Eurymeloe (Bolognaia) orobates sp. nov.

Sanchez-Vialas, Alberto, Ruiz, Jose L., Recuero, Ernesto, Gutierrez-Perez, Felipe & Garcia-Paris, Mario, 2022, A new systematic arrangement for the blister beetle genus Eurymeloe (Meloini, Meloidae, Coleoptera) with the description of a new species from Spain, ZooKeys 1109, pp. 17-48 : 17

publication ID

https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1109.83863

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:6A9F48F5-C156-421C-815A-DC6D1E07742A

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/19D54712-AB88-5DAA-91C1-0B30E59F655A

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scientific name

Eurymeloe (Bolognaia) orobates sp. nov.
status

 

Eurymeloe (Bolognaia) orobates sp. nov.

Holotype.

adult male (Fig. 3 View Figure 3 ), labelled: "Puerto de la Quesera, Guadalajara, Spain, 41°12'32.2"N, 3°24'44.2"W, 1738 m, 15-XI-2015, F. Gutiérrez-Pérez et C. Cano leg." [white label, printed]; "Holotypus Meloe (Bolognaia) orobates Sánchez-Vialas, Ruiz, Recuero, Gutiérrez-Pérez & García-París des. 2022" [white label, printed]; Holotipo [red label, printed]; MNCN_Ent 324740 [greyish label, printed]. Dissected and mounted genitalia (Fig. 4A-D View Figure 4 ). Dry-preserved, held at MNCN-CSIC.

Paratypes.

four adult females, labelled: two females: "Puerto de la Quesera, Guadalajara, Spain 41°11'30.11"N, 3°24'27.55"W, 1625 m, 22-V-2016, M. García París, A. Fernández Liger, A. Corral Lou leg. [white label, printed]; ASV 18002 and ASV 18003, respectively [white label, handwritten]; MNCN_Ent 325407 and MNCN_Ent 325408, respectively [white label, printed]. One adult female (Fig. 5 View Figure 5 ): "Puerto de la Quesera, Guadalajara, Spain, 41°11'30.11"N, 3°24'27.55"W, 1625 m, 8-XII-2018, A. Sánchez-Vialas leg." [white label, printed]; MNCN_Ent 325409 [white label, printed]. One adult female: "Puerto de la Quesera, Guadalajara, Spain, 41°12'58.10"N, 3°25'14.37"W, 1712 m, 28-XII-2021, A. Sánchez-Vialas leg." [white label, printed]; MNCN_Ent 325410 [white label, printed]. -All paratypes labelled: "Paratypus, Meloe (Bolognaia) orobates Sánchez-Vialas, Ruiz, Recuero, Gutiérrez-Pérez & García-París des. 2022" [white labels, printed]. All paratypes are preserved in ethanol (except for the female gonostyli of the specimen MNCN_Ent 325409 [Fig. 4E View Figure 4 ], which was dissected, mounted on a piece of cardboard using DMHF, and preserved dry, bearing the following labels: "Puerto de la Quesera, Guadalajara, Spain, 41°11'30.11"N, 3°24'27.55"W, 1625 m, 8-XII-2018, A. Sánchez-Vialas leg." [white label, printed]; "Paratypus, Meloe (Bolognaia) orobates Sánchez-Vialas, Ruiz, Recuero, Gutiérrez-Pérez & García-París des. 2022" [white label, printed]; Paratipo [red label, printed]), held at MNCN-CSIC.

Description of the holotype.

Total length (frons to apex of the tergite VIII): 11.05 mm. Length from the frons to the posterior margin of elytra: 6.55 mm. Maximum width (located slightly anterior to the apex of the elytra): 6.81 mm. Body relatively robust, with slender appendages (Fig. 3 View Figure 3 ). Voluminous abdomen. Coloration black all over body and appendages, except tibial spines and tarsal claws, which are brownish. Integument finely microreticulated, silky or semi-glossy in appearance. Setation decumbent, reddish brown, fairly dark, sometimes almost black ventrally and on the legs, and very short on the head, pronotum and elytra, longer on the abdominal tergites, legs, pygidium and ventral region, and arranged in relatively conspicuous tufts or single reddish yellow setae on the sclerotised plates of the abdominal tergites.

