Cotithene leptorhamphis Franz

Franz, Nico M., 2008, Revision, phylogeny and natural history of Cotithene Vo s s (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), Zootaxa 1782, pp. 1-33 : 19-20

Cotithene leptorhamphis Franz , sp. n.

Diagnosis. Length 4.8–5.6 mm; rostrum in male ( Fig. 6 A) in lateral view angulate and expanded near apical 2/5, anterodorsal region of head rugulose, otherwise indistinct, pronotum expanded, light reddish-brown, elytra darker reddish-brown, aedeagus ( Fig. 10 A) with subapical constriction, apical region of paired aedeagal sclerites ventrally expanded, irregular, undulate; rostrum in female ( Fig. 6 B) 2.0–2.1x as long as pronotum, very narrow, arcuate, scape not reaching eye, rostrum-head transition in lateral view slightly concave, pronotum in dorsal view small, trapezoidal. The males of Cotithene leptorhamphis may be distinguished from those of other similarly sized species by the color pattern and particular combination of head sculpture and setation, as well as the terminalia, whereas the females are readily distinguished from those of C. trigaea by the even longer and narrower rostrum.

Description. Male. Length 5.3–5.5 mm, width 2.3–2.4 mm, l/w = 2.2–2.4 (N = 1). Color light reddishbrown, rostrum and head slightly darker, legs yellowish-brown, elytra darker, reddish-brown. Rostrum ( Fig. 6 A) 1.6–1.7 mm, r/p = 0.8; dorsally slightly arcuate, angulate-tumescent near apical 2/5; dorsal impression indistinct, basally rugulose; antennal insertion near apical third. Head ( Fig. 6 A) with slight, transverse elevation extending between posterodorsal edges of eyes, anterodorsally rugulose, lacking triangular projections, setation sparse, short. Prothorax globular, pronotum anterolaterally slightly impressed. Prosternum behind anterior margin with transverse lateral impressions, thereafter tumescent; procoxal cavities separated by about width of antennal club. Elytra posteriorly not attenuate; anterior elevation indistinct; striae as wide as intervals; intervals reddish-brown. Spiculum gastrale shorter than aedeagus; furcal arms straight, apically narrowed. Aedeagus ( Fig. 10 A) l/w = 4.4–4.5 (N = 2), widest near middle, constricted near apical third, narrowing in apical 1/5, apex rounded, explanate, slightly reflexed; internally with a symmetrical, narrowly Vshaped pair of explanate sclerites; sclerites in lateral view triangular, ventrally more strongly sclerotized, apex with complex uncinate expansion, margins undulate; apodemes distinctly shorter than body.

Female. Length 4.8–5.6 mm, width 2.2–2.8 mm, l/w = 2.0–2.2 (N = 3). Color more homogeneously light reddish- to yellowish brown than in male, except for darker, reddish-brown elytra. Rostrum ( Fig. 6 B) 3.0– 3.8 mm, r/p = 2.0–2.1; dorsally and ventrally arcuate, very narrow, width similar throughout, connection with head in lateral view slightly angulate; antennal insertion at middle to basal 2/5; scrobe extending to basal 1/8 of rostrum. Pronotum small, trapezoidal, not expanded. Procoxal cavities separated by slightly less than width of antennal club. Elytra as in male. Sternum VIII ( Fig. 10 A) with furcal arms straight, subparallel to slightly diverging, apices with 3–5 setae. Spermatheca ( Fig. 10 A) V-shaped, apex narrowly rounded.

Material examined. Holotype male " Costa Rica, Limón, P.N. Br. Carillo [Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo], Q. [Quebrada] González, 50 m, N 10°09'78'', W 83°56'17'', on Asplundia sp. inflor., leg. N. Franz, VI- 11-2003 " ( MUCR); male paratypes "Estación Pitilla 9 km. S. de Santa Cecilia, Prov. Guana [Guanacaste], COSTA RICA. 700 m. MAR 1995. C. Moraga, L_N_329950_380450 #4357" ( INBC, 1; CMNC, 1); female paratypes, same label data as holotype ( MUCR, 1), "Estación Pitilla 9 km. S. de Santa Cecilia, Prov. Guana [Guanacaste], COSTA RICA. 700 m. MAR 1995. C. Moraga, L_N_329950_380450 #4357" ( INBC, 1), " PANAMA: Chiriqui Pr., Reserva la Fortuna, Cont. Divide Trail, 24 Jul 94, 1150 m. H. Stockwell & A. Gillogly" ( CMNC, 1).

Etymology. Named for the distinct rostrum of the female, derived from the Greek leptos (slender) and rhamphos (curved beak).

Natural history. Cotithene leptorhamphis has been collected in three disjunct localities ( Fig. 13 A), two in Costa Rica (Braulio Carrillo and Santa Cecilia) and one in Panama (La Fortuna). Three adults were taken on the inflorescence of an unidentified Asplundia species at Quebrada González (Braulio Carrillo).

Figures

FIGURE 6. Rostrum and head of Cotithene leptorhamphis, lateral view. A, male; B, female.

FIGURE 10. Genital structures of Cotithene species, from left to right: aedeagus, ventral view; aedeagus, lateral view; posterior region of female sternum VIII, ventral view; spermatheca, lateral view; shaded areas depicting structures of the internal sac; synapomorphic character states 31 (1) labelled. A, C. leptorhamphis; B, C. trigaea.

FIGURE 13. Reported localities of Cotithene in Costa Rica and Panama (A) and Venezuela (B). See text for further detail.