Mecinus humeralis Tournier, 1873

Caldara, Roberto & Fogato, Valter, 2013, Systematics of the weevil genus <i> Mecinus </ i> Germar, 1821 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). I. Taxonomic treatment of the species, Zootaxa 3654 (1), pp. 1-105 : 48-49

26. Mecinus humeralis Tournier

Figs 24 , 71 , 128 , 148

Mecinus humeralis Tournier, 1873: 86 ; 1874: 45. Reitter, 1907: 14.

Mecinus tournieri Fairmaire, 1876: 50 ; 1880: 28. Reitter, 1907: 11. Hoffmann, 1958: 1275 (as var. of circulatus ) (syn. n.). Mecinus lineicollis Reitter, 1907: 12 (syn. n.).

Type locality. Sicily.

Type series. This species was described from male specimens collected in Sicily without more precise indications. We examined one male of them (MNHN) labelled “ Sicile, Huét / type / Type” (lectotype here designated) .

Synonyms. Mecinus tournieri was described from specimens collected at Bou-Saada ( Algeria), of which we examined one female ( MNHN) labelled “Au Sud de Bou-Saada, R. Oberthur 1875 / Mecinus Tournieri Fairmaire ” (lectotype here designated). Mecinus lineicollis was described from a single male specimen collected by Moroder at Valencia ( Spain), which we examined in Reitter's collection ( HNHM), labelled “ Valencia, Hispania / leg. Moroder / Mecinus lineicollis m. / Holotype, 1907, Male, Mecinus lineicollis Reitter ”. There are no noteworthy differences between these two specimens and the lectotype of M. humeralis .

Redescription. Male. Length 2.7 mm. Body: long, cylindrical, moderately slender ( Fig. 24 ). Rostrum: black with reddish apex, moderately long (Rl/Pl 0.75), subcylindrical; in lateral view moderately curved, weakly narrowed in apical third (as in M. circulatus , fig. 72); in dorsal view with subparallel sides, with moderately visible scrobes, weakly striate-punctured in basal half then smooth and shining, in basal half with recumbent to subrecumbent, somewhat dense, whitish and light brown, long (l/w 4–8), seta-like scales. Head: frons slightly wider than rostrum at base, with small deep fovea; eyes weakly convex. Antennae: reddish with brown club, inserted just in front of middle of rostrum; scape moderately short, 4.0x longer than wide; funicle slightly longer than scape, segment 1 2.5x longer than wide, stouter and twice as long as segment 2, which is 1.5x longer than wide, segment 3 about as long as wide, segment 4 moderately transverse, segment 5 transverse; club moderately long, oval, segment 1 almost glabrous. Pronotum: black, with dense and regular punctures, intervals between punctures flat, smooth and shining, hardly visible between recumbent to subrecumbent, dense, whitish (confusedly arranged along midline and forming two very distinct vittae at sides) and greyish brown, long (l/w 4–8), seta-like scales; moderately transverse (Pw/Pl 1.29), with weakly rounded sides, with weakly prominent apical constriction, widest at basal third, weakly convex. Elytra: reddish except interstriae 1, 2, 4–6, 9 and 10, which are blackish brown; long (El/Ew 1.59), at base moderately concave, slightly wider than pronotum (Ew/Pw 1.16), with parallel sides, somewhat convex on disc; interstriae hardly visible between recumbent to subrecumbent, dense, brown (lighter on interstria 3) and white (at sides), long (slightly shorter than width of interstria; l/w 5–10), seta-like scales; striae clearly visible, one third narrower than interstriae, with a row of white scales slightly thinner than those of interstriae. Legs: stout, with recumbent to subrecumbent, sparse, whitish, seta-like scales, which are distinctly shorter than width of tibia; femora brown and blackish, subclavate, unarmed; tibiae reddish, short; protibiae with apical part of ventral surface somewhat directed outward; unci dark brown, stout, all equal in length; tarsi reddish, tarsomere 1 twice as long as wide, tarsomere 2 about as long as wide, tarsomere 3 bilobed and distinctly wider than tarsomere 2, onychium slightly shorter than tarsomeres 1–3 taken together; claws dark brown, equal in length, fused in basal half. Venter: metasternum black, clearly visible between recumbent to subrecumbent, sparse, whitish, long, seta-like scales; mesothoracic epimera and meso- and metathoracic episterna with somewhat dense, whitish, narrow scales; abdomen black except reddish apical half of ventrite 5, with dense and somewhat regular punctures, which are clearly visible between recumbent to subrecumbent, sparse, whitish, long, seta-like scales; ventrites length ratio 1–2/3–4 1.84. Penis: fig. 128.

