MAHAVELO MADAGASUS SZAWARYN, TOMASZEWSKA

& ARRIAGA- VARELA SP. NOV.

(FIGS 17A–K, 18A–G, 19C, D, 20C)

Zoobank registration: urn: lsid: zoobank. org:act: 1B1B5269-C265-4C28-B446-9D644006CCBA

Type material: Holotype, male, MADAGASCAR: Toliara, Forêt de Mahavelo, Isantoria River, 5.2 km 44°NE Ifotaka, 24°46′S, 46°09′E [–24.75833, 46.15717], 110 m a.s.l., 28.01- 1.02.2002, coll. Fisher-Griswold Arthropod Team, coll. code BLF05238 (CAS) . Paratypes: same data as for holotype (23, CAS; 7, MIZ) .

Diagnosis: As for the genus.

Description: Body: length 1.00 mm, width 0.79 mm, 1.3 times as long as high, short oval and moderately convex, uniformly brown, covered with inconspicuous hairs (Fig. 17A–C).

Antenna nearly 0.35 of length of body (Fig. 18A); antennomere 3 about 3.4 times as long as wide; antennomeres 4 and 5 subequal in length, about 2.2 times as long as wide; antennomeres 6-9 subquadrate. Apical labial palpomere short.

Pronotum 2.7 times as wide as long (Fig. 18C). Anterior margin with fine, regular bordering line vanishing medially; lateral margins narrowly bordered. Pronotal disc not concave near lateral margins. Base without distinct border. Posterolateral corners with minuscule indentation. Prosternal process wide, with apex about 0.6 of width of procoxal cavity, continuously weakly widened apically, bordered laterally nearly to level of anterior margin of procoxal cavities (Fig. 18D).

Elytra about as long as wide, 3.9 times as long and 1.35 times as wide as pronotum; lateral margins not visible from above (Figs 17A, 18F). Mesoventral process about 1.1 times as wide as mesocoxal diameter (Fig. 18E). Metaventrite sparsely setose.

Legs. Meso- and metatrochanters flattened, weakly to distinctly angulately produced posteriorly (Fig. 18G).

Abdomen with male genital segment as in Figure 17I.

Male genitalia (Fig. 17H). Aedeagus with penis short and stout, sclerotized, weakly curved, wider near apex, asymmetric, with branched apex. Tegmen sclerotized, basal, throne-shaped, moderately large; tegminal strut short, reduced.

Female genitalia (Fig. 17J). Spermatheca (Fig. 17K) of moderate size, elongate, irregularly reniform, submembranous; sperm duct comparatively long; accessory gland small membranous, of irregular shape.

Etymology: The name madagasus is an arbitrary combination of letters referring to Madagascar, where this species occurs.

Biology: All specimens were sifted from leaf litter in dry spiny forest biotope at elevation of 110 m (Figs 1D, 19C).

Distribution: Madagascar (Fig. 20C).