Jelinekigethes Audisio & Cline, 2009

Audisio, Paolo, Cline, Andrew Richard, Biase, Alessio De, Antonini, Gloria, Mancini, Emiliano, Trizzino, Marco, Costantini, Lorenzo, Strika, Sirio, Lamanna, Francesco & Cerretti, Pierfilippo, 2009, Preliminary re-examination of genus-level taxonomy of the pollen beetle subfamily Meligethinae (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 49 (2), pp. 341-504 : 406-409

18. Jelinekigethes Audisio & Cline , gen. nov.

( Figs. 18 a–e )

Type species. Meligethes danielssoni Audisio, 1995: 1 (by present designation) [= Jelinekigethes danielssoni (Audisio, 1995) comb. nov.].

Generic description and diagnosis. Inclusive species vary moderately in size (1.7–2.1 mm length), and share the following combination of characters.

Body color and pubescence: pubescence golden to silvery-whitish, moderately long and fine, recumbent, never obscuring the blackish or bicolored (blackish-brown elytra and reddish head and pronotum) and usually shining dorsal body surface; pronotal and elytral sides narrowly flattened, typically same color as disc; lateral margin of pronotum and elytra with a series of faintly distinct, small and short setae, each seta 0.3–0.5× as long as those on elytral disc; posterior margin of pronotum with peculiarly long, usually distally bifid or trifid microsetae, microsetae uniformly distributed on middle region anterior to scutellum (as in Fig. 13e ).

Dorsal habitus: body more or less convex, variably shaped, short or moderately slender and oval ( Fig. 18a ); dorsal punctures on discal portion of pronotum as large as or larger than eye facets, usually moderately and densely impressed; anterior margin of clypeus truncate, or slightly convex anteriorly, not bordered ( Fig. 18a ), without small, faintly distinct, medial bulge; circum-ocular furrows (occipital sulci) on dorsal side of head faintly distinct above antennal insertion, absent posteriorly and around eyes; pronotum with completely rounded posterior angles ( Fig. 18a ); scutellum regularly punctured on most of exposed portion; elytra finely, almost completely, transversely strigose; elytral humeral angle moderately distinct, not protruding laterally ( Fig. 18a ); elytral humeral striae faint; elytral pre-sutural striae almost indistinct anteriorly, faintly visible in posterior half, terminating at elytral apex, and delimiting posteriorly, on each elytron, a faintly distinct, flat, unraised sutural border, narrower than proximal width of 3 rd antennomere; elytral apices truncately rounded in both sexes ( Fig. 18a ); pygidium partially exposed, moderately convex, apically rounded in both sexes ( Fig. 18a ).

Ventral habitus: antennal furrows markedly delimited, nearly parallel-sided; mentum subpentagonal; prosternal antennal furrows on anterior margin of prosternum markedly raised but short; prosternal process usually relatively narrow, subapical dilated portion 2.0–2.3× as wide as maximum width of 1 st antennomere, apex bluntly rounded; lateral borders of prosternal process delimiting shallowly impressed but distinct furrows, distally terminating over predistal lateral expansions, nearly approximating prosternal posterior margin; posterior margin of mesoventrite simple, not medially incised; male impressions on metaventrite moderately developed; first two visible abdominal ventrites simple in both sexes, without tufts of setae; caudal marginal lines of metacoxal cavities simple, parallel and narrowly contiguous to posterior margin of metacoxal cavities, with moderately distinct arched impression of outer ‘axillary’ line; ‘axillary’ space on first abdominal ventrite moderately developed, ‘axillary’ angle broadly obtuse; relatively large, long, and deeply impressed arched impressions on basal portion of last visible abdominal ventrite, frequently partially covered by distal portion of penultimate visible abdominal ventrite.

Appendages: male 1 st antennomere 0.8–0.9× as long as width of protibiae excluding distal teeth ( Fig. 18a ); 3 rd antennomere in both sexes usually only 2.0–2.2× as long as wide, 0.9–1.0× as long as but distinctly thinner than 2 nd antennomere ( Fig. 18a ); 4 th and 5 th antennomeres in both sexes subequal, moderately short, slightly longer than wide; antennal club compact, mid-sized, simple, comprising last 3 antennomeres in both sexes (8 th antennomere scarcely widened, 0.4–0.5× as wide as 9 th antennomere) ( Figs. 18a ), nearly as wide as width of protibiae, sexual dimorphism absent; labial palpi relatively short in both sexes, terminal segment nearly 1.8× as long as wide; maxillary palpi moderately long and slender in both sexes, terminal segment 2.1–2.2× as long as wide; mandible mid-sized ( Fig. 18a ), apex moderately acuminate, no sexual dimorphism; tarsal claws simple, never toothed at base; tarsi of normal size and shape, 0.6–0.7× as long as corresponding tibiae ( Fig. 18a ); protibiae with a series of relatively small, even, serrate, and moderately sharp and fine teeth on lateral margin ( Figs. 18a, e ); meso- and metatibiae on lateral margin bearing a single and usually even row of fine, long pegs ( Fig. 18a ), without U-shaped sinuosity at distal third; meso- and metatibiae slender and relatively narrow ( Fig. 18a ), never subtrapezoidal or axe-shaped; sexual dimorphism scarcely expressed in metatibiae; tarsal plates of prolegs distinctly wider in males; posterior margin of metafemora simple in both sexes, without tubercles or projections.

