Coenopsimorphus europaeus, Colonnelli, 2016

Colonnelli, Enzo, 2016, Contribution to the knowledge of the weevil fauna of the island of Gavdos (Greece), with description of two new species (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea)., Arquivos Entomolóxicos 15, pp. 137-148 : 142-144

Coenopsimorphus europaeus n. sp. ( Figs. 5 and 7)

Diagnosis. A species close to C. desbrochersi Pic, 1904 from Algeria, differing from it by the plumper body, shorter erect scales on elytra and much less convex eyes.

Type material. “ ELLAS - Nísos Gávdos / Fókia - Agios Geórgios - m 25 / N 34.49 .48 E 24.06 .27 / 25/ 27.IV.2015 - E. Colonnelli ”, 1 Almost complete, dead specimen holotype ( ECRI). Same locality and date, 1 incomplete specimen paratype ( ECRI), and 1 abdomen paratype ( ECRI) .

Description.

Holotype. Length mm 4.5, maximum elytral width mm 2.77. Pitchy-brown, antennae and legs reddish-brown. Dorsal clothing formed by rather dense roundish longitudinally striate recumbent whitish, golden and brownish scales forming the pattern of Fig. 5, and by erect whitish hairlike scales with subtruncate apex having all about the same length; recumbent scales on sides of pronotum are slightly larger than those on pronotal disc, head and elytra. Underside with recumbent

. 7-8.- Detail of elytral scales.

- C. europaeus n. sp., holotype.

- C. porculus Desbrochers, 1897 from Tunisia, Medenine.

Photos by Maurizio Gigli.

moderately dense from lanceolate to hairlike scales. Rostrum as wide as long, subparallel-sided, scaled and with erect setae along lateral margins. Epistome V-shaped, dorsally slightly convex, its anterior margin weakly so. Epifrons with parallel sides and a broad sulcus on midline. Base of rostrum separated from head by a deep slightly arched sulcus. Scape rectilinear, only slightly clubbed at apex and with erect setae. Head 1.7 wider than long, scaled and with erect setae above eyes, these barely oval, moderately convex; interocular distance almost the same of that of epifrons between antennae and slightly less than twice the diameter of an eye. Eyes slightly convex and barely protruding from head. Prothorax 1.7 times as wide as long, sides moderately rounded, maximum width basad of middle, anterior margin narrower than base. Pronotal punctures coarse, concealed by scales throughout. Elytra broadly oval, 1.25 times as long as wide, maximum width at middle, base subtroncate, scutellum invisible. Striae thin. Interstriae flat, much wider than striae, with a row of erect seta-like scales. Legs robust; femora clubbed, edentate; tibiae slightly curved inwards on apical fourth and mucronate on inner apical margin. Anterior coxae contiguous, mesocoxae separated by a distance equal to their diameter, the distance separating metacoxae twice the diameter of one of them. First ventrite slightly longer than the second which is as long as 3+4. Anterior and middle left legs, antennal funicles, and tarsi beyond first or second tarsomere missing. Habitus as in Fig. 5.

Paratypes. A specimen eaten by a spider of which remain prothorax, abdomen and two broken legs is similar to the holotype, except for its elytra more globular, pronotum with more rounded sides and 1.4 times wider than long with an almost uniform rather dense vestiture formed by whitish and golden scales. Length of its prothorax and abdomen: mm 3.83 (that of the holotype: mm 4.00). The abdomen of another specimen, whose length is mm 3.50, is almost identical to that of the holotype.

Differential diagnosis. Among the four North African species of Coenopsimorphus Desbrochers, 1897 hitherto described ( Pelletier 2013), C. europaeus in very close only to C. desbrochersi Pic, 1904 , an uncommon species thus far known upon just 3 examples ( Pelletier 2008) from Algeria. However C. europaeus differs from C. desbrochersi by its slightly smaller size (4.5 instead of 4.7-5.5 mm), thinner and shorter elytral erect hairlike scales which do not become thicker toward apex, eyes feebly convex and hardly protruding instead of convex and clearly bulging from head, elytra obviously more elliptical ( Pic 1904, Pelletier 2008). The other species are, according to Pelletier (2013), C. tenietensis Pic, 1904 from Algeria which is usually smaller (3.8-4.6 mm), with dark brown dorsal clothing and lifted setae on elytra thin and all clubbed, C. vaulogeri (Desbrochers, 1892) from Algeria and Tunisia whose elytra are much more elongate and provided with long erect hairs, and C. porculus Desbrochers, 1897 from Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, whose elytral intervals have a series of short clubbed scales ( Figs. 6 -8).

Etymology. This is the first species of this genus discovered in Europe, and the selected Latin name emphasizes that circumstance, since all its congeners are African.

Collecting circumstances. Found dead under stones.

Figures

Fig. 6.- Coenopsimorphus porculus Desbrochers, 1897, habitus of a female from Tunisia, Medenine.