Nesotocerus rectus, 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 : 358-359

Nesotocerus rectus sp. nov.

( Figs 65, 66 , 70, 72 )

Type material. HOLOTYPE: J ( NMPC), ‘ Yemen, Socotra Isl., Noged , // GPS 12.318N, 53.678E, 250 m; // 12-12. xi.2000, // V. Bejček & K. Šťastný’ . PARATYPES: 4 JJ 4 ♀♀, same label data as holotype (6 NMPC, 2 ECRI) ; 1 Systates J 1 ♀, ‘ Yemen, Socotra Isl., // Noged , Mokhar, // 31.iii.2001, // leg. V. Bejček & K. Šťastný’ ( NMPC) ; 1 J 1 ♀, ‘ Yemen, Soqotra Isl. , 2003 // 5-6/xii, Noged plain// Qaareh (waterfall), 57 m // N12°27′10″, E53°37′56″ // [GPS], David Král lgt.’ ( NMPC) .

Description. Male holotype. Body length 7.9 mm. Piceous, shining, apical tarsomere dark brown, apical comb of setae of tibiae dark ferruginous, mucro of metatibiae honey-red. Dorsal surface of rostrum, head, pronotum and elytra sparsely covered by recumbent light grey to pale yellowish elongate scales intermingled with some comma-like scales. Sides of rostrum and of prothorax with dense partly embricate and slightly erect larger nacreous scales forming kind of lateral pale stripe. At beginning of elytral declivity there is faint U-shaped pale band, and on elytral intervals row of elongate clavate scales which are recumbent, dark and barely visible on disc, whereas on lateral intervals and on apical third they become whitish, erect, long and seta-like. Some long curved erect setae are at base of intervals VI and specially VII. Ventral surface with rather sparse somewhat erect whitish hair-like scales ( Figs 65–66 ).

Head. Rostrum 0.97 times as long as wide, sides moderately converging from base to apical two thirds of rostral length, then fairly widening towards apex; pterygia not very prominent. Epifrons slightly convex, subtly and sparsely punctured, at base with low carina ending at level of its narrowest point which is 0.59 times as wide as rostrum, sides weakly keeled. Epistome V-shaped and separated from epifrons by shallow depression. Scrobes short, entirely visible in dorsal view. Head separated from rostrum by rather shallow V-shaped sulcus, interocular distance about same as that between antennal insertion, space between eyes faintly depressed and with a longitudinal sulcus ending on vertex far beyond eyes, vertex weakly convex, basally finely strigose and apically sparsely punctured, temples about 1.5 times shorter than greater diameter of an eye and subparallel sided. Eyes large, somewhat elliptical and moderately convex.Antennae thin; scape almost straight and moderately clubbed; funicular antennomere I 1.80 times longer and barely wider than II, antennomeres II to VII progressively diminishing in length, all distinctly longer than wide; club fusiform elongate, about as long as three preceding antennomeres.

Pronotum 1.28 times wider than long, widest about at middle, quite flat dorsally in lateral view; anterior margin hardly narrower than somewhat flanged basal one; sides quite rounded; disc with large irregularly round smooth flattened granules becoming little smaller on sides and with faint median low carina on apical half. Scutellum broadly triangular, barely visible.

Elytra elongate-oval, 1.45 times longer than wide, about twice as wide as pronotum, disc almost flat, apical declivity abrupt and almost perpendicular; striae formed by rather regular rows of irregularly subquadrate large punctures; intervals not wider than striae, surface quite uneven and little convex.

Legs rather short; femora clubbed, edentate, sparsely clothed by recumbent hair-like scales and by slightly erect whitish setae at base; tibiae fairly curved on apical half, and here with their inner margin bearing some erect setae, internal margin of metatibiae granulate, with acute long apical mucro surmounted by tuft of compact golden setae basad of which there are some not dense very long curved silver setae in addition to shorter ones which are also to be found on pro- and mesotibiae; tarsi robust with stiff semirerect long setae, tarsomere I longer than II which is about as long as wide, tarsomere III bilobed and slightly transverse, tarsomere IV projecting from third 1.25 times length of III, claws fused in basal half.

Ventral side. Prosternum with tubercle immediately basad of coxae; metaventrite and abdominal ventrite I with large shallow common depression.

Variability. Other males, apart from the vestiture more or less abraded, are very similar to the holotype. Elytra of females are more oval and more convex on disc, their abdomen is flat, the metatibiae lacking long setae basad of the golden tuft and their mucro on inner apical margin is shorter than that of males.

Male genitalia. Aedeagus as depicted in Fig. 70 . Spermatheca as depicted in Fig. 72 .

Body length 6.7–8.9 mm.

Differential diagnosis. See the key below to separate this species from its relatives.

Etymology. The species name, Latin adjective rectus (- a, - um), meaning ‘straight’, was chosen in reference to the abrupt elytral declivity of the new species.

Distribution. Endemic to Socotra Island.

Figures

Figs 62–66.62–64 – Nematocerus spinifemur sp.nov.: 62 – habitus of the holotype;63 – head, pronotum and front legs of the same to show the spine at the base of femora; 64 – aedeagus of a paratype in dorsal view. 65–66 – Nesotocerus rectus sp. nov. 65 – habitus of the holotype; 66– the same in side view

Figs 67–72. 67–69, 71 – Nesotocerus complanatus sp. nov.: 67 – habitus of the holotype; 68 – the same in side view; 69 – aedeagus of a paratype in dorsal view; 71 – spermatheca of a paratype. 70, 72 – Nesotocerus rectus sp. nov. 70 – aedeagus of a paratype in dorsal view; 72 – spermatheca of a paratype.