Azotoctla gottsbergeri, Cardona-Duque, Juliana & Franz, Nico M., 2012

Cardona-Duque, Juliana & Franz, Nico M., 2012, Description and phylogeny of a new Neotropical genus of Acalyptini (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Curculioninae) associated with the staminodes of Cyclanthaceae, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 166 (3), pp. 559-623 : 575-577

AZOTOCTLA GOTTSBERGERI CARDONA- DUQUE & FRANZ SP. NOV. ( FIGS 9 , 10 )

Diagnosis: Yellowish to dark reddish brown; mesepimeron distinctly projected ventrad; posterolateral depressed area of metaventrite not preceded by a ridge; humeri indistinct. Azotoctla gottsbergeri differs from the remaining species of Azotoctla by the semilunar and Y-shaped basal portion of the basal plate of the male sternum 9; by the ornate aedeagus, which bears a single, mesally positioned, truncate sclerite on the pedon, which is surrounded by papillae; by the only slightly projected aedeagal apex and the endophallus that extends no more than one quarter of the length of aedeagal apodemes (whereas in other Azotoctla species the endophallus extends basad of and is more than half the length of the aedeagal apodemes); and by the distinctly diverging furcal arms of the lamina of the female sternum 8, which have acute corners. This species closely resembles A. nana and A. anerunca because of their similar size (1.5–2.0 mm) and shape (slender body in dorsal view, l/w proportion ~2.0); however A. gottsbergeri has comparatively smaller eyes that occupy one quarter of the head’s surface, whereas in A. nana and A. anerunca the eyes occupy one third to half of the head’s surface. Lastly, A. nana differs from A. gottsbergeri by a longer aedeagal endophallus, which extends basad of the aedeagus and the separate ramus and collum of the spermatheca. The sole available female of A. gottsbergeri is partially damaged and thus not fully described here.

Description: Male ( Fig. 9A ): small, length 1.7–2.0 mm, width 0.9–1.0 mm, oval l/w = 2.0 (N = 2). Colour yellowish to dark reddish brown; vestiture short, golden, most conspicuous on elytra, femora, tibiae, and tarsi. Rostrum short, 0.4 mm; r/p = 0.9–1.0, reddish brown; in dorsal view slightly punctulate between antennal insertion and eyes; antennal insertion near apical third, scrobe subrectate, basally deep. Antennal club oval, similar in colour to funicle, I similar in length to II + III, II and III similar in length. Head reddish brown; ventrally glabrous, dorsally barely pilose. Eyes distant from pronotal margin by nearly half their diameter; interocular distance slightly shorter than interantennal distance at insertion point. Pronotum l/w = 0.7–0.8, reddish brown, in dorsal view subcircular, anterior margin 0.8¥ width of posterior margin, lateral margins rounded, greatest width near anterior third, vestiture long; posterior margin slightly bisinuate; in lateral view subquadrate. Mesepimeron ventrally distinctly projected. Prosternum subglabrous (few setae laterad); procoxal cavities inserted at middle; prosternal process narrowly rounded; metaventrite pilose, slightly punctulate, centrally slightly concave, posterolateral depression narrow, not preceded by a ridge; metacoxal cavities separated by distance similar to 1.5¥ mesocoxal diameter. Prothoracic legs light reddish brown; procoxa glabrous; profemur f/p = 1.1–1.2; protibia t/f = 0.9–1.0. Meso- and metatibiae anteroventrally pubescent along apical third. Scutellum pentagonal, dark reddish brown. Elytra elongate, l/w = 1.6, anterior margins slightly sinuate; humeri indistinct; lateral margins subparallel throughout anterior half, thereafter evenly rounded and converging; in lateral view dorsally flattened throughout anterior half, thereafter slightly convex; striae subequal to intervals; III- VII merging towards apex; strial punctures large, brown, suboval; intervals light reddish-brown, vestiture short. Abdomen nearly 2.5¥ length of lateral margin of metaventrite, vestiture sparse; sternites 1 and 2 completely fused, mesally nearly flat; 1 slightly longer than 2. Tergite 1 incomplete; tergites 2–7 complete; tergites 5–6 lateroposteriorly and tergite 7 lateroanteriorly with paired strigate-sculptured regions. Tergite 8 wider than long, posterior margin rounded, simple (as opposed to plicate), laterally rounded. Distal angle of sternum 8 with five to six large setae. Sternum 9 ( Fig. 9B ) with basal portion of basal plate semilunar, Y-shaped; apodeme two times width of aedeagal apodemes. Tegminal plate reduced, basal piece Y-shaped; tegminal apodeme subrectate, nearly half length of aedeagus. Aedeagus ( Fig. 9C ) short, l/w = 2.5 (N = 1); longitudinal plates elongate, clavate (converging toward the apex); basal margin widely rounded, diffuse, apex rounded, slightly projected (projection narrow); tectum membranous, simple (as opposed to with papillate tissue); pedon with a mesal truncate sclerite, with surrounding papillae (circularly disposed); endophallus with six spine-like sclerites basad to sclerite of pedon and with dense,

small spine-like sclerites, extended basad to aedeagus; in lateral view wide, longitudinal sclerites slightly standing out from dorsal margin, ventral margin slightly deflexed; aedeagal apodemes in lateral view distinctly sinuate at apex, slightly widened.

Female: rostrum reddish brown, dorsally arcuate, ventrally subrectate, basally slightly pilose; antennal insertion near apical third. Frons sparsely pilose, setae converging towards a midline. Tergites 1–2 incomplete; lateroposterior part of tergites 5 and 6 and lateroanterior part of tergite 7 with paired strigatesculptured regions. Sternum 8 ( Fig. 10A ) with lamina mesally deeply emarginate; furcal arms distinctly diverging; corners of furcal arms acute, inner corners with one to three setae. Coxites slightly longer than apodeme of sternite 8, styli wide, apically with two long setae. Spermatheca ( Fig. 10B ) with corpus tubular; apex of cornu narrowly rounded, projected, rugulose; ramus and collum close to each other; ramus not protruded; collum strongly protruded.

Variation: No significant variation is apparent amongst the examined specimens.

Type material: Holotype male (dissected) ‘ Brazil, Manaus, A.M., Reserva Ducke, on Evodianthus funifer , leg. G. Gottsberger, X-03–1992 ’ ( ASUT) . Paratypes, same label information as holotype male ( ASUT: two males, one female; one dissected) .

Etymology: Named in honour of Austrian pollination ecologist Prof. Dr Gerhard Gottsberger, who has made important contributions to our knowledge of the reproductive ecology of Neotropical palms, cyclanths, and arums (e.g. Gottsberger, 1991), and who first introduced the junior author to the topic of weevil pollination.

Natural history: Azotoctla gottsbergeri is known from the Brazilian Amazon ( Fig. 37 ), where specimens were collected on Evodianthus funifer (Poiteau) Lindman in a primary forest habitat near Manaus, at an elevation of nearly 80 m. To our knowledge this is the only species of Azotoctla collected on the cyclanth genus Evodianthus Oersted.

Figures

Figure 9. Azotoctla gottsbergeri, male. A, habitus, lateral view; B, sternum 9; C, aedeagus, dorsal and lateral view.

Figure 10. Azotoctla gottsbergeri, female. A, sternum 8; B, spermatheca.

Figure 37. Azotoctla species distributions, III: Azotoctla anerunca, Azotoctla curvirostra, Azotoctla femorata, Azotoctla gottsbergeri, and Azotoctla melolauta.