Proscleropterus shennongjianus Qin & Huang

Mei Qin, Junhao Huang, Enzo Colonnelli, Runzhi Zhang & Hong Wu, 2016, Two new species and a key to species of the genus Proscleropterus Korotyaev (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) from China, Zoological Systematics 41 (2), pp. 173-185 : 176-180

Proscleropterus shennongjianus Qin & Huang , sp. nov.

( Figs 5–8 , 13–26 , 41–43 )

Types. Holotype. ♂ ( ZAFU), " China: Hubei, Shennongjia-linqu, Muyu-zhen, Zhangbaohe, 106°72.26′N, 116°40.39′E, 21-V-2012, leg. J. Huang & L. Yang, CU00045". Paratypes. 5♂ 2♀, same data as holotype but "CU00046–00052" ( ZAFU); 1♂ 2♀, same data as holotype but " 22-V-2012, leg. L. Yang, CU00053–00055" ( ZAFU); 1♀, same data as holotype but " 22-V-2012, J. Huang, CU00056" ( ZAFU).

Description. Males (n =7). LB 2.30–2.69 mm (mean, 2.46 mm); LR 0.96–1.13 mm (mean, 1.03 mm); WP 0.76–0.91 mm (mean, 0.82 mm); LP 0.68–0.88 mm (mean, 0.75mm); WE 1.27–1.48 mm (mean, 1.36 mm); LE 1.37–1.59 mm (mean, 1.47 mm).

Body dark brown; elytra more or less shining; eyes brown; antennae reddish-brown; legs from reddish-brown to dark brown. Habitus as shown in Figures 13–15 .

Vestiture. Body surface covered with more or less ochreous pollinosity in living specimens. Head ( Figs 5–6 ) covered with brownish clavate scales, and sparse white or yellowish clavate scales behind eyes and on frons, being the median carina clothed with whitish or yellowish clavate scales at base; basal margin fringed with white ovate recumbent scales. Rostrum ( Figs 5–6 ) clothed with white clavate scales on base and brown clavate scales on basal half; scales directed basally, gradually becoming slenderer towards apex, and replaced by hair-like scales on apical third. Prothorax ( Figs 13, 15 ) mainly covered with clavate scales as those on head, with longitudinal stripe of white clavate and oval scales on median and lateral surface which form three well-defined narrow white or yellowish longitudinal stripes. Elytra ( Figs 13–15 ) bearing brown clavate scales on each interval and white clavate scales along apical margin, whereas sparse slender linear scales directed apically are on striae. Legs ( Fig. 14 ) densely covered with white and brown scales; femora and tibiae mostly covered with clavate semirecumbent scales, except semirecumbent hair-like scales along inner margin; corbel of each tibia fringed with brown setae. Underside generally covered with white from lanceolate to oval recumbent scales mingled with white and brown clavate scales; ventrites ( Fig. 16 ) I and II bearing white lanceolate scales mingled with clavate scales; III and IV with a row of sparse white clavate scales; V bearing dense hair-like brown scales in median concavity and white lanceolate scales on each side. Pygidium ( Fig. 17 ) covered with slender linear brown scales, and short apically pinnate scales on basal part.

Head ( Figs 5–6 ) coarsely reticulately punctured. Vertex with obvious median carina from base to apex; frons moderately deeply depressed, its apex almost equal in width to the base of rostrum and then strongly widened basally. Eyes medium-sized, moderately convex and triangularly rounded. Rostrum slender, 1.29–1.47 times as long as pronotum, 4.58–5.87 times as long as wide at apex, evenly curved; sides subparallel on basal half, then moderately widening near antennal insertion, and gradually so towards apex where rostrum is 1.15–1.29 times as wide as base. Dorsal surface of rostrum densely rugosely punctured except at apex, punctures forming ill-defined wrinkles; these punctures are medium-sized and slightly elongate from base up to between antennal insertion, then they become smaller, sparser, and shallower towards apex. Antennae inserted at 0.47 length of rostrum from apex; scape moderate in length, evidently clavate, round and fringed with 2 short setae at apex, funicle six-segmented; club lanceolate, finely pubescent except on basal part; scape 0.97 times as long as the funicle, length ratio of funicular segments I: II: III: IV: V: VI = 2.71: 1.79: 1.31: 1.14: 1.00: 1.02 and width ratio = 1.42: 1.00: 1.08: 1.09: 1.27: 1.45.

