Cionus vicarius Hustache, 1939

Caldara, Roberto & Košťál, Michael, 2023, A Taxonomic Revision Of The Afrotropical Species Of The Weevil Genus Cionus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), Zootaxa 5288 (1), pp. 1-98 : 19

6. Cionus vicarius Hustache ( Figs 6a–e )

Cionus (Cleopus) vicarius Hustache, 1939: 35 .

Type locality. Nyasheke ( Democratic Republic of the Congo).

Type series. This species was described based on one male and one female as belonging to the subgenus Cleopus . At MRAC, we studied the male labelled “ HOLOTYPUS [museal pink card, since Hustache did not designate the holotype] / Congo belge P.N.A., Nyasheke (Volc. Nyamuragira), 1820 m, 14 au 26-vi-1935, G.F. de Vitte: 1482 / Mus. Roy. Afr. Centr. / Cionus (Cleopus) vicarius m., Hustache det.”. We designated it as the lectotype by adding the label “ LECTOTYPE Cionus vicarius Hustache des. Caldara & Košťál 2014”.

Diagnosis. Antennal club elongated, slightly longer than funicle. Pronotum without protuberances. Prosternum with moderate emargination. Elytral interstriae dark, with many maculae and small protuberances in correspondence to the maculae, striae rectilinear, clearly visible. Claws asymmetrical in male.

Redescription. Male (lectotype) ( Figs 6a–b ). Body: stout, moderately long (length 2.9 mm). Head: rostrum stout, short (Rl/Rw 3.00, Rl/Pl 1.50), black; in lateral view weakly curved, slightly tapered from antennal insertion to apex; in dorsal view parallel-sided in entire length, from base to near apex with recumbent, moderately dense, whitish and light brown, moderately long (l/w 5–8), elliptical scales. Head between eyes moderately narrow, 0.4× as wide as rostrum at base. Eyes flat. Antennae dark brown, inserted between middle and apical 1/3; scape long (l/w 10); funicle short, distinctly shorter than scape, S1 more robust than S2, short, only 1.3× longer than wide, as long as S2, S2 1.5 × as long as wide, S3–5 transverse; club oblongly oval, slightly longer than funicle, uniformly pubescent. Pronotum: black, without protuberances, with shallow, small, regular punctures, intervals among punctures shining, smooth, moderately visible between recumbent, sparse, moderately long (l/w 5–7), elliptical, whitish and intermixed light brown scales; conical, transverse (Pl/Pw 1.83), widest at base, with rectilinear sides, weakly convex. Prosternum: anterior margin moderately emarginated. Scutellar shield: triangular, with elongated, whitish scales. Elytra: black, moderately long (El/Ew 1.18), subelliptical, widest at middle, distinctly wider than pronotum (Ew/Pw 1.82), humeri moderately prominent, sides slightly rounded, moderately convex on disc; even interstriae flat, odd interstriae weakly convex, especially in correspondence to black spots, with shallow, small, regular punctures, intervals between punctures shining, smooth, with recumbent, moderately dense, whitish scales, with many subquadrate spots formed by subrecumbent black scales on odd interstriae; striae straight, feebly visible, half as wide as interstriae, with dense deep punctures, intervals between punctures narrow, situated at same level as interstriae. Venter: mesosternal process moderately convex, slightly emarginated. Metasternum covered with moderately sparse, elongated, grayish and light brown intermixed scales. Abdomen with moderately deep, dense punctures, which are feebly visible between sparse, regularly arranged, whitish approximately equally long scales; V1 1.6× longer than V2; V1+2 5.2× longer than V3+4, latter ones 0.6× as long as V5. Legs: covered with moderately sparse, elongated, grayish and light brown intermixed scales; femora black, with robust sharp teeth; tibiae black; tarsi black, onychium as long as T1–3 combined; claws asymmetrical, one claw 2/3 as long as other. Penis: Figs 6c–e , its body short, parallel-sided in basal half, then distinctly gradually narrowed to apex, with subacutely pointed tip. Flagellum short, bifurcated at its base.

Female. Unknown.

Variability. Only known from the lectotype.

Remarks. Unfortunately we know only the lectotype (male) of this species, which moreover lacks some scales, especially on the elytral disc. Due to its habitus and the lack of protuberances on the pronotum, it seems to be more closely related to C. tristis , from which it differs by the longer and less stout rostrum, the more conical pronotum with sides completely rectilinear and without dark spots, shorter segments 1 and 2 of the funicle, and the distinctly elongated club.

Biological notes. No data are available.

Distribution. Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Figures

FIGURES 5–6. FIGURE 5. Cionus perlatus. a: body in dorsal view (male), b: body in lateral view (male), c: rostrum in lateral view (female), d: penis in ventral view, e: penis in lateral view, f: apex of penis in dorsal view. FIGURE 6. Cionus vicarius. a: body in dorsal view (male), b: body in lateral view (male), c: penis in ventral view, d: penis in lateral view, e: apex of penis in dorsal view. Not to scale.