Female. As in male except rostrum longer (Rl/Pl 0.80), weakly curved at base, subcylindrical ( Fig. 71 ), weakly punctured, antennae inserted at middle of rostrum and slightly longer. Sternite 8: fig. 148. Spermatheca: as in M. comosus ( Fig. 167 ).

Variability. Length 2.4–3.1 mm. The pronotal curvature and the ratio between the number of recumbent and subrecumbent elytral scales is slightly variable. The colour of the elytral integument varies from completely black to almost completely reddish.

Remarks and comparative notes. This species is very similar in habitus to M. circulatus , from which it differs by the scales of the dorsal vestiture being more uniformly arranged, wider and not hair-like, and all recumbent to subrecumbent. On the contrary the shape of the penis of these species is very different.

Biological notes. This species was collected in Spain on Plantago albicans L. (Sprick det.).

Distribution. Central and southern Spain, Italy (Sicily), Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia.

Non-type specimens examined. SPAIN: Comunidad Valenciana, Alicante, Guardamar , 30.IV.1987, on Plantago albicans, Sprick leg. (1, DEIM) ; Comunidad Valenciana, Valencia (1, MNHN) ; Comunidad Valenciana, Valencia, Torrente , Moroder leg. (1, MNHN) ; Madrid, Sierra de Guadarrama , Lauffer leg. (1, MCNM) . MOROCCO: Maroc , Rungs leg. (1, MNHN) . ALGERIA: 55 km N El Oued, Bir Roumi , 28.V.1986, Magnani leg. (1, GOCA) ; Oran (6, MNHN) ; Oran, Ain el Turck, V.1951, Frey leg. (1, NHMB) ; Tozeur , 20.VI.1921, Dumont leg. (6, MNHN) . TUNISIA: Cap Bianco , Bizerte, 11.X.1991, Osella leg. (1, GOCA) ; Metlaoui , II.1921, Dumont leg. (3, MNHN) ; Nabeul (1, MNHN) ; Sfax, 1896, de Vauloger leg. (1, MNHN) .

Figures

FIGURES 19–27. Habitus of (19) Mecinus henrici; (20) M. elongatus; (21) M. alternans; (22) M. tanaiticus; (23) M. reichei; (24) M. humeralis; (25) M. circulatus; (26) M. suturalis; (27) M. pyraster. Not to the same scale.

FIGURES 69–77. Rostrum in lateral view of (69) Mecinus tanaiticus, male; (70) idem, female; (71) M. humeralis, female; (72) M. circulatus, male; (73) idem, female; (74) M. pyraster, male; (75) idem, female; (76) M. baridioides, male; (77) idem, female. Scale bar = 0.5 mm.

FIGURES 121–132. Penis in dorsal and lateral view of (121) Mecinus desertorum; (122) M. marina; (123) M. henrici; (124) M. alternans; (125) M. reichei; (126) M. tanaiticus; (127) M. circulatus; (128) M. humeralis; (129) M. pyraster; (130) M. comosus; (131) M. simus; (132) M. pirazzolii. Scale bar = 0.2 mm.

FIGURES 144–156. Sternite 8 of (144) Mecinus pascuorum; (145) M. caucasicus; (146) M. marina; (147) M. reichei; (148) M. humeralis; (149) M. circulatus; (150) M. pyraster; (151) M. simus; (152) M. collaris; (153) M. janthinus; (154) M. lixoides; (155) M. sicardi; (156) M. heydenii. Scale bar = 0.2 mm.

FIGURES 157–171. Spermatheca of (157) Mecinus pascuorum; (158) M. caucasicus; (159) M. haemorrhoidalis; (160) M. labilis; (161) M. marina; (162) M. elongatus; (163) M. reichei; (164) M. circulatus; (165) M. pyraster; (166) M. simus; (167) M. comosus; (168) M. lixoides; (169) M. janthinus; (170) M. heydenii; (171) M. collaris. Scale bar = 0.2 mm.