Protocorynus bontai O’Brien, 2015

O’Brien, Charles W. & Tang, William, 2015, Revision of the New World cycad weevils of the subtribe Allocorynina, with description of two new genera and three new subgenera (Coleoptera: Belidae: Oxycoryninae), Zootaxa 3970 (1), pp. 1-87 : 13-14

Protocorynus bontai O’Brien and Tang, new species

Figures: habitus: 1–4; wing: 97; antennal pockets: 101; male genitalia: 125–126, 173, 197–198, 213; female genitalia: 240.

DESCRIPTION — Body medium-sized to large (range 3.4–5.2 mm, mean = 4.5 mm, n = 26), very robust, elongate broad-oval; bicolored, black and orange.

Male (holotype). Rostrum: very long, 1.18 X longer than pronotum; orange to piceus, paler basally; strongly coarsely punctate dorsally from base nearly to apex, not denticulate; weakly expanded near apex; very weakly somewhat evenly curved in lateral view. Head: behind eyes and vertex with moderately dense, moderately fine, shallow punctures; forehead with distinct, long, narrow, deep, median sulcus, forehead strongly narrowed apically, 0.61 X as wide between median basal margin and apical margin of eyes; eyes small, bulging, with edge produced by narrowing of eye at junction with head. Antennae: with scape 1.25 X longer than eye and 0.75 X as long as desmomeres 1+2, 1–5 elongate, 6–7 slightly shorter and strongly transverse; scape and desmomeres 1–5 pale yellowish, 6–7 dark brown; club with rhopalomeres 1–2 piceus to black, apical rhopalomere pale brown in apical half. Prothorax: strongly transverse, 1.45 X wider than long; as wide as elytral base; apex moderately narrow, evenly roundly expanding to basal 1/4, there strongly rounded to base; lateral margins not denticulate, with moderately large, shallow, moderately coarse punctures; disc with fine, small, sparse, widely separate punctures; dark orange, with median, basal, black macula. Scutellum: with lateral margins straight and angled, trapezoidal; apically broadly rounded; with densely rugose small punctures and scarcely evident, short, fine, recumbent, pale setae. Elytra: 0.69 X as wide as long; subparallel behind rounded humeri to expanded declivity, there suddenly evenly broadly rounded to slightly emarginate apices; with small, fine, dense, well-separated punctures on entire surface; overall smooth, not shagreened; basally and medially pale brown, laterally brownish black. Legs: moderately robust, procoxae moderately convex, with small apical tubercle; profemora symmetrical, not swollen, with small apical pit-like impression receiving base of tibia, apical margins with at most weak obtuse process, dorsally moderately punctate, appearing shagreened; protibiae moderately stout in lateral view, with base angulately rounded with obtuse bend, lacking inner tooth, inner surface very weakly broadly excavate from middle and broadened to near apex, groove not denticulate, clothed densely with long fine setae, apex with scarcely visible small anterior mucro, and subequal tooth. Length, pronotum and elytra: 4.10 mm.

Female. Same as male except: Rostrum: 1.64 X longer than pronotum; very weakly, evenly curved. Prothorax: 1.64 X wider than long; not wider than elytral base; apex narrow, strongly rounded from narrowed apex to slightly narrowed base. Length, pronotum and elytron: 4.80 mm.

Genitalia and Associated Structures— See Figs. 125–126, 173, 197–198, 213, 240 and generic description.

Intraspecific Variation —In the two series examined there is a consistent difference in the ratio of the rostral length relative to the pronotal length of the males, 1.01–1.08 (n = 10) vs. 1.07–1.19 (n = 7). Molecular sequences of the 16S rRNA marker of the two series, however, are identical.

Etymological Note— This species is named in honor of Mark Bonta, who collected part of the type series, and for his contributions to the conservation and ethnobotany of Mexican and Central American cycads.

Remarks— This species is the only one known in the genus. Morphologically it can be distinguished from all other Allocorynina by the black maculation on its pronotum, which extends from the basal margin and may reach the anterior margin. Only one other species of Allocorynina , Notorhopalotria montgomeryensis , displays a maculation on the pronotum, which however does not reach the margins. The dorsoventrally flattened penis of Protocorynus bontai is distinct from the trough-shaped penis of all other Allocorynina .

Biology— Inhabiting the male cones of Dioon mejiae .

Range— Known to occur in Honduras only at the type locality in Olancho; its host, Dioon mejiae , occurs in the departments of Colón , Olancho and Yoro ( Haynes & Bonta 2007) .

Material Examined. Holotype, male with the following labels: 1) [rectangular; white; printed in black ink] HONDURAS: Olancho,/ Rio Grande N. Gualaco,/ Aug 3, 2002, Wells,/ Bonta, Ulloa et al.; 2) [rectangular; white; printed in black ink] Dioon mejiae ; 3) [rectangular; red; printed in black ink] HOLOTYPE ♂ / Protocorynus / bontai / O’Brien & Tang 2015 (CAS). Paratypes: same label data, ex ♂ cone Dioon mejiae , V-2011, Onan Reyes (700). Paratypes (716) are deposited in ANIC, ASUT, BMNH, CAS, CMNC, CSCA, CWOB, EMEC, FMNH, FSCA, IADIZA, IEXA, INBio, IZCAS, MIUP, MNHN, STRI, UCFC, UNAM, USNM, ZMHB.