Azotoctla tuberquiai, Cardona-Duque, Juliana & Franz, Nico M., 2012

Cardona-Duque, Juliana & Franz, Nico M., 2012, Description and phylogeny of a new Neotropical genus of Acalyptini (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Curculioninae) associated with the staminodes of Cyclanthaceae, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 166 (3), pp. 559-623 : 610-613

AZOTOCTLA TUBERQUIAI CARDONA- DUQUE & FRANZ SP. NOV. ( FIGS 32 , 33 )

Diagnosis: Dark reddish brown to brown; rostrum slightly rugulose between antennal insertion and eyes; antennal insertion not visible in dorsal view; scrobe subrectate, not projected beyond antennal socket; profemur slightly longer than meso- and metafemur; humeri slightly projected; elytral lateral margins slightly sinuate in lateral view; apical portion of male sternum 9 consisting of two subquadrate furcal arms, arms separated yet connected via a membrane; tegminal basal piece O-shaped; aedeagal lateral margins converging towards apical quarter; aedeagus without paired lateral, longitudinally orientated plates; tectum sclerotized along basal third; female sternum 8 with lamina mesally emarginate, furcal arms truncated, distinctly diverging; spermatheca with corpus swollen. Azotoctla tuberquiai can be distinguished from the remaining congeners by the dorsally hidden antennal insertion and the divided apical portion of the male sternum 9 basal plate, which consists of two subquadrate furcal arms. The remaining Azotoctla species have a single basal plate sclerite of male sternum 9 that is subquadrate, plicate, and mesally projected. Additionally, the tectum is closed at its basal third and lamina of female sternum 8 is mesally emarginate with furcal arms truncated and distinctly diverging.

Description: Male: small, length 2.8 mm, width 1.3 mm, oval l/w = 2.2 (N = 1). Colour dark reddish brown to brown; vestiture long, golden, most conspicuous on pronotum, elytra, mesepimeron, metanepisternum, femora, and ventrites. Rostrum medium, 0.6 mm; r/p = 0.9, reddish brown; in dorsal view slightly rugulose between antennal insertion and eyes; antennal insertion near apical third, hidden in dorsal view; scrobe subrectate, not projected beyond antennal socket, basally deep. Antennal club oval, apically slightly pointed, I longer than II + III, II and III similar in length. Head ventrally reddish brown, glabrous; dorsally darkened, barely pilose. Eyes distant from pronotal margin by nearly two thirds of their diameter. Pronotum l/w = 0.9, brown, in dorsal view subcircular, anterior margin 0.7¥ width of posterior margin, lateral margins rounded, greatest width at midpoint, vestiture long; posterior margin rounded; in lateral view subrectangular. Mesepimeron ventrally slightly projected. Prosternum glabrous; procoxal cavities inserted on posterior three quarters; prosternal process rounded, flattened; metaventrite anteriorly pilose, even; metacoxal cavities separated by distance similar to mesocoxal diameter. Prothoracic legs slightly longer than meso- and metathoracic legs, reddish brown; procoxa slightly pilose; profemur slightly longer than meso- and metafemur f/p = 1.1; protibia t/f = 0.9. Meso- and metatibiae anteroventrally pubescent along apical quarter. Scutellum pentagonal, brown. Elytra elongate, l/w = 1.4, anterior margins rounded; humeri slightly projected; lateral margins subparallel throughout anterior two thirds, thereafter nearly straight and converging; in lateral view dorsally flattened throughout anterior half, thereafter slightly convex, lateral margins slightly sinuate; striae narrower than intervals, shallow, indistinct because of dense pilosity; strial punctures small, dark brown, subcircular; intervals dark reddish brown, vestiture long. Abdomen nearly 2.5¥ length of lateral margin of metaventrite, vestiture denser than on metaventrite, sparser anteriad; sternites 1 and 2 centrally nearly flat; 1 slightly longer than 2. Tergite 1 incomplete; tergites 2–7 complete; tergite 7 lateroanteriorly with paired strigate-sculptured regions. Tergite 8 almost completely covered by elytra; slightly wider than long, posterior margin slightly rounded. Sternum 9 ( Fig. 32A ) with basal portion of basal plate suboval, T-shaped; apical portion consisting of two subquadrate furcal arms, separated yet connected via a membrane, strongly joined and superposed with sclerites of sternum 8 (thus appearing as parts of the same structure); apodeme two times width of aedeagal apodemes. Tegminal plate developed, basal piece O-shaped, not completely closed; tegminal apodeme deflexed, nearly half length of aedeagus. Aedeagus ( Fig. 32B ) in dorsal view with lateral margins converging towards apical quarter, medium, l/w = 3.1 (N = 1), simple (as opposed to with paired, lateral, longitudinally orientated, variously shaped plates), basal margin widely rounded, apex conical, projected (projection medium sized and wide); tectum sclerotized along basal third, gradually opened from middle; endophallus with five spine-like, variously orientated sclerites along apical half; in lateral view wide, ventral margin distinctly deflexed; aedeagal apodemes distinctly sinuate at apex.

