Diaprepes anticus Franz & Zhang [FZ2017]

Franz, Nico & Zhang, Guanyang, 2017, Three new species of entimine weevils in Early Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), Biodiversity Data Journal 5, pp. 10469-10469 : 10469

Diaprepes anticus Franz & Zhang [FZ2017] sp. n.

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: ARTSYS0000271 ; recordNumber: Woodruff #9774; recordedBy: R.E. Woodruff; individualCount: 1; sex: Female; lifeStage: Adult; preparations: Amber inclusion; disposition: USNM, on loan; otherCatalogNumbers: USNM505325; occurrenceID: 08bb94f8-fddc-4506-b454-34e7d27e5343; Taxon: scientificName: Diaprepesanticus; nameAccordingTo: Franz & Zhang 2017; namePublishedIn: Franz, N.M. & G. Zhang. 2017. Three new species of entimine weevils in Early Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Biodiversity Data Journal.; kingdom: Animalia; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Coleoptera; family: Curculionidae; scientificNameAuthorship: Franz & Zhang, 2017; Location: country: Dominican Republic; stateProvince: La Vega; locality: Unknown mine ; decimalLatitude: 19; decimalLongitude: -70.666667; geodeticDatum: WGS84; georeferencedBy: N.M. Franz; georeferenceSources: Google Earth; georeferenceVerificationStatus: Verfied by Curator; Identification: identifiedBy: N.M. Franz & G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 01/15/2017; identificationReferences: Franz, N.M. & G. Zhang. 2017. Three new species of entimine weevils in Early Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Biodiversity Data Journal.; Event: verbatimEventDate: Early Miocene, Burdigalian; habitat: Amber inclusion, Early Miocene (Burdigalian); Record Level: modified: 24/01/2017 18:31; rights: http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/; rightsHolder: United States National Museum; bibliographicCitation: Franz, N.M. & G. Zhang. 2017. Three new species of entimine weevils in Early Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Biodiversity Data Journal.; institutionID: USNM; collectionID: 0acac5fe-f0ec-4d9f-82f8-0dbb74888de2; institutionCode: SCAN; collectionCode: ARTSYS; ownerInstitutionCode: USNM; basisOfRecord: FossilSpecimen; source: http://symbiota4.acis.ufl.edu/scan/portal/collections/individual/index.php?occid=25836761

Description

Female - habitus (Fig. 3). Length 9.1 mm, width 3.8 mm; shape in dorsal view oval to elongate, length/width ratio 2.4, widest near mid region of elytra; shape in lateral view elongate to pyriform. Integument uniformly dark brown to black; surface punctate, though with larger, irregularly spaced and shaped concavities on pronotum; integument covered with setae and scales, most dense on elytra, less so on head (including rostrum) and legs; scales completely covering elytra, small, subcircular, overlapping, apparently predominatly pale in color though interspersed with green metallic scales, particularly along lateral regions of elytra and on the head and legs; setae short and linear, pale yellow, densely and regularly arranged, particularly on pronotum and elytra where setae are recurvate and directed mesally to posteriorly, setae longer, fine, aurate, and suberect on legs.

Mouthparts. Mandibles equilateral, asymmetrical, with 6-10 fine setae of variable length; mandibular scar positioned apicolaterally, projected. Maxillae with maxillary palps 3-segmented. Labium with prementum cordate, equilateral; labial palps apparently 3-segmented.

Rostrum. Length 1.45 mm, rostral/pronotal length ratio 0.75, rostral length/width ratio 1.8. Rostrum in dorsal view elongate, dorsolateral margins subparallel and weakly arcuate along posterior 2/3, expanded along anterior 1/3, anterodorsal margin weakly emarginate; epistoma with nasal plate (see Vaurie 1963) slightly angled in relation to posterior rostrum region, weakly depressed, V-shaped carina weakly projected, and posteriad thereof (at transition of nasal plate and remainder of rostrum) with a slight, transverse carina which is mesally interruped and posteriorly connected to a median, longitudinal carina (see Franz 2012: character 14[1]); dorsal surface tricarinate, with 1 stronger median and 2 weaker dorsolateral carinae, each carina narrowly rounded, glabrate, extending posteriorly to mid point between eyes, the paired dorsolateral carinae anteriorly slightly diverging (see Franz 2012: character 17[1]). Rostrum in lateral view sightly arcuate, width similar throughout; scrobe lateral, subrectate, passing over ventral region of eye and terminating near mid point of eye where the scrobe is continuous with the occipital suture (see Lyal 1995 and Franz 2012: character 28[1]); antennal insertion near anterior 1/4. Rostrum in ventral view with a long, triangular impression (see Franz 2012: character 29[2]). Antennae 11-segmented, covered with sparse metallic scales and fine, recurved setae; scape slender, slightly arcuate, extending to posterior margin of eye, and passing over eye (in idealized position); funicle 7-segmented, funicular antennomeres elongate, weakly clavate, increasingly shorter towards apex; club 3-segmented, elongate, similar in length to funicular antennomeres V-VII.