Pronotum ( Figs 13, 15 ) 1.03–1.17 times as wide as long, 0.47–0.57 times as long and 0.55–0.64 times as wide as elytra. Pronotum with two pairs of median tubercles along lateral sides which are subparallel on basal half, strongly convergent between the tubercles and then subparallel on apical half; median sulcus shallow on basal half; disc densely coarsely punctured, punctures of apical and basal parts smaller, apical margin weakly raised, moderately produced over head, with median incision. Base not margined, punctuation reaching basal edge and leaving no smooth line at base. Scutellum oval-shaped.

Elytra ( Figs 13–15 ) subcordate, 1.06–1.11 times as long as wide, 1.76–2.10 times as long and 1.55–1.79 times as wide as pronotum, with strongly prominent humeri and large sharp granulate tubercles on base of interval VIII; widest at basal fifth, evenly and gradually convergent apically. Striae relatively narrow but often bending around numerous large tubercles on intervals; punctures separated by a distance about twice their diameter. Intervals slightly shining, flat between tubercles. Interval I with a row of sparse granules on apical 3/4; interval II with 2–3 sparse granules on basal fifth, and with a weakly elongate tubercle composed of 5–6 merged granules on middle of one elytron, or with 2 feebly elongate tubercles composed of 2–3 merged granules on the other elytron; interval III with 3 weakly convex granules near base and two moderately large oblong or round tubercles composed of 2–3 merged granules basad and apicad of middle, followed by an additional convex granule and a row of sparse granules on apical part; interval IV narrow and just bearing a few sharp granules along the entire length; interval V with rather large short 5-capitate tubercle near the base, another small tubercle composed of 2 merged granules basad of middle, a sharp granule apicad of it and a round 5–7 capitate tubercles on apical fourth; interval VI with sculpture similar to that of IV; interval VII with a few large sharp granules scattered along its basal half, and a tubercle composed of 2–3 merged granules apicad of middle; interval VIII with large tubercles at base, then 2–3 granules basad and apicad of middle followed by sparse granules on apical part; interval IX with a weak tubercle composed of 3 merged granules on basal third, then with irregularly sparse granules from middle to apical fourth, and a much weak tubercle composed of 2 smaller granules on apical fourth; the rest of intervals with simple, small irregular granules.

Legs ( Figs 13–14 ) slender; femora slightly clavate, each armed with small tooth; tibiae not curved at apex; protibiae simple, lacking mucro at apex; meso- and metatibiae with moderate mucrones, mesotibial ones as long as tarsal claw, metatibial mucrones shorter than tarsal claw; tarsi moderate in length; claws with appendages as long as 4/5 of claw.

Underside ( Figs 3 , 16 ). Prosternum coarsely and moderately punctured; mesoventrite with sparser punctures on disc and dense fine punctures on sides; metaventrite with medium-sized punctures and with slight median sulcus; lateral pieces of meso- and metaventrites with dense coarse medium-sized punctures. Procoxae and mesocoxae strongly inflated ( Fig. 3 ). Rostral channel long, extending to the level of posterior margins of mesocoxal cavities. Ventrites ( Fig. 16 ) with coarse and more or less dense punctures; ventrites III and IV with only one row of coarse and sparse punctures; ventrite V with subtriangular median concavity along basal margin; length ratio of ventrites I: II: III: IV: V = 3.55: 2.37: 1.06: 1.00: 2.38 and width ratio =1.40: 1.62: 1.26: 1.15: 1.00. Pygidium ( Fig. 17 ) moderately transverse, about 1.14 times as wide as long, coarsely and moderately punctured and with fine median carina.

Terminalia and genitalia. Penis ( Figs 18–19 ) broad, relatively thick in lateral profile; sides weakly widening from base to apical 1/6, then strongly converging apically; apical projection ( Fig. 20 ) blunt, rounded at apex. Endophallus ( Fig. 18 ) with a pair of plate-like sclerites on apical part, and a pair of tubular structures on basal part. Spiculum gastrale ( Fig. 22 ) robust, bent leftward and by far exceeding the length of aedeagal body or its apodeme. Tegmen ( Fig. 21 ) with apodeme more or less stout, nearly as long as the diameter of the tegminal ring, more or less widening toward apex.

