Heilipodus goeldii, Germann, 2012

Germann, Christoph, 2012, On the mysterious Hylobius huguenini Reitter, 1891 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Molytinae), European Journal of Taxonomy 20, pp. 1-8 : 4-6

Heilipodus goeldii sp. nov.

Figs 1B, D, F, H ; 2 A-C, I, K-L

Etymology

The new species is dedicated to Emil August Göldi (1859-1917) late director of the Museu Paraense (now Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi).

Holotype

♂, “M, H. d. Mathan Obidos 1904/1905 Mus. Goeldi Paráh”, (new) red label: Holotype Heilipodus goeldii sp. nov. Germann des. 2012 ( NMBE).

Paratypes

2 ♀♀, same data as holotype, (new) red label: Paratype Heilipodus goeldii sp. nov. Germann des. 2012 ( NMBE).

Type locality

Brazil, Pará, Obidos (Amazon Basin).

Size

♂: 8.5 mm; ♀♀: 9.3 and 9.5 mm (without rostrum).

Description

COLOUR. Body, head, antennae and legs dark-brown.

VESTITURE. Body, head and legs covered with elongated, oval, yellowish scales of variable width. Tips of broader scales truncated. Eyes encircled with broader scales. Scarcely standing scales restricted to first fifth of rostrum. Pronotum with broader scales forming lateral spots at each side just before humeral calli of the elytra. Surrounding scales thinner. Elytra with broader and thinner scales patchily arranged, and forming spots at base of the 3 rd and especially 5 th interstriae. Scutellum very densely covered with overlapping whitish broader scales.

HEAD. ( Fig. 1F ) Globular, rostrum 3.5 times longer than wide, eyes oval and flat. Interocular distance half as wide as base of rostrum. Rostrum narrowest in or just behind its middle, widened to apex to about the size at base. Rostrum striate and weakly punctate on its first half; only faintly punctate and glossy towards apex. Antennae inserted behind last third of rostrum; scrobes from the anterior margin of the eyes apicalwards. Scrobes visible from above from the middle of the rostrum to the

APEX. Antennal scape reaching base of rostrum. Funicular segments as follows (L/W; holotype): 1

st

: 1.8, 2 nd: 2.7, 3 rd: 1.2, 4 th: 1.0, 5 th: 1.0, 6 th: 1.1 and 7 th: 0.8, club oblong oval.

PRONOTUM. ( Fig. 1B, D ) Transverse (L/W = 0.6-0.7), widest just behind the middle, strongly constricted towards fore margin, densely tuberculate and transversely wrinkled, weakly carinate in the middle, tubercles glossy. Slightly curved in lateral view. Base sinuate, convex towards scutellum.

ELYTRA. ( Fig. 1B, D ) Elongate (L/W = 1.6-1.7), widest in first third. Base sinuate. Shoulders well pronounced, slightly convex at disc in the middle. Elytra constricted before their last fifth, therefore convex on each side before elytral decline; apex flattened in lateral view. Striae more or less linear and punctate, interstriae about as wide, convex and glossy. Striae and interstriae blurred by coarse transverse wrinkles.

LEGS. Strong, all femora strongly dentate, tibiae sinuate inside, apex with long curved uncus at inner angle. Tips of tibiae in-and outside (ventrally and dorsally) with apical combs, bristles light brown; dorsal row of the apical comb of hind tibiae composed of more than two bristles in parallel. Four visible tarsal segments, 1 st segment 1.5 times longer than 2 nd, 3 rd of about the same length, twice as wide, 4 th segment tiny, 5 th reaching twice as far as 3 rd. Claws simple.

ABDOMEN. ( Fig. 1H ) Five ventrites, process of first ventrite broadly rounded with tuberculiform tip.

FEMALE GENITALIA. Ventrite 8 with apodeme as long as plate, distinctly constricted before plate. Plate broad, feebly sclerotized, rhomboidal, setose at apex. Spermatheca with long, bent and pointed nodulus, cornu elevated and straight ( Fig. 2I, K ). Ovipositor with slender styli ( Fig. 2L ).

MALE GENITALIA. ( Fig. 2 A-B) median lobe of aedeagus parallel sided, containing a cuneiform sclerite inside. Tip of penis tuberculiform. Ventrite 8 with very long apodeme (Fg. 2C).

Sexual dimorphism

Weak, last ventrite of the male specimen bulged in the middle, rostrum of the male more coarsely striate.

Differential diagnosis

Very close to H. huguenini comb. nov., differences are as follows: i) eyes encircled with scales; ii) habitus more robust, elytra broader; iii) scales more spotted, not forming transverse bandings; iv) striae and interstriae more blurred by coarse transverse wrinkles; v) scales forming lateral spots on pronotum instead of bandings; vi) median carina on pronotum less pronounced; vii) ventrites more transverse; viii) female genitalia different ( Fig. 2 G-L). Both species are similar to Heilipodus polyspilus (Pascoe, 1889) (a single male specimen with the following indications was examined: “ Brasilien, Porto Alegre, X.-XII.58 K.E. Hüdepohl” coll. Frey, NMBA) in their general habitus, but differ by i) the much less coarsely tuberculate pronotum, by ii) the indistinct third interstriae on the elytra, which are broadened and elevated in H. polyspilus , by iii) the light brown bristles of the apical combs of tibiae, and by iv) the male genital organs ( Fig. 2 D-F), note that the male of H. huguenini comb. nov. is unknown.

Figures

Fig. 1. A, C, E, G. Heilipodus huguenini (Reitter, 1891) comb. nov., holotype. A. Habitus dorsal. C. Habitus lateral. E. Head and rostrum. G. Ventrites. — B, D, F, H. Heilipodus goeldii sp. nov. paratype, ditto.

Fig. 2. A-C. Heilipodus goeldii sp. nov., holotype. A. Aedeagus dorsal. B. Ditto ventral. C. Ventrite 8. — D-F. Heilipodus polyspilus (Pascoe, 1889), ditto. — G-H, J. Heilipodus huguenini (Reitter, 1891) comb. nov., holotype. G. Ovipositor. H. Ventrite 8 of female. J. Spermatheca. — I, K-L. Heilipodus goeldii sp. nov., paratype. I. Ventrite of female 8. K. Spermatheca. L. Ovipositor.