Goudotostes montanellus, 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 : 186-187

Goudotostes montanellus sp. nov.

( Figs 45 a-j, 77) http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:595C4F15-CF0F-4E4E-AD49-850FEC36F509

Type series. Holotype, ♂, deposited in the collection of the California Academy of Sciences , San Francisco, CA, USA, labelled as follows: / CASTYPE 20273 / CASENT 8013658 / Madagascar: Province d’Antisiranana Parc National Montagne d’Ambre, 3.6 km 235° SW Joffreville elev. 925 m 20-26 Jan. 2001 / 12° 32’ 4” S 049° 10’ 46” E coll. Fisher, Griswold et al. California Acad. of Sciences sifted litter montane rainforest code: BLF2564 / [distended, glued on card, dissected, male genitalia glued in DMHF resin on a separate card, same pin] . Paratypes: 1 ♂ ( CASC), same collecting data as holotype .

Diagnosis. Goudotostes montanellus sp. nov. can be differentiated from all other species of Goudotostes by the following combination of characters: a) large size, b) dorsal ocular area present (vestigial), c) head with a weak tubercle on clypeal disc, d) pronotal anterior carina monolobate, e) pronotal anterior carina weakly subtrapezoidal in frontal view, f) pronotal anterior carina weakly raised and without generating a longitudinal sharp carina visible in dorsal view, g) pronotal basal carina monolobate, h) pronotum weakly saddle-shaped in lateral view, i) pronotal disc with gibbosities and lacking any distinct carinae and/or tubercles (apart from the monolobate anterior and posterior carinae), j) elytra with three (including sutural stria) irregular rows, distinctly spaced out from each other, of strongly raised tubercles and relatively long longitudinal carinae, k) aedeagus with short asymmetrical parameres. The species falls within the scabrosus group of species and can be differentiated by the other species of the group by the combination of characters e), f), and j).

Description. Size: HL = 1.1 mm; HW = 1.5 mm; PL = 1.4 mm; PW = 2.5 mm; EL = 2.7 mm; EW = 2.3 mm. Overall morphology as in generic diagnosis. Large-sized Goudotostes . Body strongly convex. Dark brown with metallic green sheen on carinae, shiny, dorsum with setigerous punctures bearing a very short seta (50×), underside, tarsi and antennae dark reddish-brown, setation yellowish-brown. Head: W/L ratio = 1.45; clypeal apex obtuse, apical projection strongly developed and sexually dimorphic, sides slightly rounded with slightly unaligned genae; dorsal ocular area present and very small, interocular distance about 30 times the maximum width of dorsal ocular area, ventral ocular area medium-sized, genae acute, distinctly protruding outwards, genal suture indistinct; head dorsal surface with a weak tubercle, punctation made of irregular dense impressed large simple punctures, surface along clypeal fore margin covered by some transverse irregular lines. Interpunctural distance of punctures inferior than punctural diameter. Pronotum: subtrapezoidal (dorsal view) (W/L ratio = 1.87), convex, fore angles gently truncate; pronotal surface with disc covered by dense impressed large simple punctures, interpunctural distance inferior than punctural diameter, sides with some horseshoe-shaped punctures with opening directed outwards; pronotal bead present but not appreciable in dorsal view; pronotal sculpturing as follows: monolobate basal carina forming a small inverted V-shaped tubercle in dorsal view, monolobate anterior carina strongly raised (profile of pronotum saddle-shaped in lateral view) generating a subtrapezoidal (in frontal view) tubercle, disc with a depression in the middle and two weak paradiscal gibbosities on each side. Scutellum : completely covered by deep large simple punctures. Elytra: slightly longer than wide (W/L ratio = 0.90), subrectangular (dorsal view), convex; humeral callus indistinct; elytral surface uniformly covered by small deeply impressed comma-shaped punctures with opening directed backwards or outwards, interpunctural distance inferior than punctural diameter; striated articular area hardly visible in lateral view, relatively narrow and short; inferior sutural stria complete and deep; marginal area large and distinctly protrudent outwards; elytral articular process well developed, smooth and shiny with a furrow bordering scutellar sides. Elytral sculpturing as follows: base with one tubercle near apex of scutellum (parasutural tubercle), next to it one longer raised longitudinal carina, then another shorter and finally an oblique carina marking humeral area, remaining dorsal surface with three (including sutural one) irregular and asymmetrical rows of weakly raised relatively long carinae, sides and apical area with denser and irregular tubercles; surface of tubercles made of deep irregular large punctures. Wings: flightless. Male genitalia: aedeagus with parameres (L = 1.7 mm) as in Figs 45 g-j, spiculum gastrale (L = 2.0 mm) as in Fig. 45 f .

Etymology. Latin adjective in the nominative singular, diminutive of montane.

Distribution and habitat. Known only from the type locality. See under Synarmostes annamariae sp. nov. for more details.

Figures

Fig. 45 – Goudotostes montanellus sp. nov., a, holotype, dorsal view of distended specimen; b, paratype, ventral view of rolled up specimen; c, paratype, dorsal view of rolled up specimen; d, paratype, lateral view of rolled up specimen; e, paratype, pronotum of rolled up specimen; f, holotype, spiculum gastrale; g–j, holotype, four views of aedeagus.