Anthelephila praefecta, Kejval & Cz, 2012

Kejval, Zbyněk & Cz, Domažlice, 2012, Studies on the genus Anthelephila (Coleoptera: Anthicidae). 12. Review of the species from Yemen, including Socotra Island, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 52, pp. 347-363 : 361-362

Anthelephila praefecta sp. nov.

( Figs. 12–16 , 23 )

Type locality. Yemen, Al Hudaydah governorate, Jabal Bura valley forest National Park, 240–350 m, 14°52.4–5′N 43°24.6–25.2′E.

Type material. HOLOTYPE: ♀, ‘ YEMEN, AL HUDAYDAH gov., Jabal Bura valley forest NP (stream valley; at light), 240-350 m 14°52.4-5′N 43°24.6-25.2′ E Jiří Hájek leg. 4.xi.2010 [p]’ ( NMPC) . PARATYPES: 1 ♀, ‘ YEMEN, Al Hudaydah gov., Jabal Bura valley forest NP (stream vall., at light), 240-350 m, 14°52.4-5′N 43°24.6-25.2′E, 4.xi.2010, P. Hlaváč leg. [p]’ ( ZKDC) ; 1 J [lacking head and pronotum, including front legs], same data, except: J. Bezděk leg. ( ZKDC) ; 1 ♀, ‘W Yemen, 20 km NW of Dhawran , 1794 m, 14°40′N 44°13′E, 29.X.2005, S. Kadlec leg. [p]’ ( ZKDC) ; 1 ♀, ‘W YEMEN Jabal Bura’ 557 m NEE Al Hudaydah N14°53′ / E43°26′ (light) 9.-21.III.2007 M. Rejzek [3] [p]’ ( NMPC) ; 1 ♀, ‘W YEMEN, Jabal Sabir , S of Taizz, 13°31′N 44°33′E, 2977 m, 23.iii.2007, S. Kadlec leg. [p]’ ( ZKDC) ; 1 ♀, ‘S YEMEN, Lawdar NE Adan, N 13°53′ E 45°48′E, 1145 m, 22.X.2005, lgt. M. Rejzek BMNH {E} 2006-6 [p]’ ( BMNH) .

Description. Female (holotype). Body length 4.7 mm. Head black; pronotum reddish; elytra black with bluish reflection ( Fig. 23 ); legs, antennae and palpi reddish to reddish brown.

Head 1.2 times as long as wide, nearly evenly rounded posteriorly, slightly angled posteromedially in dorsal view; tempora strongly narrowing posteriad, the posterior angles absent; base somewhat indistinctly differentiated from short neck ( Fig. 13 ). Eyes medium-sized, convex. Dorsal surface only moderately glossy, largely corrugated, including some distinct longitudinal wrinkles; punctation obscured by corrugation. Setation pale, decumbent, rather long and raised in posterior half, with scattered, longer erect setae. Antennae long, moderately enlarged in terminal third; antennomere X 1.8 times and antennomere XI 2.5 times as long as wide.

Pronotum 1.5 times as long as wide, distinctly narrower than head across eyes, evenly rounded anteriorly and rather moderately, shallowly impressed postero-laterally in dorsal view; pronotal disc evenly shaped, its outline more or less convex in lateral view. Surface glossy, largely smooth, distinctly, mostly longitudinally corrugated on disc, postero-lateral impressions shortly wrinkled; punctation fine and sparse, obscured by corrugation dorsally. Setation similar to that on head.

Meso- and metaventrite simple.

Elytra 1.8 times as long as wide, conjointly rounded apically; humeri distinctly protruding; postbasal impression absent. Surface glossy, finely punctate; basal half with punctures simple, evenly spaced. Setation pale, mostly subdecumbent, moderately longer and more raised in basal third, with scattered short erect setae.

Metathoracic wings fully developed.

Penultimate tarsomere widened / flattened distally, with terminal tarsomere articulated dorsally in all tarsi. Setation of legs normally developed.

Male (paratype). Abdominal characters as in Figs. 14, 15 ; tergum VII simple, evenly rounded posteriorly; paired prongs of sternite VIII simple; apical portion of tegmen 0.6 times as long as basal piece, trilobed apically ( Fig. 16 ).

Variation. Body length (♀♀) 4.4–4.7 mm.

Differential diagnosis. Anthelephila praefecta sp. nov. is a rather conspicuous species, which does not seem to be close to any of its Palaearctic congeners. It resembles A. caeruleipennis in its body form and colouration (cf. Figs. 23 versus 20), but displays quite dissimilar morphology of male abdominal sternum VII and sternite VIII. Externally, it differs from the latter species in the head base being somewhat less distinctly differentiated from the neck, narrower pronotum (in relation to head width), by the corrugated dorsal surface of the head and pronotum, and finer punctation and short, less raised setation of the elytra.

Etymology. From Latin praefectus (governor); referring to the administrative subdivision of Yemen into governorates. Noun in apposition.

Distribution. Yemen.

Figures

Figs. 12–16. Anthelephila praefecta sp. nov. (paratype): 12 – habitus (part); 13 – head in lateral view; 14 – sternum VII (bottom), sternite VIII (middle) and tergite VIII (top); 15 – sternum VII, detail of median process; 16 – apical portion of aedeagus.

Figs. 17–24. Anthelephila spp., body in dorsal view. 17 – A. anceyi rathjensi (Pic, 1957), female, Wadi Zabid; 18 – A. bispilifasciata bispilifasciata (Pic, 1897), female, Turbah; 19 – same species, male, Lawdar; 20 – A. caeruleipennis (LaFerté-Sénectère, 1849), male, Lawdar; 21 – A. paolii (Krekich-Strassoldo, 1928), male, Sana’a; 22 – A. pilitarsis sp. nov., holotype; 23 – A. praefecta sp. nov., paratype, female, Jabal Bura; 24 – A. walkeri (Pic, 1895), male, Al Mukalla.