Cionus verrucosus, Caldara & Košťál, 2023

Caldara, Roberto & Košťál, Michael, 2023, A Taxonomic Revision Of The Afrotropical Species Of The Weevil Genus Cionus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), Zootaxa 5288 (1), pp. 1-98 : 89-91

51. Cionus verrucosus sp. n. ( Figs 51a–b )

Type locality. Manankazo (Ankazobe Mts, Madagascar) .

Type series. Holotype, female: “ MADAGASCAR: 1996 Ankazobe Mts. , Manankazo env. 29.11–4.12,. Jlři Stolarczyk leg. / Coll. Winkelmann ” (1 female, HWCB) . Paratype: “ MADAGASCAR 1995 ANTANANARIVO distr. Manankazo env., Dec. 9–13., J. Stolarczyk leg.” (1 female, PBCS) .

Diagnosis. Head between eyes slightly narrower than rostrum at base. Pronotum with four protuberances. Elytra with rectangular light macula posterior to scutellum, with interstria 3 carinate at base, other interstriae with protuberances, with striae distinctly sinuate. Claws distinctly asymmetrical in male.

Description. Female (holotype) ( Figs 51a–b ). Body: stout, globose (length 4.6 mm). Head: rostrum stout, moderately elongated (Rl/Rw 5.12, Rl/Pl 1.49), black, in lateral view slightly curved at antennal insertion; in dorsal view slightly divergent from base to apex, striate-punctate, with three subtle longitudinal carinae, from base to near apex with recumbent, dense, narrow (l/w 6–7), elliptical, brown scales, and many setae in apical half. Head between eyes wide, half as wide as rostrum at base. Eyes flat. Antennae dark brown, inserted between middle and apical third; scape elongated (l/w 12); funicle distinctly shorter than scape, S1 more robust and shorter than S2, 3.0× as long as wide, S2 4.0 × as long as wide, S3–5 as long as wide; club oblongly oval, shorter than funicle, regularly pubescent. Pronotum: black, with four protuberances (lateral ones stouter and more distinct than median ones), with dense, more or less small, deep punctures completely hidden by recumbent, dense, moderately long (l/w 4–7), subelliptical, intermixed whitish, light brown and brown scales, dark ones more numerous in mediobasal area, here forming tufts on protuberances; conical, distinctly transverse (Pw/Pl 1.72), widest at base, sides rectilinear, slightly concave in middle, slightly convex on disc. Prosternum: anterior margin distinctly emarginated. Scutellar shield: large, heart-shaped, completely covered with brown and whitish (base and apex) scales. Elytra: black, globose, short (El/Ew 1.10), widest at base, distinctly wider than pronotum (Ew/Pw 1.70), humeri markedly prominent, rounded, sides in basal 2/3 rectilinear, distinctly convex on disc; interstriae strongly sinuate, flat to distinctly convex, partly with calli (base of interstriae 3, 5, 7 and 9, and middle of interstria 3 and 5), with irregular, small, shallow punctures, intervals between punctures shining, shallow, both punctures and intervals completely hidden by recumbent, dense, moderately long (l/w 5–7), subelliptical, light and dark brown scales, latter ones more numerous on convex parts of interstriae and behind scutellum; whitish scales forming distinct subrectangular macula in front of basal spot of darker scales on interstria 1; striae feebly visible, with deep, irregularly arranged punctures, wider than interstriae. Venter: mesosternal process moderately convex, distinctly emarginated. Metasternum covered with dense, elongated, light brown and whitish scales being subelliptical at sides, more elongated, partly hair-like in middle. Abdomen with sparse, irregular, shallow punctures being distinctly visible between sparse, subtle, elongated, whitish and light brown scales; V1 1.6× longer than V2; V1+2 5.0× longer than V3+4, latter ones 0.9× as long as V5. Legs: densely covered with more or less wide, intermixed brown and whitish brown scales; femora black, with stout and sharp teeth; tibiae black, without unci; tarsi dark brown, onychium as long as T1–3 combined, claws almost symmetrical.

Male. Unknown.

Variability. The light scales of the elytral vestiture slightly vary in their number: in the holotype they are more numerous on the interstria 1 below the whitish macula than in the paratype (length 4.70 mm).

Etymology. The Latin adjective means “rough, rugged” and refers to the presence of protuberances on the elytral interstriae.

Remarks. This species is closely related to C. coriaceus with which shares the quadrate shape of the elytra. However, the space between the eyes is slightly narrower and in the female the rostrum is distinctly longer and thinner and the claws are almost symmetrical.

Biological notes. No data are available.

Distribution. Central Madagascar.

Figures

FIGURES 51–52. FIGURE 51. Cionus verrucosus sp. n. a: body in dorsal view (female), b: body in lateral view (female). FIGURE 52. Cionus variolosus sp. n. a: body in dorsal view (male), b: body in lateral view (male), c: penis in ventral view, d: penis in lateral view, e: apex of penis in dorsal view. Not to scale.