Microhoria lingua, Telnov, 2024

Telnov, Dmitry, 2024, New species and records of Anthicidae Latreille, 1819 (Coleoptera) from Taiwan with a key to Asian Nitorus Telnov, 2007 species with gibbose pronotum, Zootaxa 5507 (2), pp. 285-312 : 299-303

Microhoria lingua sp. nov. ( Figures 11–13 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:CD22D6F9-3F18-4C76-83F4-1D8CE3EE063F

This species belongs to the longiceps species-group as of Kejval & Chandler (2020).

Type material designated. Holotype ♂, HMNH: TAIWAN, Nantou county, Kao-Leng Dyi , 18 km W of Wushe, 24°4.561’ N, 121°8.046’ E, [printed] // 1945 m, swept from vegetation, 18‒19.IV.2002, leg. D. A. Anstine, Gy. Fábián & O. Merkl [printed].

Paratypes 13 specimens. 6♂ & 4♀ HMNH , 1♂ BMNH , 1♂ & 1♀ DTC: same labels as holotype.

Derivatio nominis. Named from Latin ‘lingua’ (tongue) to point on the tongue-shaped aedeagus of this species. Noun in apposition.

Measurements, holotype male, total body length excluding partially exposed terminalia 2.4 mm; head length 0.5 mm, head width across compound eyes 0.45 mm, pronotal length 0.5 mm, maximum pronotal width 0.4 mm, minimum pronotal width in constriction area 0.3 mm, elytral length 1.4 mm, combined maximum elytral width across midlength 0.8 mm. Selected male paratypes 2.6–3.1 mm, female paratypes 2.9–3.4 mm long.

Description. Holotype male. Dorsal and ventral head and pronotum brown, the latter slightly paler. Elytra brown, each elytron with poorly defined yellowish humeral (smaller) and postmedian (larger) spot; spots distinctly separated, not confluent. Maxillary palpus and antenna yellowish brown, three basal antennomeres yellow. Legs yellowish brown with paler tarsi. Ventral pterothorax and abdominal ventrites brown. Head elongate elliptical, about 1.1× as long as wide, slightly convex in dorsal aspect, moderately glossy. Labrum subtruncate at anterior margin. Frontoclypeal suture present, slightly arched (shallowly concave anteriorly). Compound eye moderate, about as long as slightly converging tempus, strongly protruding from lateral outline of head. Head base rounded, posterior temporal angles rounded. Head dorsal punctures minute, sparse. Intervening spaces smooth and glossy, much wider than punctures. Dorsal cranial setae whitish to yellowish, sparse, inconspicuous. Antenna extending slightly beyond elytral base when directed posteriad, hardly thickened in apical half. Antennomeres 6–10 somewhat widened and shortened, more regularly cylindrical to trapezoid in dorsal view, of them 9–10 hardly widened to not widened distally. Penultimate antennomere about 1.5× as long as wide. Terminal antennomere elongate, bluntly pointed, twice as long as penultimate antennomere, about the combined length of antennomeres 9–10. Penultimate maxillary palpomere lobate at mesal margin. Terminal maxillary palpomere securiform. Cranial ‘neck’ about one third head width across compound eyes, densely punctured, subopaque. Pronotum slightly longer than wide, distinctly narrower than head across eyes, subtruncate medially at anterior margin. Pronotal disc moderately glossy, slightly convex in dorsal aspect. Lateral margins broadly rounded in anterior half, strongly constricted postmedium. Anterior pronotal rim distinct dorsally, laterally and ventrally. Antebasal sulcus wide, dorsally poorly defined, well-developed laterally. Pronotal punctures minute and sparse on anterior portion of pronotal disc and on lateral sides of anterior lobe, large and dense on most of pronotal disc in particular in constriction area. Large punctures are of irregular shape, puncture background microreticulate or corrugate. Intervening spaces glossy, much wider than punctures near anterior margin, narrower than to about as wide as those on rest of pronotal dorsum. Pronotal setae as those on head, somewhat longer, suberect. Scutellar shield nearly triangular, apically rounded, glossy. Elytra elongate, about 1.7–1.8× as long as wide, widest at midlength, dorsally flattened to slightly convex. Postbasal transverse impression very feeble, nearly obsolete. Humerus broadly rounded. Apical sutural angle rounded. Apex of elytron modified, with a short, obtuse denticle at opening of a gland channel. Elytral surface glossy and smooth, punctures smaller than those on pronotal constriction, but distinct and dense. Intervening spaces smooth and glossy, generally as wide as punctures. Elytral setae yellowish, long and dense, subdecumbent, directed posteriad. Metathoracic wing fully developed (functional). Legs without modifications, moderately densely setose. Tibial terminal spurs paired. Basal metatarsomere slightly longer than combined length of remaining metatarsomeres. Tergite VII broadly rounded to subtruncate at posterior margin ( Fig. 12A ). Morphological sternite VII broadly triangular, shallowly emarginate medially at posterior margin ( Fig. 12B ). Tergite VIII broadly rounded at posterior margin ( Fig. 12C ). Morphological sternite IX Y-shaped, arms short ( Fig. 12D ). Aedeagus ( Fig. 12E–F ) elongate; endophallic armature of numerous hair-like spines gathered to form a ‘spikelet’ resembling those of some Poaceae .

