Socotracerus delumbis, Colonnelli, 2014

Colonnelli, Enzo, 2014, Apionidae, Nanophyidae, Brachyceridae and Curculionidae except Scolytinae (Coleoptera) from Socotra Island, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 54, pp. 295-422 : 367-368

Socotracerus delumbis sp. nov.

( Figs 79−81, 83 )

Type material. HOLOTYPE: J ( NMPC), ‘ Yemen, Socotra Island // Firmihin , 400-500 m // N 12°28′.27″, E 54°0′54″ // 22-25.vi.2009 // L. Purchart & J. Vybíral lgt.’. PARATYPES: 3 JJ 5 ♀♀, same label data as holotype (6 NMPC, 2 ECRI); 1 ♀, ‘ Yemen, Socotra Island E // Firmihin plato, 400-500 m // N 12°28′46″, E 54°00′49″ // V. Hula & J. Niedobová leg. // 18-19.vi.2010 ’ ( NMPC); 1 ♀, ‘ Yemen, Soqotra Is.; // 1.2. xii.2003 // Dixam plateau; Sirhin area, // N 12°31′08″ E 53°59′09″ // 812 m [GPS]; Jan Farkač lgt.’, ‘ Yemen - Soqotra // 2003 // Expedition; Jan Farkač, // Petr Kabátek & David Král’ ( NMPC); 1 ♀, ‘Socotra ( YE) // Dixam // 28.I.2008 - R. Sindaco’ ( MCCI); 1 ♀, ‘ Yemen, Socotra // Dixam plateau Firmihin // ( Dracaena forest) 490 m // 12°28.6′N, 54°01.1′E // 15-16.xi.2010 // P. Hlaváč leg.’ ( NMPC); 1 J, ‘ Yemen, Socotra Island // Deiqub cave, 12.vi.2012 // cave & Croton socotranus + // Jatropha unicostata shrubland; // 12°23.1′N, 54°00.9′E, 115 m’, ‘Socotra expedition 2012 // J. Bezděk, J. Hájek, V. Hula, // P. Kment, I. Malenovský, // J. Niedobová & L. Purchart leg.’ ( NMPC).

Description. Male holotype. Body length 5.2 mm. Pitchy-brown, somewhat shining, antennae and tarsi dark ferruginous, apical comb of setae of tibiae and claws honey-red. Dorsal side rather sparsely covered by curved recumbent brownish and golden hair-like scales, intermingled with almost recumbent whitish to golden-greenish capitate scales which on elytral intervals are erect and give rise to vague patches and faint longitudinal stripes along suture and interval V on elytral declivity. Ventral surface with sparse erect golden setae ( Figs 79–80 ).

Head. Rostrum 0.85 times as long as wide, sides barely converging from base to moderately protruding pterygia. Epifrons slightly depressed, at narrowest point hardly narrower than rostrum between antennal insertions, with barely visible trace of dorsal carina, sides with weak smooth keel. Epistome V-shaped and separated from epifrons by thin carina. Scrobes quite short. Head separated from rostrum by transverse weak sulcus, distance between eyes greater than that between antennal insertion, space between eyes flat and longitudinally sulcate, vertex convex, basally finely strigose and apically punctured, temples shorter than greater diameter of eye and slightly widening posteriorly. Eyes large, elliptical and convex. Antennae rather thin; scape slightly curved and gradually clubbed; funicular antennomere I 1.17 times longer and hardly wider than II, antennomere II curved and apically widened at inner margin, antennomeres II to VII barely diminishing in length, all longer than wide; club fusiform elongate, little shorter than three preceding antennomeres.

Pronotum 1.14 times broader than long, widest just apicad of middle, slightly convex dorsally in lateral view; anterior margin as wide as basal one; sides rounded; disc with irregular smooth flattened granules becoming smaller and denser on sides and with smooth carina in middle. Scutellum barely visible.

Elytra elongate oval, 1.54 times longer than wide, 1.62 times as wide as pronotum, moderately convex on basal two thirds, apical declivity almost perpendicular; striae formed by large subquadrate punctures; intervals not wider than striae, subrugulose and little convex.

Legs rather elongate; femora clubbed, edentate, sparsely clothed by recumbent and slightly erect whitish setae, basal third of profemora and basal 4/5 of mesofemora with long erect setae; protibiae quite strongly curved on apical half, their inner margin setose and incised on apical half and at base of incision with tuft of long setae, mesotibiae moderately so and also with long setae, metatibiae with their apical 2/3 curved and a little twisted, side facing elytra with smooth and bare surface; tarsi quite short with erect thin microsetae and stiff erect longer setae, tarsomere I longer and slightly wider than second which is longer than wide, tarsomere III bilobed and as long as wide, tarsomere IV projecting from third by slightly more than its length, claws fused in basal half.

Ventral side. Metaventrite and abdominal ventrite I with large rather deep common impression, rest of ventrites convex in middle.

Variability. Other males are almost identical to the holotype. Elytra of females are broadly oval and strongly convex on disc ( Fig. 81 ), their legs are lacking special features and their abdomen is not impressed. The vestiture is somewhat variable, since in some paratypes elytral spots are more evident. In fully mature specimens the colour of the integument is piceous, and tibiae and antennae are darker than those of the holotype.

Male genitalia. Aedeagus as depicted in Fig. 83 .

Body length 4.1–5.5 mm.

Differential diagnosis. This species is easy to identify from Socotracerus contortipes sp. nov. described below already by its piceous colour and vestiture formed by scales instead of setae.

Etymology. The species name, Latin adjective delumbis (- is, - e), meaning ‘lame’, was chosen in reference to the bent male tibiae of this new species.

Distribution. Endemic to Socotra Island.

Figures

Figs 79–84. 79–81, 83 – Socotracerus delumbis sp.nov. 79 – habitus of the holotype; 80 – head, antenna and right fore legs of the same; 81 – habitus of a female paratype; 83 – aedeagus of a paratype in dorsal view. 82, 84 – Socotracerus contortipes sp. nov., holotype. 82 – habitus; 84 – aedeagus in dorsal view.