Tomosomus meridionalis ( Champion, 1890 ) Telnov & Gusakov, 2023

Telnov, Dmitry & Gusakov, Alexey A., 2023, Rediscovery of Tomosomus Motschulsky, 1855 (Coleoptera: Anthicidae) with redescription of the genus, a new genus-rank synonym, and a key to species, Zootaxa 5293 (3), pp. 541-556 : 548

Tomosomus meridionalis ( Champion, 1890) comb. nov. ( Figs 8–9 )

Holcopyge meridionalis — Champion (1890: 293) original description; Pic (1894c: 138) checklist; Pic (1911: 26) checklist; Blackwelder (1945: 432) checklist; Werner (1966: 21) key to Venezuelan Anthicidae .

Type material examined. Lectotype ♁ [designated herewith] BMNH: Caracas ( Vénézuéla) Dr. O. Thieme Mai-Juín 1877 [printed, double framed] // [empty card with a pinhole] // Holcopyge meridionalis , ♁ Ch. [handwritten] // G.C.Champion Coll. B.M. 1927–409. [printed] // Holcopyge meridionalis Champ. vid. D.Telnov, 2019 [printed] ( Figs 8–9 ).

Paralectotype 1 specimen [sex unknown] MNHN: “in Oberthür’s collection” ( Champion 1890: 293). [The first author was unable to allocate this specimen during his numerous voyages to the MNHN, this specimen was therefore not available for the present study].

Nomenclature. Champion (1890: 293) mentions two specimens (which become syntypes) in the original description but states the description was made from one male. The lectotype designation is made in order to maintain nomenclatural stability.

Redescription. ♁ lectotype, total body length 2.6 mm; head 0.5 mm long, across compound eyes 0.55 mm broad, pronotum 0.6 mm long, maximum width 0.5 mm, minimum width 0.25 mm, elytra 1.5 mm long, 1 mm combined wide.

Dorsum and venter uniformly pale brown. Mouthparts, antennae, palps and legs pale yellow, abdomen yellowish brown. Head slightly ovoid, glossy dorsally and ventrally, slightly convex in dorsal aspect. Compound eye moderate, protruding beyond lateral outline of head. Tempus rounded and constricted towards slightly concave head base. Head dorsal punctures minute and inconspicuous. Head dorsal setae inconspicuous, sporadic. Antenna heavy, extending slightly beyond humeral area of elytron when directed posteriad. Antennomere three slightly longer than antennomere two, antennomeres 7–10 distinctly thickened, 9–10 transverse. Terminal antennomere elongate triangular with tapered apex, slightly asymmetrical, slightly over twice as long as penultimate antennomere. Penultimate maxillary palpomere subtriangular. Terminal maxillary palpomere securiform. Pronotum dorsally and laterally glossy, slightly convex in dorsal aspect, anterior lobe wider than head across compound eyes. Front margin of anterior lobe subtruncate, dorsally and laterally with very narrow anterior rim.Anterior lobe with shallow, moderately broad, median longitudinal sulcus. Posterior lobe strongly narrower and shorter than anterior. Postmedian lateral constriction deep and broad, dorsally with a row of moderate punctures with raised, narrow, longitudinally directed intervening spaces, continues onto pronotal disc as a shallow depression (in lateral view). Pronotal punctures minute and inconspicuous. Dorsal pronotal setae yellowish, sparse, subdecumbent. Pronotal tactile setae long, erect, sporadic, mainly aligned along with lateral margins of pronotum. Scutellar shield minute, subtriangular, rounded at posterior margin. Elytra ovoid, moderately convex in dorsal aspect, widened laterally before midlength, humerus obsolete (apterous species). Elytral punctures much stronger and larger than those on dorsal forebody including in lateral constriction area, arranged into confused rows, becoming significantly smaller and flat on posterior half of elytron. Intervening spaces glossy and glabrous, in basal third of elytron slightly wider than punctures. Epipleuron nearly complete, particularly broad in basal third. Elytral setae yellowish, long and rather dense, suberect to erect. All femora clavate. Basal metatarsomere longer than combined length of remaining metatarsomeres. Tergite VII broadly rounded at posterior margin, with broad median longitudinal furrow ( Fig. 9A–B ). Morphological sternite VII broadly rounded at posterior margin ( Fig. 9C ). Morphological sternites VIII and IX as in Fig. 9D . Aedeagus irregularly shaped (twisted), subtubular (penis incompletely enclosed), apically bifurcate, with dense, fibre-like endophallic armature ( Fig. 9E–F ).

Sexual dimorphism. Female is unknown.

Ecology. Unknown.

Distribution. Northern Venezuela.

Type depository. BMNH, likely also MNHN (see note above).

Figures

FIGURE 8. Tomosomus meridionalis (Champion, 1890), lectotype ♁. A—Habitus, dorsal view; B—ditto, lateral view.

FIGURE 9. Tomosomus meridionalis (Champion, 1890), lectotype ♁, terminalia and genitalia.A—TergiteVII, dorsal view; B— Part of a median furrow of tergite VII, dorsal view (enlarged); C—Morphological sternite VII, ventral view; D—Morphological sternites VIII & IX; E—Aedeagus, ventral view [note—aedeagus tip is somewhat damaged]; F—ditto, endophallic armature (enlarged) [not to scale].