Lepanomus crinalis zuluensis, Wanat, 2021

Wanat, Marek, 2021, New basal taxa of South African Apioninae (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea: Brentidae), Zootaxa 5035 (1), pp. 1-60 : 38

Lepanomus crinalis zuluensis ssp. n.

( Figs. 187–189, 191, 193, 195–212, 215–227 , 294 )

Type material. Holotype ♂: a) RSA ( NE) KwaZulu-Natal /- 27.3308S / 32.7468E / Mabibi Camp 50 m / ex Apodytes dimidiata / 4.12.2012 leg. M. Wanat ( TMSA) [dissected, genitalia in glycerol in the microvial pinned under specimen] . Paratypes (4 ♂ 7 ♀): same data as in the holotype, 3 ♂ 5 ♀ ( TMSA, MWC). KwaZulu-Natal: Sodwana Bay , 27.32S 32.40E [-27.5333 / 32.6667], 8- 10.11.1984, 1 ♀, 22.12.1991, 1 ♀ —leg. R. Oberprieler ( MWC, SANC); Mtubatuba-Dukuduku, 17- 21.12.1997, 1 ♂, leg. I. Jeniš ( MWC) .

Diagnosis. Distinct from the nominotypical subspecies in just two subtle external characters: Rostrum in both sexes is more robust and in dorsal view prorostrum is subparallel-sided, measured in mid-length in ♂ 0.95 ×, in ♀ 0.90 × as broad as metarostrum ( Figs. 189, 191 ); the third elytral interval does not form an elongate rib-like elevation as in L. c. crinalis , being not more convex than neighbouring intervals ( Fig. 193 ).

Other external and internal characters of the new subspecies zuluensis do not differ from those listed above in the genus description, except perhaps the shape of the spermatheca having a slightly larger corpus ( Fig. 227 ). However, the variation of the spermatheca was not thoroughly analysed during this study.

Biology. Like the nominotypical subspecies, the specimens of L. c. zuluensis were beaten from the flowering old tree of Apodytes dimidiata in the Mabibi Camp.

Distribution. Eastern R.S.A. (KwaZulu-Natal) ( Fig. 294 ).

Etymology. Named after the Zululand, historical fatherland of the Zulu people inhabiting the type area of the new subspecies.

Remarks. Balfour-Browne (1945) noticed and commented on the variation of Lepanomus crinalis , but he finally classified it as infraspecific, concerning mainly pronotal punctuation and coloration of elytra. In his original description of L. crinalis he designated the type locality as Port St. Johns in Pondoland and mentioned the presence of ‘costiform elevation of the 3 rd interstria at the beginning of declivous part of elytra’, thus unambiguosly identifying the nominotypical subspecies. Actual ranges of the two subspecies of L. crinalis in South Africa should be investigated, like the taxonomic status of the specimens from Tanzania, which were not examined by me for the purpose of the present paper.

Figures

FIGURES 187–199. Lepanomus crinalis zuluensis ssp. n. Male: dorsal habitus (187); pronotum in dorso-lateral view (188). Male head and rostrum in dorsal view, L. c. zuluensis ssp. n. (189), L. c. crinalis Balf.-Br. (190). Female head and rostrum in dorsal view, L. c. zuluensis ssp. n. (191), L. c. crinalis Balf.-Br. (192). Elytral intervals in anterodorsal view, L. c. zuluensis ssp. n. (193), L. c. crinalis Balf.-Br. (194). L. c. zuluensis ssp. n. Male protibia and tarsal sole (195). Female metatibia (196). Male rostrum and head, lateral view (197). Female: lateral habitus (198); wing (199).

FIGURES 200–211. Lepanomus crinalis zuluensis ssp. n., SEM micrographs. Male: rostrum, head and prothorax, dorsal view (200); same, ventral view (201); mouthparts (202); antenna (203); mesoventrite, mesocoxae and metaventrite (204); left elytron, lateral view (205); left elytron inside, sutural slot and postscutellar lock (206); apex of right elytron, inner side (207); tarsal claws (208); unarmed protibial apex (209); mesotibial mucro (210); metatibial mucro (211).

FIGURES 212–228. Lepanomus crinalis zuluensis ssp. n. Male protarsus (212). L. c. crinalis Balf.-Br., abdominal ventrites, male (213), female (214). L. c. zuluensis ssp. n. Male: pygidium in posterior (215), dorsal (216) and lateral (217) views; penis in dorsal (218) and lateral (219) views; tegmen in dorsal (220) and lateral (221) views; sternite VIII inside pygidium (anterior view) and sternite IX (222). Female: bursa, ventral view (223); tergite VIII and spiculum ventrale (224); tergite VII (225); gonocoxites (226). Spermathecae: L. c. zuluensis ssp. n. (227), L. c. crinalis Balf.-Br. (228).

FIGURES 289–296. Distribution in Africa: Rhynchitapion variiforme sp. n. (289); Rh. pallidum sp. n. (290); Rh. usambarense sp. n. (291); Apodytapion stepniewskii sp. n. (292); Turnerapion pondoense sp. n. (293); Lepanomus crinalis crinalis Balf.-Br. (294, circles); L. crinalis zuluensis ssp. n. (294, triangles); Lepanomidius ruthmuellerae sp. n., males (295, circles); Lepano- midius sp. cf. ruthmuellerae, female (295, triangle); Lepanomidius magdaloides sp. n. (296).