Zonitoschema arabica, Batelka & Bologna, 2014

Batelka, Jan & Bologna, Marco A., 2014, A review of the Saharo-Sindian species of the genus Zonitoschema (Coleoptera: Meloidae), with description of new species from Tunisia, Yemen and Socotra Island, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 54, pp. 241-268 : 243-246

Zonitoschema arabica sp. nov.

( Figs 1 , 33 , 46 , 56, 57 )

Type locality. Yemen, 20 km NW of Dhawran, 14°40ʹN, 44°13ʹE, 1794 m a.s.l.

Type material. HOLOTYPE: ♂, W. Yemen, 20 km NW of Dhawran, 14°40ʹN, 44°13ʹE, 1794 m, 29.x.2005, S. Kadlec lgt. ( NMPC). PARATYPE: 1♀ ( BMNH),Arabia [ Yemen], Dhala, x.1935, at light, R.C.M. Darling [see remarks below]. The paratype lacks totally both antennae, left foretarsi and right foreleg and is probably teneral because of the light colour of black parts.

Description. Male. Body subopaque yellowish-brown, darker dorsally; eyes, apical third of mandibles, maxillary palpomeres III–IV, labial palpomere III, antennomeres III–XI, tibiae and tarsi black. Setation light golden-yellow, recumbent, not dense except on tibiae, longer on elytral sides, tibiae and tarsi. Body length: 8 mm (holotype).

Head ( Fig. 33 ) slightly wider than pronotum, maximum width at eye level. Eyes very large, bulged, anterior portion distinctly emarginated near antennal socket, extended ventrally and reaching medial margin of maxillae on underside of head, almost contiguous; frontally 1.4 times as wide as frontal narrowest space between eyes. Frontal suture curved; frontal longitudinal middle line only weakly depressed, regularly punctuate. Head punctures wide, deep, intermediate surface very narrow and shiny; setae suberected. Temples very short and distinctly narrowed posteriad, ca. 0.25 times as long as longitudinal middle diameter of eye. Clypeus flat, subtrapezoidal; anterior half glabrous and impunctate, shagreened; posterior half with punctuation and setation as on head capsule. Labrum suboval, depressed anteriorly and medially; anterior margin scarcely arcuate, about as long as clypeus. Mandibles slightly longer than apex of labrum, straight but curved in apical third. Galeae penicillate, about as long as maxillary palpi; palpomeres II–III slender and subcylindrical, IV scarcely widened in anterior half and subtruncate at apex. Antennae elongate, ca. 5.3 times as long as pronotum disc; ratio between each antennomere and shortest one (II) as follows: I: 1.1; III: 1.1; IV: 1.5; V: 1.7; VI: 1.8; VII: 1.7; VIII: 1.7; IX: 1.7; X: 1.7; XI: 1.8.

Pronotum ( Fig. 46 ), 1.06–1.16 times as wide as long, sides slightly widened from basis to middle and anteriorly evidently narrowed with straight sides; fore third progressively depressed, particularly on sides; base only slightly depressed and posterior margin slightly rebordered; sides scarcely depressed in basal half in lateral view; punctures and setae as on head, setae short; prosternum progressively and weakly narrowed posteriorly. Mesonotum slightly depressed in middle, largely rounded at posterior apex; mesoventrite transverse but laterally narrowed on sides and posteriorly greatly narrowed; metaventrite large, medial line impunctate and glabrous. Elytra densely and subrugosely punctuate, punctures as deep as on head and pronotum, and setae shorter than on pronotum, except at base and on sides; venations scarcely visible. Metathoracic wings present and completely developed. Legs slender, setae of tibiae very dense and silver-yellow, those of femora shorter and more robust, particularly on ventral side. External apex of fore tibiae slightly triangularly expanded; both foretibial spurs slender, inner one more pointed; both mesotibial spurs slender at apex; both metatibial spurs stick-like, parallel and subquadrate at apex; fore and middle tarsi 1.4 times as long as respective tibia, metatarsi as long as metatibia; tarsal claws denticulate, claw teeth thin and close to each other, ventral blade very thin.

Abdominal ventrites densely setated, surface almost shagreened; last ventrite deeply incised, posterior margin of ventrite IV strongly emarginated in middle. Gonoforceps short, apically narrow and strongly curved upwards, aedeagus short and robust ( Figs 56, 57 ).

