Laius rodriguesensis Yoshitomi 2014, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Yoshitomi, Hiroyuki
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Melyridae
Laius
Laius rodriguesensis

description: Laius rodriguesensis sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 5ACC9D36-0154-4FE3-9D27-D5AAF61A9143
Figs 3C, 5E–F, 7C, 8C, 9C, 10, 11
Diagnosis
Male antennomere III transverse, deeply concave in dorso-mesal portion, L/W= 0.74; aedeagal apex rounded; gonoporal piece slightly curved; ligula strongly curved; additional sclerite absent; coloration of female antennomeres I–III black or dark brown.
Etymology
After the type locality, Rodrigues Island, Republic of Mauritius.
Type material
Holotype
♂ (NMW), “ RODRIGUES Bucht zw. Trou d’Argent und Anse Bouteille intertidal zone 12.- 13.4.11, leg. M. Madl ”.
Paratypes
3 ♀♀ (NMW), same data as for the holotype; 1 ♀ (NMW), “ MAURITIUS Rodrigues, Latanier Rivière Cascade Victoire 7.5.08. leg. M. Madl ”; 2 ♀♀ (NMW), “ MAURITIUS Rodrigues Anse Fumier 2.4.09, leg. M. Madl ”; 4 ♂♂, 11 ♀♀ (NMW, EUMJ), ditto but “2.5.08”.
Description
Male
Body oblong, shining, densely covered with short black setae. Coloration of body black with dully bluish luster on elytra; antennomeres I–III yellowish-orange, but anterior margin of antennomere I infuscate.
Head narrower than pronotum, very densely punctate; vertex slightly depressed dorsally; eyes relatively large, prominent; HL/HW 0.72–0.89 (0.78). Antennae (Fig. 7C) long; antennomere III (Fig. 8C) transverse, deeply concave in dorso-mesal portion, L/W = 0.74; approximate ratio of each antennomeres (n = 1) as 11.2: 1.0: 6.8: 3.2: 2.6: 2.2: 2.2: 2.4: 2.0: 2.2: 4.0. Pronotum quadrate, widest near anterior margin, rounded and obscure in antero- and postero-lateral angles; punctate as in head; PW/PL 1.33–1.49 (1.39). Scutellum semicircular, finely punctate. Elytra oblong, widest at apical 1/3; sides weakly expanded postero-laterally; EL/EW 1.31–1.50 (1.43); EL/PL 2.62–2.76 (2.69); EW/PW 1.31–1.42 (1.36); TL/EW 2.18–2.52 (2.42). Legs relatively long and slender. Caudal margin of tergite VII shallowly concave. Aedeagus (Fig. 9C) about 1.17 mm, round at aedeagal apex. Gonoporal piece (Fig. 3C) slightly curved, 0.63 mm in GL; GL/AL 1.81. Ligula (Fig. 3C) long, strongly curved in half; LL 0.30 mm; LW 0.11 mm; LL/LW 2.84; GL/LL 2.11.
Female
Similar to male in general appearance; bluish luster on elytra weak; coloration of antennomeres I–III black or dark brown; HL/HW 0.74–0.95 (0.84); PW/PL 1.32–1.42 (1.37); EL/EW 1.29–1.47 (1.39); EL/PL 2.47–2.86 (2.68); EW/PW 1.30–1.48 (1.41); TL/EW 2.25–2.47 (2.39). Antennae (Fig. 7C) long; antennomere III short, L/W = 2.16; approximate ratio of each antennomeres (n = 1) as 8.6: 1.0: 4.4: 2.0: 2.0: 1.8: 1.8: 2.0: 2.0: 2.0: 3.8.
Measurements
Male (n = 5): TL 5.50–5.75 (5.64) mm; HL 1.00–1.20 (1.08) mm; HW 1.30–1.45 (1.38) mm; PW 1.60– 1.83 (1.72) mm; PL 1.20–1.30 (1.24) mm; EL 3.20–3.40 (3.32) mm; EW 2.20–2.60 (2.33) mm. Female (n = 10): TL 4.10–4.68 (4.41) mm; HL 0.80–1.00 (0.88) mm; HW 1.00–1.10 (1.05) mm; PW 1.20–1.38 (1.32) mm; PL 0.90–1.00 (0.96) mm; EL 2.35–2.80 (2.57) mm; EW 1.70–2.00 (1.85) mm.
Larvae
Coloration of head capsule and urogomphi dark brown; thoracic and abdominal segments and legs cream. Head capsule (Fig. 10B) suboblong, L/W = 1.3; four pairs of stemmata situated near anterolateral corners. Antennae missing. Labrum (Fig. 11B) with a pair of long lateral and five pairs of short mesal setae in anterior portion; anterior margin of epipharynx bearing short stout setae. Maxillae (Fig. 11A) bearing long setae in antero-lateral portion. Mandibles (Fig. 11C) with two apical teeth; mola with two short teeth. Labium (Figs 10C, 11A) relatively wide, with 2-segmented palpi. Thorax weakly sclerotized, widest at posterior part of metathorax; pronotum with two pairs of longitudinal sclerotized bands in mesal portion, bearing short setae in lateral and mesal portions. Abdomen (Fig. 10A) weakly sclerotized, subparallel-sided, bearing short setae in lateral and postero-mesal portions. Urogomphi (Fig. 10D–F) subparallel-sided, closely covered with long setae, simply bifurcate in apical 1/2, upturned in apical portions, pointed at apices, with some very long hairy setae in apical parts. Legs relatively long.
Additional material examined
2 Larvae (NMW, in ethanol), “ MAURITIUS Rodrigues Anse Fumier 10.05. 2008, leg. M. Madl”.
Distribution
Only known from the type locality, Republic of Mauritius (Rodrigues Isl.).
Remarks
This species is closely related to Laius madli Yoshitomi, 2010 known from Mauritius, but differs from the latter in the following characteristics: 1) ligula strongly curved in middle portion (rather weakly curved
basally in madli); 2) male antennomere III projecting laterally, transverse, L/W = 0.7 (antennomere III slightly projecting laterally, L/W = 0.9 in madli).
The larvae of two Japanese species, L. asahinai Nakane, 1955 and L. miyamotoi Nakane, 1955, were described by Satô (1964) and Asano & Kojima (2009). The larva of L. rodrigesensis sp. nov. is similar to those of the aforementioned species, and differs from them in that the teeth of the mola are rather short, and that the head is narrower.
description: Published as part of Yoshitomi, Hiroyuki, 2014, Comparative morphology of the endophallic structures of the genus Laius (Coleoptera, Melyridae), with the descriptions of three new species, pp. 1-29 in European Journal of Taxonomy 97 on pages 9-13, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2014.97, http://zenodo.org/record/3838926