Cionus rabinovitchi A. Hoffmann, 1938

Košťál, Michael & Caldara, Roberto, 2019, Revision of Palaearctic species of the genus Cionus Clairville (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cionini), Zootaxa 4631 (1), pp. 1-144 : 42-43

22. Cionus rabinovitchi A. Hoffmann, 1938

Figs 22 a–f.

Cionus rabinovitchi A. Hoffmann, 1938b:128 . Caldara, 2013: 124. Alonso-Zarazaga et al., 2017: 186.

Type locality. Wasgiya ( Egypt) .

Type series. The species was described based on two females collected by A. Rabinovitch in Wasgiya, Egypt. In coll. Hofmann ( MNHN), there are two females with label data corresponding to those reported in the original description. One bears a red label “TYPE”, the other one “COTYPE”. Because the author mentioned the existence of the type in his collection, the former specimen, completely preserved female, 4.08 mm long, labeled “ EGYPTE Wasgiya 23.4.1935 A.RABINOVITCH / Cionus Rabinovitchi (♀) A.Hoffmann / TYPE [red label] / coll. M.Paris Hoffmann” was regarded as the holotype, and the latter specimen labeled with the same locality and collection labels as the paratype. For clarity, we marked the former specimen by adding the label “ HOLOTYPUS Cionus rabinovitchi Hoffmann M.Košťál et R.Caldara vid. 2017 [printed red label]”, the latter as the paratype accordingly.

Synonyms. None.

Redescription. Female. Body stout, subrotund to round. Head: rostrum moderately slender, medium long (l/ w 5.5, Rl/Pl 1.22), black to dark brown; in lateral view very slightly, somewhat unevenly curved, apical part almost narrow, tapered from base to apex, subparallel shortly before apex; in dorsal view same width from base to apex, basal part in cross-section almost round, apical part moderately flattened dorsoventrally; basal part densely punctured, punctures longitudinally elongate, distal half of apical part with semidensely, towards apex sparsely distributed, small punctures; basal part with up- and backwardly oriented, elongate reddish scales, apical part bare, apex with a few erect seta-like scales. Head between eyes narrow, of about 0.4 rostrum width at base. Eyes large, broadly rounded, not protruding from head outline. Antennae reddish-brown, inserted shortly beyond half of rostrum length; funicle of 3/4 scape length, segment 1 wider than segment 2, segment 1 twice, segment 2 2.5 × as long as wide, segments 3–5 as long as wide, subquadrate; club oval, more than twice as long as wide, of 0.8 funicle length, completely covered with recumbent, tiny light hairs and relatively numerous, erect, long pale sensilla. Pronotum: reddish-brown, somewhat wider than long (Pl/Pw 0.63), very densely finely evenly punctured, punctures round or subrotund, approximately of equal size, spaces between punctures smaller than puncture diameter; covered with evenly densely arranged, in middle forwardly, on sides inwardly oriented, recumbent to subrecumbent, elongate (l/w 4–8) reddish and whitish scales; widest at base, until half of pronotum length moderately conically, then abruptly more conically narrowed to anterior margin, without apparent constriction, in lateral view flat in basal half, then falling to anterior margin. Prosternum: anterior margin with sharply incised emargination of medium depth, not bounded by tubercles, separated from coxae by narrow prosternal area. Scutellum: triangular, covered with backwardly oriented, elongate yellowish and reddish scales, finely punctured. Elytra: reddish-brown, in basal 2/3 slightly rounded, in apical third broadly rounded, moderately elongate (El/Ew 1.20), widest approximately at one third of their length, at base somewhat wider than pronotum (Ew/Pw 1.59), humeri rounded, moderately prominent, without posthumeral impression; moderately convex on disc; interstria 1 from 0.25 to 0.4 of medial length moderately broadened, in preapical area slightly broadened, interstria 2 in dorsal area slightly narrowed and visibly constricted laterally encompassing medium large, subrotund dorsal and small irregular preapical black tomentous maculae with indistinct border formed by reddish scales; interstriae except dorsal perimacular area of approximately same width, flat, with sparsely scattered round punctures; odd interstriae, especially in posterior half of elytra, with very indistinct, unevenly distributed small patches of dark scales; striae shallow, formed by single rows of slightly unevenly distributed round punctures; entire surface covered with dense, recumbent to subrecumbent, backwardly tipped, elongate (l/w 4–7) yellowish and sparsely intermixed reddish scales almost completely concealing integument. Venter: densely covered with yellowish and reddish scales of similar type as on elytra without clusters on ventrite sides; mesosternal process flat, broad, almost straight at posterior margin, with dense scales; metasternum convex, densely punctured; ventrites 1–2 convex, densely punctured; ventrite 1 1.6 × as long as ventrite 2, ventrites 1–2 combined 4.3 × as long as ventrites 3–4 combined, ventrites 3–4 combined slightly shorter than ventrite 5. Legs: reddish-brown, profemora with tiny teeth emphasized by erect scales, meso- and metafemora with large sharp teeth; excepting onychia covered with recumbent to suberect elongate scales being on femora reddish and sparsely yellowish, on tibiae reddish and yellowish, on tarsomeres 1–3 whitish, onychia covered with recumbent long whitish hairs, femora and tibiae without bands of scales; protarsal onychia as long as tarsomeres 1–3 combined, protarsal tarsomere 3 slightly wider than long; claws of approximately equal length.

Male. Unknown.

Variability. Length ♀♀ 3.90–4.08 mm. The two type specimens do not show any significant differences.

Diagnosis. This species is recognizable by almost concealed elytral integument, tapered apical part of rostrum in lateral view, reddish-brown integument, yellowish and reddish intermixed tipped scales on elytra, and dark rostrum.

Comparative notes. In some extent, especially in rostrum shape, C. rabinovitchi is similar to C. rufescens and C. hortulanus but clearly distinguishable from them by most of the above reported characters in the diagnosis.

Biological notes. Biology unknown.

Distribution. Egypt.

Non-type specimens examined. None.

Figures

FIGURES 21–22. FIGURE 21. Cionus negevicola 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. FIGURE 22. Cionus rabinovitchi. a: body in dorsal view (female), b: body in lateral view (female). Not to scale.