Female (n =5). LB 2.52–2.86 mm (mean, 2.70 mm). LR 1.10–1.38 mm (mean, 1.23 mm). WP 0.82–0.96 mm (mean, 0.88 mm). LP 0.71–0.89 mm (mean, 0.80 mm). WE 1.30–1.59 mm (mean, 1.49 mm). LE 1.44–1.77 mm (mean, 1.63 mm).

Rostrum ( Figs 7–8 ) slightly slenderer, 1.56–1.67 times as long as pronotum, about 1.25 times as long as in male. Antennae inserted just behind the middle of the rostrum.

Pronotum 1.07–1.16 times as wide as long.

Elytra 0.99–1.14 times as long as wide.

Tibiae simple, not mucronate.

Ventrites I and II moderately inflated, sparsely punctured. Ventrite V with shallow median concavity. Pygidium smaller than that of male, 1.31 times wider than long.

Terminalia and genitalia. Tergite VIII ( Fig. 23 ) with pair of combs of dense, long setae along apical margin. Sternite VIII ( Fig. 24 ) with a pair of patches of several minute setae near apex; arms slender and apically fused, about 0.5 times as long as apodeme, nearly half as long as coxite and stylus combined. Coxites ( Fig. 25 ) robust, subdivided into two pieces, about 8.0 times as long as styli; styli apicolaterally inserted, moderate in length, nearly 2.0 times as long as wide. Spermatheca ( Fig. 26 ) C-shaped, collum hardly convex; ramus indistinct, outline almost uniformly continuous; cornu slender, strongly curved and attenuate.

Otherwise as in male.

Etymology. The species is named after its type locality, Shennongjia Mountains, Hubei province, China.

Distribution. China (Hubei; Fig. 44 ).

Biological notes. Adults of this species were collected on flowering Rubus eucalyptus Focke (Rosaceae) ( Figs 41–43 ).

Remarks. The new species differs from P. davidiani in having pronotum with two pairs of sharp large median tubercules on lateral sides and then widening on basal half, elytra subcordate and evenly converging towards apex, while in P. davidiani pronotum bears only one pair of weak tubercules and is subparallel-sided, elytra are more elongate and subparall-sided on basal half. Moreover, P. davidiani has larger granules and different distribution of tubercles on elytral intervals.

Figures

Figures 44. Geographic distribution of Proscleropterus in China.

Figures 5 – 12. Proscleropterus spp., head. 5 – 8. P. shennongjianus Qin & Huang, sp. nov. 9 – 11. P. rudis Colonnelli, Qin & Huang, sp. nov. 5 – 6, 9 – 10. Male. 7 – 8, 11 – 12. Female. 5, 7, 9, 11. Dorsal view. 6, 8, 10, 12. Lateral view. Scale bars = 0.50 mm.

Figures 13 – 17. Proscleropterus shennongjianus Qin & Huang, sp. nov., male. 13, 15. Dorsal habitus. 14. Lateral habitus. 16. Ventrites. 17. Pygidium. Scale bars: 15 – 17 = 0.50 mm.

Figures 18 – 26. Proscleropterus shennongjianus Qin & Huang, sp. nov., male and female genitalia, from Hubei, China. 18 – 22. Male. 18. Aedeagus, dorsal view. 19. Aedeagus, lateral view. (20. Apex of the aedeagal body, dorsal view. 21. Tegmen. 22. Sternites IX. 23 – 26. Female. 23. Tergite VIII. 24. Sternite VIII. 25. Coxite and stylus. 26. Spermatheca. Scale bars: 18 – 35 = 0.20 mm; 25 – 26 = 0.40 mm.

Figures 41 – 43. Host plant of Proscleropterus shennongjianus Qin & Huang, sp. nov., Rubus eucalyptus Focke (Rosaceae) from Shennongjia, Hubei, China.

Figures 3 – 4. Proscleropterus shenongjianus Qin & Huang, sp. nov., male. 3. Rostral channel. 4. Left wing.