Goudotostes ramamonjisoae, Ballerio, 2021

Ballerio, Alberto, 2021, The Ceratocanthinae of Madagascar and Comoro Islands: a revision of the genera Synarmostes and Goudotostes, and of the flightless Philharmostes, with description of 64 new species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea, Hybosoridae), Fragmenta entomologica 53 (2), pp. 105-282 : 194-195

Goudotostes ramamonjisoae sp. nov.

( Figs 69 a-j, 77) http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:49192CB4-3C5D-4DBD-BC30-83332E6CBD65

Type series. Holotype, ♂, deposited in the collection of the California Academy of Sciences , San Francisco, CA, USA, labelled as follows: / CASTYPE 20280 / CASENT 8013775 / Madagascar: Province d’Antananarivo 3 km 41° NE Andranomay 11.5 km 147° SSE Anjozorobe 1300 m 5-13 Dec. 2000 / 18° 28’ 24” S 047° 57’ 36” E coll. Fisher, Griswold et al. California Acad. o Sciences sifted litter in montane rainforest BLF 2378/ Goudotostes ramamonjisoae n. sp. det. A. Ballerio 2020 Holotypus ♂ / [distended, glued on card, dissected, male genitalia glued in DMHF resin on a separate card, same pin]. Paratypes: 5 ♀♀ (4 in CASC and 1 in ABCB), same collecting data as holotype . 3 ♀♀ (2 in CASC and 1 in ABCB): / CASENT 8013772 / Madagascar: Province d’Antananarivo 3 km 41° NE Andranomay 11.5 km 147° SSE Anjozorobe 1300 m 5-13 Dec. 2000 / 18° 28’ 24” S 047° 57’ 36” E coll. Fisher, Griswold et al. California Acad. o Sciences sifted litter in montane rainforest BLF 2464 /.

Diagnosis. Goudotostes ramamonjisoae sp. nov. can be differentiated from all other species of Goudotostes by the following combination of characters: a) small size, b) dorsal ocular area absent, c) clypeal apical projection pointed, d) clypeal punctation made of dense small deeply impressed simple to short transverse comma-shaped punctures, e) fronto-clypeal tubercle present, f) pronotal anterior carina bilobate, g) pronotal basal carina bilobate, h) pronotal disc covered by dense (interpunctural distance inferior than punctural diameter) large transverse comma-shaped punctures, i) elytral dorsal area covered by one (excluding the weakly raised sutural carina) longitudinal row of irregular sharp short carinae, remaining surface covered by irregular rows of few small tubercles or very short carinae, j) elytral first interstria (area between sutural stria and first longitudinal carina) with dense punctation (interpunctural distance inferior than punctural diameter), k) left paramere with ventral margin invaginated (a character which places this species in the laevis group of species), l) the distinctive shape of parameres (as in Figs 69 g-j). Within the laevis species group, Goudotostes ramamonjisoae sp. nov. is unmistakable because is the only species with pronotal sculpturing made of transverse large comma-shaped punctures.

Description. Size: HL = 1.0 mm; HW = 1.4 mm; PL = 1.3 mm; PW = 2.1 mm; EL = 2.3 mm; EW = 2.0 mm. Overall morphology as in generic diagnosis. Small-sized Goudotostes . Body strongly convex. Black, shiny, dorsum with extremely short fine setation (50×), underside, tarsi and antennae dark reddish-brown, setation yellowish-brown. Head: W/L ratio = 1.40; clypeal apex obtuse, apical projection strongly developed and sexually dimorphic, sides almost rectilinear with slightly unaligned genae in correspondence with the genal suture; dorsal ocular area absent, genal canthus indistinct, ventral ocular area small-sized, genae acute, distinctly protruding outwards, genal suture indistinct; head dorsal surface uniformly covered by dense large impressed punctures, simple on vertex and frons then transversely short comma-shaped on clypeus, interpunctural spaces not raised, fore margin marked by few irregular transverse lines. Interpunctural distance varying from equal to to inferior than punctural diameter. Fronto-clypeal tubercle weakly raised. Pronotum: subrectangular (dorsal view) (W/L ratio = 1.74), convex and unevenly sculptured (discal area gently raised with respect to sides), fore angles broadly subtruncate; pronotal surface covered by dense transverse comma-shaped punctures, becoming small simple punctures on fore margin and at sides horseshoe-shaped mixed to to some irregular lines directed outwards, interpunctural distance mostly inferior than punctural diameter, interpunctural spaces not raised, pronotal bead complete; bilobate basal carina raised, bilobate anterior carina raised; pronotal sculpturing made of large and gently raised tubercles and carinae as follows: bilobate basal carina smooth and weak, base of disc with at each side one raised tubercle, sides of disc with one gently raised transverse short carina (paradiscal carina) and another distinctly raised transverse longer carina reaching outer margin, bilobate anterior carina weakly raised. Scutellum : basal area smooth, remaining surface covered by impressed transverse large comma-shaped punctures. Elytra: longer than wide (W/L ratio = 0.93), subovoidal (dorsal view), strongly convex; humeral callus marked by a tubercle; elytral surface covered by small deep comma-shaped punctures with opening directed backwards, mixed to few horseshoe-shaped punctures with opening directed inwards or outwards, interpunctural distance inferior than punctural diameter. Striated articular area hardly visible in lateral view, relatively narrow and short; inferi- or sutural stria visible and complete; marginal area large-sized; elytral articular process well developed, smooth and shiny, isolated from remaining elytral surface by a deep furrow. Elytral sculpturing as follows: base with one raised large tubercle below articular process with apex directed backwards (parasutural tubercle), next to it a humeral larg- er raised oblique tubercle with apex directed backwards (humeral tubercle), dorsal area of elytra with one longitudinal row of short irregular and asymmetrical carinae, remaining surface with sparse irregular tubercles, dense at sides and on apical area. Wings: flightless. Male genitalia: aedeagus (L = 1.0 mm) with parameres as in Figs 69 g-j.

Etymology. Noun in the genitive case. Named after Manoa Ramamonjisoa ( Madagascar Biodiversity Center, Antananarivo), member of the Malagasy lab team of CAS.

Distribution and habitat. Known only from the type locality in Eastern Madagascar. The type series was collected by sifting litter in montane rainforest. The area is one of the last remnants of natural forest in the Central Highlands. The vegetation cover consists of “medium altitude moist evergreen forest”, ( Goodman et al. 2018) also known as “humid forest” ( Moat & Smith 2007). The collecting locality falls within the protected area “Paysage Harmonieux Protégé du Complexe Anjozorobe-Angavo“.

Figures

Fig. 69 – Goudotostes ramamonjisoae sp. nov., a, female paratype, dorsal view of distended specimen; b, paratype, ventral view of rolled up specimen; c, paratype, dorsal view of rolled up specimen; d, paratype, ventral view of rolled up specimen; e, paratype, lateral view of rolled up specimen; f, paratype, dorsal view of distended specimen; g–j, holotype, four views of aedeagus.