Cionus callosus, Caldara & Košťál, 2023

Caldara, Roberto & Košťál, Michael, 2023, A Taxonomic Revision Of The Afrotropical Species Of The Weevil Genus Cionus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), Zootaxa 5288 (1), pp. 1-98 : 85-86

48. Cionus callosus sp. n. ( Figs 48a–b )

Type locality. Baie d’Antongil (Toamasina province, Analanjirofo, Madagascar) .

Type series. Holotype, female: “MUSEUM PARIS MADAGASCAR BAIE D’ANTONGIL, A. MOCQUERYS LEG. 1898” ( MNHN) . Paratype: “S. de la baie d’Antongil / MUSEUM PARIS MADAGASCAR, Colléction Léon Fairmaire 1906” (1 female, MNHN) .

Diagnosis. Rostrum stout. Pronotum with four protuberances. Elytra with interstria 3 carinate at base, other interstriae with protuberances, striae moderately sinuate, partly visible.

Description. Female (holotype) ( Figs 48a–b ). Body: stout, globose (length 4.2 mm). Head: rostrum stout, short (l/ w 3.13, Rl/Pl 1.22), black, in lateral view regularly moderately curved; in dorsal view divergent from antennal insertion to apex, striate-punctate from base to apex, with recumbent, moderately dense, moderately elongated (l/w 4–6), elliptical, light brown scales. Head between eyes wide, half as wide as rostrum at base. Eyes flat. Antennae dark brown, inserted at apical third; scape long (l/w 10); funicle distinctly shorter than scape, S1 slightly more robust and slightly shorter than S2, 2.3× as long as wide, S2 2.5 × as long as wide, S3–5 as long as wide; club oblongly oval, shorter than funicle, regularly pubescent. Pronotum: black, with four protuberances (lateral ones stouter than median ones which are close each other), with dense, shallow, small punctures completely hidden by recumbent, dense, moderately long (l/w 4–7), subelliptical, intermixed whitish, light brown and brown scales, brown ones more numerous on lateral protuberances; conical, distinctly transverse (Pw/Pl 2.30), widest at base, with sides almost rectilinear, slightly convex on disc. Prosternum: anterior margin distinctly emarginated. Scutellar shield: heart-shaped, densely covered with elongated, light brown scales. Elytra: black, globose, very short (El/Ew 1.02), widest at base, distinctly wider than pronotum (Ew/Pw 1.96), widest at middle, humeri distinctly prominent, rounded, sides broadly rounded, moderately convex on disc, in lateral view with transverse, distinctly concave area in basal half; interstria 3 strongly convex at base, odd interstriae with distinct calli, intervals between calli flat, moderately sinuate, interstriae slightly opaque, with very small, moderately dense, shallow punctures completely hidden by recumbent, dense, moderately long (l/w 5–7), subelliptical, light brown and dark brown scales, former ones more numerous on calli; striae partly visible between scales, with deep, irregularly arranged punctures, half as wide as interstriae. Venter: mesosternal process weakly convex, distinctly emarginated. Metasternum covered with moderately sparse, moderately elongated, grayish brown scales being subelliptical at sides, more elongated, partly hair-like in middle. Abdomen with sparse, irregular, shallow punctures feebly visible between moderately dense, elongated (slightly more elongated, more hair-like in middle than at sides), light brown scales; V1 1.6× longer than V2, V1+2 4.2× longer than V3+4, latter ones 0.8× as long as V5. Legs: semi-densely covered with elongated light brown scales; femora black, with stout sharp teeth; tibiae black, without unci; tarsi dark brown, onychium as long as T1–3 combined; claws almost symmetrical.

Male. Unknown.

Variability: The paratype (length 3.9 mm) has a damaged vestiture with many missing scales. The rostrum and the dorsal integument are however similar to those of the holotype.

Etymology. The Latin adjective refers to the tubercles present on the elytra.

Remarks. This species is similar to C. catenatus , from which it differs by the odd interstriae of the elytra only with tubercles, but not carinate, and in female by rostrum shorter ( Fig. 48b ) and claws symmetrical.

Biological notes. No data are available.

Distribution. Northern and Central Madagascar.

Figures

FIGURES 47–48. FIGURE 47. Cionus ebeninus. a: body in dorsal view (female), 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. FIGURE 48. Cionus callosus sp. n. a: body in dorsal view (female), b: body in lateral view (female). Not to scale.