Male genitalia: processes along inner side of parameres absent ( Figs. 18b, c ), with narrowly incised distal margin, and without deep median longitudinal desclerotization from proximal portion of tegmen extending to medial distal V-shaped excision; median lobe of aedeagus narrowly acuminate or spatulate distally, without distal excision or emargination.

Female genitalia (ovipositor): small, wide; styli peculiarly shaped, asymmetrical, trapezoidal, relatively flat ( Fig. 18d ), inserted close to apex of contiguous gonostyloids; each gonostyloid lightly sclerotized and lightly pigmented distally, with a simple, never indentate outer portion of basicoxites ( Figs. 5–6 in AUDISIO, 1995), and a single, narrow, scarcely pigmented and sclerotized arcuate area along outer subdistal portion of gonostyloids. ‘Central point’ of ovipositor located slightly more distad than middle, with large proximad directed spicule.

Etymology. The new genus is named for our dear friend and colleague Josef Jelínek (recognized World specialist on Nitidulid beetles, and author of numerous important and thorough papers on Meligethinae taxonomy), and from ‘- gethes ’, to emphasize its phylogenetic relationship with Meligethes . Gender masculine.

Biology. The biology of the two recognized species is not well-known. Newly acquired field data suggest that at least the type species from southwestern South Africa (Western Cape Province) could be associated with male flowers of small bushes of the phylogenetically isolated Montiniaceae (AUDISIO et al. in prep.). However, a second, undescribed species from northeastern South Africa (Limpopo Region) could be associated with flowering shrubs belonging to an unidentified family of the Celastraceae / Cornaceae group (AUDISIO et al. in prep.).

Phylogenetic position. Available molecular and morphological datasets provide contradictory evidence on the placement and relationships of Jelinekigethes gen. nov. Molecular data ( TRIZZINO et al. 2009) suggest placement of Jelinekigethes gen. nov. in a relatively basal position near Lamiogethes gen. nov. and allied genera. However, phylogenetic relationships of these taxa also remain unclear, and are only weakly supported with morphological data. The shape of male genitalia ( Figs. 18b, c ) may also suggest closer relationships with members of the Chromogethes + ( Anthystrix and allied genera) clade. The very peculiar shape of the female ovipositor, with unique, moderately long but asymmetrical, non-cylindrical styli, and arcuately convergent gonostyloid apices ( Fig. 18d ), further obscures the phylogenetic position of this isolated taxon.

Taxonomy and geographic distribution. Jelinekigethes gen. nov. thus far includes only one described species from southwestern South Africa; a second, peculiar, undescribed species was recently discovered in northeastern South Africa, Limpopo Province (AUDISIO et al. in prep.) and awaits formal description.

Jelinekigethes danielssoni (Audisio, 1995) comb. nov. SW South Africa: W Cape

Figures

Fig. 18. JelinekigethesAudisio & Cline, gen. nov.: a–e – J. danielssoni (Audisio, 1995).a – male habitus; b–c – male genitalia; d – ovipositor; e – male protibia. Figs. a–e – refer to AUDISIO (1995) for scale.

Fig. 13. Genistogethes Audisio & Cline, gen. nov.: a – G. immundus (Kraatz, 1858); b–h – G. punctatus (C. N. F. Brisout de Barneville, 1863). a – male habitus (length 2.7 mm); b – dorso-lateral view of head; c – ventral view of head and anterior portion of prosternum; d – caudal marginal line of metacoxal cavity; e – anterior portion of scutellum and microsetae on middle of posterior margin of pronotum; f – exposed portion of last visible abdominal ventrite; g – prosternal process and mesoventrite; h – middle leg with outer margin of mesotibia. Scale bars: Figs. b, c, d, f, g, h = 100 μm; Fig. e = 30 μm.

Fig. 5. Neolariopsis Audisio & Cline, gen. nov.: a, c–h – N. cercoides (Reitter, 1872); b – N. thalycroides (Kirejtshuk & Audisio, 1995). a, b – male habitus (a – length 2.1 mm, b – length 2.1 mm); c – dorsal view of head; d – ventral view of head and anterior portion of prosternum; e – middle leg with outer margin of mesotibia; f – prosternal process and mesoventrite; g – exposed portion of last visible abdominal ventrite; h – antenna. Scale bars: Figs. c, d, f = 100 μm; Figs. e, h = 20 μm; Fig. g = 30 μm.

Fig. 6. Clypeogethes Scholz, 1932 and Xerogethes Audisio & Cline, gen. nov.: a, c – C. chlorocyaneus (Jelínek & Audisio, 1977); b, d–e – C. elongatus (Rosenhauer, 1856); k–n – C. lepidii (Miller, 1851); f–g – X. osellai (Audisio & Jelínek, 2000); h – X. rotundicollis (C. N. F. Brisout de Barneville, 1863). a – male habitus (length 2.5 mm); b, c, h – ovipositors; d–e, f–g – male genitalia; k – exposed portion of last visible abdominal ventrite; m – dorsal view of head; n – ventral view of head and anterior portion of prosternum. Figs. b–h: refer to AUDISIO (1993b) and AUDISIO et al. (2000) for scale. Scale bars: Figs. k, m, n = 100 μm.