Asytesta doriae, Kirsch, 1879

Setliff, Gregory P., 2012, 3462, Zootaxa 3462, pp. 1-125 : 53-56

Asytesta doriae species group

Members of the A. doriae group closely, yet superficially, resemble numerous other genera of small, glabrous, nitid, mostly black beetles that form a very common and diverse element of the insect fauna in lowland rain forests of the Indo-Australian tropics. Other cryptorhynchine genera with a similar facies includes the widely distributed and megadiverse genus Trigonopterus Fauvel , which is currently being revised by A.Riedel. Several other cryptorhynchine genera that are somewhat less well known, such as Camia Pascoe , Pantiala Pascoe , Morrisella Alonso-Zarazaga and Lyal , Semiathe Pascoe , Telaugia Pascoe , Thyestetha Pascoe , and Xychusa Pascoe also exhibit this suite of characters. Similar characters are also found in genera from different subfamilies, including Caenochira Pascoe and Idopelma Faust (Conoderinae) , Centrinopsis Roelofs and arguably many others ( Baridinae ), Diomia Pascoe (Molytinae) , and Imathia Pascoe (Curculioninae) . This suite of characters is also found in the eumolpine chrysomelid genus Stethotes Baly (see Gressitt and Hornabrook 1977). The striking resemblance is evident in the nomenclature of S. cryptorhynchodes Gressitt (1966) . The remarkable degree of convergence across such a large number of unrelated taxa suggests an ecological significance associated with this particular set of characters.

Asytesta albifrons Voss

( Figures 44, 107–108, 189)

Asytesta albifrons Voss, 1960: 331 . Holotype, not examined (depository unknown). Type locality: Papua New Guinea: Sattelberg.

Diagnosis. This species belongs to the doriae -group, based on its small size, smooth and shiny, subglabrous dorsum, serrate profemoral tooth, and deep basal row of punctures on the elytra. In addition to these characters, it is unique among all Asytesta for the two small denticles on the distal edge of each profemoral tooth and entirely glabrous elytra. The species is most closely related to A. doriae , which differs in having three–four denticles on each profemoral tooth, white humeral maculae, and posterior vittae on the elytra.

Redescription. Body sub-globular, 1.7–1.8 X longer than broad. Measurements (n = 2): length 3.4–4.0 mm (mean 3.7 mm), width 2.0– 2.1 mm (mean 2.1 mm), pronotal length 1.6–1.8 mm (mean 1.7 mm), elytral length 1.8–2.2 mm (mean 2.0 mm), rostral length 0.9–1.0 mm (mean 1.0 mm). Integument black, antennae and tarsi reddish-brown. Dorsum glabrous; head, pleura, venter, legs, and tarsi clothed in indistinct, evenly distributed, appressed, brown scales. Vestiture interspersed with sparse white scales on basal 1/3 of rostrum, dorsal portions of femora at base and apex, entire ventral portion of femora, apex of tibiae, and anapleural margin of mesosternum; Vshaped patch of densely distributed white scales on frons. Anterolateral region of the pronotum without pale scales. Scales course (individually distinct at low magnification).

Head. Visible in dorsal view, with thin, semicircular, crown-like carinae on vertex. Eyes small, subcordate, posterior margin truncate; interocular distance slightly narrower than or as wide as basal width of rostrum. Rostrum shorter than pronotum, parallel sided to just before apex, slightly broadened at apex, with small medial interocular pit at base often obscured by squamae. Basal 1/3 of female rostrum rugose on sides, finely punctate to apex. Clypeus truncate. Antennal club oval.

Thorax. Pronotum 1.2–1.3 X broader than long, broadest at base; posterior margin truncate. Pronotal disk evenly convex at base, smooth, shiny, lacking setose granules, regularly punctate; punctures round, very shallow, each bearing one minute, hair-like seta, spaces between punctures greater than diameter of puncture. Prosternal canal deep, lateral walls vertical; mesosternal receptacle slightly cavernous, lateral margins produced, posterior margin slightly open. Scutellum not visible. Elytra shorter than broad or length and width subequal, anterior margin truncate, steeply declivitous past midline; punctures smaller than on pronotum, very shallow, except basalmost punctures of each stria at anterior margin much deeper and larger than all remaining punctures. Humeri not produced or flattened, subcontiguous with posterolateral margin of pronotum. Intervals flat, smooth, shiny except for granulate prominence on third intervals; prominence slightly elevated above adjacent intervals, not distorting outline of dorsal contour in lateral view (as in Figure 66). Hind wing vestigial.

