Indophyes Friedman

Friedman, Ariel-Leib-Leonid, 2012, Indophyes yaromi, a new genus and species of Nanophyidae (Curculionoidea) from southern India, Zootaxa 3219, pp. 54-61 : 55-56

Indophyes Friedman n. gen.

Type species: Indophyes yaromi n. sp. by present designation and monotypy.

Description. Body middle-sized (around 2.0 mm), ovoid in dorsal view, convex in lateral view, widest at humeri. Integument yellow to light brown, with dark brown markings on rostrum, legs and ventrites, with tessellated brownish pattern on elytra.

Pubescence comprised of white piliform scales covering body and appendages and semi-transparent specialized setae on head, pronotum and odd interstriae.

Rostrum subulate (abruptly narrowed apically, awl-shape), to lesser extent in male, and to extraordinary extent in female, weakly curved. Antennal funicle 5-segmented. Head globular, frons moderately convex in lateral view, eyes large, rounded, moderately convex.

Pronotum trapezoid, laterally straight, posterior margin of pronotum distinctly crenulate. Elytra ovoid, tapered apically, with strongly prominent humeral callus; 10th elytral stria complete, stria joining at apex: 1+10, 2+9, 3+8, 4+5, 6+7 (usual character in Nanophyidae ); 8th stria not crenulate.

Abdominal ventrites: ventrites 1 and 2 fused; in male, suture I clearly seen laterally, obsolete medially; in female, suture not seen clearly, but appears as less pubescent depression; ventrites 3–4 short and transverse; ventrite 5 transverse and apically truncate in male, oblong and apically rounded in female. Sutures II–III distinct. Ventrites 4 and 5 fused and suture IV distinct, but not functional in both sexes. Lateral fovea on ventrites distinct. Male pygidium not foveate.

Legs not sexually dimorphic, femora with row of spines: one large proximal and three small distal. Male tibia not armed.

Male genitalia: Aedeagus ( Figs. 13–14 ): parallel-sided cylindrical tube, at apex inflated dorsoventrally, rounded and curved, slightly asymmetrical; endophallus with minute denticles and single ungulate sclerite; flagellum slender, twice as long as tube, clavate on proximal end, apodemes sclerotized, articulated to base of tube, 0.7 times as long as tube. Tegmen ( Fig. 16–17 ): parameral lobes separated by deep, narrow notch; prostegium prominent, furcated; linea arquata and fenestrae nearly obsolete. Spiculum gastrale Y-shape ( Fig. 15 ). Female genitalia ( Fig. 18, 19 ) typical to Nanophyidae ; spiculum ventrale without basal plate; spermatheca with narrow body and wide tail (cornu).

Diagnosis. Indophyes is well-recognizable by the distinct sexual dimorphism of the rostrum, peculiar subulate shape of rostrum, particularly in female, denticulate femora, unarmed male tibiae, complete 10th stria, not crenulate 8th elytral interstria, non-foveate male pygidium, abdominal ventrites 4 and 5 separated distinctly by suture and by the structure of the male genitalia, particularly by the aedeagus with apodemes articulated to tube, flagellum twice as long as tube, clavate apically and the tegmen with prominent furcated prostegium, deeply separated parameral lobes and obsolete linea arquata and fenestrae.

Discussion. Indophyes possesses characters of the tribe Nanophyini sensu Alonso-Zarazaga (1989) . Indophyes closely resembles Manoja Pajni and Bhateja (from the original description), but has different genitalia, particularly the tegmen with furcate prostegium, and not crenulate 8th elytral interstria. Male genitalia possess several characters found also in other Indian nanophyids, but the combination is unique to this genus ( Figs. 13–17 ). The furcated prostegium resembles that in the genus Shiva Pajni and Bhateja. The flagellum of the aedeagus is twice as long as the tube, resembling the Indian nanophyids with a 6-segmented antennal funicle, Shiva bicolorous Pajni and Bhateja and Lyalia albolineat a (Pajni and Bhateja), but not as long as in Manoja orientalis Pajni and Bhateja. The aedeagal apodemes are articulated with the tube – an unusual character in Nanophyidae .

The genus is known so far only from southern India.

Etymology. The name refers to the native country of the species – India – with addition of the suffix "- ophyes ", derived from the name of a closely related genus Nanophyes .

Figures

FIGURE 11 – 19. Indophyes yaromi, n. sp. 13. Aedeagus, dorsal view. 14. Aedeagus, lateral view. 15. Spiculum gastrale. 16. Tegmen, dorsal view. 17. Tegmen, lateral view. 18. Spermatheca. 19. Coxites and spiculum ventrale.