Bouchardium mariae, Kamiński, 2024

Kamiński, Marcin Jan, 2024, New taxa of Afrotropical Toktokkies (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Molurina) from the Natural History Museum of Basel, Zootaxa 5446 (1), pp. 77-87 : 80-83

Bouchardium mariae sp. nov.

( Figs 2 , 4C , 5 )

Type material. Holotype ( NHMB), male: “ Francistown Bechuanaland Zumpt XII.55 ” . Paratypes ( NHMB): four specimens: “ Kanye Bechuanaland Zumpt XII.55 ” , single specimen: “ Zoutpan, Pta 9/XII/1926 G. v. Son, Dichtha incantatoris” , female: “Museum Paris Rhodesia du Sud Selukwe, A. Ellenberger 1915” , single specimen: “Museum Paris Matebele Penda-ma-tenka E. Holub 170-94” , male a1 “ Rhodesia ” , male ( MIZ PAN): “ Mozambique ”, “ MIZ PAN COL011552 ”, “ Dichtha cubica guer ”, Dichtha cubica Guer. H. Gebien det. 1939” , male, female, and single specimen ( MLPC): “ ZIMBABWE Great Zimbabwe ca. 20°16’21”S 30°56’03”E, 20.IV.1990, leg. Martin Lillig” coll. Lillig ” , two specimens ( MLPC): “ ZIMBABWE centr., MASVINGO lake MUTIRIKWI , 25.11.2998, M. Snížek leg.”, “coll. Lillig ex Zoologische Staatssammlung München” , single specimens ( MLPC): “RSA (Limpopo) Farm Zulani 1000 m ca. 20 km s. Vivo 3/ 5.II.2014, Heinz leg.”, “coll. Lillig ex Naturkundemuseum Erfurt”, “collection NATURKUNDE-MUSEUM ERFURT” .

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Diagnosis. Due to the similar color pattern of elytra (presence of two red stripes along the sides of the disc) this new species resembles Bouchardium chillygonzalesi sp. nov. These two species can be easily distinguished by the different structure of prosternal process (rounded in lateral view in B. mariae ; with appendages in B. chillygonzalesi — Figs. 1E , 2G ). Furthermore, both species differ in the elytral shape and structure (elytra wide with almost smooth borders of the disc in B. mariae , elytra narrow with corrugated disc borders in B. chillygonzalesi —

Figs 1A–C , 2A–D ). Besides the different coloration of elytra, B. mariae differs from B. cubicum by having a more prominently convex elytral disc ( Figs 2 , 3E–F ).

Description. Length 19.0–25.0 mm, width of pronotum 7.0 mm, and elytra 12.0–14.0 mm. Head: Hypognathous. Frons finely punctate (~6 diameters apart); frontoclypeal suture coarse, presenting as deep groove in middle; apical clypeal margin not emarginate; labrum coarsely punctate laterally with shallow groove along apical margin bearing yellow, acuminate setae. Eyes comma-shaped, with ventral portion reduced, strongly emarginate around epistomal base. Antennae slender, elongate (reaching beyond base of pronotum), bearing acuminate yellow setae; length of antennomere 2 equal to ~0.2 of antennomere 3; length of antennomere 4 about half antennomere 3. Prothorax: Pronotum laterally with coarse, confluent punctures; widest in anterior half. Disc dull, finely punctate (4–5 diameters apart); anterior angles slightly produced. Hypomeron convex, dull, and impunctate. Prosternal process rounded in lateral view, with wide bordering (ventral view). Pterothorax: Scutellum apically covered with dense setation. Elytra widest in basal third, disc convex, sharply angled below margin; disc black, impunctate, without tubercles; edges of disc red. Elytral slope steep, impunctate, elytral apex rounded. Epipleura impunctate and without tubercles, clearly differentiated from neighbouring portion of elytra and encircling ventrite 5. Lateral regions of metaventrite (between coxae) extremely short. Metaepisternal suture abbreviated posteriorly. Legs: Densely covered in golden setae, slender. Tarsi narrow, covered with golden setation. Abdomen: Ventrites 1–4 extremely finely and sparsely punctate laterally (>5 diameters apart); ventrite 5 with denser and coarser punctuation (3–4 diameters apart).

Etymology. This species is named in honor of my daughter, Maria Antonina Kamińska , born on June 9, 2016 (Warsaw, Poland).

Distribution. Botswana, South Africa (Provinces: Gauteng), Mozambique, Zimbabwe ( Fig. 5 ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Morphology of Bouchardium chillygonzalesi sp. nov. (holotype). Lateral (A), dorsal (B), posterior (C), and ventral (D) views of the body; prosternal process (E); epipleuron (F); label (G). Arrow indicates edge of epipleuron.

FIGURE 2. Morphology of Bouchardium mariae sp. nov. (holotype and paratype). Lateral (A), dorsal (B), frontal (C), posterior (D), and ventral (E) views of the body; pronotum (F); prosternal process (G); label (H); aedeagal tegmen (I); spiculum gastrale (J).

FIGURE 3. Morphology of selected species representing ‘Dichtha clade’: Bouchardium cubicum (A, D–F), Amiantus gibbosus Fåhraeus, 1870 (B), Bouchardium mariae (C), Dichtha inflata (Gerstaecker, 1854) (G, H), Dichtha quedenfeldti Kolbe, 1886 (I, J), Distretus (Perdistretus) mormolyce Koch, 1953, holotype (K). Pronotum (D, G, I); posterior (E, H, J), lateral (F), and ventral (K) views of the body.

FIGURE 4. Morphology of female terminalia within the genus Bouchardium gen. nov. Bouchardium chillygonzalesi sp. nov. (A, B), B. mariae sp. nov. (C), B. cubicum (D). Ovipositor (A, B, D), spiculum ventrale (C). Abbreviations: c- coxities, c2-c4- subsequent lobes of coxities, v- valvifer, ip- inner plate of paraprocts, op- outer plate of paraprocts, pa - paraprocts.

FIGURE 5. Distribution of the genus Bouchardium gen. nov. and its representatives.