Alphitobius capitaneus, Schawaller, Wolfgang & Grimm, Roland, 2014

Schawaller, Wolfgang & Grimm, Roland, 2014, The genus Alphitobius Stephens (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae, Alphitobiini) in Africa and adjacent islands, ZooKeys 415, pp. 169-190 : 172

Alphitobius capitaneus sp. n. Figs 16, 20

Type specimens.

Holotype male: Kenya, Samburu Nature Reserve, Samburu River Lodge, 28.III.1988, leg. R. Grimm, CRG.

Diagnosis.

Alphitobius capitaneus sp. n. is distinguished from its congeners by size and shape of body. A similar body shape, especially the shape of pronotum has Alphitobius lamottei Ardoin, 1963, but this species is smaller (body length ≤ 7.0 mm) and differs by the reddish colour, by much finer punctation of dorsal surface, by longer and less distinct serrate antennae with basal antennomeres more elongated, and by the somewhat more stretched and apically narrowed apicale of aedeagus.

Description.

Body length 8.8 mm, width at widest point behind middle of elytra 3.6 mm. Elongate, blackish brown, matt; borders of pronotum, lateral borders of elytra, sutural interval, and scutellum paler reddish brown. Complete dorsal surface with very fine and dense punctation, punctures bearing a minute seta. Head sub-trapezoidal; outline continuous, not interrupted between clypeus and frons; apical margin of epistome shallowly emarginate in the middle; fronto-clypeal suture complete and linearly impressed. Eyes large, constricted by genal canthus, dorsal part smaller than ventral part. Genal canthus hardly projecting beyond contours of eyes, with the outlines nearly continuous with the outlines of the latter. Tempora strongly narrowed towards neck. Antennae thickened, not reaching the base of pronotum, with the seven distal antennomeres forming a kind of club; 2nd antennomere wider than long; 3rd elongate, one and a half times as long as wide; 4th only slightly, 5th to 10th distinctly wider than long and distinctly serrate; distal antennomere rounded, as wide as long. Pronotum transverse, width/length ratio 1.7; transverse convex, widest at base, shallowly arcuate narrowing to apex. Anterior margin shallowly emarginate, basal margin bisinuate, all margins finely bordered; lateral margins separated from discal convexity by a narrow submarginal depression. Anterior and posterior corners rectangular. Propleura densely covered with small seta bearing tubercles, only along outer margins nearly smooth. Prosternum rugosely punctured, prosternal apophysis bent down behind procoxae. Elytra convex, elongate oval with subparallel sides and densely punctured striae; scutellar striole absent; intervals much broader than striae, nearly flat on disc, becoming more and more convex laterally and distally; lateral margins in dorsal view visible nearly over entire length, only concealed around apex; base as wide as base of pronotum; humeral angles obtuse, distinct. Scutellum large, triangular. Mesoventrite roughly punctured, with shiny median carina in basal part; triangular apophysis raised upwards and excavate. Metaventrite shiny, with fine median sulcus, finely punctured on disc, somewhat more coarsely punctured laterally. Abdominal ventrites with very dense and fine punctation throughout, basally and laterally longitudinally wrinkled. Tibiae gradually and faintly dilated towards apex, without modifications. Aedeagus as in Fig. 20.

Etymology.

Capitaneus (Latin) means conspicuous by greatness, refers in this case to the body size.