Cionus negevicola, Košťál & Caldara, 2019

Košťál, Michael & Caldara, Roberto, 2019, Revision of Palaearctic species of the genus Cionus Clairville (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cionini), Zootaxa 4631 (1), pp. 1-144 : 41-42

21. Cionus negevicola sp. n.

Figs 21 a–f.

http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:ED29B4D0-E142-425B-BB0B-5F833AB84CE1

Type locality. Borot Loz ( Israel) .

Type series. Holotype: completely preserved, 4.45 mm long, dissected male labeled: “128555. ISRAEL: Borot Loz. Rt. 171 30 o 31´N 34 o 38´E 900m, 26.vi.2012 L. FRIEDMAN on Verbascum sinaiticum / coll. L. Friedman / HOLOTYPUS Cionus negevicola sp. n. M.Košťál et R.Caldara des. 2017” ( TAU) . Paratypes (same designating la- bel but instead of “ HOLOTYPUS ” “ PARATYPUS ”): same labeling as holotype but instead of “128555” “128556” (1 ♂ TAU); initial numbers 128383–128386 “128383. ISRAEL: Mash`abe Sade, 5kmN 31 o 03´N 34 o 49´E / 390m, 26.vi.2012 L. FRIEDMAN on Verbascum fruticulosum / coll. L. Friedman ” (1 ♂, 3 ♀♀ TAU); initial numbers 279528–279532 “279528. ISRAEL: Kokhav HaShahar, Har Kokhav, 600-650 m, 17.vii.2017 L. FRIEDMAN on Verbascum fruticulosum ” (1 ♂, 4 ♀♀ TAU); initial numbers 277889–277894 “277889. ISRAEL: Ma´ale Mikhmas 567m, 23.vi.2017 L. FRIEDMAN on Verbascum fruticulosum ” (5 ♂♂, 1 ♀ TAU); initial numbers 245021–245025 “245021. ISRAEL:´Enot Peza´el - 70m, 23.v.2016 L. FRIEDMAN on Verbascum ” (3 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀ TAU); initial numbers 239944–239949 “239944. ISRAEL: Nahal Ye´elim, Upper, Rt. 31 31 o 14´N 35 o 15´E 380 m, 11.iv.2016 L. FRIEDMAN on Verbascum ” (2 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀ TAU); “211562. ISRAEL: Nahal Ye´elim, Rt. 31 20.iv.2015 L. FRIED- MAN” (1 ♀ TAU); “ 270767. ISRAEL: Ma´agar Yeroham, NW, Nahal Revivim 460 m, 5.iv.2017 L. FRIEDMAN on Verbascum ” (1 ♂ TAU); initial numbers 269906–269909 “269906. ISRAEL: Nahal Nizzana, Rt. 211, bridge 225m, 30.iii.2017 L. FRIEDMAN on Verbascum ” (2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀ TAU); “JORDANIA bor. occ. MAFRAQ Michael Košťál leg. / Nadira pr. Jarash 750 m N 32 o 17.9´E 36 o 00.5´28.iii.2013 / Scrophularia sp.” (1 ♂ KO); “ SYRIA mer. muh. As Suwayda, Mts. Druz , Habran, 1320 m / N 32 o 36´219” E 36 o 390´138” 2006. VI. 14-15. leg Márkus András / Coll. Podlussány A. ” (1 ♂ PY) .

