Gonocnemis schawalleri, Bremer & Grimm, 2017

Bremer, Hans J. & Grimm, Roland, 2017, The species of Gonocnemis and Paragonocnemis from Borneo with notes on synonymy in the Oriental species (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae (Acta. Ent. Mus. Natl. Pragae) 57 (2), pp. 331-343 : 338-339

Gonocnemis schawalleri sp. nov.

( Fig. 1a )

Type material. HOLOTYPE: sex not determined, Borneo, Sabah, Poring Hot Springs , 450–600 m, 9.–11.iii.2007, W. Schawaller leg. ( SMNS).

Description. Body length 3.42 mm, body width 1.44 mm. Ratios: pronotum length / width 1.04, elytra length / width 1.64, length elytra / length pronotum 2.54, width elytra / width pronotum 1.48. Upper side brown, somewhat lustrous; underside with fatty lustre, legs lighter brown than upper side; antennae brown.

Head. Eyes touch each other in anterior part, behind that they are somewhat separated (not more than diameter of one ocellus). Genae mostly surrounded by eyes, short, ascending to their rounded lateral margins; in middle separated by narrow valley-like incision; vertically descending part is trough-like with width equal to length of antennomere II. Fronto-clypeal suture impressed. Labrum lighter brown than surroundings, flat, semicircular. Mandibles apically bifid. Mentum reversely trapezoidal, with low median carina. Underside of neck microreticulated, with well separated punctures of medium size. Antennae of medium length, reaching over 2/5 of elytra; antennomeres VIII–X drop-shaped, penultimate antennomere longer than wide (as 10: 7), antennomere XI apically pointed.

Pronotum nearly as wide as long, widest near middle, anteriorly roundly narrowed, posteriorly scarcely narrowed but allusively sinuate in front of hind corners; hind corners acute; anterior margin nearly straight; base bi-sinusoidal; disc slightly convex except for shallow impression in front of scutellum and flattened areas near hind corners; surface with very dense, mostly fused punctation, punctures with ground microreticulated, bearing yellow hairs of medium size which are inclined backwards.

Scutellum semicircular.

Elytra somewhat elongate oval, with sides slightly widened towards shortly behind middle; intervals 1–4 slightly elevated but not carinate on disc (only near base), intervals 5–8 carinate; carinae on each side with one row of short, slightly caudad inclined yellow hairs; between intervals rows of relatively large, but on disc not very marked punctures.

Prosternum. Episterna and central part of prosternum separated by longitudinal carina. Prosternal process relatively narrow between procoxae, with median groove, behind procoxae further narrowed to pointed apex and regularly bent downwards.

Mesoventrite with frontal part depressed and strongly microreticulated; hind part narrowed towards base, its anterior margin markedly excavated in middle.

Metaventrite. Disc separated into two somewhat convex lateral parts by broadly impressed median line. Surface closely punctured, with semi-erect hairs of medium length.

Ventrites closely punctured, with mostly recumbent hairs (on ventrite V hairs parallel and directed caudad).

Legs short; profemora with large tooth; protibiae somewhat bent in their basal 2/5, thence broadened on inner side towards apex; mesotibiae slightly arcuate on outer sides; metatibiae nearly straight on outer sides.

Differential diagnosis. Pronotum nearly as long as wide, closely punctured; lateral margins in front of hind corners of pronotum are allusively emarginate. Elytra with one row of well visible hairs on each side of elevated or carinate intervals. Basal 2/5 of protibiae moderately bent.

Based on size, body shape, coloration and form of antennae G. schawalleri sp. nov. should be differentiated from G. sumatrensis Pic, 1915 . The holotype of G. schawalleri is smaller than the majority of specimens of G. sumatrensis (3.42 vs. 3.35–5.02 mm; more than 20 specimens examined), the greatest width of pronotum of G. sumatrensis is in the middle, and towards hind corners the sides are conspicuously narrowing; in G. schawalleri they are scarcely narrowing (but somewhat sinuate in front of hind corners); the hairs on both sides of elytral carinae are shorter in G. schawalleri than in G. sumatrensis , this is especially obvious in the apical region. Colouration and form of antennae are nearly identical in both species.

Etymology. Named in honour of Dr. Wolfgang Schawaller (Stuttgart, Germany), specialist in Tenebrionidae and collector of the holotype.

Distribution. Malaysia: Sabah.

Figures

Figs 1a–4b.Gonocnemis spp. 1a–4a – habitus, dorsal views; 2b–4b – aedeagi, dorsal views.1a – Gonocnemis schawalleri sp. nov. 2a, 2b – G. fouquei sp. nov. 3a, 3b – G. borneensis Ardoin, 1964. 4a, 4b – G. sumatrensis Pic, 1915.