Pseudoculio promissus Pelsue & O’Brien, 2011

Pelsue, Frank W. & O’Brien, Charles W., 2011, A redefinition of the Curculionini of the world, with a key to subtribes and genera, and two new genera: Pseudoculio and Megaoculis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Curculioninae), Zootaxa 3102, pp. 27-49 : 38

Pseudoculio promissus Pelsue & O’Brien sp. n.

Material examined: Holotype—Malaysia Borneo Ƥ Malaysia /Sabah/Crocker Range/Mt. Tres Madi/3-26-3001 (2001)/native collector. ( CWOB).

Description: Habitus (Figs. 21–22) Ƥ 4.6 mm (n=1) in length; 2.4 mm (n=1) in width. Head: Wide in frontal view, 0.66 as wide as thorax; punctures small and contiguous, with small narrow fuscous scales; gena with small, short, recumbent, white scales; frons 0.25 as wide as head across eye; with small, narrow, elongate, clavate, white scales. Rostrum: 5.1 mm in length; longer than body; derm piceous; tube-shaped, abruptly emerging from frons; essentially glabrous from base to apex; with very small punctures; straight for 2/3 of length, there deflexed to apex; scrobe lateral, scape inserted in basal 1/4, 1.1 mm from base. Antennae: Scape 1.2 mm, funicle 2.1 mm, club 0.4 mm in length; scape 0.57 as long as funicle; antennomere 2 subequal to 1, 3+4 as long as 2, 5–7 same length, each subequal to 4; club small, as long as 6+7. Thorax: 1.8 mm in length; 1.9 mm in width. almost as long as wide; anterior margin deeply emarginate with median declivity and macula of peg-shaped, recumbent, white scales; disc with numerous small, contiguous punctures with short, narrow, decumbent, fuscous scales; laterobasal margin with thick linear macula of broad, recumbent, clavate, white scales reaching interval 5; pleuron with small, narrow, elongate, recumbent, white scales; mesosternal intercoxal process not visible in lateral view; scutellum wider than long, densely clothed with small oval cretaceous scales; mesepimeron densely clothed with clavate, cretaceous scales; mesepisternum not as densely clothed with recumbent, clavate, cretaceous scales; metepisternum with macula of white scales in posterior 1/3; metasternum with mediodistal glabrous declivity, remainder of sternum with discrete, small, clavate, white scales. Elytra: Striae deep with small punctures; derm piceous; postscutellar impression flat; humeri pronounced, rounded; intervals broad, each with 4 rows of small, narrow, elongate, decumbent, fuscous scales with rounded apices; basal intervals 1–5 with short vittae of white scales shortest on interval 5 becoming increasingly longer to 1; median fascia of white scales on intervals 1–7; crosshatched setae very short, not significant. Legs: Pro-, and mesofemoral teeth very small, metafemoral tooth small, but larger than others; all femora elongate with base and apex piceous, swollen area fuscorufous, clothed with narrow, elongate, white scales; metafemur exceeding apex of elytra by over 1/3 of femoral length; tibiae piceous, sinuate; pro-, and mesouncus moderate, metauncus long. Abdomen: Sternum II longer than I behind coxal cavity, longer than III; III as long as IV, V longer than III+IV; sterna II–IV ascending; all sterna clothed medially with narrow, elongate, clavate, white scales and laterally with denser, large, ribbed, apically truncate, white scales. Pygidium: Exposed, triangular in shape, with moderately long piceous seta-like scales. Genitalia: Not dissected.

Differential diagnosis: This species appears very similar to Curculio leptoclavis (Heller) , but can be distinguished by the longer antennal club of C. leptoclavis , with antennomere 1 being twice as long as 2, and its smaller size.

Specific epithet: The name “ promissus ” is derived from the Latin meaning “hanging down” in reference to the long rostrum.