Stenoria osellai Bologna, 2018

Bologna, Marco A., B, Ladislav Černý & B, Ahmed Zubair, 2018, Meloidae (Coleoptera) of Pakistan and Kashmir with the description of three new species, new faunistic and taxonomic records, and a zoogeographic analysis, Turkish Journal of Zoology 42 (6), pp. 637-660 : 639-640

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.3906/zoo-1712-36
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/33408557-FFF3-FF87-FF11-FD80FC5B47CF
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Stenoria osellai Bologna
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Stenoria osellai Bologna sp. nov. ( Figures 1 View Figure 1 and 2 View Figure 2 )

ZooBank taxon LSID: BC7A10DC-9B55-4D62-A5FB-8265D3C55343

Type material. Male holotype, “ Pakistan, Baltistan, Skardu, m 2400, 1.vii.1976, B. Osella ” ( CB). Holotype lacks right tarsomeres II–V and left III–V, and right VII–XI and left VIII–XI antennomeres. Genitalia and sternite IX (spiculum gastrale) are dissected and glued on the paper label together with specimen.

Type locality: Pakistan, Baltistan , Skardu, 2400 m a.s.l.

Description. Body length: 14 mm. Head, mouthparts (except apical third of mandibles black), antennae, pronotum and prosternum, legs (except apex of tarsomeres and claws darker), and abdomen mustard yellow, quite shiny, meso- and metathorax and apical third of elytra black.

Head short, shorter than wide, transversely trapezoidal, maximum width on temples, temples slightly longer than the longitudinal diameter of eye; eye transverse, distinctly sinuate near the antennal base, about as wide as the lateral length of head; frons wide and quite flat, anteriorly slightly depressed, interocular space wider than the dorsal visible width of eye, a middle longitudinal impunctate area extends from the fronto-clypeal suture almost to occiput, anteriorly slightly furrowed, punctures on the remaining dorsal surface shallow and almost subrugose; fronto-clypeal suture slightly incised medially, but almost straight; clypeus subtrapezoidal, narrowed in front, only shagreened, with fore suture straight; labrum ca. 1:1 as long as clypeus, subcordiform, rounded on sides, fore margin deeply and widely emarginated. Maxillary and labial palpomeres subcylindrical, maxillary segment IV narrowed anteriorly and quite truncate, maxillary galeae shorter and fringed; mandibles distinctly curved, robust, apically pointed. Antennomeres depressed and elongate, with sides straight and subparallel, slightly widened on external apex (III on inner side), but I widened from base to apex and dorsally convex; II ca 0.5 as long as I and III, III–VIII subequal in length. Setae on head short, antennomeres microsetose.

Pronotum ( Figure 1 View Figure 1 ) campaniform, sides slightly widening from base to the middle and anteriorly rounded, dorsal surface slightly depressed in front at middle, basal margin almost straight. Punctures similar to those on head, but sparser. Mesonotum distinctly emerging at base of pronotum, depressed medially, narrowed on the posterior half, rounded at apex. Prosternum wide and quite flat; mesosternum and metasternum not modified; ventral setation denser and longer. Elytra ( Figure 1 View Figure 1 ) almost completely covering the abdomen, only dehiscent apically and scarcely sinuate on the lateral margin externally on the apical third, distinctly emarginate laterally; two inner venations well visible, dorsal surface subrugose. Leg setation long and denser than on dorsal surface; both fore and middle tibial spurs slender and pointed, both metatibial spurs thicker than pro- and mesotibial ones, but not spatulate, pointed at apex; tarsomere I of all legs twice as long as II; remaining tarsomeres slender and not modified.

Abdominal ventrites not modified and without areas of distinct setation; margin of penultimate ventrite slightly emarginate medially, last ventrite divided medially almost completely. Tegmen in ventral view ( Figure 2a View Figure 2 ) with wide and subcylindrical gonocoxal base, depressed posteriorly, gonoforceps conically narrowed anteriorly; in lateral view ( Figure 2b View Figure 2 ), gonoforceps slender, slightly sinuate beyond base, narrowed in apical third, apex subspatulate; aedeagus robust, apically with light lines. Lateral arms of the spiculum gastrale ( Figure 2c View Figure 2 ) slender and elongate.

Distribution. Endemic to northern Pakistan.

Diagnosis. A large Stenoria species, easily separated from most congeners by the combination of the following characters: smooth claws, elytra only dehiscent apically and scarcely sinuate externally; head, including antennae, pronotum, legs and abdomen mustard yellow; meso- and metathorax and apical fourth of elytra black; body setation golden-yellow.

Etymology. This new species is named after “Beppe” (Bartolomeo Giuseppe) Osella, Italian specialist of Coleoptera Curculionidae and a colleague of one of us (MAB) in an early period of his research activity. Professor Osella collected this blister beetle during an alpine expedition to Karakorum.

Remarks. Stenoria osellai is phenetically distinguished from other Stenoria by its elytral features; however, its position within the genus is questionable. Stenoria is in considerable need of systematic study. The definition of the genus and relationships within remain problematic. The larval morphology of two western Palearctic species [apicalis (Latreille, 1802) and analis Schaum, 1859] supports the distinction of the genus (see Bologna, 1991; Bologna and Pinto, 2001) but adult characteristics of other species do not allow convincing separation from Apalus , Sitaris , Sitarobrachys , and the Central Asiatic genus Nyadatus Axentjev, 1981 . Stenoria osellai is morphologically similar to Nyadatus in that the elytra are scarcely emarginate externally and the tarsal claws are smooth. Bologna and Pinto (2001) previously considered it as possibly related to the species described as Nyadatus . Other species with smooth claws currently assigned to Stenoria are known: thakkola Schawaller, 1996; laterimaculata (Reitter, 1898); and an undescribed species from the Caucasus ( Bologna and Pinto, 2002). Bologna and Pinto (2002) previously suggested that Nyadatus could represent an intrageneric unit of Stenoria .