Bouchardium chillygonzalesi, Kamiński, 2024

Kamiński, Marcin Jan, 2024, New taxa of Afrotropical Toktokkies (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Molurina) from the Natural History Museum of Basel, Zootaxa 5446 (1), pp. 77-87 : 79-80

Bouchardium chillygonzalesi sp. nov.

( Figs 1 , 4A, B , 5 )

Type material. Holotype ( NHMB), male: “Hartebeestpoort Dom m. Pretoria S.Afr.Leg.Zumpt —10.49” . Paratypes ( NHMB) : two specimens same data as holotype, single specimen: “Syringa S Rhodesia R. West [unreadable] 08”, female ( MLPC) : “ ZIMBABWE SE, Matobo National Park , 10–15.III.1999, leg. St. Roth ”, “coll. Lillig ex Naturkundemuseum Erfurt”, single specimen ( MLPC) : “ Central Zimbabwe , Mvuma, route Gutu-Chatsworth, 24.XI.1998, M. Snizek leg.”, “coll. Lillig ex Zoologische Staatssammlung München” .

Diagnosis. Due to the similar color pattern of elytra (presence of two red stripes along the sides of the disc) this new species superficially resembles Bouchardium mariae sp. nov. (see diagnosis below). Nevertheless, Bouchardium chillygonzalesi sp. nov. can be distinguished from all its congeners by the presence of posteriorly projecting appendages on the prosternal process ( Fig. 1E ) and by having short c4 plates of ovipositor, which do not extend beyond the tip of c3 ( Fig. 4A, B ).

Description. Length 20.0–24.0 mm, width of pronotum 5.0 mm, and elytra 10.0–13.0 mm.

Head: Hypognathous. Frons finely punctate (~6 diameters apart); frontoclypeal suture coarse, presenting as deep groove in middle; apical clypeal margin not emarginate; labrum coarsely punctate laterally with shallow groove along apical margin bearing yellow, acuminate setae. Eyes comma-shaped, with ventral portion reduced, strongly emarginate around epistomal base. Antennae slender, relatively short (only slightly reaching beyond base of pronotum), bearing acuminate yellow setae; length of antennomere 2 equal to ~0.2 of antennomere 3; length of antennomere 4 about 0.6 of length of antennomere 3. Prothorax: Pronotum laterally with coarse, confluent punctures; widest in anterior half. Disc dull, finely punctate (4–5 diameters apart); anterior angles slightly produced. Hypomeron convex, dull, and impunctate. Prosternal process with pair of appendages, with wide bordering (ventral view). Pterothorax: Scutellum apically covered with dense setation. Elytra widest in half, disc relatively flat, sharply angled below margin; disc dark brown, impunctate, without tubercles; edges of disc red, with corrugated borders. Elytral slope steep, impunctate, elytral apex rounded. Epipleura impunctate and without tubercles, clearly differentiated from neighbouring portion of elytra and encircling ventrite 5. Lateral regions of metaventrite (between coxae) extremely short. Metaepisternal suture abbreviated posteriorly. Legs: Densely covered in golden setae, slender. Tarsi narrow, covered with golden setation. Abdomen: Ventrites 1–4 extremely finely and sparsely punctate laterally (>5 diameters apart); ventrite 5 with denser and coarser punctuation (3–4 diameters apart).

Etymology. This species is named in honor of Jason Charles Beck (20 March 1972)—professionally known as Chilly Gonzales—Grammy-winning pianist and composer from Canada.

Distribution. South Africa (Provinces: Gauteng), Zimbabwe ( Fig. 5 ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Morphology of Bouchardium chillygonzalesi sp. nov. (holotype). Lateral (A), dorsal (B), posterior (C), and ventral (D) views of the body; prosternal process (E); epipleuron (F); label (G). Arrow indicates edge of epipleuron.

FIGURE 4. Morphology of female terminalia within the genus Bouchardium gen. nov. Bouchardium chillygonzalesi sp. nov. (A, B), B. mariae sp. nov. (C), B. cubicum (D). Ovipositor (A, B, D), spiculum ventrale (C). Abbreviations: c- coxities, c2-c4- subsequent lobes of coxities, v- valvifer, ip- inner plate of paraprocts, op- outer plate of paraprocts, pa - paraprocts.

FIGURE 5. Distribution of the genus Bouchardium gen. nov. and its representatives.