Cossonus krali, 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 : 305-306

Cossonus krali sp. nov.

( Figs 6, 8 )

Type material. HOLOTYPE: J ( NMPC), ‘ Yemen, Soqotra Is., // 24-26.xi/2003 // Wadi Ayhaft, 190 m // N 12°36′38″ E 53°58′49″ // [GPS], David Král lgt.’, ‘ Yemen - Soqotra 2003 // Expedition; Jan Farkač, // Petr Kabátek & David Král’. PARATYPES: 9 JJ 11 ♀♀, same label data as holotype (13 NMPC, 2 BMNH, 5 ECRI); 1 J, ‘ Yemen, Socotra Island // Zemhon area, 270-350 m // N 12°30′58″ E 54°06′39″ // L. Purchart & J. Vybíral lgt.’ ( NMPC); 1♀, ‘ Yemen, Socotra Isl., // Firmihin plato, 400-500 m, // N 12°28′46″, E 54°00′89″ // 18.-19.vi.2010, // V. Hula & J. Niedobová leg.’ ( NMPC); 1 ♀, ‘ Yemen, Socotra Island // Firmihin, 400-500 m // N 12°28′27″, E 54°0′54″ // 22-25.vi.2009 // L. Purchart & J. Vybíral lgt.’ ( NMPC); 1 J, ‘ Yemen, Socotra island // Homhil, protected area // open woodland with Boswellia & // Dracaena trees; 10-11.vi.2012 // 12°34.5′N, 54°18.5′E, 360-500 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: 3.8 mm. Piceous, shining, bare, elytra and femora brown, tibiae dark ferruginous, antennae, apical uncus of tibiae and tarsi honey-red ( Fig. 6 ). Head. Rostrum 1.5 times longer than wide at its widest point, 1.25 times as long as head and half as long as pronotum, rather abruptly dilated at antennal insertion which is situated immediately apicad of middle, barely curved and slightly tapering towards apex in lateral view, dorsum minutely and quite sparsely punctured at base, little more so beyond antennal insertion. Scrobes moderately large, rather deep, smooth, and reaching lower margin of rostrum at distance from eyes little less than lesser diameter of eye. Antennae quite robust; scape hardly curved at base, apical half moderately clubbed; funicular antennomere I little wider than remaining antennomeres and hardly longer than wide; antennomeres II to VII progressively more transverse, antennomere VII more than twice broader than long; club large,

broadly fusiform and about as long as four preceding antennomeres. Head with moderately dense punctures up to impunctate and shiny vertex. Eyes quite large, subelliptical and little protruding from head convexity. Space between eyes sulcate.

Pronotum as long as wide, moderately constricted at apex; sides, apical constriction and central sulcus with rather dense and coarse punctures; disc rather flat, with sparse and minute punctures on both sides of narrowly triangular middle shallow sulcus bearing trace of longitudinal irregular low carina; sides moderately curved, maximum pronotal width at basal fifth; basal margin barely bisinuate and much wider than truncate apical one. Scutellum small.

Elytra twice as long as wide, maximum width at humeri, sides converging in almost straight line from humeri toward apical declivity. Striae sulciform, with large deep subrectangularly elongate punctures. Intervals almost flat, not wider than striae and with irregular row of almost invisible microscopic punctures.

Legs. Femora clubbed, their dorsal margin more strongly curved than lower one, profemora larger than meso- and metafemora; tibiae slightly bisinuous, protibiae with internal margin slightly incised just apicad of middle; tarsi narrow, tarsomere III not bilobed.

Ventral side with rather dense round deep punctures, metaventrite and abdominal ventrite I shallowly sulcate.

Variability. Apart from immatures which are more or less entirely brownish, colour of antennae and legs varies from piceous to ferruginous. There is also some variation regarding density and size of the pronotal punctures. Females are difficult to distinguish from males.

Male genitalia. Aedeagus as depicted in Fig. 8 .

Body length 3.2–4.6 mm.

Differential diagnosis. This new species is similar only to the South African C. africanus Boheman, 1845 , both sharing an almost entirely piceous integument, nearly invisible punctures on elytral intervals, not sulcate rostrum, finely punctured disc on both sides of the carinate central sulcus. However, C. africanus differs by having maximum pronotal width a little basad of middle instead at basal fifth, elytra at base trisinuate instead of almost straight, elytral intervals faintly coriaceous and wider than striae instead of smooth and not wider than striae ( BOHEMAN 1845, MARSHALL 1905). No other African or Oriental species can be confused with C. krali sp. nov.

Etymology. The species is named after the Czech entomologist David Král (Prague, Czech Republic) who collected the absolute majority of the adults of the new species.

Distribution. Endemic to Socotra Island.

Figures

Figs 6–10. 6, 8 – Cossonus krali sp. nov. 6 – habitus of the holotype; 8 – aedeagus of a paratype in dorsal view. 7, 9–10 – Cossonus ochreipennis sp. nov. 7– habitus of the holotype; 9 – aedeagus of a paratype in dorsal view; 10 – spiculum gastrale of the same.