Metapocyrtus mranaw Cabras, 2024
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.37828/em.2024.73.13 |
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publication LSID |
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9200CF20-2488-4D7F-83C5-F2D9ACD49A83 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/A95CD628-2E58-1A15-55F2-FE40FC2AF91F |
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treatment provided by |
Felipe |
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scientific name |
Metapocyrtus mranaw Cabras |
| status |
sp. nov. |
Metapocyrtus mranaw Cabras View in CoL sp. nov.
https://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:78569795-A14D-4276-A414-70A598F017BD
Figure 2 A–B View Figure 2
Holotype ( Fig 2 View Figure 2 ), female: Philippines – Mindanao Island , Wao, Lanao del Sur / June, 2015 / leg. Local collector (typed on white card) // HOLOTYPE female / Metapocyrtus mranaw sp. nov. / CABRAS, 2024 (typed on red card) ( PNM 15234 View Materials ) . Paratype 1 ♀: Philippines – Mindanao Island , Wao, Lanao del Sur / August, 2017 / leg. Local collector (typed on white card) ( DUBC) .
Description. Female.
Dimensions: LB: 8.4 mm. LR: 2.0mm. WR: 1.4mm. LP: 3.0mm. WP: 3.0mm. LE: 7.3mm. WE:5.0 mm. N=1
Coloration. Integuments black. Body surface, rostrum, head, and underside moderately lustrous with metallic greenish sheen. Body mostly glabrous.
Head weakly punctured and rugose on dorsum and with few metallic, round, golden-yellow and turquoise scales, and very few piliform scales near eyes; forehead weakly depressed at middle with distinct median furrow; lateral sides below eyes with appressed, elliptical, pale yellow and light blue scales interspersed with piliform scales. Eyes medium-sized, feebly convex.
Rostrum dorsally discontinuous from head by an indistinct transverse basal groove with weak concavity at middle, moderately and uniformly rugose on basal two-thirds, finely punctate on apical third, longer than wide (LR 2.0 mm/WR 1.4 mm), dorsally with subapressed, piliform, white scales and very few, minute, elliptical, blue scales, lateral surface with appressed, piliform, white setae; median furrow distinct and extending a little beyond middle culminating to a very shallow concavity, continuous with that of forehead; dorsum with two weakly paralleled ridge on each side of median furrow; dorsal contour in lateral view nearly flat until anterior two-third then weakly declined towards apex; lateral contour in dorsal view slightly widened at base then gradually narrows towards middle and subparallel towards apex. Antennal scape and funicle of subequal in length, covered with thin, light in color, suberect, and appressed setae. Antennae with segments 1 and 2 subequal in length, three times longer than wide; segments 3–5 nearly as long as wide; segments 6-7 wider than 3-5, club sub-ellipsoidal, nearly three times longer than wide.
Prothorax subglobular, basally and apically subtruncate, as long as wide (LP 3.0 mm/WP 3.0 mm), finely punctate and weakly rugose at middle, apical third sparsely and irregularly covered with minute round, and yellow, turquoise, and blue scales which get denser towards lateral sides before coxae; discs with small and almost indistinct dimple like depression on each side; dorsal contour in lateral view nearly flattish, lateral contour in dorsal view weakly arched, widest at middle.
Elytra ovate (LE 7.3 mm /WE 5.0mm), longer than wide, slightly wider, and twice longer than prothorax (WE 5.0mm/WP 3.0mm, LE 7.3mm /LP 3.0mm); finely and irregularly punctate, with sparse, round, yellow and turquoise scales near lateral margin; dorsal contour in lateral view moderately uniformly convex in profile, with steep subapical declivity, lateral contour in dorsal view moderately and uniformly convex, gradually widens from base to middle, then gradually narrows towards a perfectly subacute apex, widest at middle; apex sparsely covered with white piliform scales. Legs with moderately clavate femora. Femora with appressed, piliform, white scales. Tibiae covered with suberect, piliform, white scales except fore tibiae with short and suberect, piliform, brown scales. Fore tibiae mucronate at the apex and weakly serrate along inner edge. Tarsi moderately long with sparse and long suberect setae, mesotarsus and metatarsus subequal. Protarsomere 1 subquadrate, slightly longer than protarsomere 2; 2 slightly shorter than 3; meso and metatarsomere 1 long and subquadrate, moderately longer than meso and metatarsomere 2; 2 short, triangular and simple without sharp projections at apical corners; tarsomere 3 bilobed, shorter than tarsomere 2; tarsomere 5 subequal with tarsomere 1; tarsal claws free. Coxae with sparse, suberect, elliptical, turquoise scales. Mesoventrite covered with suberect, piliform, light-colored scales. Metaventrite with appressed, light-colored setae and tessellated, round, golden yellow scales on sides. Ventrite 1 slightly convex in general but weakly depressed at middle with dense and appressed long, golden yellow, piliform scales, and sparse, round, light yellow-ochre, and turquoise scales at sides. Ventrite 2 to 5 sparsely covered with suberect and appressed setae. Ventrite 5 almost flat and minutely punctured.
