Tarphius tornvalli Gillerfors, 1985

Borges, Paulo A. V., Amorim, Isabel R., Terzopoulou, Sofia, Rigal, François, Emerson, Brent C. & Serrano, Artur R. M., 2017, Cryptic diversity in the Azorean beetle genus Tarphius Erichson, 1845 (Coleoptera: Zopheridae): An integrative taxonomic approach with description of four new species, Zootaxa 4236 (3), pp. 401-449 : 410-414

Tarphius tornvalli Gillerfors, 1985

( Fig. 7)

Tarphius tornvalli in Gillerfors (1985, p. 5) (S. Miguel Isl.)

Tarphius tornvalli in Borges (1990, p. 112) (S. Miguel Isl.)

Tarphius tornvalli in Borges (1991, p. 2) (S. Miguel Isl.)

Tarphius tornvalli and Tarphius azoricus in Borges et al. (2005b , p. 207) (S. Miguel Isl.) Tarphius tornvalli and Tarphius azoricus in Oromí et al. (2010 , p. 232) (S. Miguel Isl.) Tarphius tornvalli and Tarphius azoricus in Amorim et al. (2012, Fig. 2 ) (S. Miguel Isl.)

Type locality. The Azores, São Miguel Island, Furnas.

Type material. There is one Holotype deposited in Museu Municipal do Funchal, Madeira and the remaining type series is deposited in the collection of G. Gillerfors and A. Tornvalli in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Additional material examined. Graminhais , 12/08/1989 (1 ex) (UTM 26S 654557 4185354); Tronqueira, 11–12/08/1989 (5 exx) (UTM 26S 657757 4186138); Santo António, São Miguel, Açores, 12/08/1989 (1 ex) (UTM 26S 656878 4188871) (Paulo A. V. Borges & Fernando Pereira leg.) ; Miradouro da Tronqueira (T01) ( Natural Forest Reserve of Pico da Vara ), VIII.1999 (162 exx), VI.2 0 10 (88 exx) (UTM 26S 659806 4184815); Santo António (T02) ( Natural Forest Reserve of Atalhada ), VIII.1999 (157 exx) (UTM 26S 6 56878 4188871); Graminhais (T03) ( Natural Forest Reserve of Graminhais ), VIII.1999 (58 exx), VI.2010 (2 exx) (UTM 26S 654557 4185354); Miradouro da Tronqueira Inferior (T04) ( Natural Forest Reserve of Pico da Vara ), VIII.1999 (152 exx), VI.2010 (18 exx) (UTM 26S 659850 4184997); Santo António (T06) ( Natural Forest Reserve of Atalhada ) VIII.1999 (106 exx) (UTM 26S 656905 4188787); Ribeira dos Graminhais (T07) ( Natural Forest Reserve of Graminhais ), VIII.1999 (5 exx), VI.2010 (7 exx) (UTM 26S 654 838 4185138); Pico da Vara (T08) ( Natural Forest Reserve of Pico da Vara ), VII.1999 (3 exx) (UTM 26S 657757 4186138); Santo António , Conteiras (T12) ( Natural Forest Reserve of Atalhada ), VI.2004 (53 exx) (UTM 26S 657009 4188841); Santo António , Precipício (T13) ( Natural Forest Reserve of Atalhada ), VI.2004 (128 exx) (UTM 26S 657016 4188637); Ribeira dos Graminhais (T14) ( Natural Forest Reserve of Graminhais ), VI.2004 (5 exx) (UTM 26S 654669 4185360); Graminhais (T15) ( Natural Forest Reserve of Graminhais ), VI.2004 (13 exx) (UTM 26S 654385 4185571); (Paulo A. V. Borges et al. leg.); Material deposited in DTPC.

Redescription (adapted from Gillerfors 1985).

Diagnosis ( Fig. 7). Small to medium species (2.37–3.77 mm; mean: 3.08±0.44); body dorsal surface uniform reddish to reddish brown, antennae, mouth-parts and legs of the same body colour or a slightly clearer hue; body strongly arched (convex); pronotum small and narrower than elytra, disc with dense, large rounded granules, each one with a yellowish erect rigid needle-like acuminate seta ( Fig. 4 A). Elytra nodules or gibbosities very distinct with a pattern formula 2, 3, 2, 1. Differs from the most related species in some morphometrics (see Appendix S5):

- larger than T. relictus sp. nov.; and

- differs from T. furtadoi sp. nov. in having: larger W elytra/pronotum ratio; larger L elytra/pronotum ratio.; smaller ratio W/L elytra; smaller W/L pronotum.