Head. Eyes large, globular (strongly roundly protruded), dorsolaterally positioned, separated by distance slightly shorter than anterior-to-posterior length of each eye; outline in lateral view elliptical (horizontally more extended), ventral margin less rounded.

Thorax. Pronotum in dorsal view equilateral, length/width ratio 1.5 (though challenging to observe due to the fossil's position in an inclusion with limited viewing access of the pronotum), pronotal/elytral length ratio 0.5; widest near posterior margin, lateral margins continously rounded and posteriorly diverging; surface punctate to foveate, with irregularly spaced and shaped concavities, ranging from subcircular to elongate to arcuate (see Franz 2012: character 45[1]), though no scales apparent therein; median sulcus absent. Pronotum in lateral view equilateral; anterolateral margins straight (without postocular lobe), presence of postocular vibrissae not unambiguously observable. Scutellum exposed by elytra, small, subcircular. Epipleura with mesepisternum triangular; mesepimeron dorsally oblique truncate; metepisternum narrowly linear, anteriorly widened; metepimeron entirely covered by elytron. Prothoracic ventrite with anterior transverse sulcus; procoxal cavities positioned near mid point, contiguous. Mesothoracic ventrite challenging to observe, though mesocoxal cavitities apparently narrowly separated. Metathoracic ventrite with median sulcus present as a large, transverse fovea positioned anteriad of posterior margin; metacoxal cavities separated by distance similar to width of each metacoxal cavity. Metendosternite not observed.

Legs. Prothoracic and metathoracic legs each slightly longer than mesothoracic legs (mesofemora shortest in comparison), highly similar to those of Diaprepes abbreviatus sec. Franz (2010a). Profemoral/pronotal length ratio 1.05; profemur ventrally inermous. Protibial/profemoral length ratio 1.4; protibia apically angulate-arcuate, width similar throughout, apex slightly expanded; anteromesal margin with 8-12 small, narrowly triangular teeth, each tooth distally with 1 brownish, spiniform seta; protibial apex weakly rounded, setal comb absent, promucro similar in length to protarsal claw; protarsus with tarsomere I slightly longer than II which is similar in length to III, yet I shorter than V; protarsal claws paired, separate, simple. Mesotibiae and metatibiae nearly straight, apically slightly expanded and weakly rounded; metatibial apex with an elliptical outer bevel ("corbel enclosed"; see Thompson 1992).

Elytra. Length/width ratio 1.5; widest near mid region; anterior margins jointly wider than posterior margin of pronotum (though challenging to observe along a crack in the amber inclusion), slightly sinuate; humeri present, rounded; lateral margins subparallel along anterior 1/2, therafter gradually and roundly converging, posterior edges narrow, actue, though not projected. Elytra in lateral view with dorsal outline weakly convex along anterior 3/4, thereafter (along posterior 1/4) with weakly angulate, straight declivity. Elytra with striae I-IX complete, stria X only apparent along anterior and posterior 1/3; striae slightly narrower than intervals; punctures separated by distance shorter than or similar to width of each puncture; intervals slightly and roundly elevated, no carinae apparent (as, e.g., in Diaprepes abbreviatus Franz 2010a); pale-colored and interspersed green metallic scales (the latter particularly in lateral regions) covering elytra densely and homogenously, with no maculae apperent; with short, linear to spatulae, pale yellow to light brown, regularly spaced, mesally to posteriorly directed setae throughout elytral surface.

Wings. Present, and visible in part (apical 1/2) since the specimen had its wings extended prior to its preservation in amber; veins RP1 and RP2 apparent (see Oberprieler et al. 2014), and interjacently with a large, longitudinal, brown macula.