Male. Unknown
Differential diagnosis. Metapocyrtus mranaw sp. nov. is closely related to Metapocyrtus um Cabras & Van Dam, 2021 but differs for the following: a) transverse groove separating head and rostrum indistinct, b) the color of integuments black with a metallic greenish sheen for head, rostrum, pronotum and elytra, c) pronotum weakly rugose while M. um is punctate, d) pronotum’s apical third with sparse and irregularly scattered minute round yellow, turquoise, and blue scales resembling a band, and e) elytra mostly glabrous except near lateral margin.
Etymology. The name " mranaw " is dedicated to the Mranaw (o) people, the predominant Muslim- Filipino ethnic group native to Lanao Lake in Mindanao Island.
Distribution. The species is known so far from Wao, Lanao del Sur. Given the rarity of this species and its closest congener, the authors assume that this species has a very restricted distribution.
Notes on Taxonomy
The genus Metapocyrtus is a speciose and complex genus with more than 260 species distributed all over the Philippines, with a few in Taiwan and Japan. Compared to the genus Pachyrhynchus which is monophyletic, Metapocyrtus is not ( Van Dam et al., 2023). Currently, the genus still badly needs revision with many ill-defined subgenera, and species with erroneous subgeneric placement, as well as synonymies. It is estimated that hundreds more are awaiting descriptions. A thorough revision of the genus and clear subgeneric delineation are needed. The two new species described in this paper are not assigned any subgeneric placement and simply belong to Metapocyrtus sensu lato while a subgeneric classification is being revised.
Metapocyrtus hamiguitan could not be classified under any existing subgenus and is currently known to have only one sister species: Metapocyrtus poncei . Both of these species can be found in Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary (MHRWS) but with one key distinction: M. poncei has only been collected around the interpretation site at an elevation of 500-600 masl in the lower dipterocarp forest, while M. hamiguitan has been collected at Camp 3, around an elevation of 1037 masl. The two species are distinguished from all other Metapocyrtus species based on the unique shape and lateral and dorsal profile and characters of the rostrum, characterized by a subsquarish rostrum, constricted at base that gradually widens towards the apex ( Figure 5 View Figure 5 ), subglobular profile of pronotum truncated basally and apically, elytra ovate with a weakly rounded apex as shown in Figure 4 View Figure 4 and 5 View Figure 5 , and the short aedeagus. It is worth noting that both species exhibit distinctive traits in terms of sexual dimorphism, particularly among females. Adult females of M. hamiguitan have a weak bifid protuberance at the beginning of apical declivity and semicircular excision at the apex of the elytra. On the other hand, the females of M. poncei has two pointed spines at the apex of elytra. More species similar to these two could potentially be discovered later, especially with the numerous unexplored mountain ranges in Mindanao. Another remarkable observation is that these Metapocyrtus species have speciated within a single mountain range, despite being separated by only 500 m of elevation. This is the first record of two close congeners that are almost sympatric to be found in one mountain range. The unique habitats in the MHRWS may have provided an environment for this new species to form.
Metapocyrtus mranaw is the only known sister species of M. um. These two species belong to a distinctive species group within Metapocyrtus sensu lato, primarily characterized by the unique profile and shape of the rostrum, pronotum, and body as shown in Figure 4 View Figure 4 and 5 View Figure 5 . Only a few type specimens of M. um were collected in Marilog, Davao City. Similarly, M. mranaw is also represented by only two female type specimens. The elytra of the female specimens of M. mranaw and M. um share a common feature of having a steep apical declivity. The authors assume that a similar sexual dimorphism observed in M. um should also be evident in M. mranaw . These two species constitute a distinctive species group, so far found only in central portion of Mindanao. M. mranaw and M. um are characterized by a rostrum wide at the base that gradually narrows towards the middle and are subparallel towards the apex, subglobular pronotum which is basally and apically subtruncate and with sides that is evenly but weakly arcuate, and ovate elytra mostly devoid of elaborate scaly patterns.
A checklist of the species currently known and related to:
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