Phaedis fusivittatus, Ruzzier & Ando, 2021

Ruzzier, Enrico & Ando, Kiyoshi, 2021, Seven new species of the genus Phaedis Pascoe, 1866 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae Cnodalonini) from Borneo, Zootaxa 4999 (5), pp. 439-455 : 448-449

Phaedis fusivittatus sp. nov.

( Figs 19 , 30–35 )

Type specimen. Holotype: ♂, Borneo, Malaysia, Sabah, Keningau , 300 m, 6-7.II.1994, R. Grimm leg. ( CRGN).

Description. Male. Body length: 7.4 mm. Oblong-oval, rather subparallel-sided, strongly convex above, very shiny. Colour dark reddish brown; head greenish blue, metallic blue on frons, with ambiguous purple tinge; pronotum yellowish green, with a pair of purple subquadrate lateral spots; elytra reddish purple, the reddish purple colour easily changing into brassy in angles of view, each elytron with a humeral spot apical fascia, as well as post-median fusiform spots; the humeral spot is metallic green, short, linear; the apical fascia oblique, purple, contact with lateral and sutural margin, bordered anteriorly by tricolor, biz. brassy-green, purple, and brassy; the post-median fusiform spots violet, situate on inner half of sutural interval, and behind middle of 3rd, 4th, and 7th intervals; mouthparts, basal six antennomeres and legs reddish brown.

Head transversely elliptical, finely microsculptured; mCG not sinuate; epistoma slightly convex, distinctly lower than frons and genae along frontoclypeal suture, sloping in anterior portion, rounded at apex, with punctures piligerous, dense, fine; frontoclypeal suture fine, not angular at posterior corners; genae weakly convex, finely and densely punctate as on epistoma, with external margins evenly rounded; frons slightly convex, not elevated along eyes, with punctures piligerous, sparser, much larger than on epistoma; IE/TD 2.40; tempora very short, not produced, almost smooth with a few piligerous punctures; eyes moderately transverse in dorsal view, strongly convex, with inner ocular sulci shallow, broad. Antennae long, slightly loosely articulated, reaching before base of pronotum; distal five antennomeres distinctly dilated, forming club; 11th oblong-subquadrate. Ultimate maxillary palpomere strongly dilated, right-angled triangular; both apical corners acute. Mentum shortened triangular ( Fig. 30 ), strongly convex, acute at apex, longitudinally, triangularly elevated in middle and weakly depressed at sides, densely punctate on the elevated area.

Pronotum transversely quadrate, widest at basal fourth, with fine microsculpture; PW/PL 1.42; disc weakly convex, narrowly sulcate along basal bead, not sulcate along lateral margins, with punctures dense, fine, irregular in size, larger, much denser than on frons though becoming smaller towards marginal portions, not piligerous; anterior margin shallowly emarginate, feebly produced in median half, finely beaded in each lateral fourth; lateral margins weakly rounded, weakly sinuate in apical third, faintly so before base, finely beaded; anterior corners obtusely angulate, scarcely produced, posterior ones rectangular. Scutellum weakly depressed, smooth, rounded posteriorly.

Elytra oblong, strongly convex, moderately divergent posteriad, widest at apical third, slightly wider than pronotum at base, scarcely microsculptured; EL/EW 1.59; striae almost vestigial; strial punctures large and sparse, irregular in size, density, diminishing apically; intervals flat, very sparsely, microscopically punctate, 1st, 9th very narrow; humeral callus oblong, moderately humped; epipleura weakly depressed, almost subvertical, very sparsely, irregularly punctate.

Prothoracic hypomera almost flat, densely covered with fine microsculpture and sparse piligerous punctures. Prosternum short in front of coxae, weakly convex, alutaceous, sparsely punctate, feebly beaded at apex; prosternal process slender, wedge-shaped ( Fig. 31 ), strongly bent inwards behind coxae, obscurely depressed in middle, acute at apex. Mesoventral ridge V-shaped, weakly raised, horizontal, with anterior angles obtusely angulate in lateral view. Metaventrite strongly convex, with punctures fine, sparse, bearing long, very fine hair in median third, short, robust hair on each lateral third. Abdomen finely microsculptured, finely, densely, somewhat faintly punctate; basal three ventrites finely rugulose.

