Tuberates, 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 : 382

Tuberates gen. nov.

Type species. Tuberates pustulatus sp. nov., by present designation.

Description. Medium size from 5.9 to 8.1 mm. Thick vestiture composed of roundish scales intermingled on head and pronotum with almost recumbent curved hair-like ones, elytral intervals with embricate scales intermingled with some capitate erect narrow ones. Rostrum subquadrate, slightly widening apically, pterygia moderately developed and open in front. Epifrons rather abruptly angularly sloping on sides particularly towards antennal insertion, dorsum longitudinally depressed, level of epifrons higher than that of interocular area. Epistome short, broadly subtriangular, abruptly sloping forward and separated from epifrons by thin broadly U-shaped carina. Mentum quadrisetose. Scape scaled and bearing erect capitate setae. Head large, divided from rostrum by almost straight transverse sulcus, scrobes moderately large, in the form of a subtrapezoidal pit and entirely visible from above, space between eyes depressed and sulcate, eyes slightly elliptical and subconically convex. Pronotum narrower than elytra, almost as long as wide, uneven surface of disc completely concealed by vestiture, anterior and posterior margins subtruncate, sides rounded, disc almost flat and depressed basad and apicad of its centre. Scutellum barely visible. Elytra subrectangular with interval IX angularly dilated apicad of shoulders, barely convex on disc, 10-striate, apical declivity almost perpendicular. Intervals bearing a series of large uneven blunt tubercles. Legs rather elongate, femora moderately clubbed, edentate, tibiae slightly curved inwards at apical third, internal margin at least in part spinulate and mucronate apically, claws fused at base. Metatibial corbels open. Procoxae contiguous, mesocoxae separate by thin longitudinal bulging process, metacoxae widely separate by space slightly more than length of abdominal ventrite I. Anterior margin of ventrite I strongly arcuate towards metaventrite, ventrites II to IV convex and slightly differing in length, sutures between them straight, ventrite V crescent-shaped and slightly longer that combined length of III+IV.

Differential diagnosis. This is a very isolate genus impossible to confuse with any other Peritelini by the combination of quadrisetose mentum, dense peculiar vestiture, concave rostrum, pronotal impressions, tuberculate elytra, and at least in part spinulate meso- and metatibiae. See also an identification key above.

Etymology. The name alludes to the elytral tubercles and to the genus Systates , the members of which have also quadrisetose mentum. Gender is masculine