Cionus diaboli, 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 : 32-34

15. Cionus diaboli sp. n. ( Figs 15a–e )

Type locality. Devil’s Kloof (Western Cape, South Africa)

Type series. Holotype, male “ S. Afr., Cape-Cedarbg, Devil’s Kloof, 1100 m, 32.28 S - 19.07 E / 9.11.1983; E-Y: 2059, grassnetting, leg. Endrödy-Younga ” ( TMSA).

Diagnosis. Rostrum very stout, at base in lateral view slightly but distinctly gibbous, in dorsal view distinctly constricted. Pronotum conical, with two small protuberances. Elytra with dense whitish vestiture, completely hiding interstriae and striae, with a few black maculae. Claws asymmetrical in male.

Description. Male ( Figs 15a–b ). Body: robust, globose (length 3.3 mm). Head: rostrum stout, short (Rl/Rw 2.75, Rl/Pl 1.22), black, in lateral view gibbous at base, moderately curved, slightly tapered from base to antennal insertion, then distinctly tapered to apex, in dorsal view distinctly constricted at base, then moderately widened from base to apex, slightly enlarged apically; densely covered to near apex with recumbent, elliptical, moderately elongated (l/w 4–6) whitish scales. Head between eyes moderately narrow, half as wide as rostrum at base. Eyes flat. Antennae dark brown, inserted between middle and apical third; scape long (l/ w 10), funicle slightly shorter than scape, S1 moderately robust, as wide and as long as S2, 2.5× as long as wide, S2 2.5 × as long as wide, S3–4 slightly longer than wide, S5 as long as wide; club moderately oblongly oval, slightly shorter than funicle, uniformly pubescent. Pronotum: dark brown, with dense, somewhat regularly arranged, shallow, small punctures completely hidden by dense, recumbent, moderately long (l/w 4–6), subelliptical whitish scales; conical, moderately transverse (Pw/Pl 1.44), widest at base, sides almost rectilinear, weakly convex, with two small but distinct lateral protuberances. Prosternum: anterior margin distinctly emarginated. Scutellar shield: heart-shaped, densely covered with whitish scales similar to those on elytra. Elytra: dark brown, short (El/Ew 1.13), globose, widest in basal half, distinctly wider than pronotum (Ew/Pw 1.77), humeri distinct, rounded, sides slightly rounded, moderately convex on disc; interstriae flat, without distinct punctures, very slightly rugulose, opaque, completely hidden by recumbent, subelliptical whitish scales, with a few small blackish spots on odd interstriae, at base and on humeri; striae with dense, moderately deep punctures, half as wide as interstriae, intervals between punctures situated at same level as interstriae, completely hidden by vestiture. Venter: mesosternal process weakly convex, moderately emarginated. Metasternum with scales in middle moderately longer than those on sides, but not hair-like. Abdomen with dense, somewhat regularly arranged, shallow, small punctures completely hidden by recumbent, dense, equally wide, short (l/w 2–4), whitish scales; V1 1.4× as long as V2; V1+2 5.5× as long as V3+4, latter ones as long as V5. Legs: densely covered with elongated whitish scales; femora black, with robust sharp teeth; tibiae black, without unci; tarsi black, onychium twice as long as T3; claws distinctly asymmetrical, one claw half as long as other. Penis: Figs 15c–e , its body gradually narrowed from base to apex, tip blunted. Flagellum moderately robust, short, bifurcated at base.

Female. Unknown.

Variability. No specimens examined apart from the holotype.

Etymology. The Latin masculine singular genitive refers to the name of the type locality, the Devil’s Kloof.

Remarks. This species has a very short rostrum in the male, shared only with C. albidus , but different in shape (constricted and gibbous at its base). Moreover, in C. albidus the head between eyes is distinctly narrower, the pronotum is markedly conical and much distinctly wider at base than at anterior margin, the profemoral teeth are distinctly bigger, the onychium is distinctly shorter than T1–3 combined.

Biological notes. No data are available.

Distribution. South Africa (Western Cape).

Figures

FIGURES 15–16. FIGURE 15. Cionus diaboli 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. FIGURE 16. Cionus meticulosus. a: body in dorsal view (male), b: body in lateral view (male), c: rostrum in lateral view (female), d: penis in ventral view, e: penis in lateral view, f: apex of penis in dorsal view. Not to scale.