Nesotocerus griseovestitus, 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 : 364-365

Nesotocerus griseovestitus sp. nov.

( Figs 76–78 )

Type material. HOLOTYPE: J ( NMPC), ‘ Yemen, Socotra Island // Noged plain (sand dunes) // Sharet Halma vill. env. // 12°21.9′N, 54°05.3′E, 20 m // Jiří Hájek leg. 10-11.xi.2010 ’. PARATYPES: 1 J 6 ♀♀, same label data as holotype (5 NMPC, 1 ECRI) ; 2 JJ 3 ♀♀, ‘ Yemen, Socotra Island, // Noged plain (sand dunes), // Sharet Halma vill. env., // 12°21.9′N, 54°05.3′E, 20 m, // J. Bezděk leg., 10-11.xi.2010 ’ ( NMPC) ; 1 J, ‘ Yemen, Socotra Island, // Noged plain (sand dunes), // Sharet Halma vill. env., // 12°21.9′N, 54°05.3′E, 20 m, // J. Bezděk leg., 10-11.xi.2010 // Alcohol 70% + acetic acid’ ( NMPC) ; 1 J, ‘ Yemen, Socotra Island, // Noged plain (sand dunes), // Sharet Halma vill. env., // 12°21.9′N, 54°05.3′E, 20 m, // L. Purchart leg., 10-11.xi.2010 ’ ( NMPC) ; 1 J, ‘ Socotra Is. ( YE) // Noged plain (sand dunes) // Sharet Halma vill. env. // 12°21.9′N, 54°05.3′E, 20 m, // Jan Batelka leg. 10-11.xi.2010 ’ ( JBPC) ; 27 JJ 22 ♀♀, ‘ Yemen, Socotra Noged // plain (plain), Sharet // Halma vill. env., 34 m // 12°22.9′N, 54°07.0′E // 10.xi.2010, P. Hlaváč leg.’ (37 NMPC, 12 ECRI) ; 35 JJ 28 ♀♀, ‘ Yemen, Socotra Island // Noged plain, Abataro // border of sand dunes and // shrubland 12-13.vi.2012 // 12°22.1′N, 54°03.4′E, 20 m’, ‘Socotra expedition 2012 // J. Bezděk, J. Hájek, V. Hula, // P. Kment , I. Malenovský, // J. Niedobová & L. Purchart leg.’ (46 NMPC, 4 BMNH, 12 ECRI) ; 4 JJ 6 ♀♀, ‘ Yemen, Socotra Island, // Deiqub cave env. // V. Hula & J. Niedobová leg. // 10.vi.2010 ’ (7 NMPC, 3 ECRI) ; 2 JJ 4♀♀, ‘ Yemen, Socotra Island, // Shibhon, 680 m // N 12°28′1.5″, E 53°58′31″ // 13.vi.2009, L. Purchart lgt.’ (4 NMPC, 2 ECRI) .

Description. Male holotype. Body length 5.3 mm. Piceous, quite shining, funiculus and femora dark brown, antennal club, tibiae and their apical comb of setae, and tarsi dark ferruginous. Dorsal surface densely covered by grey-yellowish recumbent lanceolate scales intermingled on upper surface of rostrum, head and pronotum with hair-like scales. Epifrons, dorsum of head and pronotal disc with sparser vestiture. On elytral declivity a series of suberect hair-like scales is on elytral intervals, and some long curved erect setae are at base on intervals VI and particularly VII. At base of head, on its under surface, on transverse sulcus between head and rostrum, and around eyes scales are larger and pearly-white.A vague series of patches of denser scales on elytral declivity. Ventral surface with same dense clothing as on upper side ( Fig. 76 ).

Head. Rostrum hardly wider than long, sides barely converging from base to moderately protruding pterygia. Epifrons slightly convex, rather coarsely punctured at base and becoming smoother towards crescent sulcus between scrobes, at narrowest point about 0.73 times as wide as of rostrum between antennal insertion, with dorsal carina and with sides weakly keeled. Epistome V-shaped, smooth, and separated from epifrons by weak sulcus. Head separated from rostrum by V-shaped feeble sulcus, distance between eyes a little greater than that between antennal insertion, space between eyes faintly depressed and with weak rather short longitudinal sulcus, vertex hardly convex, finely transversely strigose at extreme base, and apically punctured, temples about half as long as greater diameter of eye and hardly converging forward. Eyes large, elliptical and convex. Antennae relatively thick; scape just little curved and moderately clubbed; funicular antennomere I 2.08 times longer and hardly wider than II, antennomeres II to VII progressively diminishing in length, antennomeres III to V slightly longer than wide, antennomeres VI and VII about as long as wide; club fusiform, about as long as three preceding antennomeres.

Prothorax 1.28 times wider than long, sides little rounded, widest just apicad of middle, quite flat dorsally; anterior margin hardly narrower than barely flanged basal one; disc with large, coarse punctures and relatively small irregular smooth flattened granules more numerous towards base and on sides and with longitudinal weak carina at middle. Scutellum barely visible.

Elytra oval, moderately elongate, 1.43 times longer than wide, about 1.55 times as wide as pronotum, maximum width at basal third, quite flat on basal half, then progressively more convex in profile, apical declivity almost perpendicular; striae formed by quite regular rows of subquadrate large punctures; intervals not wider than striae, smooth and little convex.

Legs relatively short; rather densely clothed by partly recumbent and partly slightly erect whitish setae, faint trace of femoral white middle ring; pro- and mesotibiae almost straight, metatibiae little curved inwards and very minutely granulated on inner margin; tarsi robust with erect thin and stiff semirerect longer setae, tarsomere I longer and slightly wider than II which is longer than wide, tarsomere III bilobed and as long as wide, tarsomere IV projecting from third by little more length of III.

Ventral side with recumbent lanceolate dense whitish scales on prosternum and mesoventrite, metaventrite and abdominal ventrites with some semierect moderately dense hair-like setae in middle; metaventrite and ventrite I with large common median depression.

Variability. Other males are very similar to the holotype. Elytra of females are more broadly oval and more convex on disc ( Fig. 77 ), and their abdomen has no impressions. Appendages of paratypes may be more or less dark ferruginous, and the pronotal keel is more or less evident. In very fresh specimens there is a faint V-shaped whitish stripe at the level of elytral declivity, and two longitudinal pale bands on sides of pronotum.

Male genitalia. Aedeagus as depicted in Fig. 78 .

Body length 5.6–7.5 mm.

Differential diagnosis. See identification key below.

Collection circumstances. In Noged plain, the new species was collected on Indigofera spp. shrubs ( Fabaceae ) (J. Hájek, pers. comm.).

Etymology. The species name, a composite Latin adjective griseovestitus (- a, - um), meaning ‘with grey vestiture’, refers to the clothing of dense scales of the new species.

Distribution. Endemic to Socotra Island.

Figures

Figs 73–78. 73–75 – Nesotocerus labeculatus sp. nov.: 73 – habitus of the holotype; 74 – habitus of a female paratype; 75 – aedeagus of a paratype in dorsal view. 76–78 – Nesotocerus griseovestitus sp. nov.: 76 – habitus of the holotype; 77 – habitus of a female paratype; 78 – aedeagus of a paratype in dorsal view.