Ebenacobius thoracicus Haran & Benoit & Procheş & Kergoat 2022, gen. et sp. nov.
Creators: name: Haran, Julien
name: Benoit, Laure
name: Procheş, Şerban
name: Kergoat, Gael J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Curculionidae
Ebenacobius
Ebenacobius thoracicus

description: Ebenacobius thoracicus Haran gen. et sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 8F86FB49-B989-447A-BAE8-4F814D47E320
Figs 2F, 4B, 6F
Differential diagnosis
Ebenacobius thoracicus gen. et sp. nov. can be distinguished from other species of the genus by its uniformly reddish integuments and the peculiar shape of prothorax in males, almost rectangular, with a very short apical constriction (Fig. 2F). The body penis is very short in this species, being at most 2 × longer than wide in dorsal view (Fig. 6F). Ebenacobius thoracicus is similar to E. xhosa gen. et sp. nov. in general appearance, but the latter species has convex eyes (flatter in E. thoracicus, only slightly exceeding lateral curve of head in lateral view), males lack a distinct prosternal process (visible and directed forward in E. thoracicus) and show an internal angle on profemora (profemora smooth in E. thoracicus).
Etymology
This species is named in reference to the specific shape of the prothorax in males, being almost rectangular.
Type material
Holotype MOZAMBIQUE • ♂; “MOZAMBIQUE, Inhaca Island; 12.ii.1980; E. Lavabre leg.” “-26.01 32.91. Mimusops obovata; JHAR03125_0101 ” “Holotype ♂; Ebenacobius thoracicus; Haran 2022”; SAMC.
Paratypes MOZAMBIQUE • 1 ♀; same collection data as for holotype; SAMC • 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀, 2 specs (preserved in ethanol); same collection data as for holotype; CBGP.
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA – Limpopo Province • 9 ♀♀; Lajuma nr. [near] Vivo, wilderness camp; 23°02.358′ S, 29°26954′ E; 11 Dec. 2017; R. Borovec leg.; light trap collection, indigenous forest; FFWS • 1 ♀; same locality as for preceding; 23°02.305′ S, 29°26.426′ E; 12 Dec. 2017; R. Borovec leg.; canopy forest, sifting; FFWS.
Description
Male
BODY LENGTH. 2.9–3.1 mm.
COLOUR. Body integument uniformly reddish-brown, head and prothorax slightly darker; dorsum (prothorax + elytra) with minute recumbent setae, not contiguous on prothorax, subcontiguous and forming rows on interstriae.
HEAD. Rostrum shorter than prothorax in lateral view, strongly downcurved, a little more near base; underside with row of setae, almost as long as 2 nd segment of funicle, integument forming angle before apex; in dorsal view covered with recumbent non-contiguous setae; antennae inserted at apical ⅓ of length; head capsule coarsely punctate in dorsal view, with minute setae, glabrous in appearance; eyes slightly convex, moderately exceeding lateral curve of head capsule in dorsal view; antennal funicle with segment 1 elongate, 2 × longer than wide, as long as 2–4, 3–7 wider than long.
PROTHORAX. Wider than long (W:L ratio: 1.3), widest near base, base as wide as elytra at humeral angles; sides subparallel in basal ½, slightly and regularly converging apicad in apical ½; apical constriction very short, as long as width of funicle at base; integument densely punctate, space between punctures smooth and shiny, wider than diameter of punctures, with smaller punctures 3× smaller than larger punctures; setae in each larger puncture very short, recumbent, not exceeding in length the diameter of these punctures; prosternal process oriented forward, forming a wide spatula.
ELYTRA. Sides slightly convex, widest before middle of length (W:L ratio: 0.74); humeri raised; apex jointly rounded; striae with punctures well aligned, narrower than interstriae; interstriae flat, 1-3-5 convex apically, 9 entirely convex; scutellar shield rounded, glabrous.
ABDOMEN. Underside covered with small non-contiguous whitish setae.
LEGS. Profemora strongly thickened near middle of length; pro- and mesotibiae with external margin straight, metatibiae curved outward in apical half; tibiae armed with a small apical mucro, on metatibiae very small; claws simple.
TERMINALIA. Body of penis short (W:L ratio: 0.5), ⅓ shorter than apodemes, sides subparallel in dorsal view, apex obtuse; in lateral view curvature strong in basal ½, almost straight in apical ½, width slightly expanding apicad from mid length and abruptly narrowing in apical 1/5 (Fig. 6F).
Sexual dimorphism
Females can be distinguished from males by their rostrum which is longer (slightly longer than prothorax in lateral view) and almost straight.
Life history
Specimens from Mozambique (data JHAR03125) were found aggregated on flowers of Mimusops obovata Sond. (Sapotaceae), which probably constitutes its host plant. Adults were collected in February and December.
Distribution
Mozambique (Maputo Province) and Republic of South Africa (Limpopo Province).
description: Published as part of Haran, Julien, Benoit, Laure, Procheş, Şerban & Kergoat, Gael J., 2022, Ebenacobius Haran, a new southern African genus of flower weevils (Coleoptera: Curculioninae: Derelomini) associated with dicotyledonous plants, pp. 1-54 in European Journal of Taxonomy 818 (1) on pages 26-27, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2022.818.1771, http://zenodo.org/record/6532969