Goudotostes similis, Ballerio, 2021

Ballerio, Alberto, 2021, The Ceratocanthinae of Madagascar and Comoro Islands: a revision of the genera Synarmostes and Goudotostes, and of the flightless Philharmostes, with description of 64 new species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea, Hybosoridae), Fragmenta entomologica 53 (2), pp. 105-282 : 200-202

Goudotostes similis sp. nov.

( Figs 47 a-j, 77) http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:22E55A2F-A485-421A-B9E3-281BD5C8A22F

Type series. Holotype, ♂, deposited in the collection of the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA, USA, labelled as follows: / CASTYPE 20286 / CASENT 8135196 / Madagascar: Antsiranana forêt de Bekaraoka 6.8 km 60° ENE Daraina el. 150 m 7 December 2003 / 13° 10 00” S 049° 42’ 36” E California Acad. of Sciences collector: B. L. Fisher, sifted litter (leaf mold, rotten wood) tropical dry forest BLF9872 / Goudotostes similis n. sp. det. A. Ballerio 2020 Holotypus ♂ / [distended, glued on card, dissected, male genitalia glued in DMHF resin on a separate card, same pin]. Paratypes [3 ♂♂ dissected]: 17 ♂♂ and 10 ♀♀ (20 in CASC and 7 in ABCB), same collecting data as holotype .

Diagnosis. Goudotostes similis sp. nov. can be differentiated from all other species of Goudotostes by the following combination of characters: a) medium size, b) dorsal ocular area present (vestigial), c) head with a weak tubercle on clypeal disc, d) pronotal anterior carina monolobate, e) pronotal anterior carina acutely triangular in frontal view, f) pronotal anterior carina raised and with a longitudinal sharp carina visible in dorsal view, g) pronotal basal carina monolobate, h) pronotum not saddle-shaped in lateral view, i) pronotal disc with gibbosities and lacking any distinct carinae and/or tubercles (apart from the monolobate anterior and posterior carinae), j) elytra with irregular rows of strongly raised tubercles and short longitudinal carinae (distinct interstriae can be seen between those carinae and tubercles), k) aedeagus with a distinctive median lobe with hooked distal portion as in Fig. 47H . The species falls within the scabrosus group of species and is extremely similar to G. litoralis sp. nov. from which differs only by the shape of the aedeagal median lobe, which is distinctly hooked distally in G. similis sp. nov., by the shape of right paramere and by the orientation of the spiculum of spiculum gastrale which is oriented towards the left, whereas in G. litoralis is oriented towards the right.

