Brachysomus (Hippomias) commutatus Košťál, 1992

Yunakov, Nikolai, 2022, A review of the genus Brachysomus Schoenherr (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae), Zootaxa 5193 (1), pp. 1-165 : 53-54

Brachysomus (Hippomias) commutatus Košťál, 1992

Figs. 58 , 67, 68, 70 , 207 , 239B

Brachysomus commutatus Košťál, 1992: 47 . Type locality: Turkey, Belgrader Wald [= Belgrad Ormaný].

Redescription. Measurements: Body length 1.9–2.5 mm, width 1.2–1.5 mm. Vestiture: Body densely covered with round, grayish-brown, dentate, overlapping scales. Elytral setae uniform in length, forming 1–2 rows, as long as 1/3 width of interstriae, at pronotum weakly visible. External surface of femora and tibiae densely covered with round scales, but internal surface covered with thin, pale hairs. Abdomen covered with hairs and piliform scales.

Colouration: Integument dark-brown to black, legs and antennae brown.

Head: Rostrum conically narrowed from to mid length, weakly elongate (L/W = 1.04–1.17). Pterygia distinctly projecting from outline of rostrum. Epifrons weakly longitudinally convex, not separated from vertex by transverse depression, with clearly visible median longitudinal sulcus.Vertex flat, with rugose integument under dense vestiture. Eyes small (VW/ELD = 2.08–2.55), moderately convex, situated noticeably lower than level of vertex. Antennae: Scape distinctly curved, evenly widened distally; funicular antennomeres: 1st and 2nd elongate, 1st larger than 2nd; 3rd–7th transverse. Club egg-shaped.

Thorax: Pronotum weakly transverse [PL/PW = 0.60–0.70 (0.65)], weakly constricted anteriorly and posteriorly, evenly convex at sides, finely and densely shallowly punctate; disc weakly convex. Elytra oval or oblong-oval (EL/ EW = 1.08–1.26), weakly and evenly convex at sides and disc. Striae narrow, punctures weakly separated, 0.5x as wide as interstriae; interstriae almost flat or weakly convex. Legs: Tibiae externally straight, not widened at apical angle, internally sinuate. Hind tibiae in male weakly mucronate. Second tarsomere weakly transverse, 3rd tarsomere with large lobes, 5th in male by 0.71–1.00 extending beyond apical lobes of 3rd by length of the lobes.

Abdomen: Male 5th ventrite without depression near apex, with apical margin straight; in female apical margin rounded. Male genitalia: Aedeagus heavily sclerotized, median lobe parallel-sided, rounded apically; endophallic sclerite bifurcate. Spermatheca: collum and ramus equal in length, corpus swollen.

Diagnosis. Brachysomus commutus is closely related to B. ponticus , differing by short erect setae on the interstriae; setae in basal half of elytra distinctly shorter than in apical half; dentate very dense overlapping scales; median longitudinal sulcus at epifrons; and rounded apex of median lobe.

Distribution. Western Turkey. Specimens housed in several museums with labels ‘Caucasus’ or ‘Hungaria’ are probably mislabeled.

Bionomics. This species inhabits montane and submontane semiarid biotopes.

Type material. Holotype ♂ (NMW), ‘Apfelbeck Bysant. Belgr. Wald’, ‘ kubanensis det. Formánek’. Paratypes: 11 ex.: 2♂, 1♀ (NMW), are labeled as holotype; 4 ex. (HNHM), idem; 1♂, 1♀ (SDEI), idem; 1♂, 1♀ (NMPC).

Additional material examined. TURKEY:6♂,7♀, ‘Asia minor,Alem-Dagh,v.Bodemeyer’(NHMUK, ZMAN, ZMUH, NMPC); 1♂, ‘Constantinopel [= Istanbul], Belgrader Wald, v. Bodemeyer’ (ZMUH); 2♂, ‘Konstantinopol [= Istanbul], Turcia’ (NMPC); 3♂, 2♀, Apfelbeck, Bysant., Belgr. Wald (MSNM, ZMUH, NMPC); 8♂, 3♀, ‘Asia minor, Goek–Dagh, v. Bodemeyer’ (NHMUK, HNHM, MTD, ZMUN); 1♂, 1♀, Asia minor, Goek–Dagh, Reitter leg. (HNHM, ZIN); 4♂, 2♀, ‘v. Bodemeyer Klein Asien, Umgebung Konia [= Konya]’ (NMPC).

Probably mislabeled material: 2♀, ‘Ungaria, Merkl’ (MSNM); 2♀, ‘Caucasus, Reitter’ (KUMN).

Figures

FIGURE 207. Brachysomus commutatus: A: aedeagus; B: tegmen; C: endophallic sclerite; D: spermatheca; E: body; F: head; G: scales of elytra.

FIGURE 239. Occurrence map of Brachysomus: A: Brachysomus s. str.; B: subgenus Hippomias.

FIGURES 57–62. Brachysomus, dorsal habitus: 57: B. albanicus. 58: B. commutatus. 59: B. mikati. 60: B. ponticus. 61: B. simulans. 62: B. rhinomioides.

FIGURES 63–70. Brachysomus, details: 63: B. hirtus, 64: B. fasciatus. 65, 66: B. ponticus. 67, 68: B. commutatus. 69: B. ponticus. 70: B. commutatus.