Machleida banachi, 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 banachi sp. nov. Figs 2A , 5

Type material.

Holotype (Transvaal Mus.): "26.11.1988; E-Y:2582 / forest floor litter / leg. Endrody-Younga", "S. Afr., Transkei / Ntsubane forest / 31.27 S– 29.44E ". Paratypes (Transvaal Mus.): single specimen: same data as holotype; single specimen: same data, except "1.12.1988; E-Y:2593 / forest floor litter / leg. Endrody-Younga"; single specimen: same data, except "25.11.1988; E-Y:2579 / forest floor litter / leg. Endrody-Younga"; two specimens: same data, except: 25.11.1988; E-Y:2580 / groundtraps, 14 days / leg. Endrody-Younga", "groundtrap with / banana bait"; two specimens: same data, except "25.11.1988; E-Y:2537 / fungi & for. litter / leg. Endrody-Younga"; single specimen: "Z.A.82 / Port St. John D. / Ingogo Forest", "Humus / XII-1961", "N. Leleup leg.".

Diagnosis.

This species can be distinguished from all its congeners by the unique structure of elytra: disc medially lacking tubercles and dentate humerus (strongly protruding laterad) ( Fig. 2A ). This species most closely resembles Machleida tarski (see identification key above).

Description.

Length 8.0-9.5 mm, width of elytra 4.0-7.0 mm. Integument brownish, often densely coated with debris. Head: frons with longitudinal median depression, densely punctate (~0.2 diameters apart), each puncture with short yellowish rectangular, flattened scale-like seta; frontoclypeal suture medially indistinguishable, weakly 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 sharply emarginate medially, densely punctate in apical half (~0.2 diameters apart), each puncture with short yellowish aciminate setae. Eye elongate oval, length approximately 5 × width, weakly emarginate around epistomal base. Mentum with rounded base, not fully filling buccal cavity; anterior margin weakly medially emarginate; densely punctate, each with single acuminate seta. Submentum semicircular, concave medially, densely punctate. Antenna moderately clothed in erect acuminate yellowish setae; length of antennomeres 10+11 equal to 0.8 of antennomere 3 length; length of antenna equal to 0.75 of pronotal length. Prothorax: pronotal lateral margin rounded, strongly raised. Pronotum widest below middle. Disc with two median carinae merging in middle; lateral tubercles confluent with median carinae, forming convexities situated above half pronotal length; surface densely punctate (~0.2 diameters apart), each puncture with short yellowish rectangular, flattened scale-like seta; anterior margin strongly emarginate, anterior apices strongly produced; base bisinuate. Hypomeron with shallow antennal sulcus, sparsely punctate to impunctate, each puncture, if present, with short yellowish acuminate seta. Prosternal process strongly convex, longitudinally depressed in middle (ventral view). Pterothorax: scutellum without median grove. Elytra widest behind middle, clothed with short yellowish rectangular, flattened scale-like setae; marginal costae present, tuberculate, apex of each tubercle densely covered with setae, marginal branch extending to approximately apex of 4th abdominal ventrite, dorsal branch extending to apex of 3rd abdominal ventrite, terminal tubercles transverse; disc smooth, without any trace of intervals, sparsely covered with flattened setae, with elongated tubercles near base ( Fig. 3B ); ventral portion of elytra basally impunctate, apically with sparse punctures. Elytral slope gradually falling towards elytral apex (at angle of 50°). Epipleura indistinguishable from neighbouring portion of elytra. Mesanepisternum, mesepimeron, and metepimeron impunctate or sparsely punctate. Meso- and metaventrite densely punctate and covered with 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 1-3 moderately punctate and weakly rugulose; ventrites 4 and 5 densely punctate and setose; ventrite 5 without submarginal sulcus. Terminalia: aedeagus as in M. devia ( Fig. 4C ). Female specimens were not dissected due to scarcity of available materials.

Etymology.

This newly introduced name honours Stefan Banach (30 March 1892-31 August 1945), prominent Polish mathematician and founder of modern functional analysis. He was educated at the Technical University of Lwów and was a founder of the Lwów School of Mathematics.

Distribution.

Representatives of this species have been collected in the following ecoregions of South Africa ( Fig. 5 ): KwaZulu-Cape coastal forest mosaic, Maputaland-Pondoland bushland and thickets.

Figures

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 4. Female and male terminalia of Machleida. A, B Ovipositor and genital tubes of Machleida flagstaffensis C aedeagus of M. devia.

Figure 5. Distribution of species of the genus Machleida.