Morphostenophanes cuproviridis, Gao & Ren, 2009

Gao, Z. & Ren, G., 2009, Taxonomy Of The Genus Morphostenophanes Pic From China, With Two New Species (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae), Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 55 (4), pp. 307-319 : 313-315

Morphostenophanes cuproviridis sp. n.

( Figs 23–30 , 39 )

Description. Male ( Fig. 39 ). Purplish bronze, body strongly, greenly shining, except for antennae, mouthparts, tarsi and claws dark brown; tarsi dorsally and basal segments of antennae slightly, sericeously shining; dorsal and ventral surfaces of body nearly glabrous, weakly covered with isodiametric microsculpture. Rather elongate, strongly convex dorsad, obviously constricted between pronotum and elytra. Hind wings absent. Body length 19.0– 20.5 mm, width 7.1–8.1 mm.

Head ( Fig. 23 ) transversely subquadrate, densely scattered with small punctures, with outer margin noticeably notched between genae and clypeus; labrum transversely oblong with rounded corners, dorsal surface densely bearing long golden hairs, weakly emarginate and with dense short hairs in middle of apex; clypeus transversely subhexagonal, with a small transverse impression behind the middle, slightly inclined forwards, gently emarginate in middle of apex; fronto-clypeal border nearly U-shaped, strongly sulcate, the sulcus becoming weaker laterad and reaching outer edges; genae slightly raised, noticeably and roundly produced antero-laterad, less prominent laterad than eyes, slightly depressed in interior parts of preocular areas, postgenae slightly produced, less prominent laterad than eyes; frons slightly flattened, with a pair of deep concavities in anterior parts; eyes transversely elliptical, slightly convex laterad, interspace between eyes about 2.0–2.2 (2.1 on average, n = 3) times as wide as the transverse diameter of an eye in male. Antennae ( Fig. 25 ) slender, reaching basal 5/18 of elytra; each segment weakly dilated to apex; 2nd segment shortest, terminal one somewhat gavel-shaped; relative length of each segment from base to apex: 0.76: 0.26: 1.09: 0.93: 0.94: 0.97: 1.10: 0.98: 0.97: 0.87: 0.96. Terminal segment of maxillary palpus triangular, with long golden hairs on surface.

Pronotum ( Fig. 24 ) quadrate, 1.1 (n = 3) times as wide as long, widest at apical 3/7; apex weakly bisinuate, nearly straight in middle, clearly bordered, with rim fine but distinct, slightly thinner than that of base; base slightly narrower than apex, distinctly and boldly rimmed, the rim slightly curved and thinned in middle; sides steeply sloping towards lateral margins, lateral margins with rim fine and visible in dorsal view, slightly tumid before the middle, weakly sinuous in basal portions; anterior angles slightly produced antero-laterad, whose corners are rounded, furnished with obliquely lineate impressions, posterior angles subrectangular; disc slightly convex, less densely and irregularly furnished with small punctures than those in head, with a pair of small round impressions in middle; median line weakly impressed. Prosternum slightly wrinkled, prosternal process gently wrinkled, strongly raised between coxae, then bending downwards, slightly dilated and weakly convex at the apex; propleuron slightly and annularly wrinkled. Scutellum obtusely triangular, with rounded lateral edges, slightly convex in middle, sparsely scattered with small punctures.

Elytra oblong-ovate, 1.7–1.8 (1.75 on average, n = 3) times as long as wide, 2.7–2.9 (2.8 on average, n = 3) times the length and 2.5 (n = 3) times the width of pronotum, widest at basal 4/7; dorsum strongly convex, sparsely scattered with small punctures, weakly ridged along suture, not convex near humeri, with irregular rows of large umbilicate punctures, each umbilicate puncture gently raised at middle; base almost straight, weakly depressed in lateral parts, nearly as wide as pronotum at base; sides precipitously descending towards lateral margins; apices neither produced nor dehiscent.

Mesosternum transversely wrinkled; metasternum noticeably convex, transversely wrinkled in apical parts. Abdomen densely scattered with small punctures; four basal sternites slightly wrinkled basally and laterally; anal sternite rounded at apex, finely sulcate in a line-shape along outer margin, the sulcus widely interrupted in middle.

Legs ( Figs 26–28 ) slender, tibial calcaria hidden in golden setae, empodium inserted between two claws, with long hairs on it, terminal segment of tarsi ventrally with a lamella at apex. Profemora slightly thickened in middle, with anterior margins emarginate at apex, meso- and metafemora slenderer than profemora, with posterior margins emarginate at apex; inner margins of tibiae grooved and pubescent nearly in apical 3/5 of protibiae or in apical 7/11 of meso- and metatibiae, pro-, meso- and metatibiae gently curved at apex; protarsi strongly dilated to each apex in basal 3 segments, 4th less strongly so than the 3 basal segments, mesotarsi moderately and metatarsi feebly dilated to each apex; ratios of the lengths of pro-, meso- and metatarsal segments from base to apex: 0.66: 0.50: 0.43: 0.40: 1.33; 0.85: 0.59: 0.50: 0.42: 1.46; 1.77: 0.71: 0.85: 1.52.

Male genitalia ( Figs 29–30 ) elongated subfusiform, slightly curved in lateral view, 4.42 mm in length, 0.73 mm in width; parameres fused with each other, 1.47 mm in length, 0.45 mm in width, strongly tapering from base to apical 1/4, then abruptly widened aPICad, dilated at apex, and reflexed and feebly angulate at sides.

Type material. Holotype male, CHINA: Guizhou Province, Leishan County, Mt. Leigongshan , 14 September 2005, Ji-Liang Wang leg. Paratypes: 2 males, same locality and date as the holotype, Ji-Liang Wang and Chao Gao leg.

Etymology. The specific name is derived from its coloration and green sheen.

view. Scales: 1 mm

Notes. There are a little difference between the paratype and the holotype, the holotype has a slightly more robust body, head and pronotum a little wider, antennae, legs and apical border of pronotum slightly bolder.

Diagnosis. This new species can be distinguished from M. aenescens PIC, 1925 by the body with obvious green sheen, head less densely scattered with smaller punctures, frons between eyes slightly flattened, with a pair of deep concavities in anterior parts, pronotum widest a little before the middle, elytra oblong-ovate, a little smaller in the ratio of elytral length to body length.

Distribution. China: Guizhou.

Figures

Figs 23–30. Morphostenophanes cuproviridis sp. n., male: 23 = head, dorsal view, 24 = pronotum, dorsal view, 25 = right antenna, dorsal view, 26 = right fore leg, dorsal view, 27 = right middle leg, dorsal view, 28 = left hind leg, dorsal view, 29 & 30 = male genitalia, dorsal (29) and lateral (30)

Figs 39–43. Morphostenophanes spp.: 39 = M. cuproviridis sp. n., male, 40 = M. tuberculatus sp. n, male, 41 = M. aenescens PIC, male, collected from Hetaoping, 42 = M. papillatus KASZAB, male,