Triotemnus kabateki Knizek

Knizek, Milos, 2010, Five new species of Triotemnus (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Scolytinae) from Morocco and Yemen, ZooKeys 56, pp. 191-206 : 200-201

Triotemnus kabateki Knizek sp. n. Figs 1114

Type material.

Holotype male, pinned, with labels as follows: "Yemen, Soqotra Is., LAHAS/ (pass), 28.xi.2003, 12°13'46N; 54°05'26E, 69 m [GPS]/ leg. P. Kabátek, ex larva"; "YEMEN-SOQOTRA/ 2003/ Expedition: Jan Farkač, Pter Kabátek & David Král“; "Host plant: Euphorbia arbuscula ". Allotype female, pinned: the same data as the holotype. Paratypes: 30 males, 31 females: the same data as the holotype.

Holotype and Allotype deposited in the collection of National Museum in Prague, 57 paratypes in the author’s collection, 2 paratypes in Naturhistorisches Museum, Wien, 2 paratypes in Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle, Genève.

Diagnosis.

Triotemnus kabateki is morphologically distinct from all other species of the genus due to the unique male frons, slim body and small size in both sexes. The most closely related species is Triotemnus pilicornis Wood, 1992, which also has a conspicuous median spine on vertex. But the spine in Triotemnus pilicornis is dorso-ventrally flattened and the frons is not squeezed laterally. These species do not overlap in size ( Triotemnus pilicornis is 1.5-2.2 mm long).

Description.

Male. Length 0.96-1.22 mm (1.15 mm in holotype), 2.74-2.77 times longer than wide (2.67 in holotype), very slim and tiny species. Colour light to dark brown when fully coloured. Head. Frons strongly modified, deeply concave vertically, laterally squeezed, shining, smooth, impunctate and without any granules, on the median part of vertex with conspicuous, protuberant, large, pointed horn-like process; vertex semi-shining dorsally, shagreened and rather strongly punctuated near horn-like process, vestiture of frons of very sparse golden hair-like setae visible only from lateral view, horn-like structure on vertex hidden in long brush of hair-like setae directed straight forward and growing partly from the apex of the horn, but mainly on its dorso-lateral base. Eyes very small and triangle-shaped, placed on the latero-ventral margins of frons. Each mandible with rather long slim but strong sabre-shaped process directed anteriorly and curved in its last third inward, length of each of these processes roughly half of the length of the whole antenna. Epistoma and mandibles somehow protuberant, making the vertical excavation deeper from lateral view. Antennae yellowish, antennae funicle 3-segmented, antennal club oval, flattened, base on anterior side corneous, one transverse suture in the middle, apical half covered by dense setae, posterior side not marked by sutures. Pronotum 1.12-1.18 times longer than wide (1.12 in holotype), sub-cylindrical, widest in the middle of its length, lateral margins weekly rounded, frontal and posterior margins broadly rounded, pronotum moderately declivous on anterior third, summit approximately in the frontal third, disk shining, rather sparsely punctuated by course punctures, interspaces very finely shagreened, median longitudinal area impunctate; vestiture of sparse semi-erect hair-like setae, more fine than on elytra, becoming longer anteriorly. Elytra 1.59-1.63 times longer than wide (1.61 in holotype), 1.46-1.50 times longer than pronotum (1.50 in holotype), parallel on basal four fifths, than broadly rounded to apical margin; base of elytrae rounded, not armed, densely and deeply punctated; scutellum visible, very small, smooth and shining, flush with elytra; basal fifth of elytra very densely punctate and finely granulated, elytral striae not well defined, not impressed, whole elytra irregularly punctured, punctuation less deep than on pronotum, elytral suture very slightly elevated on the declivity. Elytral declivity regularly rounded, very slightly flattened in the continuation of second interstriae. Declivital disc of the same appearance as the elytral disk, but shagreened and semi-matt. Elytral vestiture of very sparse and minute, short, semi-erect, hair-like setae combined with slightly more abundant uniseriate, stout, hair-like erected setae that are approximately two times longer than the shorter setae, the longest becoming much longer postero-laterally, setae missing on the flattened second interstriae on the elytral declivity. Legs light brown. Procoxae separated by the width of scapus, prosternal process narrow, bluntly pointed; mesocoxae broadly separated by distance of twice the width of scapus, mesoventral process descending; metacoxae separated as mesocoxae. Number of tibial socketed teeth on outer lateral margin varying between the specimens. Protibiae with 4-5 socketed teeth, meso- and metatibiae with 5-6 socketed teeth.

Female. Length 1.00-1.22 mm (1.11 mm in allotype), 2.71-3.34 times longer than wide (2.71 in allotype). Head similar to male, but mandibulae not armed by tooth-like processes, frons convex, slightly flattened above the epistoma, shining, very densely punctated on upper part, very minutely punctated on the flattened area, not well defined blunt and shining tubercle-like elevation on vertex; vestiture of golden, sparse, rather long, semi-erect hair-like setae.

Etymology.

The new species is named after my colleague Petr Kabátek, who collected the specimens. Among other, Petr Kabátek is the leading scientist in taxonomy and mainly biology of the beetle family Cerambycidae .

Biology.

Initial specimens were collected from wilting shrubs of Euphorbia arbuscula , endemic plant to Socotra, additional specimens were obtained by rearing in the lab. The newly described species is phloeophagous. The gallery system was not clearly discernable and mined in all directions close to the epidermis.

Distribution.

Yemen - Soqotra, endemic.