Cionus transvaalicus Caldara & Košťál 2023, sp. n.
Creators: name: Caldara, Roberto
name: Košťál, Michael
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Curculionidae
Cionus
Cionus transvaalicus

description: 10. Cionus transvaalicus sp. n. (Figs 10a–f)
Type locality. Witpoortjie (Gauteng, South Africa).
Type series. Holotype, male “ South Africa, TVL, Witpoortjie Botanical Garden, 26.07S 27.50E, 11.ii.1989, B. Grobbelaar ” (SANC). Paratypes: same data as holotype (1, RCCM; 1, SANC); “ South Africa, TVL, Magaliesberg nr Oliviershoek, 25.50S 27.20E, I.M. Millar ” (1, SANC); South Africa: NW, Farm Mezeg Enzelsberg 20 km NE of Zeerust 25.22S 26.13E, 15.iii.1996, J. Pieterse ” (1, SANC).
Diagnosis. As C. schuelei except for shorter rostrum, less convex and less emarginated mesosternal process, penis with long flagellum.
Description. Male (Figs 10a–b). Body: robust, globose. Head: rostrum: stout, short (Rl/Rw 2.78–2.82; Rl/Pl 1.23–1.26), black, in lateral view regularly moderately curved, slightly tapered from base to antennal insertion, then distinctly tapered to apex, in dorsal view parallel-sided, slightly enlarged apically; densely covered to near apex with dense, recumbent, elliptical, moderately elongated (l/w 4–7), grayish and light brown scales. Head between eyes narrow, 0.25× as wide as rostrum at base. Eyes flat. Antennae reddish brown with darker club, inserted between middle and apical third; scape long (l/w 10); funicle slightly shorter than scape, S1 moderately robust, slightly more robust than and as long as S2, 2.3× as long as wide, S2 2.5 × as long as wide, S3–5 transverse; club oblongly oval, as long as funicle, uniformly pubescent, Pronotum: dark brown, with dense, somewhat regularly arranged, shallow, small punctures completely hidden by dense, recumbent, moderately long (l/w 4–7), rectangular, grayish and light brown scales; conical, moderately transverse (Pw/Pl 1.50–1.54), widest at base, with weakly rounded sides, moderately convex, with two distinct lateral protuberances. Prosternum: anterior margin distinctly emarginated. Elytra: dark brown, short (El/Ew 1.10–1.13), globose, widest at middle, distinctly wider than pronotum (Ew/Pw 1.60–1.63), humeri distinct, rounded, slightly rounded sides in basal half, moderately convex on disc; interstriae flat, without distinct punctures, very slightly rugulose, opaque, completely hidden by recumbent, rectangular, grayish and light brown scales, with a few small dark brown spots irregularly arranged on odd interstriae; striae with dense, moderately deep punctures, half width of interstriae, intervals between punctures at same level as interstriae, completely hidden by vestiture. Venter: Mesosternal process moderately convex, weakly emarginated. Metasternum densely covered with overlapping, whitish scales, being wider at sides and elongated, partly hair-like in middle. Abdomen with dense, somewhat regularly arranged, shallow, small punctures completely hidden by recumbent, dense, elongated, whitish scales, partly more elongated, hair-like on V1, V2 and V5, forming a small tuft on V2; V1 1.6× as long as V2; V1+2 5.9× as long as V3+4, which are 0.7× as long as V5. Legs: densely covered with elongated whitish scales; femora black, with robust, sharp teeth; tibiae black, without unci; tarsi black, onychium twice as long as T3; claws asymmetrical, one claw 1/4 as long as other. Penis: Figs 10d–f, its body parallel-sided to near apex, tip blunted. Flagellum very long, slightly narrowing from base to apex.
Female. Rostrum very slightly longer (Rl/Rw 2.94–2.97; Rl/Pl 1.25–1.30) (Fig. 10c), claws very slightly asymmetrical, abdomen with all scales similar in shape.
Variability. Length 3.4–3.6 mm. No noteworthy differences among specimens were found.
Etymology. The Latin adjective refers to the ancient name of the region where this species was collected, the Transvaal.
Remarks. Similar to C. schuelei (head between eyes very narrow), from which it differs by the shorter rostrum, the mesosternal process less convex and less emarginated, the shape of the penis with longer, parallel-sided body, and very long flagellum.
Biological notes. No data are available.
Distribution. Northern South Africa (Gauteng).
description: Published as part of Caldara, Roberto & Košťál, Michael, 2023, A Taxonomic Revision Of The Afrotropical Species Of The Weevil Genus Cionus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), pp. 1-98 in Zootaxa 5288 (1) on pages 25-26, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5288.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/7958875