Ellimenistes janaki Borovec & Nakládal, 2019

Borovec, Roman & Nakládal, Oto, 2019, Ellimenistes humeralis Marshall, 1947 and its allies (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae: Embrithini), Zootaxa 4563 (1), pp. 175-184 : 178-179

Ellimenistes janaki Borovec & Nakládal , sp. nov.

( Figs 2 , 5, 8, 10, 13, 17 , 21, 27 ) http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:43FCE218-4C3A-4956-8EAA-4F778DBF6928

Type locality. South Africa, Eastern Cape, Ntsubane forest .

Type material. Holotype: ♂, ‘ S. Afr. [ South Africa], Transkei [Eastern Cape], Ntsubane forest , 31.27 S– 29.44 E, 25.11.1988; E-Y: 2579, forest floor litter, leg. Endrödy-Younga’ ( TMSA) . Paratypes: 1 ♀, the same data as holotype, but ‘ 25.11.1987, E-Y: 2537, fungi & for. litter’ ( TMSA) ; 1 ♂ 2 ♀♀, ‘ South Africa, Eastern Cape, Mbotyi Forest , 31°27′ S, 29°44′ E, 1.-3.xii.2006, forest litter, J. Janák lgt.’ ( JJRC, RBSC) .

Description. Body length 3.47–3.86 mm, holotype 3.86 mm. Elytra with moderately large appressed scales, 5 across one interval, scales rounded, weakly striolate, slightly imbricate. Each interval with one regular row of semierect setae, distinctly bent backwards, slender, parallel-sided, slightly longer than half the width of one interval, equally long at basal as well as at apical part. Pronotum and head with rostrum densely irregularly scattered with equal semierect setae as those on elytra, only somewhat shorter. Antennae and legs with dense appressed scales and with distinct, semierect, slender, bristle-shaped setae. Elytra with spots of dark brownish and light greyish brown scales, light scales create irregular transverse stripes.

Rostrum ( Figs 5, 8 ) short and wide, 1.41–1.44× wider than long, widest at base, slightly tapered anteriad with indistinctly concave sides; laterally weakly convex and shallowly separated from the head. Epifrons at apex narrow, twice as wide club, weakly tapered posteriad, narrowest at midlength and here occupied a third of rostral width, at basal half slightly enlarged posteriad, at base distinctly narrower than space between eyes; dorsally shallowly longitudinally deepened. Epistome V-shaped, small, posteriorly narrowly carinate. Frons glabrous, very narrow, create narrow stripe along the epistome. Scrobes dorsally open, pit-shaped; laterally short, subtriangular, directed towards eyes, separated from them by wide squamose space equal to their length. Eyes small, widest slightly behind midlength, hardly prominent from outline of head, with low supraocular longitudinal tubercle. Vertex weakly tapered anteriad, shallowly deepened.

Antennae with scape 1.4× longer than funicle, curved at basal third and evenly enlarged at its tip, at apex as wide as club. Funicle with segment 1 the largest, conical, 1.7–1.8× longer than wide and 1.8–2.0× longer than segment 2, which is 1.4–1.5× longer than wide; segments 3–7 isodiametric; club 2.3–2.5× longer than wide.

Pronotum ( Fig. 2 ) 1.34–1.43× wider than long, widest at basal third with rounded sides, distinctly more tapered anteriad than posteriad. Disc with ill-defined, shallow longitudinal median furrow, hardly visible with appressed scales. Base straight. Pronotum laterally convex.

Elytra ( Fig. 2 ) oval, 1.22–1.26× longer than wide, with weakly rounded sides and obliquely subtruncate humeral calli. Intervals 3, 5 and 7 weakly more elevated along the whole length, intervals 7 and 8 without angular projection behind the base. Elytra laterally weakly regularly convex.

