Asphalmus Sharp, 1896

Borovec, Roman, 2010, A taxonomic study of Eastern Palaearctic Omiini (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 50 (2), pp. 577-594 : 584-585

Asphalmus Sharp, 1896

( Figs. 8‒22 , 24‒26 )

Asphalmus Sharp, 1896: 94 .

Asphalmus: WINKLER (1932: 1452) ; LONA (1938: 507); MORIMOTO (1962: 52); ALONSO- ZARAZAGA & LYAL (1999: 166); KOJIMA & MORIMOTO (2004: 124); BOROVEC (2006: 26).

Omoiotus Sharp, 1896: 95 , syn. nov.

Omoiotus: WINKLER (1932: 1452) ; LONA (1938: 507); MORIMOTO (1962: 52); ALONSO- ZARAZAGA & LYAL (1999: 166); KOJIMA & MORIMOTO (2004: 124).

Redescription. Body length (rostrum excluded): 2.96‒4.06 mm.

Body brown to dark brownish with antennae and legs yellowish to reddish brown. Elytra with one row of semiadherent, piliform setae and 4‒5 irregular rows of adherent, piliform to long-oval setae or only with adherent setae. Pronotum and head with indistinct, scarce, adherent, short, piliform setae, pronotal setae transversally directed to midline ( Figs. 24‒26 ). Antennae and legs with scarce, semiadherent or adherent piliform setae.

Rostrum short to longer, in basal half feebly or strongly tapered anteriad, in apical half strongly enlarged with strongly rounded sides. Epistome not differentiated. Epifrons distad strongly tapered, with concave sides, at rostral base very narrow, as wide as a third to a quarter of the rostral width in the same place. Frons large, U-shaped, curved ventrally, slightly angular in lateral view, reaching posterior border of pit-shaped scrobes, shiny or matt, with very fine microsculpture, shallowly feebly depressed. Epifrons elevated as compared to rostrum, the latter separated from rest of head by wide, shallow transversal depression. Interocular space with fovea in the middle. Rostrum in lateral view strongly vaulted. Scrobes in dorsal view fully visible and open, in lateral view with dorsal border subparallel with the dorsal border of the rostrum, directly visible above the eye with the ventral border directed towards the middle or ventral border of eye. Eyes strongly convex, protruding from outline of head. Head tapered anteriad ( Figs. 8, 9 , 14, 20 ). Head and rostrum finely and densely punctate, distance between punctures shorter than their diameter.

Antenna with scape as long as funicle, feebly exceeding anterior border of pronotum. Antennal funicle slender, with long antennomeres 1 and 2.

Pronotum slender, regularly vaulted, with regularly rounded sides ( Figs. 10, 11 , 15, 16, 21 ). Dorsal surface finely or coarsely, densely punctate. Distance between punctures strikingly shorter than their diameter, sometimes with very small and fine punctures between larger punctures ( Figs. 24‒26 ).

Procoxal cavities contiguous, semiglobular, situated at midlength of pronotum.

Scutellum very small or larger, triangular.

Elytra long-oval, in males more slender than in females ( Figs. 10, 11 , 15, 16, 21 ). Striae wide, distinctly punctate, in dorsal part only somewhat narrower than the intervals or equally as wide ( Figs. 24‒26 ).

Mesocoxa semiglobular, mesosternal process narrow. Metacoxa transverse, metasternal process wide, obtuse, only indistinctly wider than transversal diameter of metacoxa.

All femora dentate. Dent of profemur in males larger than in females or equally as large, larger in pro- and mesofemur than on the metafemur, small to large, dent on metafemur sometimes hardly visible. Protibia slender and very long, strongly enlarged mesally and straight laterally, apex rounded or obliquelly subtruncate, with a fringe of very short, fine, yellow setae and with one tooth at internal angle. Mesal edge of protibia sinuate with scarce, long erect setae. Meso- and metatibia armed with one short spine at internal angle. Metatibial corbels opened. Metatarsi more slender than protarsi. Tarsomeres 3 of all tarsi deeply bilobed, wider than the others. Ultimate tarsomere strikingly longer than penultimate, claws fused at basal half.