Head voluminous, broadly rounded and clearly wider than the pronotum, weakly truncated on the posterior margin of the temples, with integument black, silky in appearance, finely microreticulated, and without longitudinal depressions behind the eyes (Fig. 3A, B View Figure 3 ). Maximum width in frontal view (at the level of the temples): 2.83 mm; minimum distance between the inner edges of the eyes: 1.83 mm; distance between the clypeus-frontal suture and the vertex (in frontal view): 1.81 mm. Temples wide and regularly rounded (Fig. 3B View Figure 3 ). Frons almost flat, with a weak and short longitudinal groove from the clypeus-frontal suture to the vertex, that is slightly deeper from the level of the eyes to the vertex; surface adjacent to the antennal insertions slightly elevated and with a weak and diffuse depression attached to the raised areas (Fig. 3B View Figure 3 ). Head punctation dense, consisting of rounded, markedly deep, closely positioned and subconfluent punctures, slightly larger in diameter in the frontal region and smaller towards the vertex, almost uniformly distributed, except on a narrow longitudinal mid-band on the frons, which is almost smooth (Fig. 3A, B View Figure 3 ). Head setation inconspicuous, short, decumbent, dark reddish brown, distributed according to the pattern of punctures in which it is inserted. Eyes medium-sized, subreniform and protruding, with upper lobes larger than the lower ones, barely notched at the level of the antennal insertions; clypeus-frontal suture deeply marked, weakly arcuate (Fig. 3B View Figure 3 ). Clypeus flat, transverse, subtrapezoidal, 2.1 × wider than long, with a brownish membranous anterior border; punctures medium-sized, separated by between 0.5 and 1 × their diameter, with the highest density on the sides; long setae homogeneously distributed, following the puncture pattern, directed forward, longest on the sides (Fig. 3B View Figure 3 ). Labrum-clypeus suture almost straight. Labrum transverse, 2.5 × wider than long, deeply emarginated in the middle, forming two clear lobes; punctures similar to those on the clypeus; setae longer on the lobes, following the punctation pattern, oriented forward and curved (Fig. 3B View Figure 3 ). Mandibles relatively robust, curved along the outer margins and notched in the distal region, glabrous at the apex, and scarcely pilose at the base. Maxillary and labial palps unmodified. Maxillary palps with palpomere I very short, subcylindrical (0.09 mm long, 0.1 mm wide); II longer, troncoconical, weakly curved in the proximal half (0.44 mm long, 0.21 mm wide); III troncoconical, shorter and wider than II (0.38 mm long, 0.23 mm wide); IV sub-trapezoidal, widened distally, broadly rounded at the apex and dorsoventrally flattened, with a narrow excavation along the distal margin (0.54 mm long, 0.3 mm wide); setae scattered and moderately long on palpomeres II and III, shorter and more scarce on palpomere IV. Labial palps short, not visible dorsally, with palpomere I subcylindrical, very short (0.11 mm long, 0.09 mm wide); II troncoconical (0.22 mm long, 0.15 mm wide); III similar in shape to the last maxillary palpomere (IV); setae as on maxillary palps.

Antennae with 11 antennomeres, moniliform, slender and long, surpassing the base of the pronotum when extended backward (Fig. 3A View Figure 3 ). Antennomeres not modified, subcylindrical or subconical, I-VIII black, semi-glossy, IX-XI dark brown, opaque but becoming reddish brown in XI. Antennomere I widened apically, subconical, ~ 1.92 × longer than wide (0.48 mm long, 0.25 mm wide); II short, subglobose, slightly wider than long (0.81 mm long, 0.82 mm wide); III-X subcylindrical, similar to each other, between 1.84 and 2.22 × longer than wide (III: 0.49 mm long, 0.22 mm wide; IV: 0.5 mm long, 0.24 mm wide; V: 0.48 mm long, 0.26 mm wide; VI: 0.46 mm long, 0.25 mm wide; VII: 0.49 mm long, 0.24 mm wide; VIII: 0.48 mm long, 0.23 mm wide; IX: 0.47 mm long, 0.21 mm wide; X: 0.48 mm long, 0.23 mm wide); XI is the longest, ~ 3.71 × longer than wide (0.78 mm long, 0.21 mm wide), subfusiform, with a blunt tip. Pilosity of antennomeres I-V comprised of short black setae, most decumbent though a few semi-erected, longer on segments I-III; antennomere VI with a mixture of short reddish brown and black setae; and antennomeres VII-XI with very short yellowish red setae, almost imperceptible.

