Euhemicera hirtipes Ando & Yuan, 2021

Ando, Kiyoshi & Yuan, Cai-Xia, 2021, Nine new species of Cnodalonini (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) from Hainan Island with additional records of other Tenebrionidae, Zootaxa 4965 (2), pp. 321-338 : 332

Euhemicera hirtipes Ando & Yuan , sp. n.

( Figs. 19–20 , 26–28 )

Type materials. Holotype: ♂, China, Hainan Is.: Mingfeng Valley, Mt. Jianfengling , Jianfeng Township , Ledong County, 18˚44′N/108˚50′E, Alt. ca. 1,000 m, Ɨ南省乐东s尖峰•尖峰岭ṅNjẅ, 19–20.VII.2017, Local collec- tor leg. ( HBUM) . Paratype: 1 ♂, same data as for the holotype. ( EUMJ) .

Description. Body length: 11.0– 12.7 mm in ♂ (n = 2; HT: 12.7 mm). Proportions ♂ (n = 2): IE/TD 1.43–1.60 (HT: 1.43); PW/PL 1.61–1.71 (HT: 1.71); EL/EW 1.50–1.53 (HT: 1.50).

Male. Oblong-oval, moderately convex, lustrous. Colour dark reddish brown; head and pronotum dark greenish brassy; elytra purplish brassy, brassy along striae, and striped by dark green on median portion of each interval; mouthparts paler.

Head strongly transverse, convex dorsad; mCG weakly sinuate; clypeus moderately convex, very shallowly emarginate at apex, densely and moderately punctate; frontoclypeal suture distinct posteriorly and obscure laterally; genae transverse, produced laterad, finely and densely punctate; frons broadened, weakly convex, with punctures dense and irregular, slightly larger than on clypeus; eyes gently convex and extremely transverse, 1.79–1.82 times as wide as long in dorsal view, with inner ocular sulci wide and rather shallow, interrupted at basal third of ocular inner margins. Antennae long, reaching humeral calli; distal six antennomeres moderately dilated, forming club; 6th and 7th obtriangular; 8th to 10th obtrapezoidal; 11th oblong-oval. Ultimate maxillary palpomere strongly securiform; exterio-apical angle acutely pointed, interio-apical ones slightly obtuse than rectangular. Mentum obtrapezoidal ( Fig. 26 ), gently convex and finely punctate, weakly emarginate at apex, with some long setae. Submentum pentagonal, flat, with a few punctures.

Pronotum transverse, widest at base, with very fine microsculpture; disc weakly convex, gently declined laterally, distinctly sulcate along lateral margins, the sulci reaching lateral portions of anterior margin; basal foveae weak; punctures fine and rather sparse, smaller and sparser than on head; anterior margin slightly emarginate, finely beaded except for median short distance; anterior corners obtuse, entirely rounded; lateral margins weakly rounded, gently convergent in apical half and sinuate in basal half, distinctly beaded; basal angles acute. Scutellum large, almost flat, with several fine punctures.

Elytra oblong, strongly convex, gently divergent posteriorly, widest at apical third; striae fine, becoming vestigial on apical declivity, 7th and 8th striae reaching mid of humeral calli; strial punctures fine and dense, becoming smaller on apical declivity and very fine on 8th striae; intervals flat, finely and sparsely punctate; humeral calli short, gently humped; epipleura depressed or weakly so, almost smooth, reaching apex of 4th abdominal ventrite.

Prothoracic hypomera depressed, compactly microsculptured and scarcely punctate; posterior margin densely pubescent and distinctly emarginate in the lateralmost portions for receiving the base of elytral epipleura. Prosternum short in front of coxae, raised in middle, finely microsculptured and impunctate, finely beaded at apex; prosternal process navicular ( Fig. 27 ), starting from anterior margin of prosternum and horizontal, and acute at apex, with punctures bearing long hairs. Mesoventral ridge short and V-shaped, pubescent; anterior angles obtusely angulate in lateral view. Metaventrite moderately convex, depressed in median third, where bearing dense and fine punctures and sparse tomenta. Abdomen moderately convex; basal three ventrites irregularly rugose, finely and moderately punctate; apical two ventrites densely punctate.

Aedeagus slender, slightly curved ventrad ( Fig. 28 ); basale 2.11–2.28 times as long as apicale, gently divergent posteriorly; apicale steeply tapering apicad, weakly hooked at apex, finely punctate.

Legs robust. Femora distinctly dilated to each apical third; posterior margins of meso- and metafemora strongly emarginate in each about basal 5/7, where covered with dense and long pubescence. Meso- and metatibiae distinctly adunc at each basal third, with inner margins clearly emarginate at adunc areas ( Fig. 20 ) and densely pubescent in apical two-thirds. Tarsi slender.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution. China (Hainan Is.).

Etymology. The specific epithet is named after the pubescent male femora.

Differential diagnosis. This new species is very similar to Euhemicera gebieni ( Kaszab, 1941) from Taiwan ( Fig. 21 ), but is readily separable from the latter in the following characters: eyes short and very transverse; apical margin of prosternum without apico-median papilla; strial punctures on elytra finer, and those on 8th striae very fine; posterior margin of male meso- and metafemora strongly emarginate, with long and dense pubescence instead of shot and compact pubescence as in the latter; male meso- and metatibiae with inner margin distinctly emarginate at each adunc area.

Figures

FIGURES 14–21. Tenebrionidae spp. 14. Tetraphyllus hlaicolus sp. n., holotype; 15. Androsus pullus sp. n., holotype; 16. Tetragonomenes sylvestris sp. n., holotype; 17. Taichius caeruleopunctatus sp. n., holotype; 18. Hemicera (Hemicera) viridula sp. n., paratype; 19. Euhemicera hirtipes sp. n., holotype; 20. ditto, venter, showing femoral pubescence and tibial emargination; 21. venter of Euhemicera gebieni (Kaszab, 1941) from Taiwan.

FIGURES 22–28. Tenebrionidae spp. 22–23. Hemicera (Hemicera) viridula sp. n.; 24–25. Plamius laoshei sp. n.; 26–28. Euhemicera hirtipes sp. n.—22, 24 & 26. mentum; 23, 25 & 27. prosternal process; 28. aedeagus (right: in lateral view; left: in dorsal view). Scale bars. 0.2 mm for figs. 22–26, 0.5 mm for figs. 27–28.