Aedeagus robust ( Fig. 35 ); basale 1.62 times as long as parameres, dilated behind middle, weakly curved ventrad; parameres gently, evenly convergent towards acute apices.

Legs short and robust ( Figs 32–34 ). Profemoral teeth directed laterad at apex; posterior margins of mesofemora distinctly toothed at apical third, those of metafemora distinctly so at apical two-fifths, ancipital between tooth and apex of femora. Protibiae short, gently incurved, with inner margin moderately emarginate in apical four-fifths; mesotibiae distinctly dilated from base to middle, thence subparallel to apex, with inner margin slightly emarginate, moderately pubescent in apical half; metatibiae weakly incurved, with inner margin distinctly excavate in apical five-sixths, dorsal, ventral edges of the excavation with a pair of linear dense pubescence in each apical half. Tarsi slender.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution. Borneo (Sabah).

Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from the elytral fusiform spots of this new species.

Differential diagnosis. The new species belongs to the Phaedeucyrtus species-group, but no allied species were found in the group to have such elytral pigmentation as the new species. The new species is similar in shape of pronotum and fasciate elytra to Phaedis kaniei Ando, 2019 from Sumatra, and it is readily separable from the latter by the characters mentioned in the following key.

- Body length 7.4 mm; IE/TD 2.40; head greenish blue, pronotum yellowish green, with a pair of purple spots; each elytron with humeral spot and apical fascia, along with four fusiform spots in middle; epistoma rounded at apex; frons with punctures much larger than on epistoma; ultimate maxillary palpomere strongly dilated, right-angled triangular. Pronotum shallowly emarginate at apex; lateral margins weakly sinuate in apical third and faintly so before base; anterior corners obtusely angulate, posterior ones rectangular. Elytral intervals very sparsely and microscopically punctate. Prosternum sparsely punctate, with prosternal process strongly bent inwards behind coxae. Anterior angles of mesoventral ridge obtusely angulate in lateral view. Posterior margins of meso- and metafemora distinctly toothed; inner margin of protibiae moderately emarginate in apical 4/5.......................................................................................... P. fusivittatus sp. nov.

- Body length 9.4 mm; IE/TD 3.07; head and pronotum deep metallic green, pronotum without spots; each elytron with a pair of fasciae, without fusiform spots; epistoma almost straight at apex; frons with punctures as large as on epistoma; ultimate maxillary palpomere weakly dilated, forming weak securiform. Pronotum deeply emarginate at apex; lateral margins evenly divergent from base to basal two-fifths, thence distinctly convergent to apices; anterior corners obtusely rounded, posterior ones obtuse. Elytral intervals finely and densely punctate. Prosternum impunctate, with prosternal process slightly sloping posteriorly. Anterior angles of mesoventral ridge acutely pointed in lateral view. Posterior margins of meso- and metafemora without teeth; inner margin of protibiae slightly bent at basal third..................................... P. kaniei Ando, 2019

Figures

FIGURES 17–23. Phaedis spp., habitus.—17, Phaedis nagaii sp. nov.; 18, Phaedis tenuifasciatus sp. nov.; 19, Phaedis fusivittatus sp. nov.; 20, Phaedis choui sp. nov.; 21, Phaedis amabilis sp. nov.; 22, Phaedis minusculus sp. nov.; 23, Phaedis dilatitarsalis sp. nov.

FIGURES 30–35. Phaedis fusivittatus sp. nov.—30, mentum; 31, prosternal process; 32, protibia; 33, mesotibia; 34, metatibia; 35, aedeagus (right: in lateral view; left: in dorsal view). Scales. 0.2 mm for fig. 30; 0.5 mm for Figs 31–35.