Pronotum black, silky in appearance (Fig. 3A View Figure 3 ), small, sub-hexagonal, transverse, 1.59 × wider than long; length in the middle: 1.37 mm; maximum width (at the level of the lateral angles): 2.18 mm; lateral margins weakly converge backwards in the posterior two thirds and strongly converge forward in the anterior third, with the lateral angles well marked and rounded; fore margin almost straight; posterior margin or base broadly emarginated, with a thin flange. Dorsal surface of the pronotum clearly convex, gently sloping forward from the mid-region and steeply sloping back, with a slight and narrow depressed longitudinal-middle area with ambiguous boundaries (without a marked longitudinal midline or groove), such that two raised areas are observed on both sides of the central depression with two shallow and small rounded depressions observed anterior to the raised areas. Pronotal punctation relatively dense and unevenly distributed, consisting of relatively large, circular and deep punctures, subcontiguous, similar to those of the vertex but with a slightly larger diameter (Fig. 3A View Figure 3 ); the highest density is in the elevated areas on both sides of the midline, and the lowest densities are in the first quarter (just behind the fore margin), the depressed midband, and the central area of the base; integument surface with several fine, small and semi-wavy wrinkles between the punctures, located mainly on the sides, where they are arranged transversely and longitudinally in the middle depression. Pronotal setation inconspicuous, made up of short, curved dark reddish brown setae, mostly applied against the pronotal surface, distributed according to the pattern of punctures in which they are inserted; anterior margin, adjacent to the neck, with somewhat longer, semierect setae. Mesonotum mostly covered by the pronotum, showing, in dorsal view, only its posterior margin, which is weakly arcuate and with dense setation, consisting of setae longer than those of the pronotum, almost straight and lying backwards. Metanotum smooth, almost completely covered by the elytra. Prosternum narrow, very slightly extended posteriorly, broadly rounded at the central tip. Mesosternum relatively narrow and very transverse (width: 1.82 mm; length in the middle: 0.69 mm), with a small triangular prolongation backwards, ending in a rounded tip that extends to the level of the fore third of the mesocoxae; surface with long transverse wrinkles and dispersed punctures, similar to those of the vertex, and short setae. Metasternum subtrapezoidal, wide, covered by the mesocoxae, deep and closely notched in the middle of the posterior margin.

Elytra relatively short (length: 4.05 mm), strongly dehiscent and weakly convex, imbricated basally (the right over the left), divergent backwards and reaching the middle area of the fourth tergite, covering the first tergite, almost completely covering the second, and covering the lateral areas of the third (of which, only the central plate is clearly visible), and lateral basal portions on both sides of the fourth; elytral surface strongly rugose, corrugated, with marked wavy foveoles (Fig. 3C View Figure 3 ); punctation small, fine, shallow and scattered, confused with the roughness of the foveoles; integument with very dispersed and isolated setae, similar to those of the pronotum, although somewhat shorter.

Abdomen black, voluminous (Fig. 3C View Figure 3 ); maximum width, at level of the fourth tergite: 6.78 mm. Tergites semi-matte in appearance, with very weak and indistinct foveoles scattered on its surface; central sclerotised plates of the tergites elliptical, with a semi-glossy aspect and an integument surface that is slightly rough, with fine wrinkles, arranged transversely and concentrically. Dorsal setation decumbent, consisting of isolated and scattered short, reddish brown setae on the semi-matte sides of the tergites, and longer yellowish red (some almost golden) setae on the central plates, denser and forming inconspicuous tufts on the posterior margin of tergites II-IV. Ventrites silky in appearance, with dense punctation, made up of small, subcontiguous and slightly marked punctures that give them a finely vermiculated appearance; with short and decumbent dark brown, almost black, setae, homogeneously distributed; last ventrite clearly emarginated at the apex, with longer yellowish setae.

