Elaeidobius spatulifer Haran & Beaudoin-Ollivier & Benoit & Kuschel 2020, comb. nov.
Creators: name: Haran, Julien M.
name: Beaudoin-Ollivier, Laurence
name: Benoit, Laure
name: Kuschel, Guillermo
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Curculionidae
Elaeidobius
Elaeidobius spatulifer

description: Elaeidobius spatulifer (Marshall, 1950) comb. nov.
Figs 1B, 2B, 4B
Prosoestus spatulifer Marshall, 1950: 264.
Material examined
Holotype
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO • “Musée du Congo. Thysville. - XI–1935. 2445. J Ghesquière” “HOLOTYPUS. spatulifer ♂. Marsh [red label]” “ Prosoestus spatulifer. Mshl. TYPE ♂” “ Holotype ♂. Prosoestus. spatulifer. Marshall 1950. Kuschel 2009 [red label]” “ Elaeidobius. spatulifer. (Marshall 1950). Kuschel 2009”; MRAC.
Paratypes
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO • same collection data as for holotype; “PARATYPUS. ♀ [red label]” “ Prosoestus spatulifer. Mshl. Cotype ♀” “ Paratype. Prosoestus. spatulifer. Marshall 1950. Kuschel 2009” “ Elaeidobius. spatulifer. (Marshall 1950). Kuschel 2009”; MRAC • 1 ♀; same collection data as for holotype; NHMUK.
Other material
Other specimens identified and labelled by G. Kuschel at NHMUK and NZAC.
Diagnosis (♂ ♀)
BODY LENGTH. 2.5–2.9 mm.
COLOUR. Derm dorsally reddish brown, ventrally dark brown, elytra vaguely darker on interstria 2 and laterally on interstriae 6 and 7; antennae and legs reddish or yellowish.
HEAD. Forehead not impressed in either sex. Rostrum in male about as long as prothorax, in female 1.2 × as long, moderately robust and downcurved, with a slight postmental elevation in male.
PROTHORAX. Uniformly coloured, lacking stripes and foveae; lateral carina in dorsal view uninterrupted at apex, with conspicuous cuticular expansion in male, carina in lateral view moderately upcurved in male, gently in female towards apical collar.
ELYTRA. A low costa on interstria 9 gradually fading towards end; pubescence inconspicuous, very sparse, with a row of more conspicuous hairs on interstriae. Prosternal process of male variable in size, the apex rounded without a lateral lobe.
ABDOMEN. Tergites 1–6 divided on midline; pruinose patches on tergites 5–7; tergite 7 in male impinging slightly into 6, subtruncate at apex; plectral rows on basal two thirds, each with 12 pegs.
GENITALIA. Penis as long as last four ventrites; body deeply pigmented, 2.9 × as long as apodemes (ratio w/l: 0.19), widest near basal third, then tapering to less than one third of its width, widening moderately to an asymmetrical apex (Fig. 4B); internal sac without sclerite.
Life history
Unknown, Elaeis guineensis (Arecaceae), oil palm, on inflorescences.
Distribution
Cameroon (Yaoundé); Democratic Republic of Congo (Thysville); Ivory Coast (Toumodi).
Remarks
The species is distinguished by a uniform dark colour, and in the male by a prominent spade-like prosternal process and lack of a postmental tubercle. No DNA-grade material of this species could be obtained in the course of this study.
description: Published as part of Haran, Julien M., Beaudoin-Ollivier, Laurence, Benoit, Laure & Kuschel, Guillermo, 2020, Revision of the palm-pollinating weevil genus Elaeidobius Kuschel, 1952 (Curculionidae, Curculioninae, Derelomini) with descriptions of two new species, pp. 1-32 in European Journal of Taxonomy 684 on pages 8-9, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2020.684, http://zenodo.org/record/3959113