IV equal to 18-11-7-17.

Basal two thirds of aedeagus robust, tubular, apical third flat and bent downwards. Left side subapically with large lateral plate. Apex wide, slightly asymmetrical to right, with distinct small subtriangular tip ( Fig. 3 ).

Female. Antennae slightly shorter than in male, 0.50 times as long as body. Interocular space wider, 5.00–5.10 times as wide as transverse diameter of eye. Interantennal space 2.80 times as wide as transverse diameter of antennal socket. Pronotum more transverse than in males, 1.90–2.05 times as broad as long. Elytra 1.75–1.85 times as long as wide. Last ventrite with evenly rounded posterior margin. Spermatheca with C-shaped cornu, nodulus small, narrower than base of cornu, ductus receptaculi short ( Fig. 7 ). Tignum long with apical part slightly extended. Sternite VIII with posterior third covered with setae ( Fig. 5 ). Vaginal palpi with wide base, anteriorly with subtriangular tip, posteriorly slightly divergent, each palp slightly narrowing posteriorly with rounded apex. Four setae placed at apex, additional 2 setae subapically ( Fig. 6 ).

Variability. Pronotum in males 1.76–1.88 times as broad as long with lateral margins almost parallel to slightly rounded.

Differential diagnosis. Beenenia scanticola sp. nov. can be distinguished from B. kabateki sp. nov. by the metallic black colouration (dark brown with metallic tint in B. kabateki sp. nov.), by pronotum covered with deeper punctures, and by two kinds of setae on elytra (shorter adpressed and longer semierected to erected setae in B. scanticola sp. nov., while short pale setae in B. kabateki sp. nov.). The apical third of aedeagus of B. scanticola sp. nov. is less turned to the left and less bent downwards than in B. kabateki sp. nov. ( Figs. 3 , 9 ).

Etymology. Derived from Scant Mt., the highest mount of Hagher Mts. and of Socotra.

Collection circumstances. All the specimens were beated from Trichocalyx obovatus Balfour (Acanthaceae) between 9 and 12 am.

Distribution. So far known only from the type locality in Hagher Mts., Socotra, Yemen.

Figures

Figs. 1–2. Habitus. 1 – Beenenia scanticola sp. nov. (holotype, male, 6.0 mm); 2 – B. kabateki sp. nov. (holotype, male, 5.4 mm).

Figs. 3–8. Beenenia scanticola sp. nov. 3 – aedeagus (a – dorsal view, b – lateral view); 4 – last male ventrite; 5 – sternite VIII and tignum; 6 – vaginal palpi; 7 – spermatheca; 8 – claws. Scale bars: 1 mm for Figs. 3–5, 0.5 mm for Figs. 6–7, 0.25 mm for Fig. 8.

Figs. 9–12. Beenenia kabateki sp. nov.9 – aedeagus (a – dorsal view, b – lateral view); 10 – sternite VIII and tignum; 11 – vaginal palpi; 12 – spermatheca. Scale bars: 1 mm for Figs. 9–10, 0.5 mm for Figs. 11–12.