Legs relatively slender (Fig. 3C, D View Figure 3 ); surface with punctation fine and shallow, very dense in the tibiae and scarcer in the femurs, covered by relatively dense setation, consisting of short, dark brown (sometimes almost black) lying setae, denser on the tibiae. Length (in mm) of pro-, meso-, and metafemur as follows: 2.32, 2.6, and 3.1. Length (in mm) of pro-, meso-, and metatibia as follows: 2.25, 2.24 and 2.55. Length (in mm) of pro-, meso-, and metatarsus (and respective tarsomeres) as follow (claws excluded): 2.41 (I: 0.65; II: 0.4; III: 0.36; IV: 0.33; V: 0.67), 3.13 (I: 0.98; II: 0.53; III: 0.46; IV: 0.43; V: 0.73) and 3.56 (I: 1.36; II: 0.73; III: 0.61; IV: 0.86). Tarsi slender, clearly longer than the respective tibiae, with tarsomeres subcylindrical, slightly enlarged distally. Tarsomeres showing, on their ventral side, a small brush of very short, hirsute black setae, quite reduced in the last ones (V, V, IV). Pro- and mesotibiae with two similar distal spurs, short, narrow and straight; metatibial spurs dissimilar: outer spur spoon-shaped, inner spur similar to those of the fore- and mesotibiae but a little wider at the base and weakly curved at the apex. Coxae dense and finely punctate, with dense and short setation. Claws smooth, curved, with the lower lobe narrower than the upper one but equal in length.

Male genitalia with gonoforceps dark brown, hairless, moderately elongated, slender in dorsal, ventral, and lateral views (Fig. 4A-C View Figure 4 ). Gonostyli relatively long, ~ 4.4 × longer than wide in lateral view (1.33 mm long, 0.3 mm wide in lateral view), no excavated or depressed areas laterally in the distal regions; distal portion of each gonostylus separated dorsally by a fusiform longitudinal notch that extends to approximately the middle of the structure (Fig. 4A, B View Figure 4 ); distal lobes narrow and rounded at the apexes in lateral view (Fig. 4C View Figure 4 ). Gonocoxal plate relatively narrow and long, ~ 1.38 × longer than wide in dorsal view (1.36 mm long, 0.98 mm wide in ventral view), with the greatest width roughly in the middle of the plate, markedly emarginated at its distal margin (in ventral view) (Fig. 4A View Figure 4 ); surface almost flat. Aedeagus slender and narrow in lateral view (1.96 mm long, 0.2 mm wide in lateral view) flattened, narrowly rounded at the apex with two dorsal hooks that are similar in shape, although the distal hook is somewhat larger than the proximal one (Fig. 4D View Figure 4 ); endophallic hook small, located close to the apex and barely visible.

Variability.

Female similar to the male (Fig. 5 View Figure 5 ) but with the last abdominal ventrite rounded and not emarginated in its posterior margin, and with relatively shorter antennae. Morphological measurements of the studied female specimens (paratypes): total length (frons to apex of tergite VIII): 10-14 mm (mean = 12 mm; n = 4); body length (frons to posterior border of elytra): 6.5-9.5 mm (mean = 8.3; n = 4); body maximum width (between the elytral external borders): 6-8.1 mm (mean = 7.4; n = 4); pronotum length: 1.6-1.8 mm (mean = 1.7; n = 4); pronotum maximum width: 2.23-2.74 mm (mean = 2.55 mm; n = 4); head maximum width: 2.74-3.43 mm (mean = 3.17 mm; n = 4); elytra length: 4-5.5 mm (mean = 5 mm; n = 4). Marked variability in the density of the pilose tufts on the dorsal side of the abdomen was observed: the studied females present lighter yellowish brown pilosity than that of the male, with more numerous and denser tufts located on the small, rounded depressed areas of the integument, homogeneously distributed, giving it an irregular appearance. Female gonostyli as in Fig. 4E View Figure 4 .

