Morphostenophanes iridescens Zhou, new species
Creators: name: Zhou, De-Yao
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Tenebrionidae
Morphostenophanes
Morphostenophanes iridescens

description: Morphostenophanes iridescens Zhou, new species ȒŪẎȐAEƤ
(Figs. 8 A–D; 16D, I; 17C, H; 18D, U–W; 19S; 20D, O)
Type materials. CHINA: Yunnan: ♂ (Holotype, SNUC), Wenshan Prefecture, Maguan County, Bazhai Town, 1700–1800 m, 2018.xi.27, native collector. Paratypes (10♂♂, 9♀♀): CHINA: Yunnan: 1♀ (SNUC), 2♂♂, 2♀♀ (MHBU), 3♂♂, 3♀♀ (CZDY, a sample of muscle tissue was preserved in 99.7% ethanol at –18 °C), 5 ♂♂, 3♀♀ (CZMZ), Wenshan Prefecture, Maguan County, Bazhai Town, 1700–1800 m, 2018.xi.27, native collector.
Diagnosis: Large, elongate, moderately convex, greenish, pronotum with annular pinkish band; anterior of clypeus and posterior of head, elytral epipleura and intervals, middle parts of pro-, meso- and metafemora, middle part of abdomen with pinkish luster. Male elytra widest in apical 2/5, dorsum flattened, with densely and irregularly scattered round or oval segments of striae, each encircled area moderately convex. Male protarsi strongly widened, protibiae with dorsal side of inner margin more concave than ventral one.
Description: Male (Fig. 8A, C). Greenish, with bronze luster, antennae, mouthparts, and tarsi dark brown, pronotum with annular pinkish band; anterior of clypeus and posterior of head, elytral epipleura and intervals, middle parts of pro-, meso- and metafemora, middle part of abdomen with pinkish luster; elytral encircled areas purplish, or pinkish in few small individuals. Body elongate, length 21.9–26.0 mm, width 7.6–8.5 mm, moderately convex dorsad, noticeably constricted between pronotum and elytra.
Head (Fig. 16D, I) transversely quadrate, densely and markedly punctate; with outer margin weakly notched between genae and clypeus; clypeus transversely hexagonal, gently bent downwards in front, anterior margin weakly emarginate, clypeal transverse impression marked to absent, frontoclypeal suture deeply furrowed, widely U-shaped; genae strongly raised, depressed before eyes, roundly produced anterolaterally; frons broad, anterior part gradually sloping forwards, frontal impressions each transversely marked, somewhat shallowly extending backwards, connecting shallow vertexal lateral impression, vertexal median impression feebly presented; eyes transversely reniform, strongly convex laterally; inner ocular sulci grooved along inner margins; tempora weakly convex, coarsely punctate. OI = 48.2–50.5. Antennae (Fig. 18D) slender, reaching basal fourth of elytra, with antennomeres weakly thickened to apices; relative lengths of antennomeres: 0.77: 0.37: 1.33: 1.19: 1.22: 1.22: 1.19: 1.14: 1.11: 1.04: 1.11. Mentum (Fig. 16I) quadrate, lateral margins straight; medial surface sparsely and coarsely punctate, with several large pores with long setae, gradually rising anteriorly, depressed along both sides.
Pronotum (Fig. 17C) barrel-shaped, PW/PL = 1.08–1.12, widest in anterior third, anterior margin nearly straight, projecting in middle, anterior marginal border marked; lateral margins weakly rounded, slightly more widened at widest point, lateral marginal borders thin, visible in dorsal view slightly before the middle; posterior margin nearly straight, weakly emarginate, posterior marginal border marked; anterior and posterior angles obtuse; disc strongly convex, a pair of impressions vague to absent in middle, shagreened, densely and finely punctate. Scutellum triangular, glossy.
Elytra oblong, widest in apical 2/5, EL/EW = 1.96–1.97; moderately convex, dorsum nearly straight, with densely and irregularly scattered round or oval segments of striae, each encircled area moderately convex; intervals sparsely and finely punctate.
Prosternum (Fig. 17H) shagreened, sparsely and finely punctate; prosternal process declivous, truncate at apex; hypomeron strongly rugulose, shagreened. Metasternum weakly wrinkled. Abdomen (Fig. 19S) depressed, surface somewhat rough, sternite III notably wrinkled, densely and finely punctate; sternites III and IV each shallowly depressed in posterior middle, with central portion of each impressions weakly convex.
Legs slender. Protarsi strongly widened. Protibiae (Fig. 18U) curved in apical third, apical 3/5 of inner margins emarginated, each with dorsal side of inner margin more concave than ventral one, pubescent; mesotibiae (Fig. 18V) curved in apical third, apical 3/5 of inner margins pubescent; metatibiae (Fig. 18W) sinuous, apical 3/5 of inner margins feebly pubescent, outer margins depressed before apices.
Aedeagus (Fig. 20D) elongate, weakly curved in lateral view; parameres slender, 0.22 as long as total length, with widely rhomboid apex. Sternite VIII (Fig. 20O) with apical lobes nearly rounded, each inferior margin projecting, forming a hook.
Female (Fig. 8B, D). Stouter than male, length 21.0– 23.7 mm. OI = 53.5, PW/PL = 1.15–1.19; elytra more widened and convex, EL/EW = 1.72–1.74, abdomen straight in lateral view; without impressions on sternites. Ovipositor shortened, abruptly narrowing terminally from apical third.
Comparative notes. Morphostenophanes iridescens resembles M. cuproviridis. They share similar bright-colored body and similar male protibiae. M. iridescens can be easily distinguished from M. cuproviridis by its strongly convex pronotum colored green, with a pinkish annular band, lateral margin of elytra not constricted before base, moderately convex elytral widest in apical 2/5, elytral encircled areas purplish in most individuals, strongly widened male protarsi; and more elongate female elytra with the aspect ratio greater than 1.7, compared to that of the latter less than 1.7.
Distribution. (Map 1) CHINA: Yunnan.
Etymology. The new species is named from the Latin epithet ‘iridescens’ (colored as rainbow) referring to its bright-colored body.
description: Published as part of Zhou, De-Yao, 2020, A revision of the genus Morphostenophanes Pic, 1925 (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae, Stenochiinae, Cnodalonini), pp. 1-81 in Zootaxa 4769 (1) on pages 17-18, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4769.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/3797078