Abdomen. Venter with segments III and IV jointed (see Thompson 1992 for segment homology), III slightly longer than IV, and separated by sinuate suture; V-VII separate; V and VI jointly as long as IV, posterior margins elevated-projected; VII slightly longer than III, triangular, posteriorly narrowly rounded, subacute (see Franz 2012: character 86[1]); all segments densely covered with whitish, appressed scales (absent laterally in III-V), VII posteriorly with long, suberect, aurate setae. Pygidium posteriorly narrowly converging, subacute, covered by elytra.

Terminalia. Not externally visible; however, the triangular, posteriorly narrowly projected ventral segment VII is indicative of this specimen being female (see Franz 2010a, Franz 2012).

Male. Unknown.

Diagnosis

Generic placement. Diaprepes anticus [FZ2017] shares with (e.g.) Diaprepes maugei (Boheman 1840) sec. Franz 2012 numerous phylogenetically informative traits inferred in Franz 2012 that substantiate this generic placement (see also Tables 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). They include: 14(1): rostrum with epistoma (see Vaurie 1963) posteriorly separated from remainder of rostrum by a slight transverse carina, which is mesally interrupted and posteriorly connected to a median longitudinal carina; 16(1): rostrum dorsally mono- or tricarinate; 17(1) rostrum tricarinate, with a characteristic combination of one median carina and two (dorso-) lateral, apically slightly diverging carinae, each carina narrow, moderately sharp; 23(0): scrobe (of antenna) passing over eye in lateral profile; 28(1): rostrum on ventral side with occipital sutures (see Lyal 1995) posteriorly moderately wide and deep, oriented horizontally, and extending to ventral midpoint of eye; 29(2): rostrum on ventral side with long, narrowly triangular impression flanked by hypostomal-labial sutures (see Lyal 1995); 45(1): pronotum in dorsal profile with small, shallow, densely arranged, irregularly shaped and spaced concavities, covered with varying numbers of small, elongate, appressed scales; 58(2): metatibial apex with an outer bevel ("corbel enclosed"; see Thompson 1992); 64(0): elytra in dorsal provide with strial intervals not roundly elevated; 83(0): wings fully developed; and 86(1): female with sternum VII of venter in ventral profile posteriorly sharply and narrowly triangular, lateral margins straight. This combination of character states is shared only between Diaprepes anticus [FZ2017], Diaprepes famelicus (Olivier 1790) sec. Franz 2012, Diaprepes marginicollis Chevrolat 1880 sec. Franz 2012, and Diaprepes maugei sec. Franz 2012 as coded in that latter analysis, and therfore justifies the placement of Diaprepes anticus [FZ2017] within Diaprepes [FZ2017].

Franz 2012 assigned Diaprepes sec. Franz 2012 to the tribe Eustylini Lacordaire 1863 [non-focal], and this placement is not under taxonomic scrutiny here.

Differential diagnosis. Diaprepes anticus [FZ2017], in addition to being extinct and recorded from Dominican amber, is readily distinguished from extant members of Diaprepes [FZ2017] by the absence of postocular vibrissae (character 48[0]), the absence of variously extended, rounded, and glabrate elytra carinae (character 64[0]), and the absence of striped elytral regions with intermixed appressed and suberect scales (character 79[0]; all characters and states according to Franz 2012). Diaprepes anticus [FZ2017] most closely resembles Diaprepes famelicus sec. Franz 2012 and in particular Diaprepes maugei sec. Franz 2012 with which is shares metallic scale coloration (see also O'Brien and Kovarik 2001). Nevertheless, the pronotal and elytral scale and setal patterns of Diaprepes anticus [FZ2017] are diagnostic by virtue of combining densely and homogenously arranged pale scales with interspersed metallic scales and abundant, short, spatulate setae. The apparent transverse rostral carina more roundly protruded eyes, and less posteriorly acute female ventral segment VII further distinguish Diaprepes anticus [FZ2017] from the aforementioned and presumed close relatives.

Etymology

The epithet - "in front, foremost" ( Brown 1956) - refers to Diaprepes anticus [FZ2017] being oldest documented member of Diaprepes [FZ2017].

Distribution

Diaprepes anticus [FZ2017] is known only from the examined Dominican amber inclusion ("USNM505325"; see Material) of the Burdigalian time period. The specific mine of origin for this inclusion is unknown.

Ecology

Unknown.