Cionus tenuepilosus, Caldara & Košťál, 2023

Caldara, Roberto & Košťál, Michael, 2023, A Taxonomic Revision Of The Afrotropical Species Of The Weevil Genus Cionus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), Zootaxa 5288 (1), pp. 1-98 : 38

18. Cionus tenuepilosus sp. n. ( Figs 18a–b )

Type locality. Mont-aux-Sources (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa) .

Type series. Holotype, female “Natal, Mont-aux-Sources. 85000 [sic]- 10500 ft. 26.ii.1929 / S. Africa Dr. Hugh Scott. Brit. Mus. 1929-290” ( BMNH).

Diagnosis. Rostrum long and slender, in lateral view concave at base. Head between eyes distinctly narrow. Pronotum small, distinctly conical, with two weakly pronounced protuberances. Elytra subrectangular, moderately long, brown, with recumbent and subrecumbent, uniformly light brown scales, without spots. Claws distinctly asymmetrical in female.

Description. Female (holotype) ( Figs 18a–b ). Body: slender, moderately elongated (length 2.9 mm). Head: rostrum slender, long (Rl/Rw 7.08, Rl/Pl 1.92), black, in lateral view concave at base, regularly curved, of same width from base to apex, in dorsal view parallel-sided, striate-punctate; to near apex with sparse, recumbent, elongated (l/w 4–5) grayish brown scales. Head between eyes narrow, 0.3× as wide as rostrum at base. Eyes flat. Antennae brown, inserted at middle of rostrum; scape long (l/w 13); funicle moderately shorter than scape, S1 robust, more robust than and 0.8× as long as S2, 2.0× as long as wide, S2 3.0 × as long as wide, S3–5 as long as wide; club oblongly oval, shorter than funicle, uniformly pubescent. Pronotum: brown with dense, small, irregularly arranged deep punctures, completely hidden by dense, recumbent and partly subrecumbent, moderately long (l/ w 4–6), rectangular, uniformly light brown scales; conical, slightly transverse (Pw/Pl 1.42), widest at base, with rectilinear sides, weakly convex, with two small lateral protuberances. Prosternum: anterior margin distinctly emarginated. Scutellar shield: triangular, densely covered with uniformly light brown elongated scales. Elytra: brown, moderately long (El/Ew 1.22), subrectangular, somewhat wider than pronotum (Ew/Pw 1.70), with distinct, somewhat prominent humeri, in basal 2/3 parallel-sided, weakly convex on disc; interstriae flat, with small, shallow, irregular punctures completely hidden by recumbent and subrecumbent, rectangular, short (l/w 3–4), uniformly light brown scales; striae with shallow punctures, half as wide as interstriae, completely hidden by scales similar to those on interstriae. Venter: mesosternal process moderately convex, not emarginated. Metasternum densely covered only with uniformly elongated, rectangular brown (at sides) and white scales, without hair-like scales. Abdomen with dense, irregular, moderately deep punctures completely hidden by moderately elongated grayish scales; V1 1.8× as long as V2; V1+2 3.9× as long as V3+4, latter ones as long as V5. Legs: covered with dense, rectangular grayish to light brown scales; femora dark brown, with robust sharp teeth; tibiae brown, unci absent; tarsi brown, onychium as long as T1–3 combined; claws distinctly asymmetrical, one claw 1/3 as long as other.

Male. Unknown.

Variability. We know only the holotype.

Etymology. The name composed by an adverb “faintly” and an adjective “hairy” refers to the indistinct suberect scales covering the elytra.

Remarks. This species seems to be related with C. intermedius and C. meticulosus . It differs from both species by smaller size, longer rostrum which is in lateral view slightly concave at base of the upper outline, scales of elytra partly slightly raised.

Biological notes. No data are available.

Distribution. South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal).

Figures

FIGURES 17–18. FIGURE 17. Cionus angulicollis. a: body in dorsal view (male), b: body in lateral view (male), c: rostrum in lateral view (female), d: penis in ventral view, e: penis in lateral view, f: apex of penis in dorsal view. FIGURE 18. Cionus tenuepilosus sp. n. a: body in dorsal view (female), b: body in lateral view (female). Not to scale.