Stenurella (Priscostenurella) afyoncayensis, Şimşek & Türkmen & Sert, 2024

Şimşek, Burcu Şabanoğlu, Türkmen, Senem Özdemir & Sert, Osman, 2024, Faunistic and systematic studies on the Lepturini (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae, Lepturinae) in the Aegean region of Türkiye, Zootaxa 5541 (2), pp. 163-184 : 170-174

Stenurella (Priscostenurella) afyoncayensis sp.n.

Figure 5 A–B urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:1E9DD1FE-7810-49FA-9626-D35F1659EC62

Type Material: Holotype, TÜRKİYE: 1♂, Afyonkarahisar province, Çay, Sultan mountain road , 38°33'28,4"N, 31°01'40,4"E, 1310 m, 05.VII.2019 ( HUZOM) , Paratypes, 2♀ 6♂, same data as holotype, Leg. B. Şabanoğlu, S. Özdemir, O. Sert. Specimens are preserved in Burcu Şabanoğlu ŞimŞek’s personal collection in Hacettepe University Zoology Museum ( HUZOM), Ankara, Türkiye .

Description: Body black; 8.5-10.5 mm ( Fig. 5 ); head and pronotum black, vertex orange, elytra black with orange transverse bands, abdomen reddish, legs brownish-black or brownish-red, antennae brownish-black.

Head triangular shaped, shorter than width, along with eyes, wider than the apex of pronotum, with orangeish-yellow dense pubescence; eyes distinctly away from the bases of mandibles, ommatidia coarse; antennae 11-segmented, slender, long, reaching the distal part of the elytra, 3 rd and 4 th antennomer longer than the 5 th together.

Pronotum trapezoidal shaped, 1.24 times longer than width, hind angles extented into distinct spines, punctuation moderately dense, not contiguous, with yellow, not erect hairs.

Elytra with orange bands ( Fig. 5 A ), 2.03-2.58 times longer than width, punctuation coarse, moderately dense, apex of each elytron emarginate, upper side with yellow pubescence.

3 rd tarsi of hind legs deeply bilobed.

Abdomen distinctly narrowed from base to apex.

Underside of body with yellow dense hairs.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 6 f, i ): Total length of aedeagus 3mm. Median lobe distinctly curved especially along the struts in lateral view, median struts separated up to medial, dorsal part of the median lobe almost reaches to the ventral part. Median lobe narrowed from base to apex. Median lobe with a triangular apex, a rounded and broadly tapared median orifice, and rounded edge of the median foramen. Tegmen without a roof part. Lateral lobes of tegmen almost parallel, separated from each other, 3.07 times longer than width, slightly narrowed toward apex with long, orange colored hairs at apex. Ring part almost parallel from medio-proximal to apex, narrowed and curved medio-proximally.

Spermatheca ( Fig. 6 c ): Spermatheca 0.25 mm, chitinized, with a “c” shaped body, slightly bulging at the base, and tapering into an elongated apex. The neck part is very lightly chitinized, almost membranous.

Etymology: The new species is named after the province where it was collected.

Distribution: The species is known only from the type locality, Afyonkarahisar-Çay.

Biology: The specimens were collected on the herbaceous vegetation near the creek with the insect net.

Differential Diagnosis: The genus Stenurella was described by Villiers (1974), with Leptura melanura Linnaeus, 1758 , as the type species by original designation. According to Danilevsky (2020), there are nine species distributed in Europe and six species distributed in Türkiye. In this study, three species have been identified, including the newly described species belonging to the genus.

The following characteristics are used to identify the genus: body elongate; eyes distinctly separated from the bases of the mandibles; 3 rd and 4 th antennomer longer than the 5 th together; prothorax, in lateral view, with a straight line or a slight or indistinct angle in front of the coxal articulation; pronotum evenly rounded behind the front margin; segment 3 of the hind tarsi relatively short and deeply bilobed; elytra distinctly more than twice as long as wide, with truncated or emarginated apices; and the hind angles of the pronotum extending into distinct spines ( Bense, 1995).

