Moreiba Alonso-Zarazaga

Alonso-Zarazaga, Miguel A., 2013, Moreiba gen. n., a new Canarian genus in Laparocerini (Coleoptera, Curculionidae), ZooKeys 333, pp. 45-54 : 46-51

Moreiba Alonso-Zarazaga gen. n. Figs 1-14

Type species.

Strophosoma canariense Franz, 1995, by present designation.

Diagnosis.

Small apterous Laparocerini with very short and wide rostrum; head and rostrum with a dense longitudinal strigosity; body covered by dense, adpressed scales; antennae distinctly slender with bisinuate scape and short oval club; pronotum granulate; elytra elliptical, weakly convex with declivity overhanging apex; legs with all femora edentate and all tibiae lacking mucro in both sexes, and endophallus devoid of visible sclerites.

Description.

Body (Figs 1-2) densely covered by scales, completely covering integument, but not overlapping. Pronotal adpressed scales placed transversely with tips directed to midline, those on elytra pointing apicad. Elytral striae with very short, piliform setae. Antennal club densely tomentose. Tibiae without grooming patch. Ventral surface of body with sparse, adpressed to semierect piliform setae, integument clearly visible. Trochanteral setae present.

Rostrum in dorsal view (Fig. 3) short, transverse; epistome transverse, medially notched apically, more or less V-shaped, delimited behind by fine raised line, naked, shiny, with one row of long parepistomal setae on each side; frons undelimited; epifrons flat, at the same level as head, medially sulcate, epifrons and head with a dense longitudinal strigosity from anterior border of pronotum to epistomal margin, covered by scales, sides of epifrons concave, tapering apicad in basal half, subparallel in apical half, lateral margin moderately projecting, extended above eyes in a supraocular ridge. Antennal scrobes in dorsal view inconspicuous, visible only in short apical part as narrow furrows, pterygia weakly prominent, in lateral view (Fig. 4) deep, short, curved in front of eyes, not reaching lower margin of rostrum, with ventral edge slightly longer than dorsal one, separated from eye about half width of scrobe.

Head with eyes small, lateral, in dorsal view strongly convex, asymmetrical, highest point displaced backwards, in lateral view slightly oblong, separated from supraocular ridge by a fine furrow. Vertex wide, flat, without fovea. Mandibles trisetose, with round, flat scar. Prementum subtrapezoidal, with angles rounded, glabrous, asetose. Postmentum with 2 very long subapical setae. Almost adelognathous, prementum very narrowly separated from hypostoma.

Antennae (Fig. 8) very slender, 11-segmented. Scape reaching anterior border of pronotum when folded, slightly longer than funicle, bisinuate, at basal half extremely slender, in the apical half clavate. Desmomeres 7, first 2 elongate, last 4 moniliform. Club oval, slightly wider than apical part of scape.

Pronotum moderately wider than long, with rounded sides, anterior border distinctly narrower than posterior one, disc weakly curved, in the same curve as elytra, weakly depressed behind apical margin, without postocular lobes or setae, pronotal surface densely granulate. Base curved towards scutellum. Procoxae tangent, subglobular, situated at midlength of the pronotum.

Scutellum triangular, very small.

Elytra strongly coapted, not fused; in dorsal view subelliptical, base connivent with that of pronotum, with a narrow vertical step towards mesonotum except near scutellum, humeral calli absent; in side view weakly convex on dorsum, slope overhanging apex, with 10 complete, finely punctured striae, interstriae flat, ca. 3 × as wide as striae, these at apex join 1, 2, 3+8, 4+5, 6+7, 9, 10.

Meso- and metaventrite. Mesoventrite transversally depressed, in a more dorsal plane than metaventrite. Mesocoxae subglobular, mesoventral process narrow, about as wide as 1/5 of diameter of mesocoxa. Metaventrite between coxae about as long as mesocoxa. Metanepisternal suture complete, metanepisternum narrow, its base oblique, projecting over outer angle of metacoxae. Metacoxae oval, transverse, not visibly touching costal margin of elytra; abdominal process distinctly narrower than largest diameter of metacoxa, subtruncate. Metendosternite very short, with long furcal arms in a flat angle, hemiducts weakly developed, anterior tendons well separated. Metathoracic wings absent.

Legs. Femora of all legs edentate, medially swollen. Protibia (Fig. 7) in both sexes straight, apex slightly enlarged internally and externally, rounded, with a fringe of fine, yellow setae. Mucro of all legs not developed. Metatibial talus glabrous, slightly oblique, not ascending, without corbel or bevel. Tarsi slender, tarsomere 3 transverse, wider than the others, deeply bilobed, onychium strongly projecting beyond the lobes. Claws 2, equal, connate in basal half.

Abdomen (Figs 5-6). Abdominal ventrite 1 in midline a little longer than ventrite 2 (21:19); ventrite 2 clearly longer than ventrites 3 and 4 combined (19:11). Suture 1 fine, curved forward at middle; sutures 2, 3 and 4 straight, wide and deep. Fifth ventrite uniformly rounded in females, subtruncate at apex in males.

Male genitalia and terminalia. Genitalia of the ‘pedal’ type ( Alonso-Zarazaga 2007). Penis (Fig. 9) weakly sclerotised, slender, moderately long, pointed, temones slightly longer than pedon. Tegminal apodeme (manubrium) a little shorter than half the length of temones of penis; parameroid lobes long, narrow, fused at base, a little longer than half length of manubrium. Endophallus devoid of sclerotisations, with minute asperities. Sternite VIII membranous, spiculum relictum (Fig. 10) present, Y-shaped. Sternite IX (Fig. 10) with two small, comma-shaped sclerotized basal plates (hemisternites) and a long, narrow, Y-shaped spiculum gastrale, its apex turned 90°.

Female genitalia and terminalia. Sternite VIII (Fig. 14) with long and slender apodeme (spiculum ventrale), curved at apex, without differentiated caput and terminated about middle of lamella, this small, translucent, without margo basalis and apicalis, subtriangular, slender, with an apical tuft of setae. Hemisternites IX (gonocoxites) (Figs 11, 13) of ovipositor elongate, weakly sclerotised, with long slender apical styli with setae. Spermatheca (Fig. 12) C-shaped, with corpus and cornu inflated, visibly ringed, ramus and nodulus developed.

Note.

Sexual dimorphism not apparent, except for slight differences in fifth ventrite.

Distribution.

This genus is presently known from two islands of the Canaries: Gran Canaria and El Hierro, but some samples are known as well from Tenerife, La Palma, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and Montaña Clara. These are in study and may represent different species.

Etymology.

Moreiba was the goddess of women and fertility among the ancient inhabitants of El Hierro (the ‘bimbaches’). Gender feminine.