Dendrochilus udzungwae Jordal, 2021

Jordal, Bjarte H., 2021, Revision of Dendrochilus (Coleoptera, Scolytinae) - with description of two new species from Tanzania, Zootaxa 4969 (3), pp. 587-593 : 592

Dendrochilus udzungwae Jordal , sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:90A04C3F-06E6-432C-A69D-D4BBBDE4E858

( Figs 4 , 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13 , 14, 16 )

Type material. Holotype female: Tanzania, Morogoro Province, Sanje [Udzungwa National Park, 1500m a.s.l.], GIS: -7.725, 36.872, ex small twig (6vii-4), 6. July 2010, B. Jordal leg. Allotype male, and paratypes (6): same data as holotype. Holotype, allotype and four paratypes in ZMUB , two paratypes in NHMW .

Diagnosis. Length 1.2–1.3 mm; eyes separated above by> 2.5 × their width; antennal scapus with dorsal tuft of setae longer than antennal club; vestiture on elytra consisting of rows of hair-like interstrial setae on disc, spatulate setae on declivity; apical extension on last abdominal ventrite in females longer than broad.

Description female. Length 1.2–1.3 mm, 2.8–2.9 × as long as wide; colour dark brown to black. Head. Frons convex, vestiture of scant long setae directed inwards; eyes entire, separated above by 2.5–2.8 × the width of an eye; antennal scapus longer than wide, slightly triangular towards apex, broader than pedicel, with a broad tuft of dorsal setae which are slightly longer than length of club; funiculus 5-segmented; club flattened, smooth and shiny, about two times as long as broad, sides subparallel or broader on apical half, with fine setae along lateral and apical margin. Pronotum hunchbacked, summit at middle; anterior half with dense, small asperities, surface subreticulate, punctures shallow, few; vestiture consisting of fine hair-like setae. Elytra parallel-sided for three-quarters of its length, narrowly rounded behind; striae not impressed, punctures shallow, in part obscure; vestiture consisting of erect setae on each interstria, hair-like on disc and spatulate on declivity, and fine, short, recumbent strial setae. Scutellum flat, flush with elytra. Ventrites. Last abdominal ventrite apically bottleneck-shaped, cylindrical, the cylindrical part longer than broad. Vestiture on meso- and metaventrite consisting of scattered long, unifid setae.

Legs. Procoxae contiguous. Protibiae narrow, twisted, with three socketed teeth just inside the apical margin, mucro much larger, curved posterolaterally. Metatibiae narrow, parallel-sided, apical margin transverse with three apical socketed teeth.

Male. Similar to female except slightly stouter, 2.7 × as long as wide, frons with only few setae, antennal scapus not inflated, with few dorsal setae, anterior margin of pronotum with two small and closely set tubercles, and the interstriae on posterolateral areas of elytra with sharp interstrial granules.

Etymology. The species name is a noun in apposition based on the mountain range Udzungwa.

Biology and distribution. Only known from the type locality in Tanzania located at medium high altitude in the Udzungwa Mountains where it was dissected from a thin branch of an unknown tree .

Remarks. This species was included in a previous phylogenetic analysis of Micracidini as Dendrochilus sp A ( Jordal 2021) . It is not easily distinguished from D. tener but differs by the larger size and much more widely separated eyes. Size differences may be due to altitude because specimens living at higher altitudes often grow larger ( Jordal 1998). The two species are nevertheless clearly different genetically by 4 base substitutions in 28S (0.6 %), 4 bases in PABP1 (1.0 %), 11 bases in CAD (2.6 %), and 82 bases in COI (11.9 %). Genetic variation between the two species is higher than accepted for variation within scolytine species ( Andersen et al. 2012; Cognato 2006; Cognato et al. 2020; Cognato et al. 2019; Jordal & Tischer 2020; Jordal & Kambestad 2014).

Figures

FIGURES 1–4. Dorsal, lateral and front views of Dendrochilus strombosiopsis (1–3), and dorsal view of last abdominal ventrite of Dendrochilus udzungwae (4).

FIGURES 5–13. Dorsal, lateral and front view of Dendrochilus tener female (5, 8, 11); Dendrochilus udzungwae female (6, 9, 12), and male (7, 10, 13).

FIGURES 14–17. Proventriculus (left) and male genitalia (right) of Dendrochilus udzungwae (14, 16) and Dendrochilus tener (15, 17). The flagellum is released in D. udzungwae and coiled in D. tener.