Abdominal ventrite I as long as ventrite II and about as long as ventrites III and IV combined. Suture 1 (between abdominal ventrites I and II) sinuose and fine, sutures 2‒4 straight, wide and deep ( Fig. 12 ). Ventrites shiny, scarcely and finely punctate, with scarce, piliform, fine, semiadherent setae.

Male genitalia. Very long and slender, in ventral view very feebly, regularly tapered apically. In lateral view aedeagus regularly curved and tapered apically.

Female genitalia. Apodeme of sternum 8 long, 3‒5 times as long as plate, apically contiguous inside of plate. Plate feebly sclerotised, umbrella-shaped, without margo basalis and with slender, almost indistinct margo apicalis, with apical setae ( Fig. 19 ). Ovipositor long and slender, tapered apically, with very short, hardly visible, laterally orientated stylus with long apical setae ( Fig. 18 ). Spermatheca C-shaped, with separated ramus and nodulus.

Sexual dimorphism. Males have more slender elytra, antennal funicle and tarsi, in A. japonicus males have also larger dents on pro-, meso- and metafemora than females.

Differential diagnosis. Asphalmus , together with genus Rhinomias Reitter, 1894 , are the only genera in the whole tribe Omiini with the epifrons elevated above the surface of the rostrum, with the rostrum separated from the rest of the head by a wide and distinct transversal furrow. Asphalmus may be easily distinguished from Rhinomias by dentate femora, while all other Rhinomias species have all femora edentate.

Biology. Asphalmus sharpi sp. nov. was collected in forest litter; it is probable that the whole genus lives in similar conditions as the similar European genus Rhinomias Reitter, 1894 .

Figures

Figs. 1–13. 1–7 – Yunakovius orientalis gen. & sp. nov., holotype. 1 – head and rostrum, dorsal view; 2 – head and rostrum, lateral view (scale = 0.50 mm); 3 – pronotum and elytra in female, dorsal view (scale = 1.00 mm); 4 – abdominal ventrites (scale = 1.00 mm); 5 – spermatheca (scale = 0.25 mm); 6 – ovipositor (scale = 0.25 mm); 7 – sternum 8 in female (scale = 0.50 mm). 8–13 – Asphalmus japonicus Sharp, 1896, Japan. 8 – head and rostrum, dorsal view; 9 – head and rostrum, lateral view (scale = 0.50 mm); 10 – pronotum and elytra in male, dorsal view; 11 – pronotum and elytra in female, dorsal view (scale = 1.00 mm); 12 – abdominal ventrites (scale = 1.00 mm); 13 – aedeagus, ventral and lateral view (scale = 0.25 mm).

Figs. 14–22. 14–19 – Asphalmus ovatus (Sharp, 1896), Japan. 14 – head and rostrum, dorsal view (scale = 0.50 mm); 15 – pronotum and elytra in male, dorsal view; 16 – pronotum and elytra in female, dorsal view (scale = 1.00 mm); 17 – aedeagus, ventral and lateral view (scale = 0.25 mm); 18 – ovipositor (scale = 0.25 mm); 19 – sternum 8 in female (scale = 0.50 mm). 20-22 – A. sharpi sp. nov., holotype. 20 – head and rostrum, dorsal view (scale = 0.50 mm); 21 – pronotum and elytra in male, dorsal view (scale = 1.00 mm); 22 – aedeagus, ventral and lateral view. (scale = 0.25 mm).

Figs. 23–26. Habitus. 23 – Yunakovius orientalis gen. & sp. nov. (paratype ♀, 3.1 mm, ZIN); 24 – Asphalmus japonicus Sharp, 1896 (♂, 3.8 mm, BMNH); 25 – A. ovatus (Sharp, 1896) (♂, 3.4 mm, BMNH); 26 – A. sharpi sp. nov. (holotype ♂, 3.0 mm, BMNH).