Armifemur, 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 : 328

Armifemur gen. nov.

Type species. Armifemur pusillus sp. nov., by present designation.

Description. Body very small, moderately elongate, rather strongly punctured, cuticle alutaceous. Vestiture of rather sparse microscopic and almost invisible, slightly erect short setae. Head very short. Eyes minute and strongly protruding. Rostrum thick, curved, moderately elongate, slightly tapering at antennal insertion, and not continuing outline of head in lateral view. Antennae quite short and inserted near apex of rostrum, scape thin at base and quite abruptly, strongly clubbed and slightly compressed at apical third, funicle heptamerous, antennomere I thicker and much longer than others which are short, cylindrical, antennomeres III- VII transverse, club large and shortly fusiform. Pronotum rather elongate, moderately constricted towards apex and base, apical margin a little convex, base subtruncate. Scutellum invisible. Elytra quite short with sides moderately rounded from base, shoulders absent. Striae formed by deep large round punctures, intervals thin and little convex. Anterior femora quite strongly clubbed, compressed and somewhat twisted, ventral margin edentate, dorsal one with keeled tooth near base, inner margin concave and smooth, distally keeled; metafemora similar to profemora, only less clubbed; mesofemora moderately clubbed, less compressed and lacking dorsal tooth. Tibiae short, moderately thick, and slightly sinuate, base particularly of posterior tibiae curved and clearly dilated, apical uncus strong. Tarsi quite short, tarsomere III evidently bilobed, claws free. Procoxae separated by distance about equal to diameter of one of them and with faint elongate tubercle in front of them giving impression of barely visible rostral channel, mesocoxae separated by twice their diameter, distance between metacoxae almost three times their diameter. Mesepimeron tuberculate. Ventrites I and II very elongate, barely visible suture between them straight, ventrites III and IV very short, their combined length about half of that of II, V slightly longer than two preceding ones and crescent-shaped.

Differential diagnosis. Impossible to confuse with any other Cossoninae by the dorsal toothlike process of base of femora, in combination with the pentamerous antennal funicle and inner side of profemora excavated. However, it appears somewhat related with Hajekia gen. nov., sharing with it general shape and kind of habitat.

Etymology. The genus takes its name by the peculiar structure of the base of metafemora bearing a kind of dorsal tooth. Gender is masculine.