Scolytoplatypodini Blandford, 1893

Buhroo, Abdul Ahad, 2024, A taxonomic monograph of subfamily Scolytinae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in the Western Himalaya, Zootaxa 5533 (1), pp. 1-82 : 57

Tribe Scolytoplatypodini Blandford, 1893

Genus Scolytoplatypus Schaufuss, 1891

Scolytoplatypus species are diagnosed by the following morphological characters: body length: 1.2–4.6 mm; head globose with convex frons in ♀, concave in ♂, sometimes with tufts of hairs; eyes elongate oval, entire; antennal scape clavate, funicle with six segments, club flattened, varying in shape from oval to elongate triangular, without sutures, covered by short setae, sometimes with a few longer hairs at base and at apex; pronotum usually as wide as long or wider than long, base bisinuate, sides usually constricted towards base to form femoral grooves, postero-lateral angles often right-angled or projecting, disc evenly curved without a summit; elytra slightly wider and clearly longer than the pronotum, base simply angled or carinate, cylindrical, sides parallel, apex broadly or angularly rounded, occasionally with a sutural emargination, discal punctures usually confused, less often seriate, interstriae often raised or carinate near top of declivity, sometimes with spines projecting over declivity; procoxae large, widely separated; pro-sternum often modified in males; abdomen horizontal or slightly rising posteriorly; host: deciduous trees.

Keys to both males and females of the Oriental species of Scolytoplatypus Schaufuss, 1891 have already been provided by Beaver & Gebhardt (2006). However, key to the Western Himalayan species of Scolytoplatypus is reproduced below to include the new species as well.

For males:

1 Body length less than 2 mm ............................................................. S. minimus Hagedorn

- Body length more than 2 mm ............................................................................ 2

2 Frons with distinct brushes or sparse fringe of long incurved hairs around the margin of vertex upto or below the level of eyes ................................................................................................... 3

- Frons without distinct brushes of long incurved hairs, rather with sparse hairs moderately longer towards the upper half or towards margins...................................................................................... 5

3 Longest setae on frons extend in a brush from the upper frontal parts extending beyond the middle of frons.............. 4

- Frons with a rather sparse fringe of hair-like setae on each side curving inwardly, but not extending to lower half of frons...................................................................................... S. kunala Strohmeyer

4 Elytral disc angularly/abruptly separated from declivity; declivital interstriae 1 and 3 with a row of distinct tubercles; elytral color yellowish, gradually becoming darker posteriorly, without a distinct darker band along suture..... S. daimio Blandford

- Elytral disc evenly rounded into declivity; declivity with rather indistinct tubercles on interstriae 1 and 3; elytral color yellowish anteriorly, becoming darker towards declivity, with darker extensions along suture and sides of elytra to base............................................................................................... S. darjeelingi Stebbing

5 Basal angles of pronotum weakly produced; disc flat, with small punctures not arranged in distinct striae and interstriae, except lateral (last) two rows of strial punctures set in regular fashion; prosternum with two sub-rounded lobes on anterior margin, with asymmetrical, weakly sclerotised translucent process between them.............................. S. denticauda sp. n.

- Basal angles of pronotum strongly produced; elytra distinctly striate-punctate, striae strongly impressed on disc; interstriae 1, 3, 5 and 7 gradually distinctly ridged posteriorly; prosternum with two tubercles anteriorly, anterior to them a pair of widely diverging processes, with sharply in-turned and hooked tips....................................... S. raja Blandford

For females:

1 Pronotum without a mycangial pore........................................................ S. denticauda sp. n.

- Pronotum with a mycangial pore......................................................................... 2

2 Basal angles of pronotum triangularly produced laterally, acute apically; elytral disc with narrow, strongly impressed striae, interstriae convex........................................................................ S. raja Blandford

- Basal angles of pronotum not strongly produced laterally, nearly rectangular apically; elytral disc with flat to weakly impressed striae; interstriae flat to feebly raised on disc................................................................ 3

3 Elytral declivity with dense vestiture of long, yellowish hair-like setae.......................... S. darjeelingi Stebbing

- Elytral declivity with vestiture of very short hair-like setae or glabrous elytra...................................... 4

4 Elytra unicolored; smaller species, less than 2 mm long....................................... S. minimus Hagedorn

- Elytra bicolored; larger species, more than 2 mm long........................................................ 5

5 Declivity granulate only on the unevenly numbered interstria; declivital surface with dense short hair-like setae............................................................................................... S. daimio Blandford

- Declivital interstriae with minute tubercles, distinct only on the first interstriae, obscure on other interstriae; declivital surface without short hair-like setae............................................................. S. kunala Strohmeyer