Araboplia lorisi, Uliana & Sabatinelli, 2017

Uliana, Marco & Sabatinelli, Guido, 2017, Araboplia lorisi new genus and species of Rutelinae from Saudi Arabia (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae), with comments on the subtribe Popilliina, European Journal of Taxonomy 373, pp. 1-12 : 5-8

Araboplia lorisi gen. et sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:15AF1535-9CC8-44A4-A6DA-FCBF9B869739 Figs 1–9 , 14

Diagnosis

Same as for genus.

Etymology

The specific epithet is dedicated by MU to his father, Loris Uliana, with thanks for his constant encouragement and support of his interest in natural sciences and love for insects during the years of his youth. In addition, the two subjects are alike in being covered with white hairs.

Material examined

Holotype

SAUDI ARABIA: 1 ♂, near Ar Riyad , 1989, [Ex] Collection David Král Praha ( NHMB).

Description

Characters mentioned in the diagnosis and the description of the genus are not repeated.

Colour of integument

Body black, shining, without coloured metallic reflections. Abdominal sternites dark brown. Elytra uniformly pale yellow. Appendages rusty orange except the apex of the first antennal article, the anterior and the median femora, which are slightly darkened, and the posterior femora, which are dark brown.

Vestiture

The whole body, especially the head and pronotum, are densely covered with long, fine white hair-like setae, except tibia (fine setae present, but sparse and mixed with spiniform setae), tarsi (only spiniform setae are present), antennal articles 5–10 (only short sensillar setae are present on antennal club), scutellum (bearing few short hairs), and elytra (glabrous).

Morphology

HEAD. Coarsely and densely punctate, punctures confluent and producing irregular transverse wrinkles on the clypeus, less densely confluent and not forming transverse wrinkles on the rest of the head.

PRONOTUM. Densely punctured, punctures much finer than those of the head, confluent, well impressed along their anterior border, evanescent along the posterior one. Punctures evenly distributed except for a very narrow, poorly defined, medial stripe extending along the basal third. Lateral sides of pronotum finely bordered, base bordered except in front of the scutellum.

ELYTRA. Leaving the propygidium uncovered for about half of its length. Each elytron with seven recognizable striations, all punctate. Striations 1–4 well impressed along their whole length, 5 very weak, only visible in its distal portion, 6–7 well impressed only in the basal portion. Intervals with sparse weak punctures, the whole surface with smooth and irregular transverse corrugations.

EPIPLEURA. Poorly separated from the rest of the elytron, enlarged and faintly swollen at the sub-humeral lobe, narrow on the rest of its length, progressively fading in the apical part. Epipleural membrane present only in the apical quarter. A tiny spine present at the sutural angle of each elytron. Pygidium gibbose, with a strongly protruding convexity, covered with dense, sharp and evenly distributed punctures.

ANTENNA. 9-segmented, article 5, measured along its posterior border, about as long as articles 3–4. Club about 1.4 × as long as the rest of the antenna.

LEGS. Medial legs normally developed, posterior legs comparatively much broader, in particular the tibia, which is about 1.8 × as long as wide (maximum width at the distal end) and about 3.4 × the maximum width of the median tibia. Apex of posterior tibia pitted with 13–14 large, deep sockets, hosting spiniform setae similar to those of the apical carina.

PARAMERES. As in Figs 6–7 .

Figures

Figs 1–3. Araboplia lorisi gen. et sp. nov., habitus.1. Dorsal view. 2. Ventral view. 3. Lateral view.

Figs 4–7. Araboplia lorisi gen. et sp. nov., ♂, holotype, anatomical details. 4. Head in dorsal view. 5. Head in oblique lateral view.6.Aedeagus in dorsal view. 7.Aedeagus in lateral view.

Figs 8–13. Right forelegs (above) and detail of their claw (below).8–9. Araboplialorisi gen. et sp. nov. 10–11. Tribopertha aegyptiaca (C.É. Blanchard, 1851). 12–13. Dicranoplia deserticola (P.H. Lucas, 1859).