Ebenacobius san Haran, 2022

Haran, Julien, Benoit, Laure, Procheş, Şerban & Kergoat, Gael J., 2022, Ebenacobius Haran, a new southern African genus of flower weevils (Coleoptera: Curculioninae: Derelomini) associated with dicotyledonous plants, European Journal of Taxonomy 818 (1), pp. 1-54 : 29-31

Ebenacobius san Haran gen. et sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:FD9CE50F-2C4D-425F-A5D1-88A7F3E073C1

Figs 2H , 4F , 6H , 7D–F

Differential diagnosis

This species can be distinguished from other Ebenacobius gen. nov. by the following combination of features: claws simple, integument of prothorax uniformly reddish-brown, darker than background of elytra (excluding dark patterns). In males, the rostrum is strongly and regularly downcurved, as long as the prothorax in lateral view, the penis body is very elongated in dorsal view (W:L ratio: 0.28).

Etymology

Ebenacobius san gen. et sp. nov. is dedicated to the San people, first inhabitants of southern Africa from 40 000 years before present. These hunter-gatherer people left evidence of their activities (debris of bones, shells) along the coast of the Western Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa, where this species was discovered.

Type material

Holotype REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA • ♂; “ South Africa [REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA], CP [Western Cape Province]; Ysterfontein, 33.21S 18.09E; 1.i.1984; H. Geertsema ” “ beaten out of; Pterocelastrus ; tricuspidatus ” “National Coll. Of Insects; Pretoria, S. Afr.” “Holotype; Ebenacobius san ; Haran 2022”; SANC.

Paratypes REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA – Western Cape Province • 1 ♀; Cape Peninsula ; 34°19′12.0″ S, 18°25′12.0″ E; 15 Apr. 2019; J. Haran leg.; beating inflorescences of Euclea racemosa ; JHAR00821 ; CBGP • 1 ♀; same collection data as for preceding; SAMC • 1 spec. (larva); same collection data as for preceding; larva from flowers of Euclea racemosa ; JHAR0917_0203 ; CBGP • 1 ♂, 1 ♀, 9 specs (preserved in ethanol); West Coast NP; 33°12′00.0″ S, 18°04′48.0″ E; 30 Mar. 2019; J. Haran leg.; beating inflorescences of Euclea racemosa ; JHAR03294 ; CBGP • 1 ♂, 2 ♀♀; 1 km north of Lambert’s Bay; 32°04′36.3″ S, 18°18′20.3″ E; 33 m a.s.l.; 29 Oct. 2011; R. Borovec leg.; beating vegetation; FFWS • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; Arniston; 34°40′26.0 ″ S, 20°13′55.2″ E; 21 Mar. 2019; J. Haran leg.; beating inflorescences of Euclea racemosa ; JHAR02251 ; CBGP.

Description

Male

BODY LENGTH. 2.2–2.8 mm.

COLOUR. Body integument pale brown, head and prothorax reddish-brown, dark pattern on elytra forming an oblique strip from humeral angle to basal ⅓ of elytra (sometimes only visible on interstriae 3 and 5) and a subtriangular spot extending from metafemora laterally to apical ⅔ of suture; dorsum (prothorax + elytra) with minute recumbent setae, not contiguous.

HEAD. Rostrum as long as prothorax in lateral view, strongly and regularly downcurved in lateral view; underside with row of setae, as long as 2 nd segment of funicle, integument forming angle before apex; in dorsal view covered with very short recumbent not contiguous setae; antennae inserted at apical 1/4 of length; head capsule coarsely punctate in dorsal view, with minute setae, glabrous in appearance, setae not condensed near dorsal margin of eyes; eyes convex, exceeding the lateral curve of head capsule in dorsal view; antennal funicle with segment 1 elongate, 2× longer than wide, as long as 2–4, 3–7 wider than long.

