Scirtes veisariensis, Ruta & Kiałka, 2021

Ruta, Rafał & Kiałka, Agata, 2021, The genus Scirtes Illiger of Fiji (Coleoptera: Scirtoidea: Scirtidae), Zootaxa 4926 (4), pp. 501-520 : 515-516

Scirtes veisariensis sp. nov.

( Figs 1K , 8 E–F)

Type material. Holotype, male ( BPBM): “ FIJI: Viti Levu , Naitasiri Prov., / 4.8km N Veisari logging rd. to / Waivudawa, [-18.075, 178.362], 300m / 12.XII.2002 – 3.I.2003. Malaise:M01. / E.I. Schlinger. M. Tokotaa. FBA201715”.

Diagnosis. Body elongate, depressed, identification possible only on the basis of male genital features: single process of tegmen long, gradually narrowing until its rounded apex, paired processes of tegmen of unequal lengths, apical processes of penis long, ca. 0.5× as long as pala.

Description. Holotype, male. Body oblong oval, depressed, covered with brownish setae. Dorsum dark brown. Antennomeres and legs brownish.

Head of moderate size, convex dorsally, shiny, covered with subtle punctures, separated by ca. 2.0 diameters; clypeus moderately long, slightly expanded antero-laterally, gently arcuate in front margin. Eyes moderate in size, prominent; head ca. 1.6× wider than interocular space. Antennae filiform, reaching basal 1/3 of elytra. Pronotum convex in mesal portion of the disc, punctures stronger than on head, separated by ca. 1.0 diameter; antero-lateral angles widely subtriangular; postero-lateral angles right-angled; posterior margin slightly bisinuate. Scutellar shield relatively small, finely punctate, equilateral-triangular. Elytra oblong-oval, sides subparallel, punctation strong, much stronger than on pronotum, punctures separated by ca. 0.5–1.0 diameter; humeri elevated. Hind tibial spurs slightly curved, dorsal one ca. 0.7× length of tarsomere 1, ventral one 0.3× as long as dorsal one.

Sternite VIII missing in the studied specimen. Sternite IX (L 0.21 mm, W 0.18 mm) V-shaped, consisting of paired, elongate, subtriangular hemisternites with sparse setae on apical portions. Tergite VIII (L 0.32 mm, W 0.22 mm) moderately sclerotized, with transversely oval apical plate, bearing a row of setae on apical margin, apodemes as long as apical plate; tergite IX (L 0.31 mm, W 0.20 mm) narrow, apical plate transversely rectangular, without setae on margin, apodemes 2× longer than apical plate. Aedeagus asymmetrical. Tegmen (L 0.70 mm, W 0.14 mm) asymmetrical, Y-shaped, one paramere bifid: one process very narrow and long, second one shorter and wider, rounded at apex, with rounded part of basal portion, its margin armed with small denticles; the other paramere not divided, with rounded plate in basal portion, its margin with minute denticles ( Fig. 8E ). Penis (L 0.77 mm, W 0.19 mm) well sclerotized, pala with subrectangular basal part an narrowed apical portion, with two long processes hooked at apices ( Fig. 8F ).

Female. Unknown.

Measurements and ratios. Male (n=1): TL 2.13 mm, EL 1.83 mm, PL 0.43 mm, EW 1.33 mm, PW 1.00 mm, TL/EW 1.60, PW/PL 2.31, EL/EW 1.38, EL/PL 4.23, EW/PW 1.33.

Distribution. Recorded only from the type locality on Viti Levu Island ( Fig. 9D ).

Etymology. After Veisari, a locality close to the type locality of the species.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Scirtes spp., dorsal view of adults. A) S. natovensis Champion; B) S. navaiensis sp. nov., holotype; C) S. schlingeri sp. nov., holotype; D) S. devoensis sp. nov., holotype; E) S. humeralis Pic, male; F) S. humeralis Pic, lectotype, female; G) S. tokotaai sp. nov., paratype; H) S. veitchi Champion, lectotype, male; I) S. abacaensis sp. nov., holotype; J) S. pseudoveisariensis sp. nov., holotype; K) S. veisariensis sp. nov., holotype. Scale bar = 1.0 mm.

FIGURE 8. Scirtes spp., tegmen (A, C, E), penis, dorsal view (B, D, F).A–B) S. abacaensis sp. nov.; C–D) S. pseudoveisarien- sis sp. nov.; E–F) S. veisariensis sp. nov. Scale bar = 0.50 mm.

FIGURE 9. Distribution of Fijian Scirtes spp. A) Scirtes humeralis Pic; B) Scirtes natovensis Champion; C) Scirtes tokotaai sp. nov.; D) remaining species.