Pseudothysanoes kashmirica Buhroo and Knížek, 2020

Buhroo, Abdul Ahad, 2024, A taxonomic monograph of subfamily Scolytinae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in the Western Himalaya, Zootaxa 5533 (1), pp. 1-82 : 42-43

31. Pseudothysanoes kashmirica Buhroo and Knížek, 2020

( Figure 41 )

This species is diagnosed by the following morphological characters: ♂ frons flattened with dense erect golden hair-like setae, vertex finely granulated with minute punctures; eyes elongate-oval; antennal scape elongate with few pale hair like setae, funicle with six segments and few pale hair-like setae; antennal club elongate-oval, flattened, sutures 1 and 2 slightly procurved, marked by pale setae; few longish pale setae on its apex; pronotum 1.21× wider than long; widest at base, sides strongly arcuate, very strongly constricted on anterior half, anterior margin from dorsal view narrowly rounded and armed by four protruding serrations bent backwards; summit behind middle; stronger, wide tubercles on anterior slope; posterior part weakly shining, reticulate and punctate; surface of anterior half covered by flattened setae along with thin, erect hair-like setae, somewhat short pubescence in posterior half; scutellum large, rounded, with minute punctures and few setae; elytral surface finely punctured, 1.4× as long as wide, 1.7× as long as pronotum; lateral sides sub-parallel from base to posterior third of the elytra, posterior third evenly rounded to apex, elytral declivity rounded; striae with microscopic hair-like setae; interstriae with erect short flattened setae, on interstriae 1 and on declivital part of interstriae 3 and 9 setae biseriate, on even-numbered interstriae setae biseriate on elytral base, uniseriate on elytral disc and declivity; body length: 1.0– 1.4 mm, 2.2× as long as wide.

Female similar to male except the apex of the pronotum is less constricted; pubescence on the pronotum and frons longer and relatively sparse compared to male, where it is short, stout and dense; body length: 1.0 mm.

Remarks: This species can be easily distinguished by the uniseriate scale-like setae in P. modestus ( Murayama, 1940) , which are biseriate on the whole length of interstriae 1 and on declivital part of interstriae 3 and 9 in P. kashmirica .

Material examined: Holotype ♂, Allotype ♀ in KUIC. Type locality: Kashmir , Srinagar, Dachigam National Park, India . Paratypes in KUIC: same data as HT

Distribution: India: Kashmir

Hosts: Ulmus villosa ( Ulmaceae )

Phylogenetic assessment:

Using information from the COX-1 gene, a phylogenetic analysis of the Kashmir Himalayan species Pseudothysanoes kashmirica and other similar species was carried out ( Fig. 42 ). The NJ tree revealed that P. kashmirica formed a monophyletic cluster of its haplotypes. The populations of P. kashmirica are monophyletic with populations of P. yuccae ( Wood, 1956) and P. cf. leechi Wood, 1980 distributed in the United States. Pseudothysanoes kashmirica populations, however, vary from P. yuccae populations by an interspecific nucleotide divergence in the range of 20.64–21.77% and from P. cf. leechi populations by an interspecific nucleotide divergence in the range of 19.14– 22.34%.

Figures

FIGURE 41. Pseudothysanoes kashmirica. Holotype male: dorsal view A, lateral view B; allotype: lateral view C.

FIGURE 42. A phylogenetic tree obtained from the NJ for the COX-1 genes of Himalayan Pseudothysanoes (in blue) and related species. Numbers at the branches represent bootstrap values.