Female ( Fig. 33A ): length 3 mm, width 1.4 mm, l/w = 2.1 (N = 1). Rostrum distinctly longer than in male, 0.9 mm; r/p = 1.4, reddish brown, slender, dorsally and ventrally distinctly arcuate, apex and base slightly wider (dorsolateral margins converging mesally), glabrous throughout, even (as opposed to punctulate). Head dark brown. Pronotum dark brown, l/w = 0.8, anterior margin 0.8¥ width of posterior margin; in lateral view subquadrate. Prothoracic legs f/p = 1.2; t/f = 0.8. Elytra l/w = 1.4. Wings 1.8¥ length of length of elytra, l/w = 3.2. Abdominal suture between sternites 1 and 2 not evident; sternites 1 and 2 subglabrous, sternite 5 slightly longer than 3 + 4, posterior margin truncated. Tergites 1 and 2 incomplete; lateroposterior part of tergites 4–6 and lateroanterior part of tergite 7 with paired strigate-sculptured regions. Tergite 8 semicircular; posterior margin simple; anterior margin widely rounded; lateral margins slightly folded. Sternum 8 ( Fig. 33B ) with lamina mesally emarginate; furcal arms truncated, distinctly diverging, margin straight, corners angulated and glabrous. Coxites nearly as long as apodeme of sternite 8, styli apically with one to four long setae. Spermatheca ( Fig. 33C ) with corpus swollen; apex of cornu narrowly rounded; ramus and collum widely separated; ramus slightly protruded; collum not protruded.

Variation: No significant variation is apparent amongst the examined specimens.

Type material: Holotype male (dissected) ‘COant. [ Colombia, Antioquia], Medellín, Corr. [Corregimiento] San Antonio de Prado, Vda. [Vereda] Astilleros , Truchera de los Muñoz , Piedra Galana , 6°14.858′ N; 75°39.9′ W, 2619 m, manual en inflorescencia de Sphaeradenia cuatrecasana Harling (DT 2855) , 31-mar-07, leg. Cardona, Tuberquia & Valencia, CEUA 45754 ’ ( CEUA) . Paratypes, same label information as holotype except ‘ CEUA 45755 ’, ‘ CEUA 45756 ’ ( CEUA: two females, dissected); ‘COant. [ Colombia, Antioquia], Andes, Santa Rita , subida a la banqueta, 5°35′10,9″ N; 75°57′25,5″ W, 2495 m, en inflorescencia de Sphaeradenia sp. ( CABS 10 ), Dic. 5/2009, leg. C. Bota & C. Flórez, CEUA 49351 ’, ‘ CEUA 49351 ’ ( CEUA: two females) .

Etymology: Named in honour of Dino Jesús Tuberquia, botanist and great scholar of Cyclanthaceae systematics, who has inspired many young naturalists, acted as a great companion in the field, and who introduced the senior author to the pollination ecology of cyclanths.

Natural history: Azotoctla tuberquiai is known only from two localities in the Central and Occidental Cordilleras of Colombia (Department of Antioquia), occurring at elevations above 2400 m ( Fig. 35 ) in montane cloud forests. The adults were collected inside open inflorescences of multiple Sphaeradenia Harling species , including S. cuatrecasana Harling. At present they constitute the only species of Azotoctla associated with this cyclanth genus.

Figures

Figure 32. Azotoctla tuberquiai, male. A, sternum 9; B, aedeagus, dorsal and lateral view.

Figure 33. Azotoctla tuberquiai, female. A, habitus, lateral view; B, sternum 8; C, spermatheca.

Figure 35. Azotoctla species distributions, I: Azotoctla angustacra, Azotoctla gomezi, Azotoctla punctata, Azotoctla tibiatra, and Azotoctla tuberquiai.