Sphaerotrypes montanus, Buhroo & Knížek, 2020

Buhroo, Abdul A. & Knížek, Miloš, 2020, New species of Pseudothysanoes Blackman, and Sphaerotrypes Blandford (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) from Jammu and Kashmir, with biological observations, and a key to South Asian species of Sphaerotrypes, Zootaxa 4808 (1), pp. 141-150 : 145-148

Sphaerotrypes montanus sp. nov.

( Figures 12–17 )

Diagnosis. The new species is belonging to the tribe Diamerini and genus Sphaerotrypes due to the following morphological characters: elytral base procurved and armed by crenulation, lateral margins of pronotum costate, eye completely divided, scutellum visible, longer than wide, body very stout, subglobular. The new species is related to Sphaerotrypes querci (Stebbing) but can be distinguished by the strongly constricted anterior part of the pronotum, much more impressed behind the anterior margin compared to S. querci . The sculpture and vestiture on the frons and pronotum is much coarser and dense in S. querci . There are three longer hair-like and transversely set setae on either side of median line at base of pronotum in S. montanus as opposed to more numerous (6–7) on entire base of pronotum in S. querci , and missing in S. pila Blandford. Anterior margin of pronotum and posterior margin of elytra smooth, granulated in S. querci . Specimens of S. montanus are smaller (2.0 mm) than S. querci (3.5 mm). Pronotum narrower than elytra, as wide as elytra in S. pila . The new species has much shorter setae on elytral interstriae than in S. pila .

Type material. Holotype, ♂: India: Jammu and Kashmir, Pir Panjal range (Batote), 33˚ 06.84ʹN, 075˚ 18.51ʹE, elevation 1621 m, 21.v.2017, leg. A. A. Buhroo ; Allotype, 1 ♀: same data as HT ; Paratypes: same as HT (2 ♂, 1 ♀). HT, AT and 3 PTs deposited at Kashmir University; 2 PTs MKC; 3 PTs BMNH .

Type locality. Batote, a mountainous town belonging to the Pir Panjal range of Jammu and Kashmir .

Description. Male ( Figs. 12–15 ): Body length 2.0 mm, 1.5 times as long as wide, body globular, head and pronotum dusty black, head deeper black; elytra chestnut brown; antennae light brown, legs dark brown.

Head shining in epistomal area, other surfaces of head dull; frons somewhat flat and impressed similarly as in other species of the genus, covered with dense grayish pubescence and sparse long setae pointing upwards to middle of vertex, roughened with longitudinal shining granules and a median shining longitudinal keel from epistoma up to the upper level of eyes where keel is becoming more tiny and less visible; a row of long setae on lower epistomal margin, upper margin substraight with a brush of long golden setae at its middle; vertex distinctly convex with fine pubescence and minute punctures, lateral sides of vertex somewhat smooth with minute punctures; eyes bipartite, the two parts separated by 1.2 times the width of an upper part of the eye, united by a fine keel, each part planoconvex, subtriangular. Antenna light brown, scape with few pale hair-like setae, funicle 7-segmented with few pale hair-like setae; club ovally rounded, slightly flattened, with 6 distinct pseudosutures marked by micro setae, 1.1 times as long as wide.

Pronotum dusty black, 0.5 times as long as wide; widest at base, lateral margins and base bordered by a distinct ridge, anterior margin somewhat straight, median dorsal line distinct; base of pronotum produced backwards to form an obtuse angle, and slightly concave on either side, sides rounded and strongly narrowed from base to apex; dorsum convex, impressed behind anterior margin, surface rugosely punctured with some granules, somewhat shining with a scanty covering of short pale scale-like setae and fine pubescence, mainly at apex, base and on sides, its anterior border fringed with longer erect setae. Scutellum oblong with minute punctures.

Elytra dusty chestnut brown, somewhat globose, wider than pronotum, 1.1 times as long as wide, 2.2 times as long as pronotum; basal margin of each elytron procurved and ornamented with 14 crenulations, lateral margins gradually tapering posteriorly; declivity sloping gently from near the base of elytra; striae rather deep, shining, with obsolete punctures and reaching almost the elytral apex except striae 5 and 6 joining before reaching elytral apex; interstriae much wider than striae, flat except basal one-fifth slightly convex with distinct asperities, on apical fourfifth with irregular rows of rounded blunt granules; interstriae 2 and 9 connected with each other through an eleva- tion at the elytral apex. All interstriae gradually narrowing towards declivity, covered with very tiny scale-like setae and sparse longer obliquely erected scale-like setae. Few whitish scales at the base of elytra.

Procoxae widely separated by more than the width of coxa. Sternum dull, punctured, covered by pale white fine pubescence and long pale setae.

Abdomen dull and dusty, ventrites I and II much wider than the other three, punctuate, covered by fine pale pubescence and sparse long pale setae.

Legs dark-brown, covered with pale setae. Protibiae with broad apex with three spurs on the apical margin and a series of pointed teeth on the outer margin, mixed with long pale setae. Meta- and mesotibiae flattened towards the apical margin, each with spurs and series of teeth and long setae on outer margin.

Female ( Figs. 16–17 ): Similar to male except elytra longer, 2.5 times as long as pronotum, the frons is slightly more convex and the apex of the pronotum is less constricted.

Distribution. Batote (Jammu), Jammu and Kashmir, India.

Host. Peach, Prunus persica (Rosaceae) .

Biology. Polygamous species. The female usually pairs with the colonizing male at the entrance in the outer bark of the tree and excavates a maternal gallery in phloem and sapwood along the longitudinal axis of the tree ( Figs. 18–19 ). Inside the gallery, female lays on average 43.83 eggs (±10.81 SD, n=10) in small individual egg chambers on both sides of the maternal gallery. The average length of maternal gallery measures 4.24 cm (±0.87 SD, n=10). Larval galleries originated from the maternal gallery approximately at right angles, and increased in size with the growth of larvae. All the larval galleries are more or less of the same length, on average 4.60 cm (±0.86 SD, n=36). Matured young adults leave the host through roughly ellipse-shaped exit holes, clearly visible on the exterior of the bark ( Fig. 20 ).

Etymology. The new species is named after the mountainous character of the type locality.

Figures

FIGURES 12–17. Sphaerotrypes montanus sp. nov. Male, dorsal view (12); lateral view (13); head, frontal view (14); head, lateral view showing antenna (15); Female, lateral view (16); head, frontal view (17).

FIGURES 18–20. Sphaerotrypes montanus sp. nov. Maternal galleries grooved on sapwood surface (18) and inner bark (19) of Prunus persica; ellipse-shaped exit holes on outer bark surface (20).