Clitobius grimmi, Lillig, 2021

Lillig, Martin, 2021, Clitobius grimmi sp. n. from Egypt with notes on C. oblongiusculus (Fairmaire 1875) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Blaptinae), Zootaxa 5082 (5), pp. 476-484 : 479-482

Clitobius grimmi sp. n.

Figs 1, 2 , 5 , 7, 8 .

Type material. Holotype: ♂, “SW SINAI, 1.-4.I.1998 / Sharm el Sheik / around Shark‘s Bay / leg. W. Schawaller // HOLOTYPUS / Clitobius / grimmi spec. nov. / det. M. Lillig, 2021“ ( SMNS) . Paratypes: same data as Holotype (7 exx. SMNS, 2 exx. MLSG); “ EGYPT, Sinai / 14 km S Taba / 29°25‘N 34°50‘E / 27.XI.1992 / leg. M., M., S. Lillig & / T. Pavlíček ” (1 ex, MLSG) ; “ EGYPT, Sinai / 10 km N Nuweiba / 29°07‘N 34°40‘E / 28.XI.1992 / leg. M., M., S. Lillig & / T. Pavlíček ” (2 ex., MLSG) ; “ EGYPT, Sinai / Dahab / 28°31‘N 34°31‘E / 28.XI.1992 / leg. M., M., S. Lillig & / T. Pavlíček ” (1 ex., MLSG) ; “ Sinai, 20.IV.1995 / Dahab / leg. T. Pavlíček (2 exx., MLSG)” ; “ Ägypten, Sinai, Dahab, südl. / Dahab , 7.II.2010, Kamel- / kadaver, leg. S. HUBER”, 2 exx. ( SMNS) ; “ EGYPT: 5.4.1999 / Conrad Internat., 10 17 / km S Hurghada / J. SCHEUERN leg(17)”, 2 exx. ( SMNS) ; “ EGYPT: 5.4.1999 / Conrad Internat., 17 / km S Hurghada / J. SCHEUERN leg(17) // Clitobius / oblongiusculus FRM. / J.SCHÖNFELD det.01” (2 exx., HGAG) ; “ EGYPT: 5.4.1999 / Conrad Internat., 10 / km S Hurghada / J. SCHEUERN leg(17) // Clitobius / oblongiusculus FRM. / W.SCHAWALLER, det.99” (1 ex., HGAG) ; “ EGYPT: 05.04.1999 / Conrad Internat., / 17 km S Hurghada. / J. SCHEUERN leg. (17) // ex Coll. / J. SCHÖNFELD // “Today: 06.2021 / SUNRISE / Chrystal Bay Resort. // Clitobius / oblongiusculus FRM. / J.SCHÖNFELD det.2021” (7 exx. ZFMK, 1 ex JSSG, 1 ex. MLSG); “ EGYPT: 05.04.1999 / Conrad Internat., / 17 km S Hurghada. / J. SCHEUERN leg. (17) // ex Coll. / J. SCHÖNFELD // Today: 06.2021 / SUNRISE / Chrystal Bay Resort. // Clitobius / oblongiusculus FRM. / W.SCHAWALLER det.99” (3 exx., JSSG) ; “ Halonomus / Schneideri / Golfe d’Aqabah / 18.2.02 // Reitter / Determ. / 8 // MUSEUM PARIS / Coll. P. de Peyerimhoff / 1950 // ♀ // MNHN, Paris / EC13564”, 1 ex. ( MNHN) .

All paratypes bear a red printed label: “ PARATYPUS / Clitobius / grimmi spec. nov. / det. M. Lillig, 2021” .

Description. Colour brown ( Fig. 1 ). Length 4.3-5.5 mm, width 2.3-3.1 mm.

Dorsal side of head dull, densely punctate, punctation on epistoma weaker than on frons. Frontoepistomal suture very fine, sometimes hardly visible in the middle. Canthus rounded in basal part. Epistomal convexity shallowly rounded (ratio of epistomal width/depth ca. 15.0). Labrum broad (ratio of width/length ca. 1.9); slightly emarginated in middle. Gena distinctly protruding outwards from the eye ( Fig. 5 ). Anterior margin of mentum tapering slightly forward in middle, lateral margins slightly diverging anteriorly. Mentum with median keel; neither cardines nor basistiptes covered. Submentum pentagonal. Apical maxillary palpomere trapezoidal; with relatively large sensorial field (occupying entire proximal margin). Maxillary palpomere II elongate (length to width ratio ca. 2.8). Palpifer with a bundle of setae near base. Eye partly divided by canthus (lateral view shows three rows of ocelli between canthus and gena); ventral part containing slightly more ocelli than dorsal. Antenna: ration of length of antenna / maximum length of pronotum ca. 1.15; 3 th antennomere slender, twice as long as wide at widest part, ratio of its length to length of 2 nd antennomere ca. 1.5; 6 th to 11 th antennomer forming a loosely connected club.

