Cryptolarynx pyrophilus Haran, 2023

Haran, Julien M., Marvaldi, Adriana E., Benoit, Laure, Oberlander, Kenneth, Stals, Riaan & Oberprieler, Rolf G., 2023, Revision of the enigmatic South African Cryptolaryngini (Coleoptera, Curculionidae), with description of a new genus and twenty-two new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 877 (1), pp. 1-89 : 39-42

11. Cryptolarynx pyrophilus Haran sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:93795B58-0E02-4471-8486-42670DD6458A

Figs 1K , 2K , 3K , 4K , 5K , 7C , 8B–C

Differential diagnosis

Cryptolarynx pyrophilus sp. nov. can be distinguished from other species of the genus by its very wide forehead (2× as wide as width of an eye) and by the suberect scales on the epifrons. It is most similar to C. cederbergensis sp. nov., the two species showing interspecific genetic distances ranging from 20.9% to 23.3% for COI and 5.2 % for EF1 among the specimens available for study.

Etymology

The species was named in reference to the migration of specimens towards recently burnt areas observed in this species, formed from combining the Greek nouns ‘ pyr ’ (‘fire’) and ‘ philia ’ (‘affection’). The specific epithet is an adjective in the masculine form.

Material examined

Holotype REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA • ♂; “ REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA. Western Cape Province, Montagu [4 km SE]. 23.ix.2018. J. Haran leg.” “ 33.814° S 20.151° E, Oxalis spp. JHAR01528_0101. Cirad-CBGP coll.” “Holotype. Cryptolarynx pyrophilus . Haran 2023”; SAMC.

Paratypes REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA – Western Cape • 2 ♂♂, 17 specs (preserved in ethanol); same collection data as for holotype; CBGP • 1 ♀; Montagu ; [33.79° S, 20.12° E]; 1–24 Oct. 1924; R.E. Turner leg.; 466; NHMUK • 1 ♀; Hex River Valley ; [ca 33.43° S, 19.72° E]; Jun. 1883; SANC .

Description (♂)

MEASUREMENTS. Body length 1.5–4.5 mm.

COLOUR AND VESTITURE. Body integument black, antennae and tarsi reddish. Dorsal vestiture (pronotum + elytra) consisting of overlapping, recumbent, parallel-sided clothing scales, 2–3 × as long as wide, truncate or rounded at apex; colour of scales varying from creamy-white to pale brown to dark brown; white scales concentrated in two longitudinal stripes laterally on pronotum and on elytral interstriae 4, creating a broad, dark medial stripe on pronotum and basal ⅔ of elytra; white scales forming a pair of spots surrounded by black scales on interstriae 3 at apical ⅔ of elytral length; scales of striae recumbent, in lateral view not distinct from rest of vestiture.

HEAD. Forehead very wide, 1.3 × as wide as epifrons near antennal insertions, 2 × as wide as width of an eye, scales recumbent. Eyes convex, in dorsal view slightly exceeding outline of head, surrounded by a ring of short pale scales, on forehead directed towards occiput; distance between eye and scrobe as large as width of antennal club. Epifrons with distance between antennal insertions 0.75× length of scape, scales at least 2× as long as wide, suberect, contiguous. Frons with a single pair of erect lateral setae. Epistome with single elongate median seta. Antennal funicles with segment 1 elongate; 2 shorter, at most 1.5× as long as wide; 3–4 globular, isodiametric, compressed, slightly angular on inside; 5–6 globular, isodiametric; 7 wider than long.

PRONOTUM. Transverse (W:L ratio 1.4), widest near midlength, sides arcuate; apex slightly narrower than base.

ELYTRA. Broadly ovate, slightly wider than long (W:L ratio 1.1), sides convex, widest near midlength.

LEGS. Tibiae with apical mucro; protibiae with outer margin straight, inner margin bisinuate; metatibiae with inner setal fringe, the setae shorter than segment 5 of metatarsus. Tarsi with segment 2 wider than long.

ABDOMEN. Ventrite 1 concave medially; ventrites 1–4 with creamy-white plumose scales, almost concealing integument, intermixed with long suberect scales; ventrite 5 devoid of scales in apical half, there bearing only erect setae.

