Cionus subalpinus Reitter, 1904

Košťál, Michael & Caldara, Roberto, 2019, Revision of Palaearctic species of the genus Cionus Clairville (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cionini), Zootaxa 4631 (1), pp. 1-144 : 30-32

13. Cionus subalpinus Reitter, 1904

Figs 13 a–f.

Cionus subalpinus Reitter, 1904: 54 . Wingelmüller, 1914: 192; 1921: 105; 1937: 172. Caldara, 2013: 124. Alonso-Zarazaga et al., 2017: 185.

Type locality. Petzen ( Austria) .

Type series. In coll. Reitter ( NHMW), there are one male and four females labeled “ ♂ / Ganglb. 91 Petzen / subalpinus”, 2 spec. “Ganglb. 91 Petzen / subalpinus / ♀ ”, “Ganglb. Wochein / subalpinus / ♀ / C.subalpinus m. 1904.” and “Campogrosso Pinker 900 / ♀ / subalpinus Wingelm. det. / Cionus hortulanus ”. In coll. Reitter ( HNHM), there are three females labeled: “Ganglb. 91 Petzen / Paratypus Cionus subalpinus Reitter 1904 ./ C. subalpinus m. 1904. / Coll.Reitter”, “Ganglbauer Campo grosso / Paratypus Cionus subalpinus Reitter 1904 . / Coll.Reitter” and “Ganglbauer Campo grosso / ♀ / Paratypus Cionus subalpinus Reitter 1904 . / Coll.Reitter”. Original description and locality labels completely correspond to all of these eight specimens. In the original description, neither the number of specimens nor the indication of a type specimen are reported. Therefore, we designated the male as the lectotype of Cionus subalpinus Reitter by adding the printed red label “ LECTOTYPUS Cionus subalpinus Reitter M. Košťál et R. Caldara des. 2011” The lectotype is 4.56 mm long, glued on a triangular paper card, considerably damaged, abraded, with missing parts of legs, and an originally mounted penis. All the other above mentioned specimens were labeled as paralectotypes accordingly.

Synonyms. None.

Redescription. Male. Body stout, subrotund. Head: rostrum moderately stout, medium long (l/ w 4.15, Rl/Pl 1.10), black to blackish brown; in lateral view slightly evenly curved, same width from base to antennal insertion, beyond antennal insertion abruptly distinctly flattened and moderately tapered to apex; in dorsal view slightly broadened from base to apex, in basal 2/3 laterally constricted, in distal part flattened dorsoventrally; longitudinally confluent punctured, very close to apex with small glabrous shiny area, basal part covered with recumbent, thin, elongate yellowish seta-like scales, apical part with subrecumbent, long, whitish seta-like scales, apically with a few erect pale hairs. Head between eyes relatively broad, of about 0.5 rostrum width at base. Eyes rounded, not protruding from head outline. Antennae reddish-brown with darkened club and funicular segments 3–5, inserted at 0.8 of rostrum length; funicle of about 0.8 scape length, segment 1 only very slightly wider than, and as long as segment 2, more than twice as long as wide, segments 3–5 as long as wide; club oblong oval, about 2.5 × as long as wide, of about 0.7 funicle length, densely covered with recumbent dark brown thin long setae and sparse erect light brown sensilla. Pronotum: black, markedly wider than long (Pl/Pw 0.60), with blackish-brown narrow anterior margin, densely punctured by evenly distributed, rounded and subrotund punctures, covered with recumbent to subrecumbent, evenly distributed, elongate (l/w 5–7) whitish and yellowish scales; widest at base, rounded and moderately narrowed to its half length, then conically narrowed to anterior margin, convex on disc. Prosternum: anterior margin with rounded, sharply deep incised emargination not reaching coxae. Scutellum: black, subtriangular with rounded apex, evenly covered with relatively densely arranged, backwardly oriented, elongate whitish and light brownish scales. Elytra: brown, slightly rounded to subparallel, backwardly convergent, in apical third broadly rounded, moderately elongate (El/Ew 1.25), widest at about 1/4 of their length, at base markedly wider than pronotum (Ew/Pw 1.75), humeri moderately prominent, broadly rounded, with shallow posthumeral impression; flat on disc; interstria 1 broadened at about 1/3 of medial length and shortly before apex encompassing black tomentous round maculae; odd interstriae slightly wider than even ones, with unevenly distributed light patches of densely arranged, recumbent, elongate whitish scales; striae shallow, formed by subrotund, almost confluent punctures; entire surface evenly covered with small, elongate, thin (l/w 5–7), whitish and brownish scales distinctly denser at humeral apices and in posthumeral impression, integument clearly visible. Venter: sparsely covered with recumbent whitish to yellowish elongate scales, slightly more densely arranged at apex of ventrite 5 and metepisternum; mesosternal process short, blunt at apex; metasternum concave, with fine transverse ribs; ventrite 1 with deep median impression, ventrite 2 with shallow impression, ventrites 1–2 clearly densely punctured; ventrite 1 1.8 × as long as ventrite 2, ventrites 1–2 combined 3.7 × as long as ventrites 3–4 combined, ventrites 3–4 combined of 0.8 length of ventrite 5. Legs: dark brown, distal part of anterior onychia darkened; profemora unarmed, only with indistinct tubercles, mesofemora with blunt, metafemora with large sharp teeth; femora, tibiae and tarsomeres 1–3 densely covered with mostly recumbent (on femora), suberect (on tibiae and tarsi), elongate whitish and brown scales, onychia sparsely covered with recumbent to subrecumbent, very long whitish hairs; onychia of anterior legs very long, of about 1.2 length of tarsomeres 1–3 combined; protarsal lateral, meso- and metatarsal medial claws smaller, by about 1/3 short- er than their pair-claws. Penis: Figs 13 a–f, its body long, arcuate, with tapered apex and small tip bent dorsally.

