Laparocerus mulagua, Machado, Antonio, 2007

Machado, Antonio, 2007, New species of Laparocerus Schönherr, 1834 from La Gomera, Canary Islands (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Entiminae), Zootaxa 1643, pp. 1-38 : 25-29

Laparocerus mulagua n. sp.

( Figs. 8 B, 14C–D, 17C, 18J)

Dimensions, holotype (ɗ). Length: total (without rostrum) 5.50 mm, head 1.20 mm, rostrum 0.56 mm, scape 1.36, mm, funicle 1.72 mm, segments (1st/ 2nd/ 3rd/ 4th) 0.32 /0.38 /0.24 / 0.22 mm, club 0.56 mm, eyes 0.34, pronotum 1.14 mm, elytra 4.20 mm, tibiae (fore /mid /hind) 1.60 /1.50 / 1.68 mm. Width: head (with eyes) 1.02 mm, head (between eyes) 0.56 mm, rostrum (with pterygia) 0.70 mm, rostrum (minimum dorsal /ventral) 0.48 mm / 0.60 mm, rostrum (base) 0.56 mm, scape (maximum) 0.14 mm, club 0.16 mm, pronotum (anterior /maximum /posterior) 1.08 /1.50 / 1.38 mm, elytra (maximum) 2.50 mm. Height: abdomen 2.00 mm.

Male. Length 4.5–5.5 mm, elliptical, moderately convex, piceous, with legs brownish. Integument shiny, clothed with long, lanceolate, testaceous, golden and glaucous scales of a pubescent appearance; on elytra usually arranged in mosaic pattern, with frequent, protruding, whitish hairs. Antenna slender, scape 1.19× longer than pronotum, bisinuate, capitate in apical third; funicle 1.26× longer than scape; 2nd segment slightly longer than 1st but not longer than 3rd + 4th; club fusiform, slightly longer than three previous segments combined. Head normal, rostrum as long as broad, not or feebly depressed at frons. Prorostrum well defined, smooth and shiny; epistomal keel complete, elevated; pterygia small, moderately prominent. Metarostrum not canaliculate, more or less convergent apicad. Frontal fovea small, not very deep. Eyes close to but not reaching border of frons, ovate (major axis 0.33× interocular distance), moderately protruding (convexity 32–35%), usually slightly asymmetrical (vertex depressed, shifted backwards). Dorsal surface shallowly and regularly punctate. Pronotum moderately transverse (L/W ratio 0.76 ×), convex, sides evenly curved, maximum width at middle; not rimmed. Surface shiny, with sharp, regular double punctation of conspicuous macropunctures, separated by one diameter or less, and micropunctures 1/3 of their size. Vestiture of scales quite uniform, dense. Without median line. Scutellum very small, squamose. Elytra elliptical (L/W ratio 1.68), with straight truncate base; sides uniformly curved; maximum width at middle; moderately convex, 3.7 × longer than pronotum. Base as wide as base of pronotum; shoulders not prominent, humeral angle occasionally weakly developed. Striae marked by punctures almost as large as macropunctures of pronotum. Vestiture of long, lanceolate scales fairly dense, overlapping. Intervals flat, shiny, micropunctate, beset with rows of long, sloping, slightly curved, protruding whitish hairs (0.5× length of onychium). Legs normal, fairly hairy; protibia straight, slightly emarginate on inside, apex blunt, inner angle shortly expanded, with robust mucro partially buried under dense tuft of hairs; grooming brush short; meso- and metatibia each with mucro; inner apical angle of metatibia extended into small spatulate lobe. Ve n te r shining, beset with sparser cover of lanceolate scales; ventrites with additional recumbent hairs, transversely microcorrugated; intermesocoxal ridge poorly developed; last ventrite apically truncate. Abdominal convexity 80%. Aedeagus (fig. 14C–D) simple, almost half as long as elytra, arcuate; median lobe fairly depressed, straight, acute; internal sac at rest not much longer than temones, with three long median fields of denticles and two short distal ones; denticular field of muscular sheath moderately developed. Parameres of tegmen fairly long, robust, with bristles at apex.