Description. Male. Body large, stout, subrotund to suboval. Head: rostrum moderately slender, long (l/ w 6.0, Rl/Pl 1.36), brown; in lateral view slightly evenly curved, same width from base to antennal insertion, then tapered to apex; in dorsal view as in C. schultzei ; texture and scales as in C. schultzei . Head between eyes as in C. schultzei . Eyes large, slightly rounded. Antennae including club reddish-brown, inserted at 0.6 of rostrum length; funicle of 0.6 scape length, segment 1 slightly wider than segment 2, segment 1 more than twice, segment 2 more than three times as long as wide, segments 3–5 as long as wide; club shortly oval, less than twice as long as wide, of 2/3 funicle length, densely covered with recumbent tiny pale hairs and sparse erect, long, whitish sensilla. Pronotum: brown, somewhat wider than long (Pl/Pw 0.67), punctation dense, as in C. hortulanus ; scales as in C. schultzei ; widest at base, shaped as in C. schultzei , in lateral view in basal half flat, then gradually more but moderately falling to anterior margin. Prosternum: anterior margin with sharply incised but relatively shallow emargination, anteriorly bounded by two tiny tubercles, otherwise as in C. hortulanus . Scutellum: relatively small and sharp at apex, oth- erwise as in C. hortulanus . Elytra: dark brown to reddish-brown, in basal 2/3 moderately rounded, in apical third broadly rounded, short (El/Ew 1.10), widest shortly before mid-length, at base somewhat wider than pronotum (Ew/Pw 1.66), humeri subrotund, moderately prominent, with indistinct, shallow posthumeral impression; very slightly convex to flat on disc; interstria 1 from about 0.3 to 0.4 of medial length and in preapical area moderately broadened, interstria 2 at same lengths moderately narrowed and slightly constricted laterally encompassing small, at posterior margin blunt dorsal and subrotund to irregular preapical black tomentous maculae, dorsal macula at posterior margin with dense cluster of somewhat shortened elytral scales, interstriae except perimacular areas of similar width; odd interstriae in anterior half of elytra nearly without patches, in posterior half with unevenly, relatively sparsely distributed patches of black scales, without patches of yellowish scales; striae similar to those in C. hortulanus ; entire surface densely covered with relatively small, elongate (l/w 4–7), yellow scales completely concealing integument. Venter: as in C. schultzei . Legs: as in C. schultzei except reddish tarsi and markedly broader (w/l 1.33) tarsomere 3. Penis: Figs 21 d–f, its body similar to that in C. hortulanus , with concave sides.

Female. Rostrum considerably longer (Rl/Pl 1.67), reddish-brown, shiny in apical part, with visible tiny, elongate, sparse punctures, antennae inserted at mid-length. Ventrites 1 and 2 without impression, convex. Claws in most female specimens very slightly unequally long.

Variability: Length ♂♂ 3.76–4.76 mm, ♀♀ 4.35–4.82 mm. The type series shows only slight variability in the number of black scale patches in the posterior half of elytra, in body size, and size and shape of dorsal and preapical maculae.

Diagnosis. Cionus negevicola is recognizable by concealed elytral integument, reduced elytral pattern, relatively large size, unusually long, reddish to brown rostrum in females, short reddish-brown antennal club, entirely reddish-brown to brown legs with wide tarsomere 3, deep impression on ventrites 2 and 3 in males, and penis shape.

Comparative notes. Undoubtedly the most closely related species is C. schultzei , from which it differs by much less distinct pattern on odd interstriae, lighter colored to reddish-brown legs, short, reddish to light brown antennal club, wide tarsomere 3, and reddish-brown rostrum, which is more clearly punctured in its apical part in females. Differences in shape of penis are less significant.

Biological notes. L. Friedman collected this species in two localities in Negev desert on Verbascum fruticulosum Post and V. sinaiticum Bentham.

Distribution. Israel, Jordan, Syria.

Etymology. The name of this species “negevicola” is a Latin masculine substantive meaning “inhabitant of Negev Desert”.

Non-type species examined. None.

Figures

FIGURES 21–22. FIGURE 21. Cionus negevicola sp. n. a: body in dorsal view (male), b: body in lateral view (male), c: rostrum in lateral view (female), d: penis in ventral view, e: penis in lateral view, f: apex of penis in dorsal view. Not to scale. FIGURE 22. Cionus rabinovitchi. a: body in dorsal view (female), b: body in lateral view (female). Not to scale.