Zophosis (Septentriophosis) novaki, Purchart, 2014

Purchart, Luboš, 2014, Two new species of the genera Zophosis and Oxycara, and a new record of the genus Freyula from the Island of Socotra (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) *, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 54, pp. 231-240 : 233-236

Zophosis (Septentriophosis) novaki sp. nov.

( Figs 1, 2, 7–10 )

Type locality. Yemen, Socotra Archipelago, Socotra Island, Qalansiyah vill. env., northern slopes of Cheyrha Mts., ca. 12°38ʹ50ʺN, 53°27ʹ45ʺE, 85–592 m a.s.l.

Type material. HOLOTYPE: J ( NMPC):Yemen, Soqotra Is., 2003, 9-10/xii., Qalansiyah env.,KHAYRHA mts., N slopes, N 12°38ʹ50ʺ E 53°27ʹ45ʺ, 85-592m [GPS], D. Král lgt. [white, printed] // YEMEN - SOQOTRA 2003, Expedition ; Jan Farkač, Petr Kabátek & David Král [white, printed] . PARATYPES: 1 ♀ ( NMPC): same data as holotype ; 2 ♀♀ ( NMPC, LPCB): Yemen, Soqotra Is., WADI DENEGHEN, 27.xi.2003, 85 m, N12°36ʹ55ʺ E54°03ʹ49ʺ [GPS], D. Král lgt. [white, printed] // YEMEN - SOQOTRA 2003, Expedition ; Jan Farkač, Petr Kabátek & David Král [white, printed].

Description of male holotype. Body length 6.8 mm. Body width 3.3 mm. Shape oblongate ( Fig. 1 ). Integument black, shiny, shagreened.

Head. Labrum transverse, sparsely and shallowly punctate, anterior margin with long yellowish setae. Epistome plane shallowly emarginate anteriorly, approximately one third of head width. Clypeal sulci complete, posterior margin levels roughly with middle of eyes. Size of eyes moderate, ventral appendix about one third of length of rest of eyes. Supra-orbital edge flat. Genae in dorsal view slightly obtusangular, projecting beyond outer margin of eyes. Genal ridge distinct. Mentum transverse, with median V-shaped apical notch, anterior angles obtuse, anterolateral margins slightly emarginate. Maxillary processes of postgenal margin acute. Head dorsally with fine and dense punctures, distances between these punctures approx. as large as diameter of punctures.Antennae slender; antennomere II nearly as long as antennomere III and longer than antennomere IV; antennomeres VIII–X distinctly widened apically.

Pronotum transverse, completely bordered, puncate with fine and shallow punctures with distances between these punctures 2–3 times larger than their diameter, shagreened; anterior margin strongly sinuate; sides slightly rounded, almost straight, divergent posteriorly; anterior angles about 90°, posterior angles about 60°; pronotal base bisinuate.

Elytra without costae, glabrous, parallel-sided; punctate with punctures approximately twice larger than those on pronotum, distances between punctures 1–2 times larger than their diameter, shagreened; lateral and apical parts of elytra with strioliform granules; elytral suture flat; pseudopleural crest ventral (not visible from above), very weakly sinuate posteriorly; reflected part of elytra about half of pseudopleural width at level of abdominal ventrite II. Apical declivity oblique, weakly caudate. Pseudopleura broad, with strioliform granules, distinctly shagreened, glabrous.

Ventral part. Prosternum, hypomeron and prosternal apophysis shagreened, hypomeron wrinkled longitudinally. Prosternal process ovate, sparsely punctate, completely bordered, about one third of procoxal width, apex rounded. Mesoventrite bilevelled, without median impression; length in front of mesocoxa shorter than mesocoxal length; mesoventral apophysis bordered laterally, apex of the latter truncate, narrow, about one fourth of mesocoxal width. Metaventrite approximately as long as abdominal ventrites I and II together, with several very fine punctures; median sulcus slightly longer than one third of metaventral length. Mes- and metepisterna glabrous, inconspicuously punctate. Abdominal ventrites IV and V together about half as long as ventrites I–III; ventrite V subtruncate apically.

Legs. Metafemur without distinct groove on anterior surface. Protibia weakly expanded apically, outer distal angle slightly produced. Protarsomere II transverse. Calcaria surpassing apex of protarsomere I. Tarsal claws equal.

Aedeagus. Stout, well sclerotized, apex of median lobe expanded ( Figs 7–10 ).

Female. Body length 6.5–6.7 mm. Body width 3.8–3.9 mm. Shape ovate ( Fig. 2 ), convex. Clypeal sulci incomplete, broadly interrupted medially; posterior margin levels roughly with middle of eyes; incurved at level of about midlength of eyes. Protarsomere II not transverse.

Proportions. Male (holotype): HW/HL 1.3; PW/HW 1.7; PW/PL 2.5; EL/PL 3.7; EW/ PW1.1; EL/EW 1.4; females (paratypes): HW/HL 1.3; PW/HW 1.9–2.2; PW/PL 2.4–2.5; EL/ PL 3.1–3.3; EW/PW 1.0–1.1; EL/EW 1.2–1.3.

Differential diagnosis. Zophosis novaki sp. nov. is characterised by the following combination of characters: outer angle of protibia simple, not produced or lobiform; plane epistome; normal slender antennae, with elongate and apically widening antennomeres covered with short setae; eyes with distinctly elongate ventral appendix (at least one fourth of length of rest of eyes); genae distinctly projecting beyond outer contour of eyes; elytra without sharp costae or without costiform lateral edge; not microgranulate or shiny gunmetal coloured integument which is uniformly black; dimorphic clypeal sulci (complete in male) with male clypeal area not occupying whole upper surface of head; maxillary processes of postgenal margin symmetrical; granulate and bare pseudopleura; pseudopleural crest ventral, not visible behind humerus and posteriorly in dorsal view; prosternum without median longitudinal sulcus; mesoventrite with distinct median longitudinal basal carina; metaventrite with median sulcus (more than one fourth of metaventral length) and pair of distinct lateral sulci; intermetacoxal process of metaventrite not strongly produced or narrowed; mes- and metepisterna not reticulate; proepisterna smooth medially; median lobe apically swollen.

Due to the mentioned characters Z. novaki sp. nov. belongs to the subgenus Septentriophosis Penrith, 1982 and more specifically to the Z. leonardii species group. The group occurs in the Arabian Peninsula and so far comprised two species – Z. leonardii Kaszab, 1972 and Z. scortecciana Kaszab, 1979 ( PENRITH 1984).

Etymology. I have great pleasure to name the new species in honour of Dr. Vladimír Novák (Prague, Czech Republic), specialist in Alleculinae , for his extraordinary contribution to the systematic of the family Tenebrionidae .

Remark. Zophosis leonardii and Z. scortecciana are figured in this paper for the first time ( Figs 3–6 ).

Distribution. So far known only from two localities in northern part of Socotra Island.

Figures

Figs 1–10. 1–6 – habitus of Zophosis in dorsal view: 1 – Z. novaki sp. nov., male, holotype; 2 – Z. novaki sp. nov., female, paratype; 3 – Z. leonardii Kaszab, 1972, male, paratype; 4 – Z. leonardii, female, paratype; 5 – Z. scortecciana Kaszab, 1979, male, paratype; 6 – Z. scortecciana, female, paratype. 7–10 – Zophosis novaki sp. nov., aedeagus, holotype: 7 – tegmen in ventral view; 8 – median lobe in ventral view; 9 – tegmen in lateral view; 10 – median lobe in lateral view. Scale bar = 3 mm (for habitus only).