Scolytodes simplex Jordal & Kirkendall

Jordal, Bjarte H. & Kirkendall, Lawrence R., 2019, Rainforest and cloud forest Scolytodes (Curculionidae, Scolytinae, Hexacolini) from the Arthropods of La Selva inventory in Costa Rica: new species, new synonymy, new records, ZooKeys 863, pp. 1-34 : 1

Scolytodes simplex Jordal & Kirkendall sp. nov. Figs 3, 6, 9

Type material.

Holotype, female: Costa Rica, Cartago, km 89 PanAmHighway, Cerro de la Muerte, 3300 m, 10.II.1996-002A, R. Anderson, elfin bamboo forest litter. Paratype: same data as holotype, except Cerro Buenavista, 3200 m, 09°33'N, 83°45'30"W, 18.VI.1998, R. Anderson, elfin bamboo/ mixed subparamo litter 98-102D (1). Holotype and paratype deposited in USNM.

Diagnosis.

Interstriae 10 carinate to level of metacoxae; protibiae broad with an additional mesal tooth near base of tooth 2. Similar to S. venustulus Wood, but is much larger, with shiny pronotum punctured to anterior margin, and finer elytral setae. Also rather similar to S. radiatus Wood, 1977, but differs by having much smaller punctures on pronotum and elytral striae, and the presence of setae in the female frons. Differs from S. clusiae Wood, 1969 by the smooth and shiny pronotum, the female frons is less setose without impressed area, and by the distinct, albeit tiny, interstrial punctures.

Description female.

Length 1.9-2.0 mm, 2.1-2.2 × as long as wide; color black. Head. Eyes entire, separated above by 2.9-3.0 × their width. Frons convex, slightly bulging near upper level of eyes, flat below and level with epistoma; surface smooth, densely punctured on median half from just above level of antennal insertion to epistoma, shiny and impunctate above, with scattered punctures on vertex. Vestiture consisting of scant short fine setae on lower half. Antennal club with two slightly procurved sutures marked by short, coarse, setae, segment 1 and 2 rather large, corneous, suture 1 constricted; funiculus 5-segmented. Pronotum shiny, with deep, variably sized punctures spaced by 1-3 × their diameter. Vestiture consisting of 4 long, semi-erect, fine setae (4 –0– 0) and some fine, recumbent, setae along the anterior margin. Elytra generally smooth and shiny; striae not impressed, punctures shallow, tiny, appears elongated but composed by two punctures in one, each pair separated in rows by less than their length; interstriae 4 × as wide as striae, punctures of same size as in striae, much more and irregularly separated, mainly in rows. Interstriae 10 carinate to level of metacoxae. Vestiture consisting of about 20 erect setae of variable length on odd-numbered interstriae, and minute, recumbent setae in striae and interstriae. Legs. Procoxae separated by 0.5 × and mesocoxae 1.0 × the width of one procoxa. Protibiae broad distally, lateral teeth 1 and 2 of similar size, tooth 2 exposed, socketed, with 4-6 additional small, sharp spines or granules along the lateral edge towards base; an additional mesal tooth present near base of tooth 2; protibial mucro curved posterio-laterally. Meso- and metatibiae with 5 and 6 lateral, socketed teeth on distal half and third, respectively. Ventral vestiture. Setae on metanepisternum and metasternum simple, with some occasional bifid setae; on mesanepisternum strongly plumose. Sclerolepidia large, scale-like.

Male.

Presumably similar to the female.

Key

( Wood 1982). Keys to couplet 25a, S. radiatus , but differs as noted in the diagnosis.

Etymology.

The Latin name simplex is an invariable adjective meaning plain or simple, in the sense of lacking ornaments, referring to the ordinary female frons.

Biology and distribution.

This species is only known from two nearby locations at very high altitude in Costa Rica. Two specimens were sifted from mixed bamboo and elfin forest litter.