Cryptoxyleborus confusus Browne, 1950

Sittichaya, Wisut, Smith, Sarah M. & Beaver, Roger A., 2019, Ten newly recorded species of xyleborine ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Scolytinae, Xyleborini) from Thailand, ZooKeys 862, pp. 109-127 : 119-120

Cryptoxyleborus confusus Browne, 1950 Fig. 9 A–D

Cryptoxyleborus confusus Browne, 1950: 644.

Diagnosis.

Small, 2.0 mm long (N = 1); very elongate, 3.3 times longer than wide; body nearly glabrous, light brown in color; pronotum elongated basic shape (type 7; Hulcr et al. 2007), anterior margin rounded, convex, armed with a row of five serrations, anterior half of pronotum asperate, asperities tiny, pronotal base shagreened; elytra 1.71 times longer than pronotum, 1.87 times longer than wide, elytra abruptly tapering at apical third, interstriae reticulate-punctate, punctures shallow, very dense at the base, area of dense punctures broader at suture, discal punctures confused.

Material examined.

THAILAND, Ton Nga Chang Wildlife Sanctuary, Songkhla Province, 6°59'32.1"N 100°08'57.8"E, tropical rainforest, ethanol-baited trap, 01.iv.2014 (1) (W. Sittichaya).

Distribution.

Brunei Darussalam, East and West Malaysia, Indonesia (Sumatra). New to Thailand.

Biology.

Recorded from several species of Shorea ( Dipterocarpaceae ) ( Browne 1961, Beaver and Hulcr 2008). Browne (1961) notes that the gallery system differs from the usual pattern found in the genus. A surface brood chamber is constructed between bark and wood in which most of the larvae develop. However, there are also more deeply penetrating tunnels into the wood.

Remarks.

This species is closely related to C. vestigator Schedl, which has the elytra more strongly posteriorly tapered and is more strongly shining in appearance. Cryptoxyleborus confusus seems to be somewhat morphologically variable and DNA could show that the species is not monophyletic.

Figures

Figure 9. Cryptoxyleborus confusus Browne, 1950 A lateral view B dorsal view C posterolateral view D front.