Female. As male but slightly more robust and less elliptical (length 4.9–6.1 mm). Elytra variable, oval or obovate (not elliptical), at base wider than base of pronotum (shoulders clearly prominent). Protruding thin hairs on elytra longer, less curved and more erect. All tibiae unarmed; metatibia at apex normal, without terminal lobe. Last ventrite apically rounded. Sternite VIII as in fig. 17C, spermatheca as in fig. 18J, with short and straight gland lobe.

Etymology. The specific epithet is a noun in apposition and the Guanche name of one of the four aboriginal districts of La Gomera (Hermigua – Agulo), where the species was discovered.

Remarks. Laparocerus mulagua is easy to distinguish from other Laparocerus species on La Gomera due to its moderate size, protruding rounded eyes, hairy elytra and the male protibia not curved or emarginate. Long, thin, protruding hairs over the entire elytra are present also in L. lepidopterus Wollaston, 1864 and L. inflatus Wollaston, 1865 , but these species are much larger (> 8 mm) and show quite flattened eyes or exceedingly prominent shoulders, respectively. More similar in appearance is Laparocerus bacalladoi Machado, 2005 , from Tenerife, of similar size and with hairy elytra but with femora fringed with very long hairs, an almost clavate (not clearly capitate) more robust scape and no protruding lobe in the inner angle of the male metatibial apex, as is characteristic of L. mulagua . According to unpublished molecular data, it belongs to the group of L. lepidopterus .

Material examined. Holotype: La Gomera: Playa de Hermigua, 10 m (UTM = 28R 0 28660 311880), 7- 12-2002, leg. A. Machado, 1 ɗ ( TFMC, reg. CO-15522). Paratypes: same data, 9 exx. ( AMC); same data, leg. A. Aguiar, 6 exx. ( AAC); same data, leg. R. García, 7 exx. (RGB); same data, leg. R. García, 27 exx. (RGB); same data, leg. A. Aguiar, 6 exx. ( AAC); same locality, 8-12-2006, leg. A. Machado, 32 exx. ( AMC); same locality, 19-1-2003, leg. P. Oromí, 23 exx. (POM, 2 TFMC, 2 MNCN, 2 NHM, 2 DEI); same locality, 4- 1-2003 leg. P. Oromí, 2 exx. ( AMC); Hermigua, 19-12-1995, leg. M.G. Morris, 1 ex. (MM). Other specimens: Tamargada, 450 m, 7-12-2002, leg. A. Machado, 24 exx. ( AMC); Vallehermoso: Guillama, 200 m, 2-1- 2005, 106 exx.; Vallehermoso: Arguamul, 270 m, 2-1-2005, leg. A. Machado, 2exx. ( AMC); Agulo, 300 m, 14-4-1987, leg. E. Colonnelli, 2 exx. (EC); Bco. Tamargada, 7-12-2002, leg. A. Aguiar, 6 exx. ( AAC); Bco. Chinguarame, 650 m, 7-2-2005, leg. R. Mesa, 1 ex. ( AMC).

Distribution and ecology. L. mulagua is endemic to La Gomera, where it occurs at low altitude at least in the north-east windward sector of the island but is presumably more widely distributed (one locality confirmed on the leeside). It has been collected at night in coastal and Euphorbia- dominated vegetation, feeding on several scrubby plant species: Shizogyne sericea , Rumex lunaria , Artemisia thuscula, Launaea arborescens, Argyranthemum frutescens , Kleinia neerifolia, Astydamia latifolia, Beta maritima and the rare endemic Convolvulus subauriculatus , which was heavily attacked. Apparently it is a polyphagous species active in winter and spring.

Figures

FIGURE 8. New Laparocerus species from La Gomera, holotypes: (A) L. humeralis, (B) L. mulagua. Scale = 2 mm