Allenipeplus alius, Kirejtshuk, Alexander G. & Kovalev, Alexey V., 2016

Kirejtshuk, Alexander G. & Kovalev, Alexey V., 2016, A new genus of the subfamily Cillaeinae (Coleoptera, Nitidulidae) from the Philippines and New Guinea with notes on the taxonomy and phylogeny of the subfamily, Zootaxa 4205 (3), pp. 226-242 : 232-234

Allenipeplus alius sp. nov.

( Figs. 7–11 , 23 )

Holotype, female ( ZIN)—“ Philippines, Mindoro , Mt Hallon, xi.2013, I. Lumawig ”.

Diagnosis. In addition to the characters mentioned in the key below, this new species is characterized among its congeners by the more regularly subquadrate pronotum, head more narrowed posteriorly and widest (most swollen) scape among congeners, and also differs from:

- A. harmonicus sp. nov. in the mentum strongly widened anteriorly and with strongly projecting anterior angles, less conspicuous (shorter and sparser) pubescence of the underside, widely rounded female pygidial apex with finer crenellation;

- A. philippinensis sp. nov. in the smaller body, convergent pregenal processes along mentum, longer and sparser setae at posterior edge of prosternal process;

- A. vitellinus sp. nov. in the pregenal processes subangularly curved at base of mentum, somewhat smaller mesocoxal paramedian depressions on mesothorax with divergent mesal edges and ovipositor with narrower gonocoxites.

Etymology. The epithet of this new species means “another”, “different”, “alter”.

Note. The characters common with the type species of the new genus are omitted from the description below. Description of holotype (female). Length 8.6, width 1.7, height 0.6 mm. Elongate, slightly convex to subflattened dorsally and ventrally; bright reddish with rather darkened dorsal surface: mandibular apices, posterior two-thirds of head, adsutural, lateral and apical parts of elytra, abdominal segments 5 and 6, and also pygidium dark; metaventrite, ventral surface of abdomen and appendages somewhat lighter; body with a faint shine; covered with very short and subrecumbent yellowish hairs, somewhat shorter than distance between their insertions; setae along apex of prosternal process comparatively rather long and sparse. Head and pronotum with irregular punctures, much larger than eye facets, separated by one puncture diameter or somewhat less, interspaced by very fine and somewhat obliterated microreticulation; elytra with somewhat sparser punctation; exposed tergites and ventrites with finer and shallower punctation and more pronounced mesh microreticulation. Prosternum and metaventrite with coarser and more regularly oval punctures than those on head and pronotum, separated by 2–3 puncture diameters, interspaced by somewhat obliterated mesh microreticulation, although punctation becoming much more sparser at median part of posterior third of metaventrite.

Head ( Figs. 8–9 ) widest at eyes and subrectilinearly narrowing posteriorly. Antennae about 3/4 as long as head width, each of antennomeres 2 and 3 comparable in length and somewhat longer than scape (antennomere 1), their club with subparallel sides, about 1/4 of total antennal length, almost 1.5× as long as wide and with antennomere 9 longer than each of antennomere 10 and 11. Pronotum slightly transverse and subquadrangular with slightly arcuate lateral edges. Scutellar shield subtriangular with somewhat arcuate sides, about twice as wide as long. Pygidium (last tergite) subtriangular, nearly 1.6× as long as wide, widely rounded and crenellate at apex. Pregenal processes ( Fig. 9 ) at hypostomal sinuses subarcuately curved and along sides of mentum convergent. Mentum ( Fig. 9 ) strongly widened anteriorly and with strongly projecting anterior angles, nearly 3.5× as wide as long. Prosternal process at widely rounded apex about 1.3× as wide as minimal distance between procoxae. Femora 2.5–3.0× as wide as tibiae. Protarsi almost 1/3 as wide as protibiae, meso- and metatarsi markedly narrower.

Ovipositor as in Fig. 23 , moderately sclerotized.

Distribution. This species is known only from one locality on the island of Mindoro, Philippines.

Figures

FIGURES 7 – 11. Allenipeplus alius gen. et sp. nov. — holotype, female (“ Philippines, Mindoro, Mt Hallon, xi. 2013, I. Lumawig ” — ZIN). 7: body, dorsal; 8: anterior part of head, dorsal; 9: head, ventral; 10: thorax and abdominal base, ventral; 11: abdominal apex, ventral. Scale bars = 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 22 – 25. Ovipositor of species of Allenipeplus gen. nov. — ventral. 22: A. philippinensis sp. nov. (“ Philippines, E Luzon, Sierra Madre, Isabela, xi. 2012, I. Lumawig ” — ZIN); 23: A. alius sp. nov. (“ Philippines, Mindoro, Mt Hallon, xi. 2013, I. Lumawig ” — ZIN); 24: A. harmonicus sp. nov. (“ E slope Mt. McKinley, Davao Prov., Mindanao, Elev. 6500 ft, ix- 13 - 1946, lot # 55, petiole of dead tree fern frond ” — ZIN); 25: A. vitellinus sp. nov. (“ New Guinea, Torecella M., 1.700 fts. iv- 1939, G. P. Moore, B. M. 1939 - 479 ” — ZIN). Scale bars = 1.0 mm.