Lanelater andamanensis Chandran and Dubey, 2021

Chandran, Nithya & Dubey, Anil Kumar, 2021, A New Species of Lanelater Arnett (Coleoptera: Elateridae) from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, The Coleopterists Bulletin 75 (1), pp. 240-246 : 241-244

Lanelater andamanensis Chandran and Dubey , new species

zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:E1248B04-11C4-4FBF-80EB-502D3BFE59B9 ( Figs. 1–8 , 12–17 )

Differential Diagnosis. The new species closely resembles two species occurring on Sumatra ( Indonesia), Lanelater hageni (Candèze, 1887) , and Lanelater sobrinus (Candèze, 1887) . However, it can be distinguished by its elytral length 2.1 times longer than the combined width, whereas in L. hageni the elytra are 1.6 times, in L. sobrinus the elytra are 1.4 times, and in Lanelater laosensis Ôhira, 1970 from Laos the elytra are 2.7 times longer than their combined width. The genitalia of L. laosensis are similar to those of the new species; however, they can be separated by the shape of the median lobe, parameres, and phallobase (see Ôhira 1970). As compared to L. hageni and L. sobrinus , L. andamanensis is more pubescent, similar to Lanelater mucronatus (Candèze, 1857) from Borneo (Van Zwaluwenburg 1959), which, however, can be clearly be separated by having round spots on the dorsal surface of pronotum, the elytral apex prominently mucronate, and the metacoxal plate and genitalia of different shape. Additional characters by which the new species may be separated from the closely related species L. sobrinus are given in Table 1.

