Pseudoculio barclayi Pelsue & O’Brien, 2011

Pelsue, Frank W. & O’Brien, Charles W., 2011, A redefinition of the Curculionini of the world, with a key to subtribes and genera, and two new genera: Pseudoculio and Megaoculis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Curculioninae), Zootaxa 3102, pp. 27-49 : 35

Pseudoculio barclayi Pelsue & O’Brien sp. n.

Material examined: Holotype—Ceylon ( Sri Lanka) Ƥ Ceylon /Haeifayo/1963/D. Calnido. ( BMNH)

Description: Habitus (Figs. 23–24) Ƥ 2.9 mm (n=1) in length; 1.6 mm (n=1) in width. Head: 0.7 as broad as pronotum in frontal view; glabrous; gena with small white scales; punctures numerous, discrete; frons 0.22 as broad as head across eyes; clothed with small, narrow, decumbent, white scales. Rostrum: 1.8 mm in length; 0.62 as long as body; derm fuscous; cylindrical (tube-like); abruptly emerging from frons; straight to distal 3/4, there deflexed to apex; punctures very small; scrobe lateral; scape inserted in basal 1/3. Antennae: Scape 0.6 mm, funicle 0.9 mm in length; scape 0.66 as long as funicle; antennomere 1 twice as long as 2, 3–4 equal, 5 not as long as 6, 7 as long as 6; club 0.25 mm, as long as 5–7; derm testaceous. Thorax: 1.1 mm in length 1.3 mm in width; 0.87 as long as broad; anterobasal margin emarginate, base of disc almost as broad as base of elytra: punctures small with narrow margins, hexagonal in shape with small narrow elongate fuscous scales; laterobasal margin with narrow macula of clavate, apically truncate, recumbent, cretaceous scales; mesosternal intercoxal process not visible; scutellum not as long as wide, clothed with small narrow cretaceous scales; mesepimeron, mesepisternum, and metepisternum densely clothed with broad, clavate, cretaceous scales; metasternum discretely clothed with similar scales. Elytra: Striae deep, punctures large with broad clavate white scales; basal margin with short vittae on intervals 1–4 longest on 1 and gradually becoming shorter to interval 4; intervals broad, twice as broad as striae, with 3 short clavate fuscous scales in transverse rows; just past middle with broad fascia of clavate, decumbent, apically truncate white scales; in apical 1/5 crosshatched setae short, suberect, white. Legs: Pro-, meso-, and metafemoral teeth small; derm fuscous; clothed with narrow, elongate, decumbent, white scales; tibiae subsinuate, pro-, and mesouncus small, no metauncus; tarsal claws with long, narrow, outer teeth and shorter, rounded, inner teeth. Abdomen: Sternum I longer than II behind coxal cavity; sterna I–II fused medially, suture visible only laterally; sternum II ascending to III; III longer than IV; III–IV together as long as V; V with apex truncate, with shallow apical declivity; sterna I–II clothed with larger, clavate, cretaceous scales; sterna III–V with shorter, narrow, clavate, cretaceous scales. Pygidium: Visible, small, densely clothed with short, narrow, elongate, cretaceous seta-like scales. Genitalia: Not dissected.

Differential diagnosis: This species stands alone from the other species in this group, but could be confused with two other species in the Curculionina with similar scale patterns e.g. Curculio grypus ( Marshall) , and Curculio pusio ( Marshall) .

Specific epithet: Named in honor of Maxwell Barclay curator of Coleoptera in the Entomology Department of The Natural History Museum London.