Longitarsus borisi, Konstantinov, Alexander S., 2005

Konstantinov, Alexander S., 2005, New species of Middle Asian Longitarsus Latreille with discussion of their subgeneric placement (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), Zootaxa 1056, pp. 19-42 : 24-25

Longitarsus borisi sp. nov.

( Figs. 3 , 17–21 ).

Description. Length 1.62 mm, width 0.81 mm. Dorsum dark brown without metallic reflection, pronotum as dark or slightly lighter than elytra. Legs yellowish, pro­ and mesotibia nearly as light as pro­ and mesofemora, metafemur darker than pro­and mesofemora and metatibia. Antennae light, gradually darkened apically starting with antennomere 5.

Vertex strongly shagreened. Antennal callus slightly lighter and higher than vertex, not delineated from vertex by supracallinal sulcus. Surface of antennal calli moderately shiny, lacking sculpture. Frontal ridge moderately wide and flat in lateral view, not narrowing from middle to anterofrontal ridge. Anterofrontal ridge in middle thicker than frontal ridge. Second antennomere as long as third, slightly shorter than fourth.

Pronotum width/length ratio 1.24, basally nearly as wide as apically. Lateral side convex, with oblique denticle, maximum width slightly anterior to middle. Anterolateral callosity low, with obtuse denticle, much lower anteriorly than posteriorly. Posterolateral callosity low, wide. Punctures small, shallow, poorly defined. Interspaces shiny, without wrinkles or punctures.

Scutellum rounded on top. Elytron without humeral callus; maximum width in males nearly in middle. Apex slightly concave. Punctures size vary (in holotype elytral punctures are larger than those on pronotum, in paratypes equal to those on pronotum), their diameter slightly less than or about equal to interpunctal distance. Interspaces shiny, without wrinkles or punctures.

Male first protarsomere 1.66 times longer than wide, wide in middle, 1.25 times longer than second, 1.66 times longer than third and 0.9 times longer than fourth (visible) protarsomere. Male metatibia 5 times as long as wide, straight in dorsal view, with denticles directed perpendicular to its length. First metatarsomere of male 2 times shorter than metatibia. Tarsal claw thin, lacking denticle. Metatibial spur as long as third metatarsomere.

Median lobe of aedeagus parallel sided, with deep groove ventrally. Groove only slightly wider apically, basally as wide as in middle. Apex with well developed denticlelike structure. In lateral view, apex slightly sinuous, tip curved ventrally. In lateral view, median lobe slightly curved ( Fig. 3 ).

Spermatheca with receptacle posteriorly nearly as wide as anteriorly, separated from pump only by sharp border. Internal side of receptacle convex, external nearly straight. Pump with vertical and horizontal parts poorly separated, vertical much shorter than horizontal. Internal side of horizontal part slightly convex. Spermathecal duct basally projecting away from direction of receptacle, forming many coils distally (more than any other species studied in this paper). Tignum arrowhead shaped posteriorly, wider than anteriorly, nearly parallel sided to anterior end, slightly widening there. Vaginal palpus posteriorly curved medially and laterally. Abdominal tergites 1 to 3 completely sclerotized. Tergite 1 with clusters of deep pores laterally.

Comments. Longitarsus borisi has two unique characters which separate it from all other Testergus treated in this paper: the coiled part of the spermathecal duct is unusually long ( Fig. 17 ) and the posterior part of the vaginal palpus is curved both medially and laterally ( Fig. 19 ). Longitarsus borisi is most similar to L. sogdianus , particularly in the general shape of the spermatheca and the spermathecal duct basally projecting away from a direction of the receptacle ( Figs. 17 , 49 ). It can be distinguished from L. sogdianus by the median lobe of its aedeagus in which the ventral groove is nearly parallel sided and the median lobe is slightly curved in lateral view. In L. sogdianus , the median lobe is straight in lateral view, and the ventral groove is much wider apically than medially and basally ( Fig. 3 ). The length of the coiled part of the spermathecal duct is greater in L. borisi than that in L. sogdianus .

Etymology. This species is named after Boris Korotyaev, who collected the holotype.

Type material. Holotype ɗ: Tadzhikistan, Curkhu mountain ridge, 30 km N. Nurek, Korotyaev, 11.V.1983 (ZMAS). Paratypes ɗ, Ψ: Xr. Khozrati­sho (Khazratisho mountain ridge), Tadzhikistan, 1300­1600m, Gur’eva, 12.V.1962 (ZMAS, USNM). Paratype ɗ, the same labels as previous paratypes except for Kryzhanovsky, 1.V.1962 (ZMAS).

Figures

FIGURES 3 – 11. Median lobe of aedeagus (ventral and lateral views). 3 ­ L. borisi, 4 ­ L. danilevskyi, 5 ­ L. excipennis, 6 ­ L. fuscoaeneus (Armenia). 7 ­ L. igori. 8 ­ L. josiphi. 9 ­ L. nadiae. 10 ­ L. pubescens. 11 ­ L. lederi.

FIGURES 17 – 21. Female abdomen and genitalia of L. borisi. 17 ­ spermatheca. 18 ­ abdominal tergites. 19 ­ vaginal palpi. 20 ­ tignum. 21 ­ abdominal sternites.

FIGURES 49 – 53. Female abdomen and genitalia of L. sogdianus. 49 ­ spermatheca. 50 ­ vaginal palpi. 51 ­ abdominal tergites. 52 ­ tignum and internal abdominal sclerites. 53 ­ abdominal sternites.