Otibazo polyphemus, Grebennikov, Vasily V. & Pham, Hong Thai, 2014

Grebennikov, Vasily V. & Pham, Hong Thai, 2014, First record of Otibazo (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Molytinae) outside of Japan, with description of a new species from Vietnam, Zootaxa 3869 (5), pp. 597-600 : 598

Otibazo polyphemus sp. nov.

Fig. 1 A–H

Diagnosis. Apart from being the first named Otibazo from outside of Japan, the new species can be immediately differentiated from its three named congeners by the pronotum outline in dorsal view ( Fig. 1 A). Unlike the previously known species with their pronota parallel-sided or slightly bisinuate in the basal two thirds, those of O. polyphemus sp. n. have their sides nearly straight along the entire length and evenly tapering anterad. Consequently, the ratio of pronotal width at base to that at middle, being about 1.0– 1.1 in the named species from Japan, is 1.2–1.3 in O. polyphemus sp. n. Additionally, the new species from Vietnam is distinguishable by relatively long hairs on pronotum and elytra, length of which clearly exceeds the distance to the nearest puncture. Similarly with O. oshimaensis and O. morimoto , the new species from Vietnam does not display the sexual dimorphism in having enlarged male protarsi, as in the type species ( Morimoto 1961 ; figs. 2C, D). Proportions of body and those of male genitalia (as depicted in the original descriptions of the two illustrated species from Japan: O. nagasakiensis and O. oshimaensis ) suggest further morphological differences.

Description. Holotype, male ( Fig. 1 A–H). GenBank accession: KJ841733 . Length: 1.85 mm. Pronotal sides nearly straight and evenly tapering anteriorly; male protarsi not wider than those in females; dorsal punctures on pronotum and elytra minute and barely visible; hairs on pronotum and elytra exceed distance to the nearest puncture; apex of aedeagus lays in the same plane with its apical half. Intraspecific variation. Length: 1.82–1.94 mm.

Material examined. Holotype ( Fig. 1 A–H) male ( CNC): “ VIETNAM, Tam Dao, N21°27'54" E105°38'44", 12.v.2012, 1218m, sift02, V.Grebennikov” and “CNCCOLVG00004312”.

Paratypes: 3 exx ( CNC), same geographical label as holotype, of them 2 exx without additional number label and 1 ex with “CNCCOLVG00004313”; 3 exx ( CNC) “ VIETNAM, Tam Dao, N21°29'27" E105°37'49", 13.v.2012, 1128m, sift03, V.Grebennikov” and each with individual label “CNCCOLVG00004355”, “CNCCOLVG00004356” and “CNCCOLVG00004357”, respectively; 2 exx ( MTD) “ VIETNAM, Tam Dao, N21°27'48" E105°38'46", 16.v.2012, 1229m, sift06, V.Grebennikov”; 2 exx ( CMN) “ VIETNAM, Tam Dao, N21°27'44" E105°38'55", 17.v.2012, 1185m, sift07, V.Grebennikov”.

Etymology. The species epithet is the Latinized Greek mythical name of Polyphemus , the gigantic one-eyed Cyclops, son of Poseidon, who accidentally met, and was deliberately blinded by, the crew of the Odyssey on their return from the Trojan war; noun in apposition.

Criteria defining O. polyphemus sp. n. The type specimens of O. polyphemus sp. n. have not been directly compared with those of the three other named Otibazo species. No representatives of the other named Otibazo species have been sequenced for their DNA barcode. The known biological preferences of all named species seem identical and, therefore, uninformative. The assertion of the species-level status for the newly reported specimens from Vietnam was done, therefore, by emphasising their uniqueness in the two available lines of evidence: (a.) morphological differences between O. polyphemus sp. n. and its named congeners and (b.) the wide geographical gap separating the type locality of O. polyphemus sp. n. in northern Vietnam from those of the other named species in Japan.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Otibazo polyphemus sp. n. from Vietnam, holotype, male. A – D: habitus; E – F: aedeagus and tegmen, dorsal (E), ventral (F) and lateral (G); H: sternite 9.