TERMINALIA. Body of penis elongate (W:L ratio 0.3–0.4), as long as temones, sides subparallel, converging in apical third; curvature in profile weak and regular, dorsoventrally narrowed before apex. Copulatory sclerite shaped like a reversed plunger. Parameroid lobes separate, divided by deep median notch, each lobe broad, bearing a series of long setae directed apicad. Spiculum gastrale with basal arms long, regularly curved.

Sexual dimorphism

The sexes can be distinguished by the shape of the elytra (wider than long in male, longer than wide, more broadly ovate in female), and females also have a wider forehead and smaller metatibial mucrones.

Life history

Large numbers of adults of C. pyrophilus sp. nov. were collected in and close to a recently burnt area (seven months prior to sampling), at the bases of emerging Oxalis pes-caprae L. plants; see the subsection Behaviour below for details. The heat tolerance of this species was assessed in a comparative study of weevils associated with fire-prone ecosystems, but the adults showed a lower tolerance to heat than those of C. variabilis sp. nov. ( Javal et al. 2022). Adults were collected in September and October.

Distribution

The species occurs in the inland valleys of Montagu and the Hex River ( Fig. 13 ).

Figures

Fig. 1 (Part I) (next page). Habitus of males of species of Cryptolarynx Van Schalkwyk, 1966 (dorsal view). A. C. vitis (Marshall, 1957). B. C. subglaber Haran sp. nov. C. C. squamulatus Haran sp. nov. D. C. muellerae Haran sp. nov. E. C. hirtulus Haran sp. nov. F. C. robustus Haran sp. nov. G. C. namaquanus Haran sp. nov. H. C. carinatus Haran sp. nov. I. C. variabilis Haran sp. nov. J. C. estriatus (Marshall, 1957). K. C. pyrophilus Haran sp. nov. L. C. pilipes Haran sp. nov. Not to scale.

Fig. 2 (Part I) (next page). Male genitalia of species of Cryptolarynx Van Schalkwyk, 1966. Penis in dorsal and lateral view (left), tegmen in dorsal view (middle) and details of apex of a parameroid lobe and spiculum gastrale in dorsal view (right). A. C. vitis (Marshall, 1957). B. C. subglaber Haran sp. nov. C. C. squamulatus Haran sp. nov. D. C. muellerae Haran sp. nov. E. C. hirtulus Haran sp. nov. F. C. robustus Haran sp. nov. G. C. namaquanus Haran sp. nov. H. C. carinatus Haran sp. nov. I. C. variabilis Haran sp. nov. J. C. estriatus (Marshall, 1957). K. C. pyrophilus Haran sp. nov. L. C. pilipes Haran sp. nov. Not to scale.

Fig. 3 (Part I) (next page). Habitus of males of species of Cryptolarynx Van Schalkwyk, 1966 (lateral view). A. C. vitis (Marshall, 1957). B. C. subglaber Haran sp. nov. C. C. squamulatus Haran sp. nov. D. C. muellerae Haran sp. nov. E. C. hirtulus Haran sp. nov. F. C. robustus Haran sp. nov. G. C. namaquanus Haran sp. nov. H. C. carinatus Haran sp. nov. I. C. variabilis Haran sp. nov. J. C. estriatus (Marshall, 1957). K. C. pyrophilus Haran sp. nov. L. C. pilipes Haran sp. nov. Not to scale.

Fig. 4 (Part I) (next page). Head of males of species of Cryptolarynx Van Schalkwyk, 1966. A. C. vitis (Marshall, 1957). B. C. subglaber Haran sp. nov. C. C. squamulatus Haran sp. nov. D. C. muellerae Haran sp. nov. E. C. hirtulus Haran sp. nov. F. C. robustus Haran sp. nov. G. C. namaquanus Haran sp. nov. H. C. carinatus Haran sp. nov. I. C. variabilis Haran sp. nov. J. C. estriatus (Marshall, 1957). K. C. pyrophilus Haran sp. nov. L. C. pilipes Haran sp. nov. Not to scale.

Fig. 5 (Part I). Ventrites of males of species of Cryptolarynx Van Schalkwyk, 1966. A. C. vitis (Marshall, 1957). B. C. subglaber Haran sp. nov. C. C. squamulatus Haran sp. nov. D. C. muellerae Haran sp. nov. E. C. hirtulus Haran sp. nov. F. C. robustus Haran sp. nov. G. C. namaquanus Haran sp. nov. H. C. carinatus Haran sp. nov. I. C. variabilis Haran sp. nov. J. C. estriatus (Marshall, 1957), with details of a cuticular carina (white arrows). K. C. pyrophilus Haran sp. nov. L. C. pilipes Haran sp. nov. Not to scale.

