Psammoecus procerus, Karner, 2014

Karner, Michael, 2014, Three new species and new records of African Psammoecus Latreille (Coleoptera, Silvanidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 89, pp. 1-18 : 6-9

Psammoecus procerus sp. nov.

Fig. 4A–G

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:C44995A0-A3D4-4C4A-A80A-F45ED4CD4202

Diagnosis

The following combination of character states is diagnostic for this species: lateral margins of pronotum with very small teeth; antennomeres slender; 1 st antennomere 3 times as long as 2 nd; microsculpture on vertex and disk of pronotum distinct, reticulate; median lobe of aedeagus slender; parameres long, slender.

Differential diagnosis

This species is most similar to P. grandis Grouvelle, 1908 ; it can be distinguished by the shape of the antennomeres and male genitalia. It differs from all other African Psammoecus by its large size.

Etymology

The specific epithet is the Latin word for “slender”.

Material examined

Holotype

♂ ‘ SAO TOMÉ | Bom Successo, | ECOFAC compound | 7.–13.vi.1999 [7–13 Jun. 1999]’, ‘ A. Polaszek | BMNH 2005-138 ’ ( BMNH).

Paratypes

4 ♀♀, with same data as holotype (3 BMNH, 1 MKF).

Description of holotype

BODY (as in Fig. 4A ). Elongate, slender, total length 3.6 mm. Elytra testaceous; humeral swelling and lateral margin dark brown, the dark coloration extended to a broad macula near the middle; apical half of suture and apex dark brown. Head and pronotum reddish brown; lateral margins of pronotum a little darker; anterior and posterior margins of pronotum lighter brown. Antennae testaceous, apex of antennomere 6 and antennomeres 7-10 darkened, antennomere 11 yellowish white. Legs yellow.

HEAD (as in Fig. 4B ). Eyes moderately rounded, temples well defined and curved, moderately narrowed behind eyes, temple angle 44°; head width 0.78 mm, length 0.46 mm. Puncturation on vertex irregular; punctures almost as large as an eye facet diameter, sometimes contiguous, sometimes leaving spaces the size of their diameter. Pubescence composed of long, semi-erect setae, directed anteriorly; microsculpture on apical part of vertex distinct, reticulate, on basal part of vertex very shallow. Longitudinal impressions on vertex short, slightly curved, barely attaining eye level. Eyes 0.23 mm long, distance of inner margins 0.52 mm. Antennae slender, attaining almost middle of elytra, 1.98 mm long; antennomere proportions: 3.0: 1.0: 1.3: 1.5: 1.7: 1.5: 1.4: 1.3: 1.1: 1.1: 2.1 ( Fig. 4 D ).

PRONOTUM (as in Fig. 4C ). About 1.1 times as wide as head; moderately wider than long; width 0.86 mm, length 0.73 mm. Area close to the posterior angles slightly depressed. Anterior angles separated from the disk by a slightly raised ridge; the small anterolateral space separated by that ridge without microsculpture, bearing 3 short teeth. Left lateral margin with 4, right margin with 5 very short teeth, posterior angle marked by a tooth of same size as lateral teeth. Puncture size on pronotal disk as on vertex, puncturation less dense. Pubescence as on vertex. Microsculpture distinct, reticulate.

ELYTRA. Long and slender, 3.3x as long as pronotum, widest just in front of middle, length 2.44 mm, combined width 1.40 mm. Elytral disk with a flat depression between first and second third. Rows of punctures on disk about half as wide as interstices; pubescence composed of long, semierect setae; strial setae about 1/3 shorter than interstrial setae; microsculpture restricted to areas near origin of setae, reticulate.

MALE GENITALIA (as in Fig. 4E–G ). Parameres in ventral view wide, elongate, lateral face parallel, curved medially towards the apex; in lateral view lancet-shaped, almost straight ventrally and curved dorsally, apical third of dorsal face with short setae, tip bent ventrally. Median lobe slender, evenly narrowed toward apex in dorsal view; in lateral view wide to about the middle, narrowed to a parallel-sided section of about 2/5 its length; apical 1/6 narrowed, dorsal face curved in an S-shape, tip bent ventrally.

Variation

The paratypes vary in body length from 3.60 to 3.92 mm.

Remarks

The general appearance and the unusual structure of the male genitalia make this species a very untypical member of the genus Psammoecus . Its habitus closely resembles that of P. grandis Grouvelle, 1908 , but the antennae as well as the male genitalia of P. grandis have an exceedingly different structure (see Fig. 5 A–C).

Figures

Fig. 4. Psammoecus procerus sp. nov., holotype. A. Habitus. B. Head. C. Pronotum. D. Right antenna. E–G. Aedeagus (E = ventral, F = lateral, G = dorsal view). Scale lines: A = 1.0 mm, B–G = 0.5 mm.

Fig. 5. Psammoecus grandis Grouvelle, 1908. A. Right antenna. B. Median lobe. C. Parameres. Scale lines = 0.5 mm.