Anthelephila tricolorata, Zhao & Wang, 2024

Zhao, Yuchen & Wang, Xinpu, 2024, New species and records of Anthelephila praetor species-group (Coleoptera: Anthicidae) from China, Zootaxa 5447 (1), pp. 103-112 : 108-110

Anthelephila tricolorata n. sp. (三DZṅù形Ƥ)

Figures. 27–33

Holotype. ♂, Guomenshan ( IJȖ 山) (100.60380°E, 22.24527°N), alt. 1110 m, Nabanhe Nature Reserve (Ṃ板河h 然保护区), Jinghong City (Ḅ洪市), Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture (Ħƃ版Ṃ傣dzh治州), Yunnan, China, 10.XI.2008, leg. Lingzeng Meng ( IZCAS).

Description.

Body. Holotype. Total length 3.27 mm, maximum width 1.02 mm; head length 0.75 mm, head width across eyes 0.65 mm, pronotal length 0.72 mm, maximum pronotal width 0.54 mm, minimum pronotal width 0.33 mm, elytral length 1.80mm, combined elytral maximum width 1.02 mm.

Color. Head, pronotum and legs reddish brown, elytra black, with basal third reddish brown. Antennae largely reddish brown, distinctly to dark brown towards terminal. Ventral body with head, thoracic sternum, and basal portion of the first abdominal sternite reddish-brown, remainder black.

Head. 1.15 times as long as wide, evenly rounded posteriorly. Tempora strongly narrowed posteriad, temporal angles entirely absent. Neck short, well differentiated from head. Eyes medium-sized, not protruding from lateral outline of head. Dorsal surface of head distinctly, irregularly punctured, with brown, decumbent pubescence and yellowish, erect tactile setae. Punctures of frons coarser, becoming finer and more widely spaced posteriorly. Antennae filiform, extending beyond base of elytra, moderately enlarged in terminal third; antennomere I 1.5 times, X 1.20 times, XI 1.82 times as long as wide.

Pronotum. 1.33 times as long as wide, moderately narrower than head, widely rounded in front, slightly constricted before base in dorsal view. Pronotal disc convex anteriorly, distinctly impressed posteriorly and slightly bulging before base in lateral view, anterior convex part with shallow and inconspicuous median longitudinal impression/groove, posterior bulge divided by inconspicuous median impression. Anterior surface with sparsely punctate, while median longitudinal impression/groove and postero-lateral sides impunctate. Pronotum with prominent longitudinal wrinkles on constricted area, with numerous densely spaced, coarse punctures between constricted area and posterior bulge. Posterior bulge glossy. Pubescence appressed, brown on disc, white between constricted area and posterior bulge, rest yellowish.

Elytra. Longitudinally elliptical, 1.76 times as long as wide, humeri distinctly angulate. Postscutellar impression shallow. Surface glossy, distinctly punctate. Punctation uneven, setiferous punctures forming whitish transverse band in postscutellar impression. Pubescence decumbent, yellowish before transverse band and brownish behind the band, except ordinary, pale setae with transverse, narrow band of whitish, somewhat thicker, decumbent setae in postscutellar impression.

Metathoracic wings fully developed.

Legs. Forelegs modified ( Fig.28 ). Profemoral process robust, rather wide, subtruncate apically, armed with minute spines along its outer edge. Protibia moderately enlarged shortly behind mid-length, narrowed distally. Male metatibia with distinct tuft of long, curved setae subapically.

Ventral side. Male metasternum with small, densely punctured, setose patches posteriorly.

Abdomen. Sternum VII moderately impressed to excavated posteriorly ( Fig. 29 ). Tergum VII moderately produced and slightly tapering apically ( Fig. 30 ). Sternite VIII as in Figure 31 , prongs slim, with inner longitudinal edge bear stiff setae on apical half. Tergite VIII with simple paired plates, tapering apically, narrowly connected medially ( Fig. 32 ). Terminal sclerite of segment IX (spiculum) thin and inconspicuous.

Aedeagus. Aedeagus as Figure 33A . Tegmen of aedeagus tapers conspicuously towards apex, trilobed apically. Median lobes extend forward beyond lateral lobe ( Fig. 33B ). Apical portion of tegmen 0.5 times as long as basal piece.

Diagnosis. Anthelephila tricolorata n. sp. belongs to the A. praetor species-group ( Kejval 1999). It is close to A. praetor praetor ( India, Myanmar, Thailand) sharing wide and robust profemoral process, with a pair of setose patches on posterior metasternum, and distinct tuft of long, curved setae subapical of metatibia. It appears similar to A. ayutthaya Kejval, 2017 ( Laos, Thailand) and A. laopako Kejval, 2017 ( Laos) by median margin of male sternum VII. It can be recognized by the shallower median longitudinal impression of the pronotum, by the morphology of male sternite VIII and aedeagus.

Etymology. This species is named from Latin "tri" (three) and "color", refers to the coloration of the species dorsal view.

Ecology. According to the specimen label, this species was collected by Malaise trap placed at paddy field.

Distribution. China (Yunnan).

Figures

FIGURES 27–33. Anthelephila tricolorata n. sp. (27) habitus of male; (28) left foreleg, male; (29) sternite VII, male, ventral view; (30) tergite VII, male, dorsal view; (31) sternite VIII, male, (A) ventral view, (B) dorsal view; (32) tergite VIII, male, dorsal view; (33) (A) aedeagus, (B) tegmen. Scale bar: (a) 1mm for fig. 27; (b) 0.4mm for fig. 28, 0.2 mm for figs 31, 33A; (c) 0.2 mm for figs 29, 30, 32.