Fig. 7 (previous page). Habitus in natura, host plants and biotopes of species of Cryptolarynx Van Schalkwyk, 1966 Cryptolarynx and Hadrocryptolarynx Haran gen. nov. (part 2). A. Habitus of C. oberprieleri Haran sp. nov. on and at base of Oxalis glabra Thunb., Stellenbosch (JHAR01201). B. Patch of O. glabra, biotope of C. oberprieleri Haran sp. nov., Stellenbosch (JHAR01485). C. Burnt area near Montagu with patches of Oxalis pes-caprae L. resprouting; biotope of C. pyrophilus Haran sp. nov. (JHAR01528). D–F. Habitus, Oxalis cf. odorata J.C.Manning & Goldblatt, host and biotope of C. spinicornis Haran sp. nov., Sutherland (JHAR02512). G. Habitus of C. marshalli Haran sp. nov., near Worcester (JHAR02355). H. Oxalis imbricata Eckl. & Zeyh., hosting adults of C. marshalli Haran sp. nov., near Worcester. I. Shale Renosterveld vegetation type on hillsides at Worcester, biotope of C. marshalli Haran sp. nov. (JHAR02355). J. Habitus of C. oberlanderi Haran sp. nov., near Worcester (JHAR02353). K. Oxalis depressa Eckl. & Zeyh., hosting adults of C. oberlanderi Haran sp. nov., near Worcester. L. Habitus of C. san Haran sp. nov., Langebaan Dune Strandveld vegetation type near West Coast National Park (JHAR02484). M. Habitus of male of Hadrocryptolarynx major Haran gen. et sp. nov., Klawer (JHAR02464). N. Habitus of female of Hadrocryptolarynx major Haran gen. et sp. nov., Klawer. O. Gallery formed by Hadrocryptolarynx major Haran gen. et sp. nov. under a leaf of Amaryllidaceae J.St.-Hil. P. Vanrhynsdorp Gannabosveld vegetation type near Vanrhynsdorp, biotope of Hadrocryptolarynx major Haran gen. et sp. nov.

Fig. 8 (next page). Structural details and measurements of Cryptolaryngini Van Schalkwyk, 1966. A. Cryptolarynx spinicornis Haran sp. nov., cephalic view, arrows indicating width of forehead (top) and of epifrons (bottom). B. Head of C. pyrophilus Haran sp. nov., lateral view, arrows indicating distance between eye and scrobe. C. Head of C. pyrophilus Haran sp. nov., in cephalic view, arrows showing prothoracic scales near eyes (top), position of scape when antennae in repose (middle) and position of clubs near procoxae when in repose (bottom). D. C. namaquanus Haran sp. nov., dorsal view, arrows indicate length and width dimensions of pronotum and elytra as measured.E. Metafemora and metatarsus of C. variabilis Haran sp. nov. (left) and C. carinatus Haran sp. nov. (right), arrows indicating position of proximal inner carina in latter species (highlighted with a white line in C. variabilis Haran sp. nov.) and short apical mucro. F. Metatarsus of Hadrocryptolarynx major Haran gen. et sp. nov., arrow indicating elongate segment 2 (longer than wide). G. Hindleg of C. vitis (Marshall, 1957), arrow indicating apical mucro. H. Antenna of C. spinicornis Haran sp. nov., arrows pointing at inner tooth of funicle segments 2 and 4. I. Protibia of C. armatus Haran sp. nov., arrow pointing at inner preapical expansion proximally of mucro. J. Penis of C. oberprieleri Haran sp. nov., dorsal view, black arrows indicating length of penis body and temones and white arrows indicating width of penis body as measured; bottom arrow indicating copulatory sclerite. K. Ovipositor, Crypolarynx variabilis Haran sp. nov. L. Sternite VIII, same species. M. Spermatheca, same species. N. Ovipositor, Hadrocryptolarynx major Haran gen. et sp. nov. O. Sternite VIII, same species. P. Spermatheca, same species. Q. Right maxilla, same species. Not to scale.

Fig. 13. Distribution maps of species of Cryptolarynx Van Schalkwyk, 1966 and Hadrocryptolarynx Haran gen. nov.