Scirtes veitchi Champion, 1919

Ruta, Rafał & Kiałka, Agata, 2021, The genus Scirtes Illiger of Fiji (Coleoptera: Scirtoidea: Scirtidae), Zootaxa 4926 (4), pp. 501-520 : 513

Scirtes veitchi Champion, 1919

( Figs 1H , 2D , 6 J–K)

Scirtes veitchi Champion, 1919: 27 (locus typicus: Natova)

Type material. Holotype, male ( NHM): “ R. Veitch / Natova / Fiji / 10.I.14” [handwritten], “No. 303” [handwritten], “Pres. by / Imp. Bur. Ent.” [printed], “ Scirtes / veitchi Ch. ” [handwritten by Champion], “1919-246” [printed], “Type / H. T.” [round label with red margin, printed] ( Fig. 2D ).

Diagnosis. Body elongate, depressed, identification possible only on the basis of male genital features: penis with three apical processes, a feature unknown in any other Fijian Scirtes .

Redescription. Holotype, male. Body oval, slightly depressed, shining, covered with brownish setae. Head brown with darker posterior portion, pronotum brown with lightened lateral margins, elytra and scutellar shield brown. Antennomeres 1–3 yellowish, remaining ones brown; legs brownish.

Head of moderate size, slightly depressed dorsally, subtly punctate, punctures irregularly distributed, separated by 1.0–3.0 diameters; clypeus moderately long, slightly expanded antero-laterally, gently emarginate 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 slightly convex in mesal part of the disc, punctation similar to that on head, punctures distributed more regularly, separated by ca. 2.0 diameters; antero-lateral angles slightly projecting forward, but rounded; postero-lateral angles almost right-angled; posterior margin slightly bisinuate. Scutellar shield relatively small, finely punctate, equilateral-triangular. Elytra oblong-oval, sides curved, widest in the middle of their length, punctation stronger than on pronotum, punctures separated by 1.0–1.5 diameter; humeri elevated. Hind tibial spurs slightly curved, dorsal one as long as 0.8× length of tarsomere 1, ventral one 0.6× as long as dorsal one.

Sternite VIII missing in the holotype. Sternite IX (L 0.24 mm, W 0.22 mm) V-shaped, consisting of paired hemisternites. Tergite VIII (L 0.37 mm, W 0.31 mm) moderately sclerotized, large, with transversely oval apical portion, bearing a row of relatively long setae on apical margin, and a pair of apodemes which are ca. as long as apical plate; tergite IX (L 0.38 mm, W 0.23 mm) lightly sclerotized, apical plate rectangular, slightly wider than its length, apodemes slightly longer than length of apical plate. Aedeagus asymmetrical. Tegmen (L 0.73 mm, W 0.14 mm) Y-shaped, basal part subrectangular, parameres long, curved laterally ( Fig. 6J ). Penis asymmetrical (L 0.69 mm, W 0.26 mm), pala subrectangular, narrowed in apical portion, apex of pala with three hooked processes with pointed apices, lateral ones short, middle one distinctly longer, ca. as long as 0.5× length of pala ( Fig. 6K ).

Female. Unknown.

Measurements and ratios. Male (n=1): TL 2.60 mm, PL 0.53 mm, PW 1.20 mm, EL 2.07 mm, EW 1.60 mm, TL/EW 1.63, PW/PL 2.26, EL/EW 1.29, EL/PL 3.91, EW/PW 1.33.

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

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 2. Type labels. A) Scirtes evansi Pic, paralectotype; B) Scirtes humeralis Pic, paralectotype; C) Scirtes natovensis Champion, lectotype; D) Scirtes veitchi Champion, holotype.

FIGURE 6. Scirtes spp., tegmen (A, C, E, F, J), penis, dorsal view (B, D, G–I, K). A–B) S. devoensis sp. nov.; C–D) S. hume- ralis Pic; E–I) S. tokotaai sp. nov.; J–K) S. veitchi Champion. 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.