Goudotostes masoalae, Ballerio, 2021

Ballerio, Alberto, 2021, The Ceratocanthinae of Madagascar and Comoro Islands: a revision of the genera Synarmostes and Goudotostes, and of the flightless Philharmostes, with description of 64 new species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea, Hybosoridae), Fragmenta entomologica 53 (2), pp. 105-282 : 184-185

Goudotostes masoalae sp. nov.

( Figs 70 a-k, 77) http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:0D95A1D6-93B5-4DBE-BA5E-A14E892DC50C

Type series. Holotype, ♂, deposited in the collection of the Field Museum of Natural history, Chicago, IL, USA, labelled as follows: / Madagascar: Tamatave 6.9 km NE Ambanizana, Ambohitstondroina, 2.XII.1993, FMHD#93-338, rainforest, sifted litter (leaf mold, rotten wood) B. L. Fisher, #976 / Goudotostes masoalae n. sp. det. A. Ballerio 2020 Holotypus ♂ / [distended, glued on card, dissected, male genitalia glued in DMHF resin on a separate card, same pin]. Paratypes [12 dissected ♂♂]: 11 ♂♂ and 17 ♀♀ (21 in FMNH and 7 in ABCB), same collecting data as holotype. 1 ♂ and 2 ♀♀ ( CASC): Madagascar Toamasina Ambanizana, Parc National Masoala elev. 900 m 26 Feb.-6 March 2003 15° 34’ 18” S 050° 00’ 22” E / California Acad. of Sciences collectors: D. Andriamalala, D. Silva et al. sifted litter (leaf mold, rotten wood) montane rainforest BLF8651 /.

Diagnosis. Goudotostes masoalae sp. nov. can be easily differentiated from all other species of Goudotostes by the following combination of characters: a) small size, b) dorsal ocular area absent, c) clypeal apical projection pointed, d) clypeal punctation made of dense small impressed comma-shaped punctures, e) fronto-clypeal tubercle present, f) pronotal anterior carina bilobate, g) pronotal basal carina bilobate, h) pronotal disc covered by dense small simple deeply impressed punctures, i) elytral dorsal area covered by longitudinal irregular rows of blunt weakly pronounced carinae and small tubercles, j) sides of elytra covered by several small weakly pronounced tubercles, k) left paramere with ventral margin invaginated (a character which places this species in the laevis group of species), l) the distinctive shape of parameres as in Fig. 70 h-k. Within the laevis species group, Goudotostes masoalae sp. nov. is similar to Goudotostes parvus sp. nov. due to the sculpturing of elytra but G. masoalae sp. nov. has pointed clypeal apical projection as well as denser and smaller pronotal punctation and denser and smaller comma-shaped punctation on clypeus.

Description. Size: HL = 0.9 mm; HW = 1.2 mm; PL = 1.1 mm; PW = 1.9 mm; EL = 2.0 mm; EW = 2.0 mm. Overall morphology as in generic diagnosis. Small-sized Goudotostes . Body strongly convex. Black, shiny, dorsum with extremely short fine setation (50×), underside, tarsi and antennae dark reddish-brown, setation yellowish-brown. Head: W/L ratio = 1.60; clypeal apex obtuse, apical projection strongly developed and sexually dimorphic, sides almost rectilinear with slightly unaligned genae in correspondence with the genal suture; dorsal ocular area absent, genal canthus indistinct, ventral ocular area small-sized, genae rounded, distinctly protruding outwards, genal suture indistinct; frons covered by large simple impressed punctures, interpunctural distance equal to or slightly inferior than punctural diameter, clypeal dorsal surface covered by medium-sized dense impressed comma-shaped punctures, fore margin marked by some irregular transverse lines. Interpunctural distance of clypeal punctures inferior than punctural diameter. Fronto-clypeal tubercle raised pointed and smooth. Pronotum: subrectangular (dorsal view) (W/L ratio = 1.90), convex, fore angles distinctly subtruncate; pronotal surface covered by dense large deep simple punctures becoming comma-shaped at sides, area near fore angles with few irregular lines, interpunctural distance mostly inferior than or equal to punctural diameter; pronotal bead present only along sides and fore angles; posterior carina bilobate and raised; anterior carina bilobate and raised; remaining pronotal sculpturing made of large and gently raised tubercles and carinae as follows: sides of disc with two gently raised transverse short carinae, each side with one gently raised tubercle and one transverse carina reaching outer margin. Scutellum : covered by sparse impressed transverse large comma-shaped punctures. Elytra: longer than wide (W/L ratio = 1.07), subovoidal (dorsal view), strongly convex; humeral callus marked by a tubercle; elytral surface uniformly covered by large sparse deep comma-shaped punctures with opening directed backwards mixed to large impressed simple punctures, interpunctural distance about equal to punctural diameter. Striated articular area hardly visible in lateral view, relatively narrow and short; inferior sutural stria visible and complete; marginal area medium-sized; elytral articular process well developed, smooth and shiny, isolated from remaining elytral surface by a deep furrow. Elytral sculpturing as follows: base with one raised large tubercle below articular process (parasutural tubercle), next to it a humeral oblique large raised tubercle (humeral tubercle), dorsal area of elytra with two irregular and asymmetrical rows of weakly raised smooth short tubercles or, in some specimens, short carinae, sides and apical third with some more raised tubercles and longitudinal short carinae. Wings: flightless (micropterous). Male genitalia: aedeagus (L = 1.2 mm) with parameres as in Figs 70 h-k, spiculum gastrale (L = 1.0 mm) as in Fig. 70 g .

Etymology. Noun in the genitive case. Named after the type locality.

Distribution and habitat. Known only from the type locality in Eastern Madagascar. The type series was collected by sifting leaf litter and rotten wood in montane rainforest. The vegetation cover consists of “medium altitude moist evergreen forest”, ( Goodman et al. 2018) also known as “humid forest” ( Moat & Smith 2007). The collecting locality falls within the protected area “Parc National de Masoala”.

Figures

Fig. 70 – Goudotostes masoalae sp. nov., a, female paratype, dorsal view of distended specimen; b, paratype, ventral view of rolled up specimen; c, paratype, dorsal view of rolled up specimen; d, paratype, ventral view of rolled up specimen; e, paratype, lateral view of rolled up specimen; f, paratype, pronotum of rolled up specimen; g, holotype, spiculum gastrale; h–k, holotype, four views of aedeagus.