Xylosandrus monteithi Dole & Beaver, 2008

Dole, Stephanie A. & Beaver, Roger A., 2008, A Review of the Australian Species ofXylosandrusReitter (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), The Coleopterists Bulletin 62 (4), pp. 481-492 : 481-492

Xylosandrus monteithi Dole & Beaver , new species

( Figs. 1 , 2 ) Description. Female ( Fig. 1 ): 3.0– 3.4 mm long, 2.1 times longer than wide, dark

brown or blackish, base of pronotum and elytra lighter brown, ventral side and

484 3.4 mm, female paratype.

appendages yellowish brown. Frons convex, weakly shining, reticulate, with a short, shallow median striga or pit between the eyes, continued as a weak ridge above and below eyes, surface with punctures rather coarse, shallow, sparse on dorsal part, finer, deeper and denser towards epistoma, each with a long, erect hair. Eyes emarginate. Antennal funicle 5-segmented, scape and funicle with long, sparse, erect hairs; club obliquely truncate, first segment sclerotised forming a circular costa (type 1, Hulcr et al. 2007), oblique part of club densely pubescent, second segment not corneous; posterior face formed almost entirely by first segment, a single suture visible near apex (as type 2 of Hulcr et al. 2007). Pronotum 0.8 times as long as wide, rounded dorsally (type 1, Hulcr et al. 2007), widest about one-third from base, anterior two thirds very broadly rounded forming almost a semicircle, basal angles broadly rounded, anterior margin with 6–8 asperities; anterior slope with numerous, small asperities of rather variable size, tending towards a concentric arrangement, decreasing in average size towards summit situated one-third from base; disc moderately densely, moderately finely punctured, posterior margin of punctures slightly raised in median area, reticulate between punctures, lacking a median patch of denser punctures at the base; lateral aspect of pronotum rounded (type 1, Hulcr et al. 2007), with a lateral costa extending about half pronotal length, not carinate; vestiture of moderately long erect or semi-appressed hairs. Scutellum triangular, shining, impunctate. Elytra strongly shining on basal fifth, weakly shining posteriorly, sometimes weakly opalescent, about 1.2 times longer than wide, 1.6 times as long as pronotum, sides subparallel on basal two-thirds, then broadly rounded to apex. Discal striae not impressed, much narrower than interstriae, finely, regularly, shallowly punctured, punctures separated by about twice their diameter near base, more closely placed posteriorly, each bearing a moderately long, semi-appressed, fine hair; interstriae very wide, with dense, confused punctures, punctures finer than those of striae, becoming granulate after basal fifth, hairs mostly similar to those of striae becoming longer on declivity, but a single row of longer erect hairs on each interspace, especially conspicuous on declivity. Declivity commencing behind the mid-point, evenly convex, not angularly separated from disc; lateral margins rounded, without a carina or a row of tubercles or serrations. Procoxae widely separated. Protibiae with 4 socketed teeth on lateral margin, a group of 3 in the apical quarter, and a single tooth more proximal; meso- and metatibiae with 7–9 socketed teeth. Abdominal ventrites coarsely, densely punctured, punctures with erect hairs of varied lengths.

Male ( Fig. 2 ): 2.5 mm long, 1.3 times longer than wide, elytra and pronotum light brown. Frons convex, reticulate, with long, erect hairs, a dense patch of hairs near epistoma. Eyes reduced in size relative to female, entire. Antennal club as in female. Pronotum 0.8 times as long as wide, oblong in dorsal aspect; sides strongly inwardly curved in basal and apical thirds, asperities weak on anterior slope, ending at summit situated one-third from base; disc and sides punctate, punctures with long, fine hairs. Scutellum flat. Elytra 0.8 times as long as wide, sides parallel on basal 1/3, then tapering toward rounded apex; strial punctures fine on disc and declivity, striae reduced towards apex of declivity, with striae 4–5 becoming obsolete, interstriae with confused multiseriate punctures on disc and declivity, punctures becoming granulate after basal fifth of declivity, all punctures with long, fine hairs. Declivity commencing after basal third, steep, more angularly separated from disc than in female, its margins rounded. Procoxae widely separated. Pro-, meso- and metatibiae each with 3 socketed teeth.

A total of 56 specimens were examined for this description.

Type Material. Holotype (female): AUSTRALIA, Queensland, Palmerston , Henrietta Cr., 550 m, ex unknown tree, 22.1.2000 (B. Jordal). In QMB (Accession # T144402).

Allotype (male): AUSTRALIA, Queensland, Palmerston, Henrietta Cr., 550 m, ex unknown tree, Watchua Falls , 24.i.2000 (B. Jordal). In QMB. The allotype male was used for DNA extraction, but the voucher specimen is intact.