Description. Size: HL = 0.7 mm; HW = 1.3 mm; PL = 1.3 mm; PW = 2.1 mm; EL = 2.2 mm; EW = 2.2 mm. Overall morphology as in generic diagnosis. Medium-sized Goudotostes . Body strongly convex. Dark-brown with slight bronze/metallic green sheen, dorsum with fine short setae (50×), underside, tarsi and antennae dark reddish-brown, setation yellowish-brown. Head: W/L ratio = 1.57; clypeal apex obtuse, apical projection present and sexually dimorphic but weakly developed, sides almost rectilinear apart from slightly unaligned genae; dorsal ocular area present, although probably vestigial, interocular distance about 18 times the maximum width of dorsal ocular area, genal canthus fused with occipital area of head, ventral ocular area small-sized, genae acute, distinctly protruding outwards, genal suture indistinct; head dorsal surface uniformly covered by large impressed simple punctures, vertex with a short longitudinal smooth weakly raised tubercle, clypeus with a weakly raised irregular large tubercle with surface covered by large deep simple punctures. Interpunctural distance inferior than punctural diameter (punctures almost adjacent to each other). Pronotum: subrectangular (dorsal view) (W/L ratio = 1.76), convex and unevenly sculptured, base and sides broadly rounded, fore angles distinctly subtruncate; surface of disc uniformly covered by dense deep large simple punctures, each one bearing a short fine seta in the middle, punctation very deep, with interpunctural intervals raised and narrow (interpunctural distance inferior than punctural diameter, punctures almost adjacent to each other) giving a granulose appearance to surface, pronotal sides with dense horseshoe-shaped punctures; monolobate anterior carina strongly and narrowly raised, portion raised having the shape of an inverted V in frontal view and of a longitudinal long and narrow sharp carina in dorsal view, disc with a depression in the middle, sides of disc with two transverse parallel short carinae reaching outer margin, monolobate basal carina distinctly raised, dorsally marked by a longitudinal long narrow sharp carina, invert- ed V- shaped in frontal view. Pronotal bead not visible from above. Scutellum : base smooth, remaining surface covered by dense large transverse deep comma-shaped punctures, each one bearing a setigerous puncture internally. Elytra: longer than wide (W/L ratio = 0.94), subovoidal (dorsal view), strongly convex; humeral callus indistinct; elytral surface uniformly covered by sparse large deep horseshoe-shaped punctures with opening directed backwards on proximal third and inwards or outwards on median and distal third, each one bearing a short fine seta internally; interpunctural distance equal to or inferior than punctural diameter; inferior sutural stria complete and deep; striated articular area hardly visible in lateral view, relatively narrow and short; marginal area medium-sized; elytral articular process developed, smooth and shiny. Elytral sculpturing as follows: elytral suture marked by a longitudinal row of raised tubercles and short carinae, base with one longitudinal short carina near apex of scutellum, next to it a longitudinal shorter, then another carina which marks the humeral area, remaining elytral surface with irregular rows of raised tubercles and short carinae (distinct interstriae can be seen between those carinae and tubercles), sides and apical portion with denser and more irregular tubercles and short carinae. Wings: flightless. Male genitalia: aedeagus (L = 1.0 mm) with parameres as in Figs 47 g-j, spiculum gastrale (L = 1.0 mm) as in Fig. 47 f .

Etymology. Latin adjective in the nominative singular meaning “similar”, due to the close resemblance with Goudotostes litoralis sp. nov..

Distribution and habitat. Known only from the type locality. The type series was collected by sifting litter in tropical dry forest. For details on the collecting localities see under Synarmostes bekaraokae sp. nov..

Goudotostes simplicipennis n.sp.

( Figs 74 a-i, 77) http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:CF2CAF46-CF2C-40B7-A4EE-42D2B8A2DC2F

Type series. Holotype, ♂, deposited in the collection of the Field Museum of Natural history, Chicago, IL, USA labelled as follows: / Madagascar: Province de Mahajanga, Rés. Anjanaharibe-Sud, Befingotra (9.2 km WSW), 14° 45’ S 49° 28’ E, 1280 m, 5.XI.1994, FMHD94-55, montane rainforest, Winkler extraction of sifted litter, B.L. Fisher, 1158 / Goudotostes simplicipennis n. sp. det. A. Ballerio 2020 Holotypus ♂ / [distended, glued on card, dissected, male genitalia glued in DMHF resin on a separate card, same pin]. Paratypes: 2 ♀♀ (1 in FMNH and 1 in ABCB), same collecting data as holotype . Further material examined (excluded from the type series): 1 ♀ ( CASC): / Madagascar: Antsiranana forêt de Binara 9.1 km 233° SW Daraina elev. 650-800m 3 December 2003 / 13° 15’ 48” S 049° 36’ 12” E California Acad. of Sciences collector: B. L. Fisher, sifted litter (leaf mold, rotten wood) rainforest BLF9656 /.

Diagnosis. Goudotostes simplicipennis sp. nov can be differentiated from all other species of Goudotostes by the following combination of characters: a) large size, b) dorsal ocular area present, c) head dorsal punctation large (although smaller than the one found in G. andohahelae sp. nov.), d) pronotum without carinae or tubercles, e) body dorsum uniformly covered by short erect setation, f) elytra without carinae or tubercles apart from few sparse small blunt tubercles at sides.

