Allenipeplus harmonicus, Kirejtshuk, Alexander G. & Kovalev, Alexey V., 2016

Kirejtshuk, Alexander G. & Kovalev, Alexey V., 2016, A new genus of the subfamily Cillaeinae (Coleoptera, Nitidulidae) from the Philippines and New Guinea with notes on the taxonomy and phylogeny of the subfamily, Zootaxa 4205 (3), pp. 226-242 : 234-235

Allenipeplus harmonicus sp. nov.

( Figs. 12–16 , 24 )

Holotype. Female ( ZIN)—“E slope Mt. McKinley, Davao Prov., Mindanao , Elev. 6500 ft, ix-13-1946, lot #55, petiole of dead tree fern frond”.

Diagnosis. In addition to the characters mentioned in the key below, this new species has a very peculiar shape of the mentum, rather different from that in its congeners and, in contrast to other species, A. harmonicus sp. nov. has a subsemicircular scutellar shield and narrowly subrounded apex of prosternal process, coarser and sparser crenellation of the subtruncate apex of the female pygidium, and also differs from:

- A. alius sp. nov. in the arcuately narrowing sides of head behind eyes, more conspicuous (denser and longer) pubescence on the underside;

- A. philippinensis sp. nov. in the smaller body, less broadly arcuate head sides behind eyes; shorter and denser setae at posterior edge of prosternal process;

- A. vitellinus sp. nov. in the pronotum more widened anteriorly, less broadly arcuate head sides behind eyes, pregenal processes subangularly curved at base of mentum, somewhat smaller mesocoxal paramedian depressions on mesothorax with divergent mesal edges and ovipositor with narrower gonocoxites.

Etymology. The epithet of this new species refers to the combination of characters typical for this new genus. Note. The characters common with the type species of the new genus are omitted from the description below. Description of holotype (female). Length 10.8, width 1.9, height 1.0 mm. Elongate, slightly convex to

subflattened dorsally and somewhat convex ventrally; bright dark brown with darkened dorsal surface: posterior

two thirds of head, adsutural, lateral and apical parts of elytra, prosternum and mesosternum (mesoventrite) and

metepisterna dark; body with a faint shine; dorsum covered with very short and subrecumbent yellowish hairs,

somewhat shorter than distance between their insertions; underside of head and prosternum with longer and denser

recumbent hairs (markedly longer than intervals between them); ventrites with recumbent hairs, about as long as

distance between their insertions; setae along apex of prosternal process comparatively rather long and sparse.

Head and pronotum with irregular punctures, much larger than eye facets, separated by one puncture diameter or

somewhat less, interspaced by very fine and somewhat obliterated microreticulation; elytra with somewhat sparser

punctation; exposed tergites and ventrites with very fine and shallower punctation and more pronounced mesh

microreticulation. Prosternum and metaventrite with coarser and more regularly oval punctures than those on head and pronotum, separated by about a puncture diameter, interspaced by somewhat obliterated mesh microreticulation, although punctation becoming much more sparser at median part of posterior third of metaventrite.

Head ( Figs. 13–14 ) widest at eyes and subrectilinearly narrowing posteriorly. Antennae about 3/4 as long as head width, each of antennomeres 1–3 comparable in length, their oblong club about 1/4 of total antennal length, almost 1.5× as long as wide and with antennomere 9 longer than each of antennomeres 10 and 11. Pronotum slightly transverse and subtrapezoid with slightly arcuate lateral edges. Scutellar shield subsemicircular, about twice as wide as long. Pygidium (last tergite) subtriangular, nearly 1.75× as long as wide, subtruncate and crenellate at apex. Pregenal processes ( Fig. 14 ) at hypostomal sinuses subarcuately curved and along sides of mentum convergent. Mentum ( Fig. 14 ) slightly widened anteriorly and with slightly projecting anterior angles, nearly three times as wide as long. Prosternal process only slightly widened before narrowly subrounded apex. Femora nearly 2.5× as wide as tibiae. Protarsi about 2/5 as wide as protibiae, meso- and metatarsi markedly narrower.

Ovipositor as in Fig. 24 , moderately sclerotized.

Distribution. This species is known only from one locality on the island of Mindanao, Philippines.

Figures

FIGURES 12 – 16. Allenipeplus harmonicus gen. et sp. nov. — holotype, female (“ E slope Mt. McKinley, Davao Prov., Mindanao, Elev. 6500 ft, ix- 13 - 1946, lot # 55, petiole of dead tree fern frond ” — ZIN). 12: body, dorsal; 13: anterior part of head, dorsal; 14: head, ventral; 15: thorax and abdominal base, ventral; 16: abdominal apex, ventral. Scale bars = 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 22 – 25. Ovipositor of species of Allenipeplus gen. nov. — ventral. 22: A. philippinensis sp. nov. (“ Philippines, E Luzon, Sierra Madre, Isabela, xi. 2012, I. Lumawig ” — ZIN); 23: A. alius sp. nov. (“ Philippines, Mindoro, Mt Hallon, xi. 2013, I. Lumawig ” — ZIN); 24: A. harmonicus sp. nov. (“ E slope Mt. McKinley, Davao Prov., Mindanao, Elev. 6500 ft, ix- 13 - 1946, lot # 55, petiole of dead tree fern frond ” — ZIN); 25: A. vitellinus sp. nov. (“ New Guinea, Torecella M., 1.700 fts. iv- 1939, G. P. Moore, B. M. 1939 - 479 ” — ZIN). Scale bars = 1.0 mm.