Paratypes (54) (female): AUSTRALIA, N.Qld, Mossman Bluff Track , 5– 10 km W.Mossman, flt. intercept: site 4, 600 m, 1–16.i.1989 (3); site 5, 760 m, 16– 30.xii.1988 (1), 20.xii.1989 – 15.i.1990 (1); site 6, 860 m, 20.xii.1989 – 15.i.1990 (2); site 7, 1,000 m, 16–30.xii.1988 (2), 1–17.i.1989 (2), 20.xii.1989 – 15.i.1990 (1); site 8, 1,180 m, 20.xii.1989 – 15.i.1990 (2); site 9, 1,260 m, 1–17.i.1989 (7) (all Monteith, Thompson & ANZSES) ( QMB: 21); N.Qld, 11 km up Mt Lewis Road , via Julatten , MDPI intercept trap site 1, 900 m, 25.xii.1987 – 18.i.1988 (Storey & Walford-Huggins) ( DPIM:3); N.Qld. 26 km up Tinaroo Ck Rd, via Mareeba, MDPI intercept trap site 8, 16.iii.–12.iv.1983 (Storey & Brown) ( DPIM:1); N.Qld, Tully R. Xing, 10 km S Koombooloomba Dam, 750 m, pitfall & intercept traps, 8.xii.1989 – 4.i.1990 (Monteith, Thompson & Janetzki) ( ANIC:2); NE.QLD. Bellenden Ker Range Summit TV stn, 1,560 m, pitfall trap, Apr–Oct.1982 (S.Montague) ( MSU:1); NE.Q: 17 ° 16 9 S, 145 ° 52 9 E, Bellenden Ker Summit, 1,560 m, flight intercept trap, 28.viii.–8.x.1982 (Monteith & Janetzki) ( QMB:1); N.E.Qld: 15 ° 43 9 S, 145 ° 17 9 E, Big Tableland (NE Cnr), 800 m, flight intercept trap, 20.xii.1990 – 8.i.1991 (ANZSES Expedition) ( QMB:2); N.E.Qld. 3.0 km W of 486 1.9 mm, female paratype .

Cape Tribulation (site 6), 500 m, baited flight trap, 20.ix.–7.x.1982 ( BPBM:2); 4.0 km W of Cape Tribulation (site 8), 720 m, baited flight trap, 23.ix.–7.x.1982 (1); as previous except: rainforest pitfall traps, (1) (all Monteith, Yeates & Thompson)( QMB:2); NEQ: 17 ° 26 9 S, 145 ° 42 9 E, Hughes Road, Topaz, RF Pitfalls, 6.xii.1993 – 25.ii.1994 (Monteith, Cook, Janetzki) ( MSU:1); N.E.Qld, Kirrama Range, ( Douglas Ck Rd. ), 800 m, flight intercept trap, 10.xii.1986 – 11.i.1987 (Monteith, Thompson & Hamlet) ( NHML:2); NEQ, 16 ° 30 9 S, 145 ° 19 9 E, Mt Demi , Nth Peak, 1,050 m, flight intercept, 17.xii.1995 – 25.i.1996 (Monteith, Thompson & Ford) ( QMB:5; RAB:1); NEQ, 15 ° 48 9 S, 145 ° 17 9 E, Mt Finnigan , site 5, 1,080 m, flight intercept, 4.xii.1990 – 17.i.1991 (Qld.Mus & ANZSES) ( QMB:4; RAB:1); NEQld. 15 ° 48 9 S, 145 ° 12 9 E, Mt Sampson , 600–790 m, flight intercept traps, 27.xii.1990 – 18.i.1991 (ANZSES Expedition) ( RAB:1); NEQ: 16 ° 55S, 145 ° 40E, Mt Williams summit, 1,000 m, rainfor. Intercept 1693, 27.xi.1997 – 6.ii.1998 (Monteith & Cook) ( RAB:1); Queensland, Palmerston, Henrietta Cr., 550 m, ex unknown tree, 22.1.2000 (2); as previous except: Watchua Falls, 24.i.2000 (1) (all B. Jordal) ( BHJ:2; RAB:1) .

Etymology. This species is named for Geoff Monteith (Queensland Museum, Brisbane) who collected many of the specimens, and has greatly helped with the loan of specimens over many years.

Discussion. The species appears to be most closely related to X. woodi . Both species lack the tuft of hairs at the base of the pronotum, which in other Xylosandrus indicates the presence of a pronotal-mesonotal mycangium. Both species also lack a declivital carina, having rounded or finely tuberculate declivital margins, distinguishing them from most other species of Xylosandrus sensu stricto, which have declivital margins marked by a distinct carina. Preliminary phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data for multiple genes have placed X. monteithi in a clade with an Australasian species of Xyleborus that, based on morphological and molecular data, belongs within Xylosandrus . However, the relationship of X. monteithi to X. woodi was not tested in these analyses, as it has not been possible to obtain DNA sequence data for X. woodi . A pending morphological analysis will test the relationship between these two species (S. A. Dole and A. I. Cognato, in prep.).

Figures

Fig. 1. Lateral (A) and dorsal (B) views of Xylosandrus monteithi, new species, 3.0–

Fig. 2. Lateral (A) and dorsal (B) views of Xylosandrus monteithi, new species, 2.5 mm, male allotype.