Legs relatively short, hind femora exceeding elytral apices by less than 1/3 their length; mesofemora reaching elytral apices (however, elytra are short). Profemora unidentate; profemoral teeth much larger than teeth on meso- and metafemora, bearing 2 denticles on distal margin ( Figure 44). Protibia laterally compressed, ventral margin with thin flange near middle, tapering to apex, dorsal margin more or less straight or slightly sinuous ( Figure 44). Dorsal and ventral margins of middle and hind tibia straight. Apex of protibia with perpendicular supra-uncal process distinct; uncus and premucro well developed, broadly separated with small flange situated between supporting terminal setal brush. Tarsomere 2 short, trapezoidal, weakly flattened.

Abdomen. Ventrite 1 distended, as long as or longer than remaining ventrites combined, on significantly lower plane than remaining ventrites. Intercoxal process on ventrite 1 broader than length of ventrite 1.

Female terminalia. Tergite VII longer than broad, anterior and posterior margins broadly convex, wing binding patch obsolete, with two rows of 4–6 minute plectral tubercles; plectral rows not reaching posterior margin; tubercles visible only under high magnification. Bursa more or less indistinct from vagina; vagina with walls weakly sclerotized; no internal sclerites visible. Male not examined.

Material examined. Paratypes: 1 ♀, " Sattelberg , Huon-Golf./ N. Guinea, Biro 1899/ Paratypus 1968, Asytesa albifrons, Voss " ( SMTD) ; 1 ♀, "N. Guinea, Biro 1899/ Sattelberg, Huon-Gulf./ Paratypus / Asytesta albifrons m." ( ZMUH) .

Distribution. Papua New Guinea: Morobe Province: Sattelberg

Remarks. Voss (1960) reported 6 specimens in the type series. I was only able to examine only two specimens labeled paratype.

Asytesta doriae Kirsch , resurrected status

( Figures 42–43, 66, 103, 109–110, 189)

Asytesta doriae Kirsch, 1879: 19 . Lectotype, here designated, in SMTD. Labeled “N. Guinea, Isola Yule, T.F. V.1875, L. M. DAlbertis/ 2551/ Syntypus.” Type locality: Yule Island .

Zygara doriae (Kirsch) in Pascoe, 1885: 288.

Diagnosis. The small size, smooth and shiny, subglabrous dorsum, serrate profemoral tooth and deep basal row of punctures on the elytra of this species serve to separate this species from all other Asytesta species except A. albifrons . Asytesta doriae is unique in the three to four small denticles present on the distal edge of each profemoral tooth and short and white vittae on the declivity of the sixth elytral interval. Asytesta albifrons has two denticles on each profemoral tooth and lacks white markings on the elytra.

Redescription. Measurements (n = 13): length 3.4–4.6 mm (mean 3.9 mm), width 1.6–2.4 mm (mean 2.1 mm), pronotal length 1.5–2.2 mm (mean 1.9 mm), elytral length 1.8–2.5 mm (mean 2.1 mm), rostral length 1.1–1.4 mm (mean 1.2 mm). Body sub-globular, 1.7–1.9 X longer than broad; integument black, antennae and tarsi light reddish-brown. Dorsum glabrous, except for pair of square, white maculae on seventh and eighth intervals at elytral humeri and pair of short, white vittae on sixth intervals at declivity; head, pleura, and legs clothed in evenly distributed, appressed, light brown scales; sparse white scales on basal 1/3 of rostrum, frons along inner margin of eyes, pleura, coxae, venter, dorsal and ventral portions of femora, tibiae, and tarsi; with short, white, transverse vittae on sides of pronotum from dorsolateral portion of pronotal disk to center of procoxae. Anterolateral region of the pronotum without pale scales. Scales course (individually distinct at low magnification). Head ( Figure 103). Visible in dorsal view, with thin, subcordate to semicircular, crown-like carinae on vertex above eyes, interrupted at back by glabrous V-shaped area where head articulates on pronotum. Eyes small, subcordate, posterior margin truncate; interocular distance slightly narrower than or as wide as basal width of rostrum. Rostrum shorter than pronotum, parallel sided to just before apex, slightly broadened at apex, with small medial interocular pit at base often obscured by squamae. Basal 1/3 of male rostrum rugose on sides, coarsely punctate to apex, with suprascrobal carinae on lateral margins produced laterally, forming tooth-like processes slightly basad of antennal insertions ( Figure 103). Basal 1/3 of female rostrum similarly rugose as male, finely punctate to apex, lacking lateral processes near antennal insertions. Clypeus truncate. Antennal club elongate oval.

