Goudotostes ranaivoi, Ballerio, 2021

Ballerio, Alberto, 2021, The Ceratocanthinae of Madagascar and Comoro Islands: a revision of the genera Synarmostes and Goudotostes, and of the flightless Philharmostes, with description of 64 new species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea, Hybosoridae), Fragmenta entomologica 53 (2), pp. 105-282 : 195-196

Goudotostes ranaivoi sp. nov.

( Figs 68 a-i, 77) http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:4B741649-0A1E-4EAD-8A9A-457254A3386A

Type series. Holotype, ♂, deposited in the collection of the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA, USA, labelled as follows: / CASTYPE 20281 / CASENT 8135395 / Madagascar: Antsiranana Parc National de Marojejy Manantenina River 27.6 km 35° NE Andapa 9.6 km 327° NNW Manantenina el. 775 m / 15-18 November 2003 14° 26’ 06” S 049° 45’ 36” E California Acad. of Sciences coll. B. L. Fisher et al. sifted litter (leaf mold, rotten wood) rainforest code: BLF 8872/ Goudotostes ranaivoi n. sp. det. A. Ballerio 2020 Holotypus ♂ / [distended, glued on card, dissected, male genitalia glued in DMHF resin on a separate card, same pin].

Diagnosis. Goudotostes ranaivoi sp. nov. can be differentiated from all other species of Goudotostes by the following combination of characters: a) small size, b) dorsal ocular area absent, c) clypeal apical projection pointed, d) clypeal punctation made of dense large deeply impressed simple punctures, e) fronto-clypeal tubercle present, f) pronotal anterior carina bilobate, g) pronotal basal carina bilobate, h) pronotal disc covered by dense (interpunctural distance inferior than punctural diameter: punctures almost touching each other) large simple deeply impressed punctures, i) elytral dorsal area covered by four (including sutural carina) longitudinal irregular sharp carinae with irregular lateral profile, j) elytral first interstria (area between sutural stria and first longitudinal carina) with dense punctation (interpunctural distance inferior than punctural diameter), k) left paramere with ventral margin invaginated (a character which places this species in the laevis group of species), l) the distinctive shape of parameres (as in Figs 68 f-i). Within the laevis species group, Goudotostes ranaivoi sp. nov. is unmistakable because of the elytral carinae sharp and with an irregular lateral profile (lateral view) as well as because of the punctation of head and pronotum (dense large and very deep).

Description. Size: HL = 0.6 mm; HW = 1.4 mm; PL = 1.4 mm; PW = 2.4 mm; EL = 2.4 mm; EW = 2.4 mm. Overall morphology as in generic diagnosis. Small-sized Goudotostes . Body strongly convex. Black, shiny, dorsum with extremely short fine setation (50×), underside, tarsi and antennae dark reddish-brown, setation yellowish-brown. Head: W/L ratio = 1.50; clypeal apex obtuse, apical projection strongly developed and sexually dimorphic, sides almost rectilinear with slightly unaligned genae in correspondence with the genal suture; dorsal ocular area absent, genal canthus indistinct, ventral ocular area small-sized, genae acute, distinctly protruding outwards, genal suture indistinct; head dorsal surface uniformly covered by dense large impressed simple punctures mixed to large impressed transverse comma-shaped punctures, interpunctural spaces raised, fore margin marked by few irregular transverse lines. Interpunctural distance inferior than punctural diameter on clypeal disc. Fronto-clypeal tubercle very weak. Pronotum: subrectangular (dorsal view) (W/L ratio = 1.79), convex and unevenly sculptured (discal area gently raised with respect to sides), fore angles broadly subtruncate; pronotal surface covered by dense large deep simple punctures becoming sparser, smaller and comma-shaped at sides with few irregular lines, interpunctural distance inferior than punctural diameter (equal to punctural diameter only on disc), interpunctural spaces raised, pronotal bead complete; pronotal sculpturing made of large and gently raised tubercles and carinae as follows: bilobate basal carina smooth and strongly raised, sides of disc with one gently raised transverse short carina and another distinctly raised transverse longer carina reaching outer margin, bilobate anterior carina weakly raised. Scutellum : basal area smooth, remaining surface covered by impressed transverse large comma-shaped punctures. Elytra: longer than wide (W/L ratio = 0.90), subovoidal (dorsal view), strongly convex; humeral callus marked by a tubercle; elytral surface covered by small deep sparse horseshoe-shaped punctures with opening directed backwards, inwards or outwards, interpunctural distance inferior than punctural diameter. Striated articular area hardly visible in lateral view, relatively narrow and short; inferior sutural stria visible and complete; marginal area large-sized; elytral articular process well developed, smooth and shiny, isolated from remaining elytral surface by a deep furrow. Elytral sculpturing as follows: base with one raised large tubercle below articular process with apex directed backwards, next to it a humeral oblique larger raised tubercle with apex directed backwards, dorsal area of elytra with five longitudinal rows (including sutural stria) of short irregular and asymmetrical carinae, space between sutural stria and the first longitudinal row of carinae about three times the space between rows two to five sides and apical third with denser raised tubercles. Wings: flightless. Male genitalia: aedeagus (L = 1.5 mm) with parameres as in Figs 68 f-i, spiculum gastrale (L = 1.4 mm) as in Fig. 68 e .

Etymology. Noun in the genitive case. Named after Chrislain Ranaivo ( Madagascar Biodiversity Center, Antananarivo), member of the Malagasy field team of CAS.

Distribution and habitat. Known only from the type locality in north-eastern Madagascar. Collected by sifting litter in rainforests. For more details on the type locality see under G. parvus sp. nov..

Figures

Fig. 68 – Goudotostes ranaivoi sp. nov., holotype, a, dorsal view of distended specimen; b, ventral view of rolled up specimen; c, dorsal view of rolled up specimen; d, lateral view of rolled up specimen; e, Spiculum gastrale; f–i, four views of aedeagus.