Diagnosis and morphological comparisons.

Eurymeloe (B.) orobates is characterised morphologically, with respect to all the other species of the Eurymeloe Bolognaia , by the following combination of diagnostic traits: (1) body size small or medium (total length: 10-14 mm); (2) body integument entirely black, semi-glossy in appearance; (3) setation of the head, pronotum and elytra, short and decumbent, reddish brown, moderately dark, sometimes very dark (almost black) ventrally and on the legs; (4) setation of the central plates of the abdominal tergites yellowish red (some almost golden), longer and forming inconspicuous tufts; (5) antennae slender and long, surpassing the base of the pronotum when extended backwards; (6) head broadly rounded, with a weak and relatively short longitudinal median groove; (7) pronotum small, very transverse (more than 1.5 × wider than long), sub-hexagonal; (8) pronotal surface showing a weak and narrow depressed longitudinal-middle area, but without a marked groove; (9) punctation of the head and pronotum dense, forming rounded and markedly deep punctures; (10) elytral surface strongly rugose, corrugated, with marked foveoles; and (11) male genitalia with long gonostyli with no excavated or depressed areas in the distal regions and a narrow and long gonocoxal plate.

The species most similar to E. orobates are E. rugosus and E. apenninicus (both belonging to the group B or E. murinus group). Both species present dark (black or dark brown) pilosity all over the body and, on the abdominal tergites, some inconspicuous (usually barely perceptible) yellowish brown or yellow setae, but not tufts. In addition to the colour pattern of the body setation, E. rugosus and E. apenninicus differ from E. orobates by the shape of their pronotum, which is longer, less transverse, and flatter (less convex), and has a strong median longitudinal groove (absent in E. orobates ). The punctation of the head and pronotum are also markedly larger, deeper, and denser in E. rugosus and E. apenninicus (see Bologna 1988, 1991). In E. orobates , the antennae are slenderer and longer.

Within group B ( E. murinus group), in which E. (B.) orobates is integrated, the new species can be readily distinguished from E. (B.) baudueri (southern France, Iberian Peninsula, and northern Morocco), E. (B.) flavicomus (Canary Islands), E. (B.) ganglbaueri (mainland Italy, Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily, Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Turkey, Syria, Spain, and southern France), E. (B.) gomari (northern Morocco), E. (B.) kandaharicus (Iran and Afghanistan), E. (B.) murinus (Iberian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia, Corse, Crete, Maghreb, and Libya), E. (B.) nanus (Iberian Peninsula, North Africa, and Middle East), E. (B.) omanicus (eastern Arabian peninsula), and E. (B.) pallidicolor (western Morocco). For instance, in contrast to E. (B.) orobates , all these species present, among other specific traits, a body integument that is dull grey or dark brown, occasionally reddish brown or, rarely, sandy brown ( E. pallidicolor ) or almost black ( E. ganglbaueri ). In addition, the body integument is generally opaque or matte in appearance or, at most, silky (but never glossy or semi-glossy as in E. orobates ). The setation of these species is also quite distinct from that of E. orobates : it is yellowish, whitish, or golden all over the body and usually longer, and on the abdominal tergites, the tufts of setae, when present, are highly conspicuous (see Fig. 2 View Figure 2 ). Moreover, the punctation of the head and pronotum in these species is clearly finer and shallower, and the elytral sculpture is distinctly smoother (not corrugated) and without marked foveoles, except in E. ganglbaueri ; however, in this last species, the foveoles are clearly more attenuated than in E. orobates (see Kaszab 1958, 1983; Bologna 1988, 1991; Ruiz and García-París 2009, 2015).

