Ischalia (Ischalia) montana Young, 2014

Young, Daniel K., 2014, A new Philippine species of Ischalia (Coleoptera: Ischaliidae), with a checklist and key to the Philippine species, Insecta Mundi 2014 (375), pp. 1-7 : 2-3

Ischalia (Ischalia) montana Young , new species

( Fig. 1–3 )

Description. Adult female. Length 7.9–8.3 mm (n=2). Body ( Fig. 1–2 ) almost entirely black, moderately covered with short, yellowish to yellowish-brown setae, those of labrum and clypeus porrect, those of elytra retrorsely decumbent. Antennal setae longer, darker, coarser and dense, decumbent along axis of each antennomere.

Head: Cranium largely black, each subocular region with a brown to piceous spot; labrum piceous basally and yellowish-brown distally. Compound eyes emarginate to accommodate antennal insertions, lacking intrafacetal setae. Antennae stout, black, scape slightly swollen distally; pedicel short, 0.38 times length of flagellomere 1; flagellum filiform, apical flagellomere tapering to a bluntly rounded point. Labial and maxillary palpi piceous to black; terminal segment of each maxillary palpus inflated, bulbous, securiform.

Thorax: Pronotum ( Fig. 3 ) sparsely, shallowly punctate, nitid, hypomera rufopiceous to black; scutellum slightly swollen, mildly bilobate apically, black; prothoracic and mesothoracic ventrites black. Pronotum with anterior edge shallowly emarginate mesally, lateral margins obtusely angulate near midlength, excurved at the acute, strongly produced and somewhat swollen hind angles. Pronotal disk with prominent median carina which is slightly enlarged and produced posterad hind margin, and two impressions on either side of the carina: a sub-circular, juxtacarinal sub-basal pair and another, obovate pair anterad the circular impressions. Legs black, tibiae lacking spurs, tarsi densely beset with yellowish-brown setae, especially ventrally and in association with ventral surface of bilobed penultimate tarsomere; tarsal claws simple. Elytra ( Fig. 1–2 ) black with distinctly violaceous iridescence, elongate and covering abdomen, slightly broader posteriorly, surface densely and coarsely, confusedly punctate. Elytra carinate, with sutural, humeral, lateral discal, and lateral carinae present; humeral carinae a little more than one-third the length of lateral discal carinae, the later gradually curving inwardly toward the sutural carinae but becoming obsolete and not fusing with them. Macropterous, with metathoracic wings fully developed, smoky grayish-brown.

Abdomen: Entirely brownish-black to black ventrally.

Type material. HOLOTYPE (, SMNS): {First label}: [ REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES]: MINDANAO, 30km NW of, // MARAMAG, 13.-17. MAY // BAGONG SILANG, 1700m // BOLM lgt., 1996; {Second label}: Auto-Montaged // digital image(s) // per D. K. Young; {Third label}: HOLOTYPE: // Ischalia (Ischalia) // montana // Young.

PARATOPOTYPE ( (?), SMNS): [Data from first two labels are identical to those of the holotype]; {Third label}: PARATOPOTYPE: // Ischalia (Ischalia) // montana // Young.

Distribution. As detailed above, the two specimens of I. (I.) montana were collected northwest of the city of Maramag. Plotting the indicated “ 30km ” distance in a straight-line northwest direction (via Google Earth) I could not come close to confirming the recorded elevation (1700m). However, the two most likely areas with the recorded direction and elevation are Mt. Kitanglad, possibly near 8.082411 o N, 124.818239 o E, or Mt. Kalatungan, possibly near 7.994709 o N, 124.776498 o E. Since Mt. Kalatungan is distinctly northwest of Maramag, it would appear to be the more likely locality. In any case, as is typical for most other Asian Ischalia , a densely forested, mesic, montane habitat type is highly likely.

Etymology. The specific epithet, montana , is derived from the Latin root, “ mont- ” (= “a mountain”) in reference to the mountainous regions associated with the indicated elevation.

Diagnosis. The nearly unicolorous black body color with entirely black antennae and black elytra with a blue-purple luster will immediately separate I. montana from all but the Malaysian species, Ischalia (Ischalia) atricornis Pic. Ischalia montana is distinctly larger (length 7.9–8.3 mm) than I. atricornis (4.7–6.0 mm; n = 5, including the type [6 mm]). The antennal flagellomeres of I. montana (e.g., Fig. 2 ) are much longer than those of I. atricornis ( Fig. 4 ), and the pronotum of I. montana is sub-hexagonal ( Fig. 1–3 ), whereas it is subcampanulate in I. atricornis ( Fig. 4–5 ). Among the Philippine species, the body size, antennal structure, and pronotal shape of I. yasuakii ( Fig. 6–7 ) are very similar to those of I. montana , but the former typically has the head, prothorax, and mesothorax orange (sometimes rufopiceous; infrequently the mesothorax is rufopiceous with the mesothoracic ventrite rufopiceous suffused with orange-testaceous color).

Discussion. The holotype is female, as the coxites can be seen extending from the apex of the abdomen. The paratopotype appears also to be a female, but the metathoracic wings cover the end of the abdomen. Since female genitalia have not been considered useful for taxonomic diagnoses in Ischalia , and because the wing apices are beginning to tear, I did not attempt to remove the specimen from the card mount.

Figures

Figures 1–3. Ischalia (Ischalia) montana, sp. nov. 1) Holotype, female, dorsal habitus. 2) Paratopotype, f e m a l e (?), dorsal habitus. 3) Pronotum, dorsal view.

Figures 4–7. Ischalia (Ischalia) atricornis Pic. 4) Dorsal habitus. 5) pronotum, dorsal view. Ischalia (Ischalia) yasuakii M. Satô. 6) Dorsal habitus. 7) pronotum, dorsal view.