Bambara opaca, Darby, Michael, 2014

Darby, Michael, 2014, Studies of Madagascan Ptiliidae (Coleoptera) 4: The genus Bambara including eight new species and the first account of blindness and aptery in the genus, Zootaxa 3895 (2), pp. 151-169 : 163-164

Bambara opaca sp. n.

(Figs. 5, 22, 36–40, 50)

Habitus Fig. 5. Length +/- 700µ. Colour dark brown. Antennae length +/-260µ. Pronotum length 197µ min, 226µ max, 216µ mean, width 365µ min, 375µ max, 369µ mean; ratio width/length 1.71. Detached elytron length 447µ min, 482µ max, 478µ mean; width 226µ min, 250µ max, 238µ mean; ratio length/width 2.01, Fig. 22. Ratio mean elytra length/mean pronotum length 2.21.

Male: aedeagus without any clear features to reliably distinguish it from other Bambara Fig. 50.

Female: spermathecae Figs. 36–40 .

Etymology. From the Latin opacus meaning shady, obscure, and referring to the overall colouration.

Diagnosis. The shape of the spermatheca. Most likely to be confused with the spermatheca of problematica but distinguishable by the more attenuated shape, particularly between the pump and gland insertion points. Also distinguished from that species by the presence of males.

Type data: Holotype: ♀, Vohimana Reservation Experimentale, VOH/ Nov.2011/01, sifting forest litter, 27.xi.2011, L.S.Rahanitriniaina & P. Banar ( BMNH). Paratypes: 9 exs [6], same data as holotype.

Figures

FIGURES 36 – 46. Spermathecae. 36 – 40, B. opaca; 41, B. dybasi; 42, B. testacea (after Dybas 1966); 43, B. frosti (after Dybas 1966); 44 – 46, B. merina.