Delopleurus mencli, Král, 2014

Král, David, 2014, Delopleurus mencli sp. nov. from Socotra Island (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 54, pp. 133-138 : 134-137

Delopleurus mencli sp. nov.

( Figs 1–7 )

Type locality. Yemen, Socotra Island, Wadi Ayhaft, 12°36′38″N 53°58′49″E, 190 m a.s.l.

Type material (13 specimens). HOLOTYPE: J, ‘Yemen, Soqotra Is. / 24-26.xi.2003 / WADI AYHAFT, 190m / N12°36ʹ38ʺ E53°58ʹ49ʺ / [GPS], David Král lgt. // YEMEN – SOQOTRA 2003 / Expedition ; Jan Farkač, / Petr Kabátek & David Král [printed]’ ( NMPC) . ALLOTYPE: ♀, same label data as holotype ( NMPC) . PARATYPES: Nos 1 (J) and 2–3 (♀♀), same label data as holotype ; Nos 4–5 (♀♀), ‘Yemen, Soqotra Is. WADI / AYHAFT, 24-26.xi.2003, N 12° / 36ʹ38ʺ E 53°58ʹ49ʺ, 190m / [GPS], leg. P. Kabátek // YEMEN – SOQOTRA / 2003 / Expedition ; Jan Farkač , / Petr Kabátek & David Král [printed] ’; No. 6 (♀), ‘ Yemen, Soqotra Is. 24-26.xi.2003 / WADI AYHAFT / N 12°36ʹ38ʺ E53°58ʹ49ʺ / 190 m / [GPS] ; Jan Farkač lgt. // YEMEN – SOQOTRA 2003 / Expedition ; Jan Farkač , / Petr Kabátek & David Král [printed] ’; Nos 7 (J) and 8 (♀), ‘Yemen, Soqotra Is., 2003 / 9–10.xii., Qalansiyah env. / KHAYRHA mts., N slopes / N12°38ʹ50ʺ E53°27ʹ45ʺ / 85–592 m [GPS]. D. Král lgt. // YEMEN – SOQOTRA 2003 / Expedition ; Jan Farkač , / Petr Kabátek & David Král [printed] ’; No. 9 (♀), ‘ YEMEN, SOCOTRA Island / wadi Ayhaft / 12°36.5ʹN, 53°58.9ʹE, 200m / Jan Bezděk leg., 7.-8.xi.2010 [printed] ’; Nos 10–11 (♀♀), ‘ YEMEN, SOCOTRA Island / wadi Ayhaft / 12°36.5ʹN, 53°58.9ʹE, 200m / Jiří Hájek leg., 7.-8.xi.2010 [printed]’ (all in NMPC) .

Description of holotype. Total body length 4.3 mm. Compact, strongly convex, body outline subquadrate, entire surface except for mouthparts and legs shiny, smooth; colour black, mouthparts, antennae and tarsi brownish to reddish brown ( Figs 1, 4 ).

Head broader than long, flat, with whole dorsal surface densely, coarsely, regularly punctate; punctation becoming somewhat rugose anteriad and sparser posteriad; clypeus armed with four prominent, sharp teeth anteriorly; medial notch deep, rounded basally; lateral notches shallow, broadly rounded; genae angulate anterolaterally; eyes small, narrow, visible in dorsal aspect, not completely divided by eye canthus ( Fig. 1 ). Gula longer than broad, with longitudinal groove. Antennae consisting of nine antennomeres.

Pronotum transversal, strongly convex, anterior outline deeply excised medially; anterior and lateral margins distinctly bordered; basis with row of equidistant, distinct, shallow marginal punctures crenating basal margin; anterior angles rounded, lateral margin gently rounded anteriorly and feebly sinuate subbasally; basis broadly rounded; near basis short median, longitudinal line extending to about fifth of length of pronotum; surface smooth except for coarsely and densely punctate anterolateral area ( Fig. 1 ).

Scutellar shield invisible.

Elytra strongly convex with external margin deeply sinuate posteriorly of humerus; pseudepipleura indistinct, impunctate; distinctly striate, striae 1–7 complete, stria 8 interrupted by external sinuation; each stria with row of deeply impressed, regularly spaced punctures crenating distinct intervals; intervals weakly convex, entirely impunctate ( Fig 1 ).

