Machleida tarskii, Kaminski, Marcin J., Kanda, Kojun & Smith, Aaron D., 2019

Kaminski, Marcin J., Kanda, Kojun & Smith, Aaron D., 2019, Taxonomic revision of the genus Machleida Fahraeus, 1870 (Tenebrionidae, Pimeliinae, Asidini), ZooKeys 898, pp. 83-102 : 83

Machleida tarskii sp. nov. Figs 1C , 2E , 5

Type material.

Holotype (Transvaal Mus.): "Z.A. 86 / Pirie Forest / King Williams Town", "Humus / XII.1961", "N. Leleup leg.". Paratype: single specimen same data as holotype.

Diagnosis.

This species most closely resembles Machleida banachi , as both share a similar body size, structure of pronotal disc (median carinae merging) and elytra (tubercles forming two lateral ridges). They can be separated by different formation of the elytral slope (extremely steep in tarskii ; gradually falling in banachi ) ( Fig. 3A, B ). For other characters separating those both species see the identification key.

Description.

Length 9.0-9.2 mm, width of elytra 5.0-5.2 mm. Integument dark brown (yellowish in holotype), often densely coated with debris. Head: frons with longitudinal median depression, sparsely punctate (3.0-4.0 diameters apart), each puncture with short yellowish acuminate setae; frontoclypeal suture medially indistinguishable, indented at margins, with pair of lateral depressions; apical clypeal margin broadly shallowly emarginate; clypeus slightly projected toward front of body; apical margin of labrum strongly emarginate, densely punctate apically (~0.2 diameters apart), each puncture with short yellowish setae. Eye elongate oval, length approximately 4 × width, weakly emarginate around epistomal base. Mentum with rounded base, not fully filling buccal cavity, anterior margin medially emarginate; sparsely punctate, each puncture with single seta. Submentum semicircular, concave, impunctate. Antenna moderately clothed in erect acuminate clear to yellowish setae; length of antennomeres 10+11 equal that of antennomere 3; length of antenna equal to 0.75 of pronotal length. Prothorax: pronotal lateral margin rounded, strongly raised, densely covered with tubercles, each tubercle densely covered with patch of short setae and medially with few scale-like longer setae. Pronotum widest below base. Disc with two median carinae merging in middle; lateral tubercles confluent with median carinae, forming convexities situated above half pronotal length; surface moderately punctate (1.0-2.0 diameters apart), punctures without setae; anterior margin strongly emarginate, anterior apices strongly produced; base bisinuate. Hypomeron with shallow antennal sulcus, impunctate. Prosternal process strongly convex, densely covered with short scale-like setae, longitudinally depressed in middle (ventral view). Pterothorax: scutellum with median longitudinal grove. Elytra widest behind middle, impunctate; two marginal rows of tubercles present, apex of each tubercle densely covered with setae; marginal branch extending to approximately middle of 5th abdominal ventrite, dorsal branch extending to base of 5th abdominal ventrite, terminal tubercles transverse; disc without any trace of intervals, between tubercles glabrous, tubercles distributed sparsely, each apically with dense patch of setae; ventral portion of elytra, mesanepisternum, mesepimeron, and metepimeron impunctate, and sparsely covered with short, brownish setae. Elytral slope extremely steep (falling at angle of 80°). Epipleura indistinguishable from neighbouring portion of elytra. Meso- and metaventrite moderately punctate and covered with yellowish setae. Lateral regions of metaventrite (between coxae) extremely short. Legs: apex of profemora with small denticle on outer margin. Femora and tibia densely punctate and setose. Tarsi cylindrical, not flattened. Abdomen: ventrites 1-4 sparsely covered with brownish short setae; ventrite 5 moderately punctate and setose, (yellowish setae) without submarginal sulcus. Terminalia: specimens were not dissected due to scarcity of available materials.

Etymology.

The species epithet is in honor of Alfred Tarski (14 January 1901-26 October 1983), Polish-American logician and mathematician. Educated at the University of Warsaw and a member of the Lwów–Warsaw school of logic, he immigrated in 1939 to the USA, where he became a citizen in 1945. Alfred Tarski carried out research in mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1942 until his death in 1983.

Distribution.

Representatives of this species have been collected in the following ecoregion of South Africa ( Fig. 5 ): Drakensberg Montane Woodlands and Grasslands.

Figures

Figure 1. Selected diagnostic characters proposed for Machleida and its species. A, B Pronotal disc with specific surface modifications C ventral aspect of postoral regions D antenna E, F dorsal aspect of head. Illustrated species: A, D Machleida zofiae B M. nodulosa C M. tarskii E M. devia F M. flagstaffensis.

Figure 2. Habitus images of the studied species. A Machleida banachi B M. devia C M. flagstaffensis D M. nodulosa E M. tarskii F M. zofiae.

Figure 3. Morphological details of selected Machleida species. A, B Lateral aspect of elytron C scutellum and D, E elytral disc. Illustrated species: A Machleida tarskii B M. banachi C M. zofiae D M. devia E M. nodulosa.

Figure 5. Distribution of species of the genus Machleida.