Description. Holotype, male ( Figs. 1–8 ): Body length 32.4 mm; width 9.9 mm; pronotum slightly convex; elytra 2.1 times as long as wide, body black, covered with light brown, dense, recumbent setae, antennal scape shiny black, remaining antennomeres brown, pubescence on antennomeres 1–3 same as that of body; antennomeres 4–11 with very fine, short setae and a few longer, erect apical setae; labrum covered with long, light brown setae. Head ( Figs. 4–5 ): 3.5 mm long, 4.3 mm wide, including eyes gradually declivous from vertex to frons, moderately concave beyond middle, weakly flattened and projected antero-medially; frontal carina smooth, shiny, glossy above antennal insertion; punctures denser, separated by a distance less than their own diameter. Mandible broader in basal half, narrowed towards apex, with closely arranged punctures in basal half, apex pointed, glabrous, with subapical blunt tooth. Labrum transverse, small, densely punctate. Antenna not reaching hind angle of pronotum, reach little anterior to procoxal cavity at rest; antennomere 1 long, thicker and wider towards apex with shallow dense punctures similar to that of head; antennomere 2 smallest, nearly square; antennomeres 4–10 serrate; antennomere 11 elongate and abruptly constricted at apical third; antennomere 1, 2.3 times longer than antennomere 3 and 1.9 times longer than antennomere 4. Pronotum ( Fig. 5 ): Length 9.0 mm; width 9.2 mm, about as wide as long, slightly convex medially, more convex near medio-anterior margin, gradually narrowed anteriorly; base widest, dorsal median line smooth, prescutellar tubercle moderately developed, side nearly straight and continuous with hind angle; hind angle moderately divergent and nearly rounded, with sublateral carina extending 3/4 of its length, carina visible in dorsal aspect; punctures near smooth midline separated by a distance equal to their own diameter and towards margin larger and denser, separated by a distance less than their own diameter. Hypomeron and prosternum ( Fig. 6 ): Hypomeron punctures similar to those of pronotal margin; notosternal suture sulcate up to anterior 242 margin of procoxae for reception of antennae, margin sloping downward; prosternal disc puncshallow impression present at posterior margin for tures separated by distance more than their own reception of protarsi; inner margin straight up to 1/3 diameter and denser towards margin, separated by length and weakly concave medially; posterior distance less than own diameter; elongate shallow groove present at base of prosternal process medially between procoxae; prosternal lobe weakly developed and arcuate without groove at base. Scutellar shield ( Fig. 7 ): Pentagonal, as long as wide (length: 1.5 mm; width: 1.4 mm); margin weakly arched inward, basal half weakly concave and apical half slightly convex. Mesoventrite: Punctures shallowly impressed, inner margin of mesoventral cavity elongate, sides parallel, U-shaped posteriorly, posterior margin straight; mesocoxal cavity open to both mesepimeron and mesanepisternum. Metaventrite: Finely punctate medially, punctures separated by distance more than their own diameter towards margin, denser, separated by distance almost equal to their own diameter and smaller than those on pronotal margin; basal portion of metacoxal plate wide, gradually narrowed laterally, posterior margin slightly emarginate medially. Elytra: Elongate, together 2.1 times as long as wide, widest near basal 1/3, sides nearly parallel up to basal 1/3, then gradually narrowed, shallowly emarginate, not broad, with weakly mucronate apex, outer spine more prominent than inner (sutural) spine; anterior margin of elytral base procurved; punctures near base and suture fine, shallow, separated by distance more than their own diameter and deeper and larger toward margin and apex, punctures toward apex separated by distance similar to that of their own diameter; interstriae flattened, with fine, shallow punctures separated by distance more than their own diameter. Legs: Femora stout; tibiae slender, with two asymmetrical tibial spurs; tarsal claws at base each with two long setae; tarsomeres ventrally covered with short, dense, brush-like setae. Abdomen: Ventrites with punctures fine and sparse at middle, separated by distance more than their diameters; larger and denser toward margin, separated by distance nearly equal to their diameter; last ventrite obtuse apically; intercoxal process pointed at apex; abdominal tergite VIII ( Fig. 12 ) 1.1 times as wide as long, widest at base with wide V-shaped notch, finely punctate towards margin and covered with moderately dense, long setae, apex rounded; sternite VIII ( Fig. 14 ) 2.2 times as wide as long, widest at base, membranous in middle, surface finely punctulate except medially, setae arising from punctures, distributed along margin, apex distinctly emarginate; tergites IX–X ( Fig. 14 ) closely articulated, tergite IX widest at base, weakly emarginate, 2.1 times as wide as long, apex deeply emarginate; tergite X a small plate attached to IX, anterior margin sinuate, posterior margin terminating in pointed apex; sternites IX and X ( Fig. 15 ) closely articulated, elongate, anterior half membranous, sternite IX 2.0 times as long as wide, anterio-lateral margin darkened, band-like, anterior margin shallowly emarginate medially, posterior margin rounded, sternite X formed by two darkened elongate plates connected medially by membrane. Male genitalia ( Figs. 16–17 ): Phallobase broad and round; paramere with lateral margin nearly straight, slight bent near distal 1/3, apex truncate with weak subapical lateral tooth and surface with a few long setae; median lobe 1.2× longer than paramere, abruptly tapering near distal 1/3, apex pointed with basal strut reaching near paramere base.

Type Material. Holotype, male. INDIA: Andaman Islands : South Andaman District: Little Andaman, light house road bridge, near sea shore, at light, 9.ix.2018, 10°32.579 0 N, 92°32.352 0 E, A. K. Dubey (deposited in the National Zoological Collection, ZSI, Kolkata, India) . Paratypes. 3♂♂, data same as for holotype. No females were collected .

Distribution. India: Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Little Andaman.

Etymology. The species is named after the type locality, the Andaman Islands.

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Figures

Figs. 1–8. Lanelater andamanensis, new species, male. Habitus: 1) Dorsal; 2) Ventral; 3) Lateral. 4) Head, anterior view; 5) Head and pronotum, dorsal view; 6) Pronotum, ventral view; 7) Scutellar shield; 8) Meso- and metaventrite.

Figs. 12–17. Lanelater andamanensis, new species, male. 12) Tergite VIII; 13) Tergites IX and X; 14) Sternite VIII; 15) Sternites IX and X. Aedeagus: 16) Dorsal; 17) Ventral. Scale bars = 1 mm.