Antennogasmus Gimmel, 2013

Gimmel, Matthew L., 2013, <strong> Genus-level revision of the family Phalacridae (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea) </ strong>, Zootaxa 3605 (1), pp. 1-147 : 84-85

21. Antennogasmus Gimmel , gen. nov.

( Figs. 24 ; 41b )

Type species: Antennogasmus cordatus Gimmel , here designated.

Type material. See account of A. cordatus below.

Diagnosis. Recognized by small scutellar shield, metaventral postcoxal lines not separated from coxal cavities, short metaventral process, long protibial ctenidium, and one sutural stria. Males are readily recognized by their greatly enlarged and constricted antennomere XI.

Description. Medium-sized to large, total length 2.3–3.3 mm. Color highly variable, from completely testaceous to mostly piceous or black, often with lighter pronotum and/or bright maculations on elytra ( Fig. 41b ). Tibial spur formula 2-2-2, tarsal formula 5-5- 5 in both sexes.

Head. Not constricted behind eyes. Eyes often large; facets convex; interfacetal setae absent; distinctly emarginate medially; without posterior emargination; periocular groove present or absent; with transverse setose groove ventrally behind eye. Frontoclypeus emarginate above antennal insertion; clypeal apex straight. Antennal club 3-segmented, club strongly asymmetrical, segment XI in males much longer than segments IX and X combined, sometimes as long as remainder of antenna, with anterior and posterior constriction (turbinate) ( Fig. 24b ). Mandible ( Fig. 24a ) with apex bidentate, with dorsal tooth small; without retinaculum; mandible without ventral ridge. Maxillary palpomere IV fusiform, slender, nearly symmetrical; galea short, rounded; lacinia with two stout spines. Mentum with sides divergent toward apex; labial palpomere III elongate, fusiform. Labrum with apical margin arcuate. Gula with medial internal rounded projection; gular sutures short, barely evident .

Thorax. Pronotum without obvious microsetae; with distinct scutellar lobe. Prosternum anteriorly with continuous row of marginal setae, setae normal; procoxal cavity with anterolateral notchlike extension; prosternal process angulate in lateral view, usually conspicuously setose preapically, without spinelike setae at apex. Protrochanter without setae; protibia with long ctenidium on kickface ( Fig. 24c ). Scutellar shield small. Elytron with moderate to strong spectral iridescence; one sutural stria present, discal striae weakly developed, sometimes with rows of weak punctation; without transverse strigae; lateral margin with row of tiny, sawtooth-like setae. Mesoventral plate ( Fig. 24f ) notched anteriorly, not extending posteriorly to metaventrite, forming procoxal rests; mesoventral disc depressed medially, not setose; mesanepisternum with complete transverse carina; mesocoxae approximate, separated by less than half width of a coxal cavity. Mesotarsomere III bilobed. Metaventral process ( Fig. 24f ) extending anteriorly beyond halfway point but not reaching anterior level of mesocoxae; metaventral postcoxal lines not separated from mesocoxal cavity margin; discrimen short, not quite extending halfway to anterior margin of metaventral process; metendosternite ( Fig. 24g ) with anterior tendons moderately separated, ventral process intersecting ventral longitudinal flange behind anterior margin. Anterior margin of metacoxa with emargination sublaterally; metacoxal plate with transverse line; metatibial foreface with apical ctenidium procurved but perpendicular overall to long axis of tibia; spurs cylindrical, longest spur longer than width of tibial apex; metatarsomere I much longer than metatarsomere II, about as long as remainder of tarsus, joint between I and II flexible ( Fig. 24d ); metatarsomere III bilobed. Hind wing ( Fig. 24e ) with distinct, ovate anal lobe; leading edge without long setae; AA 3+4 strong, anastomosing with Cu and without spur AA 4; cubitoanal system branching apically; CuA 2 and MP 3+4 with distal remnants; r4 complete, connecting RP to apical hinge; conspicuous flecks present in apical field distal to rp-mp2; small transverse sclerite and large triangular sclerite present just distal to end of radial bar.

Abdomen. Abdominal ventrite I without paired lines or calli; spiracles present and apparently functional on segment VII. Male with aedeagus upright in repose; tegmen ( Fig. 24h ) with symmetrical anterior margin and parameres hinged to basal piece, parameres with medial longitudinal division; penis ( Fig. 24i ) narrow in anterior half, with subapical endophallic sclerites, with long, complex series of sclerites and spicules within ejaculatory duct; spiculum gastrale V-shaped, with arms free. Female ovipositor weakly sclerotized, palpiform.

Immature stages. Unknown.

Bionomics. The bionomic information on labels is quite general to absent, but a number of specimens have been collected “at light” while another was collected in a flight intercept trap and another by canopy fogging. Habitat labels include “coastal dune forest” and “in forest.”

Distribution and diversity. I have seen at least eight species in this genus, none previously described. Only the type species is described below, and the others must await a species-level revision. Collectively, they occur in the Afrotropical Region from Liberia to South Africa and Madagascar, including Ghana, Nigeria, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Angola.

Included species (1):

Antennogasmus cordatus Gimmel , sp. nov. (Distribution: Madagascar, South Africa)

Discussion. The description above is based on several specimens representing new species within this genus, in addition to the species described below. These are the most strikingly colored phalacrids occurring in the Afrotropical region.

Etymology. From the Latin antenno - referring to the modified male antenna, and - gasmus in reference to its shared characters with the widespread genus Augasmus . The gender of the name is masculine.

Figures

FIGURE 24. Antennogasmus cordatus, male. (a) Left mandible, dorsal; (b) left antenna (scale bar = 0.5 mm). (c) Left protibia and tarsus, dorsal; (d) left metatibia and tarsus, ventral (scale bar = 0.5 mm). (e) Hind wing (scale bar = 1.0 mm). (f) Meso- and metaventrite, ventral (scale bar = 1.0 mm). (g) Metendosternite (scale bar = 1.0 mm). (h) Tegmen, ventral; (i) penis, ventral (scale bar = 0.5 mm).

FIGURE 41. Photographs. Olibrus sp.: (a) dorsal. Antennogasmus cordatus, holotype: (b) dorsal. Malagasmus thalesi, holotype: (c) dorsal; (d) ventral. Olibrosoma testacea: (e) dorsal. Apallodes sp.: (f) dorsal. Augasmus humilis: (g) dorsal; (h) ventral. Entomocnemus sp., southeast Asia: (i) dorsal.