Hexarhopalus (Hexarhopalus) zhuxiangi, Jiang & Li & Ji & Engel & Wang, 2021

Jiang, Ri-Xin, Li, Ze-Chuan, Ji, Quan-Yu, Engel, Michael S. & Wang, Shuo, 2021, Three new species of the genus Hexarhopalus Fairmaire, 1891 (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae: Cnodalonini) from China, Zootaxa 5004 (4), pp. 587-597 : 592-594

Hexarhopalus (Hexarhopalus) zhuxiangi sp. nov.

( Figs 4–5 )

Type material. Holotype: CHINA: ♀, labeled ‘China: Guangxi, Guilin City (桂ẇ市), Ziyuan County (NJā县), Maoershan (DZ儿山), H: ~ 2000m, 21.VI.2018, Zhu Xiang leg.’ ( MHBU) . Paratypes: CHINA: 1 ♀. labeled ‘China, Guangxi, Guilin City (桂ẇ市), Ziyuan County (NJā县), Yinzhulaoshan (ffiüZ山), H: ~ 1800, 31.VIII.2020.’ ( MHBU) .

Description. Female ( Fig. 4A ): Body long oval, convex in lateral view, black and dull.

Head ( Fig. 4B ) transverse, widest across compund eyes. Vertex finely covered with large punctures and each puncture bearing a short, thin seta. Genae and epistoma covered with smaller and denser punctures than those on vertex. Labrum narrower than epistoma, covered with bristles of medium length in apical portion, apical margin rounded; antennal tubercles slightly prominent. Antenna ( Fig. 5A ) short, shorter than length of pronotum, club formed fromfour apical antennomeres. Relative lengths of antennomeres: 0.43: 0.20: 0.43: 0.40: 0.37: 0.33: 0.33: 0.30: 0.27: 0.30: 0.50; relative widths of antennomeres: 0.27: 0.20: 0.20: 0.20: 0.23: 0.23: 0.30: 0.37: 0.37: 0.40: 0.40. Antennomere I slightly expanded; antennomere II shortest, transverse; antennomere III longest, more than twice as long as antennomere II, antennomeres IV – VII similar, longer than wide, shorter than antennomere III, antennomere VIII about as long as wide, antennomeres IX – X strongly transverse, antennomere XI rounded apically.

Pronotum ( Fig. 4B ) slightly longer than wide, widest near middle, dorsal surface covered with dense large punctures and minute setae; mediolongitudinal sulcus absent, with pair of shallow depressions on disc; pronotal groove thin and not distinct basally, absent in anterior part, narrow but distinct at lateral margin ( Fig. 5B ). Prosternum distinctly raised before procoxae, surface weakly wrinkled, almost asetose; apex of prosternal process rounded.

Elytra ovoid in dorsal view, nearly twice as long as wide, humerus strongly narrowed, widest at apical 1/3, disc with regular rows of strong foveolate punctures; mesoscutellum transverse, nearly triangular; wings completely lacking.

Metaventrite and abdomen shiny and finely covered with large punctures, glabrous; median sulcus of metaventrite shallow but present, extending from anterior margin to ca. 2/3 of metaventrite length. Abdominal ventrite I longest, about as long as combined lengths of ventrites III and IV; ventrite II longer than ventrite III; ventrites III and IV distinctly concave; ventrite V shorter than combined lengths of ventrites III and IV, rounded apically; posterior margin of ventrite VIII ( Fig. 5C ) rounded and covered with sparse long setae. Spiculum ( Fig. 5C ) slightly tortuous, apex rounded and slightly dilated.

Femora claviform at middle, all tibiae covered with brown setae apically, pro- and mesotibiae slightly curved, metatibia straight; tarsomeres simple, distal pro- and mesotarsomeres each about as long as combined lengths of remaining proximal pro- and mesotarsomeres, respectively distal metatarsomere slightly shorter than combined lengths of proximal three metatarsomeres.

Apex of ovipositor ( Fig. 5E ) with one long seta and a shorter seta.

Measurements: BL 14.4–15.0 mm, HL 2.1–2.2 mm, HW 2.6–3.8 mm, PL 3.7–3.9 mm, PW 3.8–4.0 mm, EL 8.6–8.9 mm, EW 5.2–6.7 mm

Male: unknown.

Differential diagnosis. The new species resembles H. (H.) sculpticollis Fairmaire, 1891 in its general aspect, but can be differentiated from it by the following characters: 1) pronotum covered with dense large punctures (pronotal punctures small in H. (H.) sculpticollis ); 2) grooves on pronotum shallow (much deeper in H. (H.) sculpticollis ); 3) pronotal median absent (shallow but still present in H. (H.) sculpticollis ).

Distribution. China: Guangxi.

Biology. Unknown.

Etymology. The specific epithet honors Mr. Xiang Zhu, collector of the holotype.

Figures

FIGURE 4. H. (H.) zhuxiangi sp. nov., female. A. Habitus; B. Head and pronotum.

FIGURE 5. Diagnostic features of H. (H.) zhuxiangi sp. nov., female. A. Left antenna; B. Lateral groove of pronotum; C. Ventrite VIII and spiculum; D. Ovipositor; E. Same, apical part.