Sexual dimorphism. Female ( Figs 11C–D , 13 ) larger and stouter, elytra stronger widened in median portion and comparatively stronger convex in dorsal aspect. Elytral sutural angle produced into a long, acutely angulate process which is slightly curved ventrally at apex ( Fig. 11C ). Tergite VII strongly modified, with dorsal median prong serrate at all margins, deep V-shaped incision at posterior margin and, each side of it, with posterolateral margin of tergite deflected dorsally, with irregularly serrate margins of each deflection ( Fig. 13A–B ). Morphological sternite VII broad, obtusely pointed and shallowly emarginate medially at posterior margin ( Fig. 13C ). Morphological sternite IX rod-like ( Fig. 13D ). Ovipositor as in fig. 13D.

Intraspecific variability. Dorsal and ventral forebody dark reddish in some paratypes. The shape and size of pale elytral spots strongly vary from small to (jointly) occupying about a half of elytra. Posterior pale paired spot extends to cover whole apical half of elytra but also in that case posterior spots are separated by a dark sutural area. Dorsal pronotal punctures on constriction vary strongly in shape and size. Total body length varies from 2.4 to 3.4 mm.

Differential diagnosis. Microhoria lingua sp. nov. is externally similar to Taiwanese M. taguan sp. nov. (described herein) and several other similarly-coloured Himalayan and eastern-Palaearctic congeners but is specifically different in the shape of the male aedeagus and the female tergite and morphological sternite VII.

Ecology. Occurs at about 1945 m in forested area. The studied specimens were ‘swept from vegetation’, a typical microstation of many Microhoria Chevrolat, 1877 species (see Telnov 2022).

Distribution. So far known from mountainous central part of Taiwan, Nantou County.

Figures

FIGURE 11. Microhoria lingua sp. nov. A—Holotype ♂, habitus, dorsal view; B—ditto, forebody, dorsal view; C—Paratype ♀, habitus, dorsal view; D—ditto, forebody, dorsal view [not to scale].

FIGURE 12. Microhoria lingua sp. nov. holotype ♂. A—Tergite VII, dorsal view; B—Morphological sternite VII, ventral view; C—Tergite VIII, dorsal view; D—Morphological sternite IX; E—Aedeagus; F—ditto, apex, magnified [not to scale].

FIGURE 13. Microhoria lingua sp. nov., paratype ♀. A—Tergite VII, dorsal view; B—ditto, median portion of posterior margin, magnified, dorsal view [lateral margins of the tergite are deflected dorsally in the image, the real shape of this tergite is much wider triangular, than depicted]; C—Morphological sternite VII, ventral view; D—Ovipositor, morphological sternite IX [not to scale].