Female. Similar to male, except of body colouration lighter; of maxillary palpomeres only palpomere IV black; eyes only 0.9 times as wide as frontal narrowest space between eyes; frontal suture less curved; temples a little longer; pronotal setae longer; elytral venations well visible; claw teeth more robust and well separated, last ventrite V-shaped. Body length: 12 mm (paratype).

Differential diagnosis. Species characterized by the combination of the following features: elytra unicolour brown-yellow, femora completely orange-yellow, antennomeres I–II yellow, the remaining black, antennomere II ca. 3 times as long as wide. Zonitoschema arabica sp. nov. is similar to Z. gibdoana , but clearly distinct by legs colour and deeper and wider punctuation of head, pronotum and elytra.

Among the Afrotropical and Palaearctic species with unicolour orange-brown or yellowish elytra, Z. arabica sp. nov. represents an exception because of the completely yellow-brown femora. Only Z. gigantea (Fairmaire, 1894) , distributed in western Africa and in the Congo basin has the same femur colouration; that species is easily distinguishable from Z. arabica sp. nov. because of its greater size (ca. 15–23 mm), body colour reddish, only the antennomere I yellow, and shallower dorsal punctures. However, more Zonitoschema species with yellow femora occur in Kenya (two species) and Namibia (one species) (M. A. Bologna & J. Batelka, unpublished data).

Etymology. The name of this new species refers to the Arabian Peninsula, in the south-western part of which it is distributed; adjective.

Collecting circumstances. The type locality is a hill with flowering Euphorbia ammak Schweinf. (Euphorbiacae) (D. Král, pers. comm.). The expedition stayed at the locality overnight and used light to attract nocturnal insects. The holotype was probably collected at light because it is covered with small white scales of some nocturnal Lepidoptera. The specimen from Dhala was collected at light as it is indicated on the locality label. The Dhala locality and its vicinity (visited again in September 1937 by another British expedition) is described and pictured in SCOTT (1939).

Remarks. The paratype specimen was erroneously recorded by BOLOGNA & TURCO (2007) as ʻ Zonitoschema sp. ( oculatissima ?)ʼ from ʻSaudi Arabia: Dhahʼ. After a more detailed analysis, the specimens proved to be different from Z. oculatissima , and the correct spelling of the locality label is Dhala, in SW Yemen (120 km SSE of Dhawran).

Figures

Figs 1–2. 1 – Zonitoschema arabica sp.nov., dorsal habitus of holotype (male); 2 – Z.kaszabi sp. nov., dorsal habitus of female paratype. Not on the same scale.

Figs 28–34. Heads. 28 – Zonitoschema iranica Kaszab, 1959 from Iran. 29 – Z. griseohirta Pic, 1914 from Yemen. 30 – Z. pallidissima (Reitter, 1908) from Morocco. 31–32 – Z. pallidissima from Egypt: 31 – female; 32 – male. 33 – Z. arabica sp. nov., holotype (male). 34 – Z. kaszabi sp. nov., paratype (female). Not on the same scale.

Figs 35–49. Pronotal disc, dorsal view. 35–36 – Zonitoschema iranica Kaszab, 1959: 35 – male from the U.A.E.; 36 – female from Iran. 37 – Z. kaszabi sp. nov., paratype. 38–39 – Z. sp. cf. genicularis (Wellman, 1910): 38 – specimen from Somalia; 39 – specimen from Yemen. 40–41 – Z. pallidissima (Reitter, 1908) from Egypt: 40 – male; 41 – female. 42 – Z. pallidissima from Morocco. 43 – Z. rubricolor Pic, 1924 from Kenya. 44–45 – Z. chourriba sp. nov.: 44 – male paratype; 45 – female paratype. 46 – Z. arabica sp. nov., holotype. 47–48 – Z. oculatissima Peyerimhoff, 1929: 47 – holotype; 48 – specimen from Chad. 49 – Z. cf. pallidissima from Algeria. Not to the same scale.

Figs 50–59. Male genitalia, lateral view (57 and 59, dorsal view). 50–51 – Z. genicularis (Wellman, 1910): 50 – specimen from Zambia; 51 – specimen from Somalia (parameres only). 52 – Z. iranica Kaszab, 1959 from Israel. 53 – Z. pallidissima (Reitter, 1908). 54 – Z. gibdoana (Kaszab, 1956) from Kenya.55 – Z. sp. from Kenya (a species similar in colouration to Z. sp. cf. genicularis (Wellman, 1910)). 56–57 – Zonitoschema arabica sp. nov., holotype. 58–59 – Zonitoschema chourriba sp. nov., paratype. Not to the same scale.