Female. Rostrum slightly longer (Rl/Pl 1.22), antennal insertion at 0.7 of rostrum length. Ventrites 1–2 without impression. Onychia of anterior legs short, of about 0.75 length of tarsomeres 1–3 combined. Claws more slightly, approximately only by 1/4 unequally long in the same manner as in males.

Variability. Length: ♂♂ 4.17–4.95 mm, ♀♀ 4.35–5.15 mm. This species shows a minimal variability. The pro- tibiae in males are usually moderately elongate, longer than meso- and metatibiae, whereas in some males also the protibiae are of normal length. The dorsal tomentous macula might be less elongate.

Diagnosis. This species is characterised by robust body, very long onychium of protarsi in males, sparsely distributed small, thin, relatively short scales on elytra leaving integument visible, deep impression in ventrite 1 in males.

Comparative notes. This species differs from the most closely related C. dodeki by plumper body, shorter antennal club, presence of preapical macula and absence of apical elevation of interstria 1 in both sexes, and missing carina in the impression of ventrite 1 in males.

Biological notes. As a host plant Wingelmüller (1937) reported Scrophularia hoppei , whose current accepted name is S. canina ssp. hoppii (W. D. J. Koch) P. Fourn. The first author collected a couple of C. subalpinus on this plant in Karawanken ( Austria, Kärnten), Hochobir Mt. on 6. vii. 1998 in the elevation 1,800 m a. s. l. The occurrence is limited to the subalpine zone between 1,700 –2,000 m a. s. l., often together with C. scrophulariae ( Wingelmüller, 1937; first author´s personal observation). L. Behne (pers. comm.) reared a series of imagoes from the above plant, also together with C. scrophulariae .

Distribution. Austria, Italy, Slovenia.

Non-type specimens examined. We examined more than 140 specimens collected in June and July. AUS- TRIA: Karawanken, Hochobir ( ME 1 ♂, 6 ♀♀; KO 4 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀; SMDEI 113 spec.; WM 1 ♂, 1 ♀), Karawanken, Klagenfurter Hütte ( SMDEI 2 spec.). ITALY: V. Rivolto ( MZHF 1 ♂) .

Figures

FIGURES 13–14. FIGURE 13. Cionus subalpinus. 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. FIGURE 14. Cionus dodeki sp. n. 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.