Meira medae, Pierotti & Bellò & Alonso-Zarazaga, 2010

Pierotti, Helio, Bellò, Cesare & Alonso-Zarazaga, Miguel A., 2010, 2376, Zootaxa 2376, pp. 1-96 : 14

Meira medae sp. n.

( Figs. 2a, 4b, 13a–b, 49c, 69)

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:8DD2B128-6196-4338-AAFB-DE14FBE214AF

Diagnosis. Species of small size (2.8–3.9 mm), easily recognisable by the characters in the key, very similar to M. crassicornis Jacquelin du Val, 1853 from southern France (Hérault, Gard, Ardèche), from which it is readily distinguishable by its shorter elytral setae and shape of the hemisternites.

Description. Dorsal vestiture composed of ochreous scales, strongly imbricate, with metallic shimmer; setae on elytral interstriae not very dense, suberect, aligned, narrow on dorsum and on declivity, elongate, not or hardly widened at apex. Rostrum transverse, epistomal keel present, pterygia very prominent; prorostrum high; frontal sulcus evident. Frons not or hardly lower than prorostrum, wide, with a median fovea. Eyes normal, rather flattened in front, elongate, prominent beyond the genae, with a glabrous periocular sulcus. Antennae with scape very robust, rather incrassate from base to apex; funicle ( Fig. 4b) short and extremely robust, not or hardly narrower than scape, desmomeres 2–7 strongly transverse, all with elongate, narrow setae, at least the first 6 also with setae visibly widened and truncate at apex; club short and robust, not or hardly wider than funicle, first segment widely cup-shaped. Pronotum weakly transverse, moderately sinuate at sides, disc with irregular punctures completely covered by scales. Elytra subovoid, elongate, weakly rounded at sides, hardly depressed at base, convex on dorsum, with humeral calli more (male) or less (female) obsolete, striae with close punctures and interstriae almost flat, very finely punctate. Tibiae short and robust, protibiae on outer margin curved inwards before apex ( Fig. 2a). Aedeagus in lateral view weakly arcuate, in dorsal view shortly and weakly tricuspidate at apex ( Fig. 13a). Hemisternites as in Fig. 13b; spermatheca as in Fig. 49c.

Etymology. The specific epithet is the genitive of the name of the island (Meda), where this species was captured.

Distribution. Iberian endemite: north-eastern Spain: Meda Pequeña I. ( Fig. 69). On the facing Catalonian coast this species seems to be replaced by Meira gerundana .

Material examined. Holotype male: Islas Medas, Meda Pequeña, Estartit (Gerona), 1.4. 62 F. Español det. (sic!) ( GON); paratypes: do., 21. V.61, F. Español leg. (1 MBA); do. 1.4. 62 F. Español det. [sic!] (6 GON); do., 22. V.61, D. Salza leg. (1 GON); do., 30.X.61, F. Español (3 GON); Meda xica (Gerona), 1.IV.62, F. Español (14 MBA); Meda xica, Estartit, 1.IV.62, F. Español (11 MBA, 3 BEL, 3 PIE); Estartit Meda xica, 21. V.61 (5 MBA).