Thorax. Pronotum 1.2–1.3 X broader than long, broadest at base; posterior margin truncate. Pronotal disk evenly convex at base, smooth, shiny, lacking setose granules, regularly punctate; punctures round, very shallow, each bearing one minute, hair-like seta, spaces between punctures greater than diameter of puncture. Prosternal canal deep, lateral walls vertical; mesosternal receptacle slightly cavernous, lateral margins produced, posterior margin slightly open. Scutellum not visible. Elytra shorter than broad or length and width subequal, anterior margin truncate, steeply declivitous past midline; punctures smaller than on pronotum, very shallow, except basalmost punctures of each stria at anterior margin much deeper and larger than all remaining punctures. Humeri not produced or flattened, subcontiguous with posterolateral margin of pronotum. Intervals flat to weakly convex, smooth, shiny except for granulate prominence on third intervals; prominence slightly elevated above adjacent intervals, not distorting outline of dorsal contour in lateral view ( Figure 66). Hind wing vestigial.

Legs relatively short, hind femora exceeding elytral apices by less than 1/3 their length; mesofemora reaching elytral apices (however, elytra are short). Profemora unidentate; profemoral tooth much larger than teeth on meso- and metafemora, bearing 3–4 denticles on distal margin ( Figures 42–43). Protibia laterally compressed, ventral margin with thin flange near middle, dorsal margin more or less straight or slightly sinuous. Male flange ( Figure 44) terminating abruptly, female flange tapering to apex ( Figure 43). Dorsal and ventral margins of middle and hind tibia straight. Apex of protibia with perpendicular supra-uncal process distinct; uncus and premucro well developed, broadly separated with small flange situated between supporting terminal setal brush. Tarsomere 2 short, trapezoidal, weakly flattened.

Abdomen. Ventrite 1 distended, as long as or longer than remaining ventrites combined, on significantly lower plane than remaining ventrites. Intercoxal process on ventrite 1 broader than length of ventrite 1.

Male terminalia. Tergite VII broader than long, anterior margin convex, posterior margin weakly emarginate at middle, wing binding patch nearly obsolete, with two rows of 4–6 minute plectral tubercles reaching posterior margin; tubercles visible only under high magnification. Tergite VIII nearly as broad as long, posterior margin rounded. Sternite VIII, with very lightly sclerotized area, margin indistinct (= obsolescent hemisternites?).

Female terminalia. Tergite VII longer than broad, anterior and posterior margins broadly convex, wing binding patch nearly obsolete, with two rows of 4–6 minute plectral tubercles; plectral rows not reaching posterior margin; tubercles visible only under high magnification. Bursa more or less indistinct from vagina; vagina with walls weakly sclerotized; no internal sclerites visible.

Material examined. Lectotype (here designated): ♂, "N. Guinea, Isola Yule, T.F. V.1875, L. M. DAlbertis/ 2551/ Syntypus " ( SMTD) . Paralectotypes (here designated): 1 ♀, "N. Guinea, Isola Yule, T.F. V 1875, L. M. DAlbertis/ 2551/ Syntypus " ( SMTD) ; 1 ♂, "2651/ New Guinea, Isola Yule/ L.M. DAlbertis, T.F. V 1875 / Syntypus " ( SMTD) . Non-type material: 1 ♂, "N. Guinea, Doria/ Asytesta doriae Kirsch / Coll. J. Faust, Ankauf 1900" ( SMTD) ; 1 ♂, "N. Guinea, Doria/ Asytesta doriae Kirsch / Coll. J. Faust, Ankauf 1900" ( SMTD) ; 2 ♀♀, "N. Guinea, Doria/ Coll. J. Faust, Ankauf 1900" ( SMTD) ; 2 ♀♀, "Nouv. Guinea, Isola Yule " [2 specimens mounted on same pin] ( MNHN) ; 4 ♀♀, "N. Guinea, Isola Yule, T.F. V 1875, L. M. D.Albertis " [4 specimens mounted on same pin] ( MNHN) .

Distribution. Papua New Guinea: Central Province: Yule Island

Remarks. Four specimens from Faust’s collection in MNHN have the same labels as the type series; however they were not marked as syntypes and I have not designated these specimens as paralectotypes. Kirsch (1879: 19) mentions only Genoa and Dresden as type depositories. Thus, I have selected a syntype deposited in Dresden as the lectotype in order to fix the name to a specific specimen and to ensure nomenclatural stability.

Kirsch (1879:19) considered A. doriae distinctive among its congeners but thought the species was insufficiently different to warrant a new genus. However, Pascoe disagreed and in 1885, he made A. doriae the type species of a new monotypic genus, Zygara , which he placed in Conoderinae ( Pascoe 1885: 288) . The presence of all of the synapomorphies for the crowned weevil group, and for Asytesta , in the members of this species group, however, leaves little doubt that they belong in Asytesta .