Iselma audisioi, Pitzalis & Bologna, 2008

Pitzalis, Monica & Bologna, Marco A., 2008, Taxonomy and faunistics of the southern African genus Iselma, with the description of nine new species (Coleoptera: Meloidae: Eleticinae), Zootaxa 1876 (1), pp. 35-59 : 38

Iselma audisioi sp. n.

Diagnosis. A middle-large sized species of Iselma , black without metallic reflection, but elytra brown with infuscate marginal suture. Head elongate, antennae evidently serrate, particularly in male, which has middle antennomeres greatly widened at apex; body setation yellow or with isolated longer black setae on head, pronotum and elytra; metatibial spurs shorter than half metatarsomere I; ventral margin of gonostylus straight in lateral view.

Description. Body black without metallic reflection, but elytra brown with narrowly infuscate marginal suture. Body setation dense and yellow; head, pronotum, and coxae with short, dense and recumbent yellow setae mixed with longer, isolated, thicker erected and truncate black setae; elytra with similar setation, but the black isolate setae are few and distributed on the base, sides and posterior third. Body length (apex of mandibles-apex of elytra): 10.5–12.5 mm; pronotum length: 1.8–2.0 mm; elytral width (greatest at posterior third): 3.0–3.2 mm.

Head slender and elongate, evidently longer than wide at eye level (excluding the mandibles), particularly in male; mandibles shorter than head capsule; head narrower at tempora than at eyes, but in female less slen- der, sides parallel behind eyes; front flat, frontal suture subarcuate; punctures dense and quite deep, intermediate surface shiny; labrum subequal in length to clypeus. Maxillary and labial palpomeres slender, last maxillary palpomere about 1.5 as long as penultimate. Antennae ( Fig. 1f ) slender, extending almost to the middle of elytra in male, in female reaching the basal third of elytra, evidently serrate in male and subserrate in female; male antennomere I cylindrical, 1.5 as long as II, evidently shorter than III; II very short, subglobose; III shorter than followings, IV–X subequal in length, III subtriangularly enlarged apically, IV–VIII evidently widened and almost protruded at apex, IV–X progressively less widened, XI one third longer than X, elongate, slender, conically narrowed in the apical third; antennomere I–II with normal elongate setae, III–XI with dense microsetae.

Pronotum with sides slightly divergent from base to middle, evidently convergent anteriorly, slightly depressed longitudinally and basally on sides; punctures as on head; maximal width at middle about 1.5 of head at eyes. Mesonotum elongate, parallel on sides and subrounded at apex. Elytra elongate, convex, without tracks of venation, about twice as wide as pronotum at base; punctures dense and distinct. Legs slender, finely punctate; fore tarsi elongate, last tarsomere longer than III and IV together, middle tibial spurs slender; both hind spurs massive and spoonlike, inner and external subequal, both shorter than half tarsomere I.

Last visible male abdominal sternite evidently curved on both external and internal margin, the portion not depressed narrowed on the fore half. Aedeagus in lateral view with the ventral margin of male gonostylus straight; male gonostyli with a basal appendix with a tuft of setae ( Fig. 2a ).

Type material. Holotype male ( CB), 1 male Paratype ( CB) “ South Africa, W. Cape, 11.5 km E of Calitzdorp ( R62 ) 400 m a.s.l., low karroid vegetation 17.IX.1994, P. Audisio, M. Biondi and M. A. Bologna leg.” ; 1 male and 1 female Paratypes ( CB) idem, but 18.IX.1994. We added the labels “ Holotypus / Paratypus (male and female) Iselma audisioi sp. n. M. Pitzalis & M. Bologna des. 2008” .

Type locality. South Africa, Western Cape, 11.5 km E of Calitzdorp ( R62 ) 400 m a.s.l.

Etymology. This species is named after our friend and colleague Paolo Audisio, Rome “Sapienza” University, specialist of Nitidulidae beetles, who shared in several fabulous entomological expeditions, one of which permitted the discovery of this new meloid species.

Affinities. According to morphological evidences ( Pitzalis, 2007; Pitzalis and Bologna, unpublished), this species belongs to the group of I. kaszabi sp. n., which includes also I. elephantula sp. n. It differs from both species by the antennomeres greatly serrate, the elytra infuscate along the marginal suture and from the first species also by the gonostyli shape, which, on the contrary, is similar to that I. kaszabi .

Remarks. This species was erroneously cited as I. optata by Bologna et al. (2001).

Figures

FIGURE 1. (a) Iselma brunneipes head and pronotum; (b) I. mimica sp. n. head and pronotum; (c) I. hobohmi head and pronotum; (d) I. kamanjabi sp. n. head and pronotum; (e) I. fontisamarae sp. n. head; (f) I. audisioi sp. n. antenna.

FIGURE 2. Male genitalia of some species of Iselma: (a) I. audisioi sp. n.; (b) I. elephantula sp. n.; (c) I. hessei; (d) I. mimica sp. n.; (e) I. planidorsis; (f) I. boschimana; (g) I. pallidipennis; (h) I. hobohmi; (i) I. cedarbergensis sp. n.; (j) I. lorenzettii sp. n.; (k) I. lanuginosa; (l) I. stellaris sp. n.; (m) I. metallescens; (n) I. violaceipennis.