Rhinusa korotyaevi n. sp.

Figs 8, 18, 19, 31, 37, 43 http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: F30DAB35-F2B5-4056-8BF8-870291BFD1EB

Type locality. Wadi el Kelt (Jordan) .

Type series. Holotype, male: “West-Jordanien, leg. J. Klapperich / Wadi el Kelt, 9.4.1965 ” (DEIM) . Paratypes: same data as holotype (1 ♂ and 1 ♀ DEIM; 1 ♂ RCCM; 1 ♂ ARCK); “ Israel, Negev 25 km ESE of Dimona, 13.IV.1994, M.G. Volkovitsh / Wadi Nafit N 13” (1 ♂, ZISP) .

Description. Male (holotype). Length 1.8 mm. Body: oval, moderately stout (Fig. 8). Rostrum: black with apical third reddish, short (Rl/Pl 0.69), stout; in lateral view moderately curved, angulate along upper margin at antennal insertion, about of equal width from base to apex (Fig. 18); in dorsal view with sides weakly divergent from base to antennal insertion, further subparallel-sided but slightly broader from antennal insertion to apex, with well visible scrobes, weakly striate-punctate in basal half, further smooth and shining, in middle third with deeper and broader median sulcus, in basal half with moderately dense subrecumbent to suberect long (l/w 7–10) setiform light brown scales. Head: between eyes slightly wider than rostrum at base, without fovea. Eyes moderately convex. Antennae: reddish brown, with blackish brown club, inserted just beyond middle of rostrum; scape 2.5× longer than wide, funicle distinctly longer than scape, with segment 1 1.5× longer than wide, distinctly stouter and 1.4× longer than segment 2. which is 1.2× longer than wide, segment 3 about as long as wide, segments 4 and 5 weakly transverse; club short, oval, with segment 1 pubescent similarly to others. Pronotum: black, with dense and regular punctures, intervals between punctures rather visible between moderately dense subrecumbent to suberect long to very long (l/w 7–12) setiform whitish (with sericeous reflexion) scales; distinctly transverse (Pw/Pl 1.48), with rounded sides, weakly constricted at apex, widest just before middle, moderately convex. Elytra: dark brown, short (El/Ew 1.11), subrectangular, at base moderately concave, 1.32× as wide as pronotum, weakly convex on disc; interstriae moderately visible between dense mainly subrecumbent to suberect setiform whitish (with sericeous reflexion) scales, 0.75–1.25× as long as width of interstria (l/w 7–12) and irregularly arranged, denser on interstria 1; striae poorly visible, one third as wide as interstriae, with a row of whitish scales slightly narrower than those on interstriae. Legs: slender, with sparse recumbent to suberect greyish scales, shorter than width of tibia; femora reddish, subclavate, with small sharp tooth; tibiae reddish, moderately long, with outer margin curved inward apically; unci black, stout, all similar in size; tarsi brown, with tarsomere 1 1.5× longer than wide, tarsomere 2 1.2× longer than wide, tarsomere 3 moderately bilobed and only slightly wider than tarsomere 2, onychium slightly shorter than tarsomeres 1–3 taken together; claws dark brown, equal in length. Venter: metasternum black, with moderately dense recumbent to suberect long setiform whitish scales. Mesepimera, mes- and metepisterna covered with dense long setiform whitish scales. Abdomen black, with dense and regular punctures, rather visible between moderately dense recumbent to suberect setiform greyish scales; length ventrites 1+2/3+4 1.97. Penis: body of penis moderately long (l/ w 3.5), nearly parallel-sided, with very bluntly apex, apodemes nearly as long as body and in lateral view on same ideal plane joining base and apex of median lobe (Fig. 31).

Female. Rostrum slightly longer (Rlu/Plu 0.73), less angulate along upper margin (Fig. 19). Spiculum ventrale: arms distinctly spaced each other, apodeme shorter than arms (Fig. 37). Spermatheca: ramus and collum well-developed, ramus shorter than collum (Fig. 43).

Variability. Length 1.5–1.8 mm. Colour of elytral integument varying from reddish brown to blackish brown.

Remarks and comparative notes. It shares the habitus, the shape of the rostrum and the presence of a very small femoral tooth with R. melas . However, apart from the distinct shape of the male genitalia (only species with penis with very blunt apex), R. korotyaevi may be immediately distinguished from R. melas by the reddish (vs. blackish) antennae and legs, the tarsomere 3 slightly bilobed and slightly broader than tarsomere 2, and the sericeous reflexion of the scales of the dorsal vestiture. Finally, R. melas is not known from the Middle East.

Etymology. This species was named in honour of our friend and eminent expert of weevils, Boris A. Korotyaev, who allowed us to examine many interesting specimens of Mecinini at ZISP.

Biological notes. No data are available

Distribution. Jordan, Israel.

Non-type material examined. No specimens.