Goudotostes electrimontis, 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 : 175-176

Goudotostes electrimontis sp. nov.

( Figs 5 d-e, 57 a-j, 77) http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:544FF953-9EAC-4D75-8EE5-2850FC43936A

Type series. Holotype, ♂, deposited in the collection of the California Academy of Sciences , San Francisco, CA, USA, labelled as follows: / CASTYPE 20263 / CASENT 8013653 / 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 / / Goudotostes electrimontis 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 [2 ♂♂ dissected]: 2 ♂♂ and 3 ♀♀ (4 in CASC and 1 in ABCB), same collecting data as holotype. Further examined material (excluded from the type series): 3 ♂♂ (in CASC): / Madagascar: Province d’Antisiranana Ampasindava , Forêt d’Ambilanivy, 3.9 km 181° S Ambaliha elev. 600 m 4-9 March 2001 / 13° 47’ 55” S 048° 09’ 42” E coll. Fisher, Griswold et al. California Acad. of Sciences sifted litter in rainforest collection code: BLF3252 /.

Diagnosis. Goudotostes electrimontis 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 (although probably vestigial), c) head without clypeal tubercle, d) head punctation dense and impressed, e) pronotal anterior carina monolobate, f) pronotal basal carina monolobate, g) elytra dorsally with two spaced out thin weakly raised rows of short carinae and small tubercles, f) aedeagus with short asymmetrical parameres. The species falls within the scabrosus group of species. The species more similar to it are Goudotostes insularis sp. nov. and Goudotostes andohahelae sp. nov., because of dorsal sculpturing of elytra and pronotum. It differs from G. andohahelae sp. nov. because of the monolobate anterior and posterior carinae, the smaller and denser head punctation (in G. andohahelae sp. nov. punctures are much larger, lesser in number and more spaced out whereas in G. electrimontis sp. nov. punctures are dense: interpunctural distance inferior than punctural diameter). It differs from G. insularis sp. nov. because in the latter dorsal ocular area is present, the monolobate pronotal anterior carina is sharper in frontal view and the punctation of the elytral area between elytral suture and the first row of short carinae is made of larger comma-shaped punctation. Goudotostes scabrosus shares with G. electrimontis sp. nov. the spaced out longitudinal rows of carinae, but in G. scabrosus carinae are longer, furthermore in G. scabrosus pronotal and elytral punctation is larger and much denser and deeper.

Description. Size: HL = 1.1 mm; HW = 2.2 mm; PL = 2.0 mm; PW = 3.7 mm; EL = 3.6 mm; EW 3.5 mm. Overall morphology as in generic diagnosis. Large-sized Goudotostes . Body weakly convex compared to the other species. Dark-brown with slight bronze sheen, dorsum with sparse fine short setae (50×), underside, tarsi and antennae dark reddish-brown, setation yellowish-brown. Head: W/L ratio = 1.64; clypeal apex obtuse, apical projection present and sexually dimorphic but weakly developed, sides almost rectilinear apart from slightly unaligned genae; dorsal ocular area present, genal canthus indistinct, ventral ocular area small-sized, genae rounded, distinctly protruding outwards, genal suture indistinct; head dorsal surface uniformly covered by large impressed simple punctures, clypeal fore margin with some transversal irregular lines. Pronotum: subrectangular (dorsal view) (W/L ratio = 2.05), convex and unevenly sculptured, base and sides broadly rounded, fore angles distinctly subtruncate; surface without tubercles and/or carinae, uniformly covered by dense deep large simple punctures, each one bearing a short fine seta in the middle; monolobate anterior carina slightly and narrowly raised, portion raised having the shape of an inverted U in frontal view, monolobate posterior carina weakly raised, dorsally marked by an inverted V- shaped tubercle. Pronotal bead visible only on pronotal sides. Scutellum : surface, apart from smooth sides and apex, covered by sparse large simple punctures. Elytra: longer than wide (W/L ratio = 0.92), subovoidal (dorsal view), moderately convex; inferior sutural stria complete; humeral callus indistinct; elytral surface uniformly covered by sparse large deep simple punctures, each one bearing a short fine seta; interpunctural distance twice to equal to puncture diameter. Striated articular area hardly visible in lateral view, relatively narrow and short; marginal area medium-sized; elytral articular process developed, smooth and shiny. Elytral sculpturing as follows: humeral area marked by a weakly raised elongate tubercle (parasutural tubercle), dorsal area of elytra with three longitudinal rows (including elytral suture) of weakly raised carinae of variable length (the last one including the humeral tubercle), sides with three irregular rows of tubercles mixed to irregular carinae slightly more raised than on dorsal portion. Wings: flightless. Male genitalia: aedeagus (L = 2.0 mm) with parameres as in Figs 57 g-j, spiculum gastrale (L = 2.0 mm) as in Fig. 57 f .

Variability. The specimens from Ambilanivy have a slightly denser and deeper elytral punctation.

Etymology. Latin noun in the genitive case meaning “of the amber mountain”. From Latin “electrum” (= amber) and “mons” (= mountain). The Montagne d’Ambre takes its name because of the presence of trees of Canarium sp. ( Burseraceae ), which produce a resin similar to amber.

Distribution and habitat. Known only from two localities in Nortnern Madagascar: the type locality and a forest about 160 km south-west of it. Collected by sifting litter in rainforest. For details on the type locality see under Synarmostes annamariae sp. nov.. The specimens exclud- ed from the type series come from a rainforest some 160 km south-west of the Montagne d’Ambre and were collected too by sifting leaf litter in rainforest. The vegetation cover of this second locality consists of patches of “moist evergreen forest” ( Goodman et al. 2018), also known as “humid forest” ( Moat & Smith 2007). The second collecting locality falls within the protected area “Paysage Harmonieux Protegé d’Ampasindava “.

Figures

Fig. 5 – Heads of Goudotostes, a–c, female of Goudotostes orangeanus sp. nov. (ventral, lateral and dorsal views) (cap: clypeal apical projection); d–e, Goudotostes electrimontis sp. nov., circled area showing alleged vestigial dorsal ocular area; f–g, Goudotostes litoralis sp. nov., circled area showing alleged vestigial dorsal ocular area.

Fig. 57 – Goudotostes electrimontis 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, holotype, spiculum gastrale; g–j, holotype, four views of aedeagus.