Anthelephila ailani, Kejval, 2017

Kejval, Zbyněk, 2017, Studies of the genus Anthelephila Hope (Coleoptera: Anthicidae) 14. Twenty-four new species from Asia and new records of A. fossicollis Kejval, Zootaxa 4306 (1), pp. 1-52 : 4-6

Anthelephila ailani sp. nov. Figs 7–11 , 108

Description. Male (holotype). Body length 7.1 mm. Head and pronotum dark reddish; elytra black, with slight bluish reflection; legs reddish-brown, antennae largely black, base of most antennomeres reddish.

Head 1.2 times as long as wide, nearly smoothly merging with longer neck; tempora strongly narrowing posteriad, posterior angles absent. Eyes large and rather convex. Dorsal surface glossy, distinctly punctate; punctures widely separated. Setation subdecumbent; numerous longer, more raised setae. Antennae conspicuously long, slightly enlarged in terminal third; antennomere X 2.2 times, XI 2.8 times as long as wide.

Pronotum 1.6 times as long as wide, slightly narrower than head including eyes, nearly evenly rounded anteriorly, strongly narrowed and moderately impressed (constricted) postero-laterally in dorsal view; pronotal disc evenly convex. Surface rather glossy, mostly minutely and sparsely punctate, nearly impunctate near procoxal cavities, with some coarser punctures dorsally in posterior half, with vague indication of transverse wrinkles dorsally before base; postero-lateral impressions and adjacent dorso-lateral area rather coarsely, longitudinally wrinkled. Setation as on head.

Mesosternum with slight median longitudinal bulge, delimited laterally by sparse fringe of short setae, and with short median carina posteriorly at base of intercoxal process, bearing some long stiff setae. Metasternum simple.

Elytra 1.8 times as long as wide, conjointly rounded apically; humeri distinct; postscutellar impression absent. Surface glossy, distinctly punctate; punctation double, setiferous punctures rather widely separated. Setation nearly evenly developed, sparser in basal third/fourth, generally longer and more raised than on head, decumbent; numerous tactile setae, longer near base.

Metathoracic wings fully developed.

Fore legs modified ( Figs 7, 8 ); profemora with conspicuous, slender, apically rounded process, with a fringe of short, stiff setae subapically; protibiae widened/flattened in distal half, both median and lateral margin carinate and moderately lobed; penultimate tarsomere widened/flattened distally, with terminal tarsomere articulated dorsally near base in all tarsi. Setation normally developed; metatibiae with two equal terminal spurs.

Abdominal sternum IV with conspicuous, apically rounded median process. Sternum VII ( Fig. 9 ); median process projecting from its margin. Tergum VII simple, somewhat unevenly, widely rounded. Sternite VIII ( Fig. 10 ); prongs robust, rather complex. Tergite VIII with paired sclerites narrowly connected medially, simply rounded apically. Terminal sclerite of segment IX (spiculum) membranous, rounded apically. Aedeagus ( Fig. 11 ); apical portion of tegmen 0.5 times as long as basal-piece, trilobed apically.

Female. Externally differing from male as follows: fore legs and abdominal sterna IV, VII simple; tergum VII subtriangular, rounded apically.

Variation. Body length (♂♀) 6.5–7.1 mm.

Type material. Holotype, ♂: LAO-N, Phongsaly prov. , 21°41–2′N 102°06–8′E, 28.v.–20.vi.2003, PHONGSALY env., ~ 1500m, Vít Kubáň leg. [p] ( NMPC).

Paratypes: 2 ♂♂ 1 ♀, same data as holotype ( ZKDC) ; 8 ♂♂ 1 ♀, same data, except: P. Pacholátko lgt. ( ZKDC, BMNH, DCDC) ; 1 ♂, same data, except: Brancucci leg. ( NHMB) ; 1 ♀, LAOS Phongsaly Prov. PHONGSALY env. Phu Fa , h: 1450–1600 m [p] // 25.VII.2006 leg. M. Geiser Bergregenwald [p] ( NHMB) ; 6 ♂♂ 4 ♀♀, Laos La Oudomxay, Lat 20°53′ N 102°21′ [p] E 7–12.VI.2005 Kboveng leg. L. Jingke [p] // Collezzione: A. Degiovanni [p] ( ADCB) .

Differential diagnosis. Anthelephila ailani sp. nov. is conspicuous by its large size. It may resemble the somewhat smaller A. kubani sp. nov. (5.0– 5.4 mm) by body shape and colouration, including the long, slender profemoral process of the males, but differs by the inconspicuous dorsal corrugation of head, moderately convex, evenly shaped pronotal disc, lack of a median longitudinal impression, two distinct metatibial spurs, and by most male characters.

Etymology. Species name is a Laotian girl name, Ailani (high chief), referring to the conspicuous appearance. Noun in apposition.

Distribution. Laos.

Figures

FIGURES 7 – 11. Anthelephila ailani sp. nov. (holotype ♂). Profemur and tibia (7); tibia, lateral view (8); abdominal sternum VII (9); sternite VIII, half, dorsal view (10); apical portion of aedeagus (11). Scale (0.5 mm): A—Figs 7, 8, B—Fig. 9; (0.3 mm): C—Figs 10, 11.

FIGURES 107 – 114. Body in dorsal view. Anthelephila abnormis sp. nov., paratype ♂ (107); A. ailani sp. nov., holotype ♂ (108); A. disparilis sp. nov., holotype ♂ (109); A. keahi sp. nov., holotype ♂ (110); A. laopako sp. nov., holotype ♂ (111); A. provecta sp. nov., holotype ♀ (112); A. theravada sp. nov., paratype ♀ (113); A. triplex sp. nov., holotype ♂ (114).