Pronotum narrower than elytra, ratio width elytra / pronotum ca. 1.1. Ratio of length of pronotum measured in middle to width of pronotum at widest point ca. 0.5. Anterior corners of pronotum distinctly curved. Pronotum dull; completely chagrined (magnification 40×); punctation of disc with irregular spacing of less than one to about two diameters of punctures, the punctation of the outer thirds of the pronotum suddenly much denser, there the punctures are separated only by narrow ridges; setae of the punctures very inconspicuous, hardly visible at 60× magnification, not protruding beyond margin of puncture, directed posteriorly. Sides of pronotum rounded; widest in basal third, more narrowed anteriorly than basally. Anterior margin interrupted in middle, lateral and basal margins complete, basal margin distinct, sometimes difficult to recognize in front of scutellar shield. Beside lateral margin not or very weakly flattened, submarginal groove missing.

Middle of prosternum and basal part of hypomeron with setae longer and thicker than those of the punctures of the pronotum. Intercoxal process of prosternum deeply and densely punctate, laterally borfered, apically not depressed, acuminate, in lateral view slightly surpassing the coxae. Procoxae closely spaced.

Metathoracic wings present but reduced, short.

Scutellar shield relatively large; triangular, broader than long, densely but not deeply punctate.

Elytra dull; with pale, very short setae in three rows on intervals. Nine striae on each elytron, discally mostly weak, laterally slightly more pronounced, the punctures closely set. Intervals with about three irregular rows of strong punctures, hardly smaller than those of the rows. Elytral base not bordered. Epipleuron terminating at level of ventral ventrite V; situated ventrally. Elytral humerus obtus.

Ventral side ( Fig. 2 ): Mesoventrite with median, shiny carina, which does not reach the apical elevation. Metaventrite densely and strongly punctate; ratio of length of cavity of metacoxa / metaventrite between the insertions of meso- and metacoxae ca. 1.0; with deepened suture in apical half.

Abdominal ventrites strongly punctate. Process of ventrite I narrow and shallowly rounded, almost truncate. Abdominal ventrite V very narrowly bordered in the outer quarters, unbordered in the middle.

Fore tibiae slightly curved, apically broadened. Meso- and metatibiae simple. Tarsi of male simple like those of the female, not dilated.

Aedeagus of opatrinoid type ( Iwan 2001), as in Figs 7, 8 . Paramers evenly curved in dorsal view, only a short distance in front of apex parallel; penis basally covered by fused paramers.

Differential diagnosis. The new species was previously confused with Clitobius oblongiusculus . However, the mature specimens of C. grimmi sp. n. species are brown (vs black in C. oblongiusculus ), and additonally have less distinct setae on the elytra. Furthermore, the body shape of the new species is broad (vs elongated in C. oblongiusculus ( Figs 3, 4 ), and the gena is clearly protruding the eye ( Fig. 5 ) (vs not or weakly protruding the eye in C. oblongiusculus , Fig. 6 ). In C. grimmi sp. n. the metathoracic wings are reduced while C. oblongiusculus is fully winged. In addition, the apical part of the tegmen of C. grimmi is longer and narrower ( Figs 7, 8 ) than in C. oblongiusculus ( Figs 9, 10 ).

Imagines of C. grimmi sp. n. are differentiated from all Clitobius species by their brown colouration. From the Clitobius species with reduced metathoracic wings it differs as follows: from C. strongyloides (Fairmaire, 1892) , besides the colouration, by more convex elytra; from C. cribricollis ( Allard, 1882) by having flat elytral intervals (vs convex in C. cribricollis ); from C. grandis Fairmaire, 1896 and C. obesus (Waterhouse, 1881) by the smaller body size ( C. grandis : 6.2-7.0 mm, C. obesus : 6.6–7.0 mm, C. grimmi sp. n.: 4.3-5.5 mm).

Distribution. So far, C. grimmi is known from localities on the Sinai Peninsula along the coast of the Gulf of Aqaba from Taba to Sharm el Sheik and from Hurghada on the coast of the Red Sea.

Bionomics. Not much is known about the bionomics of the new species. In Taba, Nuweiba and Dahab it was found during the day under stones in the vicinity of the sea. On the labels of the two specimens collected by Huber it is noted: „Kamelkadaver“ = camel carcass. This could indicate that C. grimmi lives at least facultatively on carrion. However, it is also not excluded that the specimens merely used the carcass as a daytime hiding place.

Ethymology. The new species is dedicated to the late Dr. Roland Grimm (1948-2021), prominent specialist of Palaearctic, Oriental and Afrotropical Tenebrionidae ( Schawaller & Staniczek 2021) , in deep gratitude for 28 years of amicable cooperation.

Figures

FIGURES 1–4. Habitus of Clitobius spp.: C. grimmi sp. n.: (1) in dorsal view; (2) in ventral view; C. oblongiusculus: (3) in dorsal view; (4) in ventral view.

FIGURES 5–6. Fore body: (5) Clitobius grimmi sp. n.; (6) C. oblongiusculus.

FIGURES 7–10. Aedeagus: Clitobius grimmi sp. n.: (7) in ventral view; (8) in lateral view; C. oblongiusculus: (9) in ventral view; (10) in lateral view.