According to Özdikmen(2013), Stenurella is divided into six subgenera and seven species groups. Iberostenurella , Crassostenurella , and Nigrostenurella are distinguished from the other subgenera by having a shallower transverse depression on the posterior part of the head, whereas the other subgenera have a deeper depression. Each of these three subgenera is represented by a single species. While Iberostenurella and Crassostenurella are restricted to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, Nigrostenurella is widespread across the Palearctic region. Nigrostenurella and Crassostenurella are separated from Iberostenurella by the absence of erect hairs on the pronotum and by having truncated elytral apices. Nigrostenurella is differentiated from Crassostenurella by its entirely black elytra, whereas Crassostenurella has brownish-red elytra. The other subgenera— Stenurelloides, Stenurella , and Priscostenurella — are distinguished by characteristics of the elytra, abdomen, and legs. In Stenurelloides, the elytral apex is more or less rounded, while in Stenurella and Priscostenurella it is truncated or emarginated. Stenurella , with its entirely black abdomen and legs, is separated from Priscostenurella , which has an abdomen that is entirely or partially reddish or yellowish, and legs that are black or at least partially reddish or brownish-yellow.

Two species groups can be recognized within the subgenus Priscostenurella : the septempunctata group and the bifasciata group. These groups can be distinguished from each other by the characteristics of the elytra: the septempunctata group has yellowish elytra with black or darkened areas, while the bifasciata group has reddish elytra with black or darkened areas. The new species appears closer to the septempunctata group due to the yellowish bands on the black elytra. Two species in the septempunctata group are S. septempunctata and S. vaucheri . The new species differs from S. vaucheri by its orange vertex while appearing more similar to S. septempunctata . Additionally, S. vaucheri is only distributed in Spain and northern Morocco. Two subspecies of S. septempunctata — S. septempunctata septempunctata and S. septempunctata latenigra —are distinguished by pronotal coloration. The new species is more similar to S. septempunctata latenigra due to its black pronotum.

Although the elytral pattern can vary, the reduction in pattern seen in the new species, which features orangishyellow bands on a black background, is only otherwise seen in Stenurella vaucheri , according to the literature ( Urbano et al., 2013) Furthermore, according to Sama (2002), the legs of species in the septempunctata group are partially or entirely red, while the legs of the new species are brownish-black or brownish-red. Additionally, Especially in females, the punctation of the elytra particularly in the basal region, shows larger distances between the pits and smaller pit diameters compared to S. septempunctata latenigra . Scutellum, densely covered with hairs from base to apex, distinguishes the new species from S. septempunctata latenigra , which has a sparser covering of hairs.

The new species is also discussed in terms of aedeagus and spermatheca. Stenurella afyoncayensis sp.n. is easily distinguished from S. septempunctata latenigra , particularly by the characteristics of the spermatheca, the hairs at the apex of the lateral lobes of tegmen, and the dorsal part of the median lobe in lateral view. Additionally, S. bifasciata ( Fig. 6 a, d, g ) is represented to evaluate the variation within the genus. When comparing the spermathecae of S. bifasciata , S. septempunctata latenigra , and S. afyoncayensis sp. nov., distinct morphological differences are observed, which can be used for species identification within the genus ( Fig. 6 ). Notable features include the curvature of the apex of the spermatheca in relation to the basal part, the bulging of the basal part, the degree of chitinization of the neck ( Fig. 6 a, b, c ). When analyzing the tegmen and median lobe of the aedeagus, differences in the lengths of the dorsal and ventral parts of the median lobe apex are evident. In S. septempunctata latenigra , the dorsal part of the median lobe extends to two-thirds the length of the ventral part, whereas in S. afyoncayensis sp. nov., the dorsal part is nearly as long as the ventral part ( Fig. 6 e, f ). Furthermore, in S. afyoncayensis sp. nov., the hairs at the apex of the lateral lobes are thinner and longer, distinguishing it from S. septempunctata latenigra ( Fig. 6 h, i ).

Figures

FIGURE 5. Habitus and elytral variations of Stenurella afyoncayensis sp. nov.; and comparison of B. Stenurella afyoncayensis sp. nov. with C. S. septempunctata latenigra. All specimens were collected from Afyonkarahisar province, Çay, Sultan mountain.

FIGURE 6. Spermatheca and male genitalia a. Stenurella bifasciata, b. Stenurella septempunctata latenigra, c. Stenurella afyoncayensis sp.n