Marvaldiella insularis Colonnelli 2014, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Colonnelli, Enzo
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Curculionidae
Marvaldiella
Marvaldiella insularis

description: Marvaldiella insularis sp. nov.   
(Figs 11, 13)  
 Type material. HOLOTYPE: J (NMPC), ‘ Yemen, Soqotra Is., 2003 // 8-10/xii., Qalansiyah env. // Khayrha mts., N slopes // N 12°38′50″ E 53°27′45″ // 85-592 m [GPS], D. Král lgt.’, ‘ Yemen - Soqotra 2003 // Expedition; Jan Farkač, // Petr Kabátek & David Král’. PARATYPES: 3JJ 2♀♀, same label data as holotype (3 NMPC, 2 ECRI); 1♀ ‘ Yemen, Soqotra Is., // 24-26.xi/2003 // Wadi Ayhaft, 190 m // N 12°36′38″ E 53°58′49″ // [GPS], David Král lgt.’, ‘ Yemen - Soqotra 2003 // Expedition; Jan Farkač, // Petr Kabátek & David Král’ (NMPC); 1J, ‘ Yemen, Socotra Isl., 4.-5.vi. // Qualentiah env., 2010 // slopes 5 km SE from Quaysoh, // N 12°39.691′, E 53°26.658′ // V.Hula & J. Niedobová leg.’ (NMPC); 1 ♀, ‘ Yemen, Socotra Island, // Deiqub cave env. // V. Hula & J. Niedobová leg. // 10.vi.2010 ’ (NMPC); 1 ♀, ‘ Yemen, Socotra Island // Dixam plateau // Firmihin (Dracaena forest) // 12°28.6′N, 54°01.1′E, 490 m // Jiří Hájek leg. 15-16.xi.2010 ’ (NMPC); 1 ♀, ‘Socotra Is. (YE) Dixam plateau // Firmihin (Dracaena forest), 490 m // 12°28.6′N, 54°01.1′E // 15-16.xi.2010 Jan Batelka leg.’ (JBPC); 4 JJ 1 ♀, ‘ Yemen, Socotra Island // Zemhon area, 270-350 m // N 12°30′58″, E 54°06′39″ // 3-4.ii.2010, at light // L. Purchart & J. Vybíral lgt.’ (3 NMPC, 1 BMNH, 1 ECRI); 1 J, ‘ Yemen, Socotra Isl., // Firmihin plato, 400-500 m, // N 12°28′46″, E 54°00′89″ // 18.-19.vi.2010, // V. Hula & J. Niedobová leg.’ (NMPC); 3 JJ 2 ♀♀, ‘ Yemen, Socotra Island // road between Airport and Hadiboh // 12°38′27″N 53°58′22″E, // 80 m, 2.vi.2012 // V. Hula & J. Niedobová leg.’ (4 NMPC, 1 ECRI).   
  Description. Male holotype.  Body length: 3.9 mm. Piceous, shining, bare, antennae and legs dark ferruginous (Fig. 11).   
 Head. Rostrum twice as long as wide, twice as long as head and 0.48 as long as pronotum, subcylindrical, slightly curved, rather sparsely minutely punctured on sides, dorsum smooth along midline. Scrobes thin, almost straight and directed immediately below eyes. Antennae fairly thin; scape weakly bisinuate and rather abruptly clubbed on apical third; funicular antennomere I little broader than remaining ones and longer than wide; antennomere II hardly longer than wide; antennomeres III to VII moniliform and progressively more transverse towards club; club large, shortly fusiform and about as long as three preceding antennomeres. Head with sparse very small punctures, vertex convex, impunctate and shiny. Space between eyes not sulcate. Eyes quite small, elliptical and barely protruding from head convexity. Pronotum 1.07 times longer than wide, hardly constricted at apex; punctation consists of large dense roundish punctures, smaller towards apical margin; disc with barely perceptible smooth midline; sides almost straight from base up to apical third, then moderately converging towards apex and moderately curved, maximum pronotal width at middle; basal margin barely bisinuate and little wider than truncate apical one. Scutellum large, subtriangular.   
 Elytra 1.71 times longer than wide, maximum width at middle, sides straight and hardly converging toward apical declivity where elytra are rounded together. Striae sulciform, with very large deep subquadrate punctures. Intervals almost flat, not wider than striae, and with irregular row of tiny punctures.   
 Legs. Femora moderately clubbed; tibiae rather short and weakly bisinuous; tarsi very narrow, tarsomere III not bilobed.   
 Ventral side with dense rather large round punctures, abdominal ventrites I and II shallowly depressed along midline.   
 Male genitalia. Aedeagus as depicted in Fig. 13.   
 Variability. Paratypes are almost identical to the holotype, apart from some variation of the cuticle colour due to the degree of maturity of the specimens. Females differ from males only by their rostrum being at least 2.4 times longer than wide.   
 Body length 3.5–3.7 mm.   
 Differential diagnosis. Among the seven described species of the African genus Marvaldiella, this new species is somewhat similar only to M. usambarica (Hartmann, 1904) from Tanzania, which is readily differentiated from the new species by its larger size (4.0–5.0 mm), rounded sides of pronotum, disc of the same with smooth somewhat raised midline and impunctate elytral intervals (HARTMANN 1904, VOSS 1965). Marvaldiella insularis sp. nov. differs immediately from the Ethiopian M. freta (Faust, 1895) by its elytra being the same colour as the pronotum instead of being rusty-red and hence contrasting with the piceous pronotum, the not furrowed rostrum and interocular space, the base of pronotum without impressions on the sides of the barely delimited (instead of obviously smooth) midline (FAUST 1895, VOSS 1965). All other species, some possibly erroneously included in this genus according to their descriptions (HUSTACHE 1929, 1934), namely M. glacialis (Hustache, 1929) and M. laevistriata (Hustache, 1934) both from Kenya, are impossible to confuse with the Socotran one.   
 Etymology. The name of the new species refers to its homeland, the island of Socotra; the Latin adjective insularis (- is, - e)’ means insular.   
 Distribution. Endemic to Socotra Island.
description: Published as part of Colonnelli, Enzo, 2014, Apionidae, Nanophyidae, Brachyceridae and Curculionidae except Scolytinae (Coleoptera) from Socotra Island, pp. 295-422 in Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 54 on pages 310-312, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5313125