PROTHORAX. Wider than long (W:L ratio: 1.3), widest near base, slightly narrower there than elytra at humeral angles; sides subparallel in basal ½, rounded in apical ½; apical constriction as long as width of funicle at apex; integument densely punctate, space between punctures smooth and shiny, generally wider than diameter of punctures, setae in each larger puncture shorter than diameter of punctures; prosternal process oriented forward, forming a short but wide spatula.

ELYTRA. Sides slightly convex, widest near middle of length (W:L ratio: 0.66); humeri raised; apex jointly rounded; striae with punctures well aligned, narrower than interstriae; interstriae slightly convex, 1-3-5 slightly more convex apically, 9 entirely convex; scutellar shield rounded, glabrous.

ABDOMEN. Underside covered with small non-contiguous whitish setae.

LEGS. Profemora thickened near middle of length; protibiae with external margin straight, meso- and metatibiae curved outward in apical half; tibiae armed with a small apical mucro; claws simple.

TERMINALIA. Body of penis very elongate (W:L ratio: 0.28), 0.8 × as long as apodemes, sides slightly convex in dorsal view, widest near middle of length, apex rounded; in lateral view curvature moderate, stronger in basal ½, widening from base to apical ⅓, narrowing apicad in apical ⅓ ( Fig. 6H ).

Sexual dimorphism

Females can be distinguished from males by their rostrum which is less downcurved, longer than prothorax in lateral view. Females lack prosternal process between procoxae.

Life history

Larvae of this species were obtained from flowers of Euclea racemosa (Ebenaceae) . Identity of the larva was obtained by barcoding (JHAR00917_0203; see Fig. 8 ). The single record on Pterocelastrus tricuspidatus Walp. (Celastraceae) seems accidental. Adults were collected in January, March, April and October.

Distribution

Republic of South Africa (Western Cape Province).

Figures

Fig. 2. A–I. Habitus of males of Ebenacobius Haran gen. nov. in dorsal view (part 1). A. E. curvisetis Haran gen. et sp. nov. B. E. rectirostris Haran gen. et sp. nov. C. E. duplicatus Haran gen. et sp. nov. D. E. grobbelaarae Haran gen. et sp. nov. E. E. costalis (Fåhraeus, 1844) gen. et comb. nov. F. E. thoracicus Haran gen. et sp. nov. G. E. xhosa Haran gen. et sp. nov. H. E. san Haran gen. et sp. nov. I. E. kuscheli Haran gen. et sp. nov. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Fig. 4. A–J. Habitus of males of Ebenacobius Haran gen. nov. in lateral view (part 1). A. E. curvisetis Haran gen. et sp. nov. B. E. thoracicus Haran gen. et sp. nov. C. E. rectirostris Haran gen. et sp. nov. D. E. xhosa Haran gen. et sp. nov. E. E. duplicatus Haran gen. et sp. nov. F. E. san Haran gen. et sp. nov. G. E. grobbelaarae Haran gen. et sp. nov. H. E. kuscheli Haran gen. et sp. nov. I. E. costalis (Fåhraeus, 1844) gen. et comb. nov. J. E. mulanjensis Haran gen. et sp. nov. A–J = not to scale.

Fig. 6 (part 1). A–I. Male genitalia of Ebenacobius Haran gen. nov., penis in dorsal (left) and lateral (right) view.A. E. curvisetis Haran gen. et sp. nov.B. E. rectirostrisHaran gen. et sp. nov.C. E. duplicatus Haran gen. et sp. nov. D. E. grobbelaarae Haran gen. et sp. nov. E. E. costalis (Fåhraeus, 1844) gen. et comb. nov. F. E. thoracicus Haran gen. et sp. nov. G. E. xhosa Haran gen. et sp. nov. H. E. san Haran gen. et sp. nov. I. E. kuscheli Haran gen. et sp. nov. A–I = not to scale.

Fig. 8. Best-fit ML tree of Ebenacobius Haran gen. nov. and Afrotropical Derelomini resulting from the partitioned analyses of the concatenated molecular dataset (the scale bar represents the estimated number of nucleotide substitutions per site). Support values (*) at nodes indicate SH-aLRT ≥ 80% and uBV ≥ 95% values, in that order.