Description. Length 2.37–3.77 mm (mean: 3.08±0.44); width 1.19–1.99 mm (mean: 1.60±0.23), body convex and subquadrate-ovate, reddish to reddish-brown, setose, with large granules.

Head: Genae parallel; anterior clypeal margin straight; vertices protrude under the anterior margin of pronotum; surface reddish dark brown with dense medium granules, except in clypeus which is more or less smooth, each one with one semi-erect fine hair-like seta slightly directed anteriorly; eyes clearly protruding, glabrous; antennae with segment II shorter than III, segment III 1.5x longer than IV, length of IV and V equal, segments VII–IX as long as wide, compact club 2-segmented (segments X and XI); mouth-parts with mandibles brown, the other pieces lighter showing the general morphological pattern of the genus.

Pronotum: Transverse, on average 1.41 times as broad as long, but quite variable (1.22x to 1.59x); surface reddish dark brown, widened in the middle, half posterior-lateral region with a slight nodule; anterior margin deeply bisinuate, anterior angles strongly protrude and acuminate ( Fig. 8 ); hind margin largely bisinuate, in middle broadly produced rearwards; lateral margins arcuate with two irregular rows of long, fine and acuminate setae (20–25 each one) ( Fig. 8 ), slightly sinuate just before the posterior angles which are clearly prominent; disc with a clear median longitudinal sulcus; a distinct transverse channel just before the extreme base between the two lateral notches; lateral surface variable in terms of flatness; dorsal upper surface with dense distinct large rounded granules, gradually diminishing in diameter to the sides, each one with one rigid erect needle-like yellowish seta ( Fig. 8 ); ratios width pronotum/width elytra 0.87±0.04 and length pronotum/length elytra 0.55±0.04 (see Appendix S6).

Elytra: On average 0.90 times as broad as long, but quite variable (0.82x to 1.10x); in general 1.16 times (mean) broader than pronotum, but also quite variable (1.08x to 1.32x); disc concolorous (reddish dark brown), convex, rugosely seriate-punctate, and wrinkled transversally on dorsal surface which is covered with dense granules, each one with an erect rigid needle-like acuminate yellowish seta ( Fig. 4 A); nodules or gibbosities very distinct with a pattern formula 2, 3, 2, 1, covered with setae more aggregate that confer a pom-pom appearance.

Ventral side. Prosternum as granulose as mesosternum and metasternum; grooves on anterior half of prosternal sides slightly present.

Legs. Tibia normal not expanded apically; tarsi 4-segmented, simple, first three tarsomeres of all legs and in both sexes covered ventrally with several very long hyaline fine setae.

Aedeagus: See Fig. 6 in Gillerfors (1985).

Bionomics. Most specimens were collected in pitfall traps ( Borges et al. 2005a), but also under the bark of endemic and exotic trees.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Bayesian inference tree for Tarphius beetles of the Azores based on 915 bp of nuclear DNA (Elongation Factor 1 alpha). Clade credibility values are shown for nodes with a posteror probability ± 0.95.

FIGURE 4. Details of setae in elytra for the species in complex “ tornvalli ”: T. tornvalli (restricted to São Miguel) (A); Tarphius relictus sp. nov. (restricted to Terceira) (B); and Tarphius furtadoi sp. nov. (restricted to São Jorge, Pico and Faial) with a specimen of São Jorge (C) and Faial (D). Scale 0.05 mm (Photos: Erno-Endre Gergely).

FIGURE 6. Details on the number of seta on the external row of the lateral margin of pronotum in the complex “ azoricuswollastoni-depressus ”: T. azoricus (restricted to São Miguel and Flores) (A); Tarphius wollastoni (restricted to Faial) (B); Tarphius gabrielae sp. nov. (restricted to Pico) (C); Tarphius floresensis sp. nov. (restricted to Flores) (D); and T. depressus (restricted to S. Maria) (E). Scales 0.25 mm (Photos: Erno-Endre Gergely).

FIGURE 8. Detail on the number of seta on the external row of the lateral margin of pronotum in Tarphius tornvalli Gillerfors. Scale 0.25 mm (Photo: Erno-Endre Gergely).