Pygidium about two times wider than long, with strongly raised borders, apical border considerably thick medially (about two times thicker than basal border), basal border slen- der and almost parallel-sided except for middle; disc flat, glabrous, coarsely and irregularly punctate, punctures separated by 2–3 puncture diameters ( Figs 4, 6 ).

Mesoventrite considerably short and broad, with the anterior and posterior margins almost straight and almost parallel, anterior margin bordered, distance between mesocoxae more than three times length of mesoventrite, surface considerably coarsely, regularly punctate; metaventral disc shallowly concave, coarsely punctate anteriorly and anterolaterally.

Legs. Coxae and femora smooth ventrally, profemora distinctly bordered ventrally ( Fig. 4 ); protibiae considerably broad, with three sharp teeth and row of four small denticles ( Figs 1, 4 ), excavated at basis of protarsus ventrally (allowing protarsus to be folded posteriad) ( Fig. 4 ), terminal spur bifid apically ( Fig. 4 ); meso- and metatibiae long, triangular, regularly expanded distad; protarsomeres long, filiform; meso- and metatarsomeres 1–4 short, approximately as long as broad, slightly diminished distad, meso- and metatarsomere 5 distinctly longer than broad; claws slender, weakly curved ( Figs 1, 4 ).

Abdomen considerably short, abdominal ventrites not fused, remarkably coarsely, regularly punctate ( Fig. 4 ).

Male genitalia. Aedeagus symmetrical; parameres simple, distinctly shorter than phallobasis, straight, convergent distad, with sharply pointed apex in lateral aspect ( Figs 2–3 ).

Female. Differs from male in the following characters: terminal spur of protibia simply pointed apically ( Fig. 5 ), disc of pygidium scabrous, bearing brownish setae ( Figs 5, 7 ), mesoventrite almost impunctate medially, metaventral disc flat, almost impunctate also anteriorly and anterolaterally ( Fig. 5 ).

Variability. Specimens of the type series only slightly vary in body length (4.1–4.4 mm).

Differential diagnosis. The new species is classified in the genus Delopleurus mainly by possessing anterior margin of clypeus quadridentate with middle teeth more prominent than lateral ones, eyes not completely divided by eye canthus, gula with longitudinal groove, head and pronotum completely unarmed, elytra with unique external sinuation, pseudepipleura indistinct, protibia with three prominent external teeth and basimetatarsomere not distinctly longer than metatarsomere 2. It is distinguished from other described species mostly by different sculpture of pygidium. In the key to Delopleurus species ( FROLOV 2014), males of D. mencli sp. nov. key to the couplet with D. darrenmanni Frolov, 2014 but can be separated from it by flat and longer disc of pygidium ( Figs 4, 6 ) (disc convex and narrower in D. darrenmanni , see FROLOV 2014: Fig. 4B ); females of D. mencli sp. nov. key to the couplet with D. naviauxi Frolov & Cambefort, 2014 , but the new species possesses flat, scabrous, macrosetaceous disc of pygidium ( Figs 5, 7 ) in contrast to slit shaped, macrosetaceous disc in D. naviauxi (see FROLOV 2014: Fig. 2B ); in addition D. naviauxi has protibiae with a small acute tooth near terminal spur (see FROLOV 2014: Fig. 1D ) while in the new species protibiae are without this small tooth ( Figs 1, 4–5 ).

Etymology. Patronymic; named in honour of my long-time friend Ladislav Mencl (Týnec nad Labem, Czech Republic), an outstanding specialist on dung beetles.

Collecting circumstances. Specimens originating from Wadi Ayhaft (2003, legit DK) and from Khayrha mts. were collected in shaded bushy habitat from human faeces.

Distribution. Endemic species to Socotra Island, so far known only from central (Wadi Ayhaft) and western parts (Khayrha mts.) (see BEZDĚK et al. 2012, for details).

Figures

Figs 1–7. Delopleurus mencli sp. nov. 1 – holotype J; 4, 6 – paratype No. 1 J; 5, 7 – allotype ♀. 1 – habitus, dorsal aspect; 2 – aedeagus, lateral aspect; 3 – aedeagus dorsal aspect; 4–5 – habitus, ventral aspect; 6, 7 – pygidium, dorsal aspect. Not to scale.