Cionus variolosus, Caldara & Košťál, 2023

Caldara, Roberto & Košťál, Michael, 2023, A Taxonomic Revision Of The Afrotropical Species Of The Weevil Genus Cionus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), Zootaxa 5288 (1), pp. 1-98 : 91-92

52. Cionus variolosus sp. n. ( Figs 52a–e )

Type locality. Madagascar .

Type series. Holotype, male “Madag [leg.] Sikora / Coll. J. Faust, Aukauf 1900 / pr. catenatus Fairm / Staatl. Museum für Tierkunde Dresden” ( SMTD).

Diagnosis. Pronotum with four protuberances. Elytra with rectangular light macula posterior to scutellum, with interstria 3 carinate at base, other interstriae with protuberances, striae distinctly sinuate. Claws distinctly asymmetrical in male.

Description. Male (holotype) ( Figs 52a–b ). Body: stout, globose (length 4.1 mm). Head: rostrum stout, moderately elongated (Rl/Rw 3.96, Rl/Pl 1.45), black, in lateral view distinctly curved at antennal insertion; in dorsal view slightly divergent from base to apex, striate-punctate, with three distinct longitudinal carinae, from base to near apex with recumbent, dense, narrow (l/w 6–7), elliptical, brown scales, with many setae in apical half. Head between eyes wide, half as wide as rostrum at base. Eyes flat. Antennae dark brown, inserted between middle and apical third; scape elongated (l/w 14); funicle distinctly shorter than scape, S1 more robust and shorter than S2, 2.5× as long as wide, S2 4.0 × as long as wide, S3–5 as long as wide; club oblongly oval, shorter than funicle, regularly pubescent. Pronotum: black, with four protuberances (lateral ones stouter and more distinct than median ones), with dense, more or less small, deep punctures completely hidden by recumbent, dense, moderately long (l/w 4–7), subelliptical, intermixed whitish, light brown and brown scales, dark ones more numerous in mediobasal area, and forming tufts on protuberances; conical, distinctly transverse (Pw/Pl 1.70), widest at base, sides rectilinear, slightly concave in middle, moderately convex on disc. Prosternum: anterior margin distinctly emarginated. Scutellar shield: large, heart-shaped, completely covered with brown scales. Elytra: black, globose, very short (El/Ew 1.08), widest at base, distinctly wider than pronotum (Ew/Pw 1.70), humeri markedly prominent, rounded, sides in basal 2/3 rectilinear, distinctly convex on disc; interstriae moderately sinuate, flat to distinctly convex, partly with calli (base of interstriae 3, 5, 7 and 9, and middle of interstria 3 and 5), with irregular, small, shallow punctures, both punctures and interstriae completely hidden by recumbent, dense, moderately long (l/w 5–7), subelliptical, light and dark brown scales, latter ones more numerous on convex parts of interstriae and behind scutellum; whitish scales forming distinct subrectangular macula behind basal spot of darker scales on interstria 1; striae feebly visible, with deep, irregularly arranged punctures, wider than interstriae. Venter: mesosternal process moderately convex, distinctly emarginated. Metasternum completely covered with dense whitish scales. Abdomen with sparse, irregular, shallow punctures being distinctly visible between sparse, subtle, elongated, whitish and light brown scales; V1 1.7× longer than V2; V1+2 4.5× longer than V3+4, latter ones 0.8× as long as V5. Legs: densely covered with more or less wide, intermixed brown and whitish brown scales; femora black, with stout and sharp teeth; tibiae black, without unci; tarsi dark brown, onychium as long as T1–3 combined; claws asymmetrical, one claw of protarsi half as long as other, one claw of meso- and metatarsi very small and only 1/4 as long as other. Penis: Figs 52c–e , gradually narrowed from middle to apex, with moderately acute tip. Flagellum long and thin from base to apex.

Female. Unknown.

Variability: We know only the holotype.

Etymology. The Latin adjective emphasizes the irregularities of the elytral integument due to the presence of protuberances and punctures.

Remarks. Cionus variolosus differs from C. coriaceus and C. verrucosus by the rectangular (vs subquadrate) elytra, with interstriae less sinuate and less carinate. Moreover, it differs from C. coriaceus also by the longer and thinner rostrum in the male.

Biological notes. No data are available.

Distribution. Madagascar, without more detailed data.

Figures

FIGURES 51–52. FIGURE 51. Cionus verrucosus sp. n. a: body in dorsal view (female), b: body in lateral view (female). FIGURE 52. Cionus variolosus sp. n. a: body in dorsal view (male), b: body in lateral view (male), c: penis in ventral view, d: penis in lateral view, e: apex of penis in dorsal view. Not to scale.