Protibia short and robust, apex externally straight and internally distinctly widened inside and mucronate, apex fringed by dense row of yellowish setae. Metatibia with apical surface subtriangular, glabrous and shiny and with distinct, wide, densely squamose corbel, separated externally and internally by dense fringe of short yellowish setae, distinctly longer in inner fringe. Tarsi with segment 2 1.5–1.6× wider than long; segment 3 1.3–1.4× wider than long and 1.5–1.6× wider than segment 2; onychium 1.3–1.4× longer than segment 3; claws solidly fused at basal half.

Penis ( Fig. 10 ) slightly widest at base, tapered apicad with slightly concave sides, apex regularly pointed with slightly convex sides; laterally weakly regularly curved, widest at midlength, evenly tapered apicad without separated tip; temones 1.7× longer than body of penis. Tegmen ( Fig. 13 ) with slender ring and short, slender, pointed parameres, distinctly shorter than diameter of ring; tegminal manubrium short, 1.6× longer than diameter of ring. Sternite IX with slender apical plate.

Spermatheca ( Fig. 17 ) with very short and wide, curved, pointed cornu; corpus small, rounded; ramus tubeshaped, twice longer than wide, at base distinctly curved downwards and pressed to corpus; nodulus perpendicularly directed upwards, straight or weakly curved, tube shaped, 3.0–3.5× longer than wide, widest at base and slightly evenly tapered apicad, longer than cornu. Sternite VIII ( Fig. 21 ) with plate subtriangular, almost as wide as long, at apex distinctly constricted, with distinctly concave sides. Gonocoxites ( Fig. 27 ) as in E. humeralis .

Biology. The type material was sifted from forest floor litter.

Etymology. The new species is dedicated to the long-standing friend of the first author, Jiří Janák (Rtyně nad Bílinou, Czech Republic), excellent specialist of Staphylinidae , who provided us with extensive sifted material of small terricolous weevils from South Africa.

Differential diagnosis. Among species with funicle segment 1 not longer than segment 2 this species is easily separated by rostrum widest at base and tapered anteriad, semierect elytral setae distinctly bent backwards, slender pronotum widest at basal third with straight base and elytra without angular projection behind base. The only similar species sharing these characters is E. raucus sp. nov., from which it can be distinguished by the characters stated below in the key.

Figures

FIGURES 1–3. Dorsal habitus of Ellimenistes Boheman. 1. E. humeralis Marshall; 2. E. janaki sp. n.; 3. E. marshalli sp. n.

FIGURES 4–19. Structural details of Ellimenistes Boheman. Figs 4–6, head with rostrum, dorsal view: 4. E. humeralis Marshall; 5. E. janaki sp. n.; 6. E. raucus sp. n. Figs 7–9, head with rostrum, lateral view: 7. E. humeralis Marshall; 8. E. janaki sp. n.; 9. E. raucus sp. n. Figs 10–12, penis, ventral and lateral view: 10. E. janaki sp. n.; 11. E. marshalli sp. n.; 12. E. raucus sp. n. Figs 13–15, tegmen, dorsal view: 13. E. janaki sp. n.; 14. E. marshalli sp. n.; 15. E. raucus sp. n. Figs 16–19, spermatheca: 16. E. humeralis Marshall; 17. E. janaki sp. n.; 18. E. marshalli sp. n.; 19. E. raucus sp. n.

FIGURES 20–29. Structural details of Ellimenistes Boheman, Cycliscus Schoenherr and Cosmorhinus Schoenherr. Figs 20– 25, sternite VIII of female, dorsal view: 20. Ellimenistes humeralis Marshall; 21. E. janaki sp. n.; 22. E. marshalli sp. n.; 23. E. raucus sp. n.; 24. Cycliscus caecicollis Boheman; 25. Cosmorhinus cervinus Boheman. Figs 26–29, ovipositor, dorsal view: 26. Ellimenistes humeralis Marshall; 27. E. janaki sp. n.; 28. E. marshalli sp. n.; 29. E. raucus sp. n.