Nephius acastus Grebennikov 2018, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Grebennikov, Vasily V.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Dryophthoridae
Nephius
Nephius acastus

description: <i>Nephius acastus</i> sp. nov. Figs 1A–K <b>Diagnostic description.</b> Holotype male (Fig. 1); length between anterior edge of pronotum and elytral apex 6.94 mm; body background color (not considering whitish pilosity) brown with reddish hue (Figs 1A–D); rostrum in lateral view relatively less curved (Fig. 1C); eyes ventrally contiguous (Fig. 1E); central longitudinal groove on pronotum present (Fig. 1A); disk of pronotum (except the area immediately adjacent to the groove) rugose by being densely covered with deep, large and contiguous punctures (Fig. 1A); elytra parallel-sided (Fig. 1A); odd and even interstriae subequal in shape (Fig. 1A); interstriae 2 and 3 at elytral apex without sizable hemispherical projections (Fig. 1A); male genitalia as in Figs 1H–K; DNA data as in Table 2. <b>Material examined.</b> Holotype male (currently in CNC, will be deposited in NMNS): “ TAIWAN, Taichung, Dasyueshan forest, 24.2384 120.9517, 1924m, 11.viii.2013 siftTW02, V.Grebennikov, “CNCCOLVG00006719. Paratypes (CMNC, CNC, NMNS): 11 specimens (CNCCOLVG00006682, 6715, 6716, 6717, 6718, 6720, 6810, 6868, 6869, 6870, 6871) from Dasyueshan and Huisun forests. <b>Distribution.</b> Known from two localities in central Taiwan some 25 km apart: Dasyueshan and Huisun forests. Elevation: 1,924 –2,060 m. <b>Etymology.</b> The species epithet is a Latinized Greek mythical name of an Argonaut, son of the wicked Thessalian King Pelias; noun in apposition. <b>Remarks.</b> The geographically closest nominal <i>Nephius</i> species was described as <i>Anius salebrosus</i> Voss, 1958 from a holotype and a paratype collected in 1946 by Tschung Sen in “Kuatun, Fukien”, China (Guadun, Fujian, about N27.728° E117.639°), which is at least 500 km across the Taiwan strait from the type locality of <i>N. acastus</i> <b>sp. nov.</b> The original description did not include illustrations and is insufficient to adequately compare <i>N. salebrosus</i> with the herein described new species. Through the courtesy of Lourdes Chamorro it was possible to compare <i>N. acastus</i> <b>sp. nov.</b> with images of the holotype of <i>N. salebrosus</i> stored in NHRS. The new species differs from <i>A. salebrosus</i> by having (1) in dorsal view rostrum at base 0.48 times as wide as pronotum between anterior corners (0.42 times in <i>N. salebrosus</i>); (2) center of the pronotal disc with short longitudinal groove and closely adjacent punctures (without groove or punctures in <i>N. salebrosus</i>) and (3) posterior edge of pronotum distinctly narrower than the width of pronotum immediately anterad (wider in <i>N. salebrosus</i>).
description: Published as part of <i>Grebennikov, Vasily V., 2018, Dryophthorinae weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) of the forest floor in Southeast Asia: DNA analysis of two new Nephius from Vietnam and Taiwan suggests non-monophyly of Stromboscerini, pp. 381-387 in Zootaxa 4500 (3)</i> on pages 383-384, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4500.3.5, http://zenodo.org/record/5297723
description: {"references": ["Voss, E. (1958) Ein Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Curculioniden im Grenzgebiet der Orientalischen zur Palaarktischen Region (Col., Curc). Die von J. Klapperich und Tschung Sen in der Provinz Fukien gesammelten Russelkafer. (132. Viitrag zur Kenntnis der Curculioniden). Decheniana, Beihefte 5, 1 - 139."]}