Eurymeloe (B.) orobates differs from the species of group A ( E. mediterraneus group, composed of, at least, E. affinis from the Maghreb and Libya; E. apivorus and E. baamarani , which are restricted to Morocco; E. baudii from the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, and Croatia; E. glazunovi from Eastern Europe and Central Asia; and E. mediterraneus , which is widely distributed throughout Europe, the Mediterranean basin, the Canary Islands, and the Middle East) by presenting reddish brown body setation and abdominal tergites with small tufts of reddish yellow setae, among other diagnostic characters (see above). By contrast, the body pilosity, including on the abdominal tergites, of species of the E. mediterraneus group is black (see Bologna 1988, 1991; Ruiz and García-París 2015). The Sardinian specimens of E. mediterraneus with brown setae can clearly be distinguished from E. orobates by the shape of the pronotum: in the first species, it is subrectangular and has subparallel sides; in the second, it is markedly transverse and subhexagonal and has sides that converge backwards.

The only species in group C is E. (B.) fernandezi (endemic to the Canary Islands). In comparison with E. (B.) orobates , this species presents, among other distinctive characters, an entirely black body setation; a clearly longer, not transverse pronotum with sinuous margins; an integument surface with wrinkles and parallel ridges that form eddies; and an elytral sculpture consisting of a fine zig-zag roughness (see Pardo Alcaide 1951; Ruiz and García-París 2015). Lastly, the two species tentatively assigned to Bolognaia , E. (B.) saharensis (widely distributed throughout North Africa, the Canary Islands, the Iberian Peninsula, Israel, and Saudi Arabia) and E. (B.) vignai (only known from Djibouti), are phenetically very different to E. (B.) orobates : their body setation is entirely reddish and longer, without reddish yellow setae forming tufts on the abdominal tergites; a subsquare, not transverse pronotum; relatively fine, shallow, and scattered punctation of the head and pronotum; very long legs; elytra with a soft sculpture, without foveoles or marked roughness; and highly distinctive male genitalia ( Bologna 1988; Ruiz et al. 2010).

Distribution and notes on natural history.

Eurymeloe orobates is only known from a single locality, Puerto de la Quesera (in the province of Guadalajara, Spain) in the Iberian Peninsula (Fig. 6 View Figure 6 ). This site, which is at an elevation of 1738 m above sea level (a.s.l.), is within the supra-Mediterranean bioclimatic level (see Rivas-Martínez 1987; Rivas-Martínez et al. 2002). Specifically, Puerto de la Quesera is in the Sierra de Ayllón, at the eastern edge of the Sistema Central mountain range. This region is characterised predominantly by micaceous schist, slate and quartzite soils ( Rivas-Martínez et al. 1990; Vera 2004). Vegetation cover around Puerto de la Quesera consists of, at lower altitudes (below 1500 m a.s.l), deciduous oak forests of Quercus pyrenaica Willd. and, at higher altitudes (1500-1700 m a.s.l.), formations of Fagus sylvatica L. Above the deciduous tree cover level, there are shrubs such as Erica arborea L., Juniperus communis L., and Arctostaphyllos uva-ursi L., whereas grasslands dominate at altitudes over 1800 m a.s.l ( Ibáñez et al. 1982). Hostile climatic conditions including low temperatures, late spring frosts, and strong winds characterise the high-altitude areas ( Ibáñez et al. 1982). Furthermore, this region has been strongly altered by human activities (e.g., deforestation and overgrazing), particularly by the establishment of terraced pinewood plantations of Pinus sylvestris L. (Fig. 6A View Figure 6 ) ( Gil-García et al. 1995). In this region, adult specimens of E. orobates have been found actively wandering, under stones, and on tree barks, between November and May, usually in open areas or at the boundaries of the terraced plantations of P. sylvestris (authors, pers. obs.). Biological aspects of the new species remain unknown; however, we expect them to be similar to the ones described for other species of the E. murinus group ( Bologna 1988, 1991).

Etymology.

The specific epithet Eurymeloe orobates is derived from the Greek word " oros ", meaning mountain, and " bates ", meaning walker. This name alludes to the mountainous environment where the specimens of the new species were found, sometimes, wandering on mountain pastures and trails (Fig. 6B View Figure 6 ).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Coleoptera

Family

Meloidae

Genus

Eurymeloe