Toktokkus zofiae, Kamiński, 2024

Kamiński, Marcin Jan, 2024, New taxa of Afrotropical Toktokkies (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Molurina) from the Natural History Museum of Basel, Zootaxa 5446 (1), pp. 77-87 : 84-85

Toktokkus zofiae sp. nov.

( Fig. 6A–F )

Type material. Holotype ( NHMB), female: “ V.-L. Kai. Exp. Gemsbok Pan. 23/4–5/5/30.”, “ Psammodes peezi K.”.

Diagnosis. The species is most similar to T. herero Gearner, 2021 by having prominent punctures on the pronotal disc and a golden setation of the elytral disc ( Kaminski et al. 2021). Both species can be distinguished by different body size ( T. zofiae : 18.5 mm, T. herero : 23.0–25.0 mm), basal margination of pronotal disc ( T. zofiae : complete, T. herero : interrupted in the middle) ( Fig. 6D ), structure of prosternal process ( T. zofiae : rounded in lateral view, T. herero : angular in lateral view) ( Fig. 6H, E ), and tuberculation of elytral disc ( T. zofiae : microtubercles present, T. herero : microtubercles absent) ( Fig. 6A, G ).

Description (based on holotype). Length 18.5 mm, width of pronotum 7.0 mm, and elytra 11.0 mm.

Head: Hypognathous. Frons finely and irregularly punctate; frontoclypeal suture coarse, with deep groove in middle; apical clypeal margin broadly shallowly emarginate; clypeus projected toward front of body. Eye comma-shaped, with reduced ventral part, strongly emarginate around epistomal base; with deep groove on temporal side. Mentum and submentum missing due to dermestid damage. Antennae broken off at level of 4th segments; slender, moderately covered in recumbent acuminate goldish setae; antennomere 2 short, equal to 0.2 of antennomere 3 length; antennomere 4 about half of antennomere 3 length.

Prothorax: Pronotal lateral margin rounded, well visible. Pronotum widest above middle. Disc dull, finely punctate (4–5 diameters apart); anterior and basal margins complete, anterior apices slightly produced. Hypomeron convex, without submarginal groove, impunctate. Prosternal process rounded in lateral view, longitudinally depressed in middle (ventral view). Anterior margin of prosternum straight, with gold setae.

Pterothorax: Scutellum densely covered with microtubercles. Elytra widest in half, slightly rounded, covered in scattered gold setae; covered with dense tubercles (1–3 diameters apart) and microtubercles (2–4 diameters apart). Laterally situated tubercles very pronounced. Elytral slope relatively steep, elytral apex flattened. Epipleura impunctate, not tuberculated, clearly distinguishable from neighbouring portion of elytra, widely enfolding fifth ventrite. Mesoventrite with deep median groove and elevated sides. Metaventrite impunctate, densely setose. Lateral regions of metaventrite (between coxae) extremely short. Metaepisternal suture abbreviated posteriorly.

Legs: Covered with dense gold setae. Procoxa exposed basally. Apex of protibia with denticle on outer margin, lateral carina terminating in basal third. Spurs on meso- and metatibiae of equal length. Tarsi narrowed laterally.

Abdomen: Ventrites 1–3 medially covered with goldish setae, moderately punctate (2–3 diameters apart) and weakly rugulose; ventrites 4–5 finely punctate (1–3 diameters apart); ventrite 5 without submarginal sulcus.

Terminalia: Due to scarcity of materials, terminalia were not dissected. Nevertheless, the tip of the ovipositor was visible on the analyzed specimen. The morphology of coxites is consistent with the bauplan reported for the genus ( Kamiński et al. 2021).

Etymology. This species is named in honor of my daughter, Zofia Irena Kamińska, born on November 3, 2018 (Flagstaff, USA).

Distribution. South Africa —only known from the type locality (Gemsbok Pan).

Figures

FIGURE 6. Morphology of Toktokkus zofiae sp. nov. (holotype) (A–F) and T. herero (G, H). Lateral (A), dorsal (B), and ventral (C) views of the body; pronotal disc (D), prosternal process (E, H); label (F); and elytral disc (G).