Description. Size: HL = 1.2 mm; HW = 2.0 mm; PL = 1.7 mm; PW = 3.4 mm; EL = 3.7 mm; EW = 3.4 mm. Overall morphology as in generic diagnosis. Large-sized Goudotostes . Body weakly convex compared to the other species. Dark brown, dorsum with clavate short setae (50×), underside, tarsi and antennae dark reddish-brown, setation yellowish-brown. Head: W/L ratio = 1.35; clypeal apex obtuse, apical projection present and sexually dimorphic, sides almost rectilinear apart from slightly unaligned genae; dorsal ocular area present (althouh very small, only a very small rounded patch is visible), genal canthus indistinct, ventral ocular area medium-sized, genae acute, distinctly protruding outwards, genal suture indistinct; head dorsal surface with vertex covered by large impressed simple punctures becoming larger and transverse comma-shaped on frons and clypeus, fore margin with some irregular transverse lines. Pronotum: subrectangular (dorsal view) (W/L ratio = 1.53), convex and evenly sculptured, fore angles broadly subtruncate; surface without tubercles and/or carinae, covered on disc by very deep large simple punctures bearing a seta in the middle of the puncture, base with transverse deep comma-shaped punctures, sides with small hoseshoe-shaped punctures with opening directed outwards. Pronotal bead visible only along fore margin. Pronotal base weakly raised and bilobate. Scutellum : surface, apart from smooth apex, covered by sparse transverse deep short comma-shaped punctures. Elytra: longer than wide (W/L ratio = 0.90), subovoidal (dorsal view), moderately convex; inferior sutural stria complete; humeral callus indistinct; elytral surface covered by simple punctation, smaller than pronotal one, each puncture having a setigerous pore, interpunctural distance twice to four times punctural diameter, elytral suture marked by a longitudinal row of setigerous punctures, elytral apex and sides with some irregular small weakly raised tubercles (in the holotype also a hint of a very weak narrow longitudinal carina is visible on apical third). Striated articular area visible in lateral view, relatively narrow and short; marginal area small; elytral articular process developed, smooth and shiny. Wings: flightless. Male genitalia: aedeagus (L = 1.8 mm) with parameres as in Figs 74 f-i, spiculum gastrale (L = 1.8 mm) as in Fig. 74 e .

Variability. It was not possible to find any appreciable difference between the specimens from the type locality and the female from Binara, which is about 170 km far from Befingotra.

Etymology. Latin compound noun meaning “with simple elytra”. From Latin simplex (simple) and penna (wing, elytron). Due to the absence of carinae or tubercles on elytra.

Distribution and habitat. Known only from the type locality in Eastern Madagascar. The type series was collected by sifting litter in montane rainforest. The vegetation cover consists of “medium altitude moist evergreen forest”, ( Goodman et al. 2018) also known as “humid forest” ( Moat & Smith 2007). The collecting locality falls within the protected area “Réserve Spéciale d’Anjanaharibe-Sud””.

Figures

Fig. 47 – Goudotostes similis sp. nov., a, holotype, dorsal view of distended specimen (lsc: longitudinal sharp carina); b, paratype, ventral view of rolled up specimen; c, paratype, dorsal view of rolled up specimen; d, paratype, lateral view of rolled up specimen; e, paratype, ventral view of rolled up spec- imen; f, holotype, spiculum gastrale; g–j, holotype, four views of aedeagus (eml: endophallite of median lobe).

Fig. 74 – Goudotostes simplicipennis sp. nov., a, holotype, dorsal view of distended specimen; b, paratype, ventral view of rolled up specimen; c, paratype, dorsal view of rolled up specimen; d, paratype, lateral view of rolled up specimen; e, holotype, spiculum gastrale; f–i, holotype, four views of aedeagus.