Curiades Pascoe 1880

Río, Guadalupe Del & Lanteri, Analia A., 2012, Redescription of the genus Curiades Pascoe 1880 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae: Naupactini), a potential mimic of Mutillidae from Brazil, Zootaxa 3570, pp. 82-88 : 83-84

Curiades Pascoe 1880

Curiades Pascoe 1880: 420 . Type species. Platyomus boisduvali Boheman in Schoenherr, 1840: 163 (by monotypy).

Diagnosis. Body medium sized (about 9–12 mm), very hairy, with color pattern imitating species of Mutillidae of the genus Dasymutilla . Vestiture mostly black, except yellowish apex of rostrum, elytral maculae, legs and venter.

Lateral edges of rostrum strongly thickened and elevated; postocular constriction strong; antennae with very coarse, flattened, clavate, posteriorly curved scape and with short, moniliform funicle; pronotum narrow as compared to broad, strongly bisinuate elytral base; corbels of hind tibiae broad, squamose. Curiades and Platyomus are similar in the thickened and elevated lateral edges of the rostrum, the shape of the epistome, the dorsally visible apices of the scrobes, and the very coarse, flattened, and posteriorly curved antennal scape, however, the antennae of Curiades are much shorter than in Platyomus and with a strongly clavate scape. In Platyomus the scape is not only longer but also gradually swollen towards the apex.

Redescription. Female. Body medium-sized (11.2–11.8 mm long). Male. Body slightly smaller (9.0– 9.6 mm long) ( Figs. 1–2 ). Integument dark, rugose, with microsculpture. Vestiture composed of rounded, imbricate scales and very long, coarse, erect setae on dorsum; color of vestiture mostly black, except yellowish on apex of rostrum, elytral maculae, legs, and venter. Rostrum ( Figs. 3–4 ) slightly shorter than wide (LR/WRa: 0.97–0.98; LR/WRb: 0.86–0.89), sides subparallel, thickened and strongly elevated, same as in Platyomus ; dorsum strongly depressed; median groove deep, narrow, extended up to or slightly exceeding posterior margin of eye; epistome depressed, broad, covered with small creamy scales; scrobe very short, moderately curved, with apex visible from dorsum, ending in front of eye; preocular depression absent. Head with frons wide (ca. 2x diameter of eye), strongly depressed; eyes strongly convex; postocular constriction strong; vertex slightly convex; gular angle nearly 110º in lateral view. Antennae ( Fig. 5 ) short and robust (LB/LA: 3.27–3.47); scape clavate, flattened, curved backwards, reaching posterior margin of eye; funicle slightly shorter than scape, funicular article 2 slightly (1.5x) longer than article 1, funicular articles 3–7 moniliform; club oval, short (LC/WC: 2–2.11), acuminate. Mouthparts. Mandibles covered with creamy appressed scales and coarse setae on external face; prementum subhexagonal, with external surface alveolate, moderately concave and lacking setae. Pronotum ( Figs. 1–2 ) moderately transverse (WP/LP: 1.22–1.28), narrow relative to elytra; flanks divergent towards base along anterior third and subparallel along posterior two thirds; disc moderately convex, rugose; median groove indistinct; anterior margin strongly thickened; base bisinuate. Scutellum subtriangular, well developed, covered with scarce creamy scales. Elytra ( Figs. 1–2 ) broad, widest at humeri (LE/WE: 1.48–1.53), moderately convex; base strongly bisinuate; humeri strongly prominent, slightly constricted behind; subapical callus distinct; striae well defined, punctures deep, medium sized; intervals slightly convex, about 2.5x as wide as striae; apical declivity moderately abrupt; apex subacute. Metathoracic wings present. Legs with front coxae contiguous, slightly closer to anterior margin than to posterior margin of prosternum; hind femora slightly wider than pro- and mesofemora; tibiae lacking denticles on internal surface; protibiae with very small mucro; meso- and metatibiae without mucro; metatibial apex widened, with broad corbel plate or outer bevel, densely covered with small creamy scales; dorsal comb about 1.5x longer than apical comb. Abdomen ( Fig. 6 ) with intercoxal portion of ventrite 1 slightly narrower (0.9x) than metacoxal cavities; ventrites 1 and 2 subequal, strongly convex in relation to flat ventrites 3–5; ventrite 2 twice as long as ventrites 3 and 4 combined; ventrite 5 conical, posteriorly truncate, mesally elevated near posterior margin. Abdominal tergites strongly sclerotized.

Female terminalia. Sternite VIII ( Fig. 7 ) with subrhomboidal, elongate plate, more sclerotized on lateral angles and basal 2/3 of medial line and with long setae along apical half; apodeme 3.7x longer than plate. Ovipositor ( Fig. 8 ) slender, very long, slightly curved in lateral view, as long as ventrites 1–5; ventral baculi slender, subparallel; coxites slightly sclerotized; styli reduced, minute, directed backwards. Spermatheca ( Fig. 9 ) subcylindrical, with truncate-conical, short nodulus, well developed ramus and short cornu (apex not exceeding the opening of gland). Spermathecal duct about as long as half of ovipositor, very fine and membranous.

Male genitalia. Aedeagus ( Figs 10–11 ) slightly longer than ventrites 1–5; tube longer than apodemes (1.4x), slightly curved in lateral view, with rounded apex and large ostium.

Natural history. Curiades is endemic to eastern Brazil, occurring in the state of Río de Janeiro at elevations of about 500–700 meters. Its distributional range corresponds to the Atlantic province sensu Cabrera and Willink (1973); or to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest sensu Morrone (2006) which includes the eastern slopes of the coastal hills of Brazil which are characterized as tropical forest of trees 30–40 meters high and a lower layer of palms, lianas and epiphytes such as orchids, ferns and bromeliads. This biogeographic province harbors a highly diverse entomofauna with several endemic species and subspecies (da Costa & Lima 2005).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 4. Curiades boisduvali, female: (1) habitus, dorsal; (2) habitus, lateral; (3) head and rostrum, dorsal; (4) head and rostrum, lateral. Scale line: 1 mm.

FIGURES 5 – 11. Antennae, ventrites, female and male terminalia of Curiades boisduvali: (5) left antenna; (6) ventrites; (7) sternite VIII; (8) ovipositor, ventral view; (9) spermatheca; (10) aedeagus, lateral view; (11) aedeagus, terminal portion of tube, ventral view. Scale line: 1 mm; spermatheca 0.5 mm.