Pseudomeira natalii Bellò & Baviera, 2011, sp. n.
Creators: name: Bellò, Cesare
name: Baviera, Cosimo
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2011
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Curculionidae
Pseudomeira
Pseudomeira natalii

description: Pseudomeira natalii sp. n.
(Figs. 19, 20, 45, 46, 60, 72, 88, 102)
Pseudomeira nebrodensis Pierotti, 2009: 481 (pars).
Diagnosis: Small to middle-sized (3.40–4.80 mm), oval. Epistoma impressed, clypeus almost flat and longitudinally impressed in middle. Elytra clothed by brown scales and rather robust elongate almost recumbent setae, here and there both paler. Apical third of aedeagus sub-triangular, apex broadly rounded.
Type series: Holotype male (BEL) with the following labels: "Sicilia, Messina, San Fratello 375 m, 21.X.06 leg. Bellò" [white, printed], [transparent label with genitalia in DHMF], " N 38°02.512” W 014°34.997" [white, printed], "coll. Cesare Bellò" [green, printed]; " Pseudomeira natalii sp. n., Holotype, det. Bellò 2010 " [red, partly printed]. Paratypes: 3 males and 3 females, I, Sicilia, Messina, San Fratello, vaglio Olea, 21 IV 2010, leg. Bellò, (BAV, BEL); 1 female, I, Sicilia, ME, Nebrodi, San Fratello, 365 m, vaglio Olea, 26.XI.09, N 38°02.514” E 014°35.000”, legg. Bellò & Chemello, (BEL); 4 males and 3 females, I, Sicilia, ME, San Fratello, 375 m, vaglio Olea, 23.IV.06, N 38°02.513” E 014°34.996” leg. Bellò, (BEL); 1 male and 1 female, S. Fratello, Messina, 16.VII.88, vaglio Quercus sp., leg. Bellò, (BEL); S. Fratello (ME) 16-V-07 leg. Pierotti, (PIE); 5 male and 7 females, I, Sic., ME, San Fratello, 400 m, vaglio Olea, N 38°02.513” E 014°35.009” 0 5. IV. 2011, leg. Bellò (BEL). There are 29 specimens (14 males and 15 females), genitalia of 11 specimens were studied and of 1 female molecular preparation was made.
Holotype male. Length: 3.40 mm. Robust, oval-shaped, elytra slightly longer than wide. Dorsal vestiture of largely overlapping, brown scales and almost recumbent brown setae rather elongate and widening at apex; paler small markings are on disc of both elytra and pronotum.
Rostrum transverse, sided weakly converging towards apex. Epistoma concave with slightly bulging margins; pterygia moderate; clypeus in front as wide as base, with a longitudinal depression usually continuing that on frons.
Eyes slightly convex. Antennal scape more robust than funicle, slightly curved and progressively thickening towards apex; first 5 funicular segments with clubbed setae; first segment as long as than the combined length of the following two, second twice as long as third, segments 4–7 pearl-shaped; club robust, shortly fusiform and with the first segment widely conical.
Pronotum slightly transverse (length: 0.75 mm, width: 0.83 mm), sides sinuate, disc with punctures usually hidden by the scales.
Elytra oval (length: 2.00 mm, width: 1,40 mm), disc slightly convex, humeri short, round and slightly prominent. Striae inconspicuous, catenulate, interstriae feebly convex.
Legs quite short and robust; femora clubbed, edentate; tibiae short, almost straight, external margin of protibiae shortly arcuate, internal one devoid of spines but with apical mucro; protarsi short and robust, third joint bilobed, onychium curved, claws fused at base.
Aedeagus: see Figs. 60, 72. Spiculum ventrale: see Fig. 88; spermatheca: see Fig. 102.
Paratypes: Males are almost identical to the holotype; females are on average larger, more elongate, with a more transverse pronotum and antennae, and less robust legs. Length: 3.40–4.80 mm.
Distribution: Known only from the type locality.
Etymology: The species is named after Simone Natali who kindly helped us in writing this and other notes.
Ecology: This species is collected, often together with P. nebrodensis, by sifting leaf-litter below Olea europaea L var. sylvestris Brok. and Quercus sp.. Adults in spring and autumn.
Reproduction: Amphigonic.
Notes: The figures of the aedeagus and internal sac by Pierotti (2009) are those of this species and not of P. nebrodensis as wrongly stated by Pierotti, since P. nebrodensis is actually a parthenogenetic species (see above).
description: Published as part of Bellò, Cesare & Baviera, Cosimo, 2011, On the Sicilian species of Pseudomeira Stierlin (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae), pp. 35-68 in Zootaxa 3100 on pages 46-47, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.204879