Clypeuspinus devagiriensis, Neethu & Sabu, 2023

Neethu, V. P. & Sabu, K. Thomas, 2023, A new species of the genus Clypeuspinus Balkenohl, 2021 (Coleoptera: Carabidae Scaritinae) from India, Zootaxa 5296 (4), pp. 589-594 : 590-593

Clypeuspinus devagiriensis sp. nov.

( Fig. 3A–E )

Type material. Holotype male, Paratypes 4 ex. (2 males; 2 females). Labelled : “ India: Kerala: Mavoor wetland, Palliyol (11.2604° N, 75.9391° E), ‘Light trap’, 21.ix.2021. coll. V. P. Neethu ”, deposited in ZSIK .

Description. Dorsal and ventral habitus as in Fig. 3A, B .

Head, pronotum, elytral margin, elytral suture, profemurs and tibiae dark reddish brown. Meso and metacoxae, femurs and metatrochanters light reddish-brown. Antennae, labial palpi, maxillary palpi, protarsomers, meso and metatibiae and tarsomeres yellowish brown. Elytral disc black. Abdominal ventrites dark brown.

Head elongated, smaller than pronotum. Surface smooth, with scattered micropunctures. Labrum three setose with isodiametric meshes. Clypeus straight, margin not bordered, clypeal suture indistinct, wings extending forward and rounded at apex, obtuse emargination between clypeus and clypeal wings blunt, clypeal setigerous punctures situated at anterior part of frontal furrows. Supra antennal plates elongate with reflexed margin in posterior half. Frons elongated and convex, frontal furrows deep. Vertex convex with fine micropuntures. Supra orbital carinae sharp. Supra orbital furrows deep and wide, with two supra orbital setae. Eyes normally developed, genae as long as eyes. Neck constriction complete, composed of large punctures. Antennae reaching up to middle of pronotum, pubescent from third antennomere onwards, antennomeres four to eleven moniliform, pedicellus attached eccentrically to scapus, scapus with setae at apical quarter. Mandibles elongated and curved apically. Apical maxillary palpomeres elongated, slightly securiform, with slightly truncated end. Penultimate labial palpomeres bisetose. Mentum and submentum separated. Mentum wide with two pairs of setae (a pair towards base of median tooth, another pair towards base of mentum), median tooth moderately wide and truncate at apex, projecting as far as lateral lobes, lateral lobes wide with rugose surface. Submentum quadrisetose. Genae with dense rugosities.

Pronotum pentagonal in shape, moderately convex, surface glabrous, glossy with scattered micropunctures and transverse wrinkles, front angles produced, hind angles with a small denticle breaking through the outline, anterior transverse line deep and well impressed with large punctures, median line deep and wide, joining with basal constriction, lateral channel widened between two lateral setigerous punctures. Reflexed lateral margins, flange carinate.

Elytra moderately convex, elongate, nearly parallel, well-marked shoulders with distinct humeral tooth, scutellar strioles moderately developed, striae deep and punctuated, stria one joining to setigerous basal tubercle, striae two and three free at base, striae four and five fused at base, striae one and seven reaching apex, interval eight carinate from humerus to apex, intervals six and seven carinate at humerus only, intervals two, three and four with distinct basal tubercle, interval three with two setigerous punctures close to third stria, with reflexed lateral margins, marginal channels with uninterrupted series of setigerous punctures, extreme apex of elytra with isodiametric meshes. Hind wings fully developed

Ventral side ( Fig. 3B ): Prosternal surface rugose, with isodiametric meshes at disc. Proepisternum with coarse punctures and rugosities. Prosternal process wide. Metasternum glossy, with transverse wrinkles and micropunctures. Metepisternum longer than wide. Abdominal ventrites smooth and glossy, third to fifth ventrites with a pair of median setae, last ventrite with variable number of median setae (ranges from zero to three) and with a pair of widely separated apical setigerous punctures on each side.

Protibiae with three terminal spines, slender, curved laterally. Metatibiae with long protuberance preapically furnished with seta. Claws simple. Tarsomeres not widened in both sexes.

Male genitalia: Median lobe well curved, pointed towards apex, right paramere wider than left paramere, both parameres bisetose at apex ( Fig. 3C–E ).

Sexual dimorphism: Not externally visible.

Measurements. Holotype (male), TLB = 6.06 mm, PL = 1.52 mm, PW = 1.55 mm, EL = 3.30 mm, EW = 1.73 mm; Paratype (n=4), TLB = 5.69–6.38 mm, PL = 1.41–1.61 mm, PW = 1.43–1.62 mm, EL = 3.08–3.53 mm, EW = 1.62–1.79 mm.

Etymology. Named after the host institution's local name, Devagiri College.

Remarks. Similar to Clypeuspinus validus but differs in the following characters: labrum three setose (five setose in C. validus ); obtuse emargination between clypeus and clypeal wings blunt (obtuse emargination between clypeus and clypeal wings sharp in C. validus ); supraorbital carinae sharp blunt in C. validus ); elytra elongate and nearly parallel (subelongate in C. validus ); third elytral interval with two setigerous punctures (in C. validus , third interval of left elytron with three setigerous punctures and right elytron with four setigerous punctures); second, third and fourth intervals with distinct basal tubercle (only third interval with a distinct basal tubercle in C. validus ).

Distribution. INDIA: Kerala: Kozhikode: Mavoor, Palliyol.

Clypeuspinus devagiriensis sp. nov. is the first species of the genus Clypeuspinus discovered from Indian mainland.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Clypeuspinus devagiriensis sp. nov. Holotype, male.A) habitus, dorsal view; B) habitus, ventral view; C) aedeagus, lateral view; D) aedeagus, dorsal view; E) aedeagus, lateral view.