Mehlia Horák 2010, gen. nov.
Creators: name: Horák, Jan
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Mordellidae
Mehlia

description: Mehlia gen. nov.
Type species. Mehlia seramensis sp. nov., present designation.
Description. Body shape resembling that of Mordella (Figs. 1, 15 and 26). Body black, small and convex with short and broad pygidium. Pubescence black, except for a white or whitish grey pattern on dorsal surface (except uniformly black male of M. seramensis sp. nov.) and with completely white or greyish pubescence of mesosternum and basal margins of abdominal ventrites.
Head rather large, distinctly wider than long, narrower than pronotum, only moderately narrowed at mouth parts. Eyes (Figs. 3 and 16) small, elongately oval, finely facetted and completely glabrous. Tempora or temporal angles behind eyes not developed. Galea (Fig. 6) narrow, only slightly longer than lacinia, with yellow-brown cirrose outgrowths at distal end. Maxillary palpomere 2 indistinctly wider than palpomere 3 in male (Figs. 4, 17 and 27), very robust and swollen with inner angle situated at its basal third in female (Figs. 5, 18 and 28). Terminal palpomere very narrowly securiform in male. Antennae very long, reaching shoulders in male (Figs. 7, 19 and 29) with terminal antennomere oblong and narrowly oval, three times longer than wide; antennae extremely short and reaching only second third of pronotal length in female (Figs. 8, 20, 30), with antennomeres 5–10 quadrate and terminal antennomere very long and narrow, about 2.5–3 times longer than wide. Sides of pronotum strongly convex in lateral view, posterior angles very strongly rounded, obtuse and indistinct. Scutellum (Fig. 10) comparatively large, broadly quadrangular. Elytra 2.9 times as long as their combined width at humeri, in basal third almost parallel-sided, then gradually narrowed posteriorly, their tips separately rounded. Metepisterna long, with ventral side elongate and oblong. Protibiae (Figs. 9, 21 and 31) longer than protarsi, straight, without swelling and without longer hairs at base, protarsi narrower than protibia. Middle tibiae distinctly shorter than middle tarsi. Posterior tibia with only one apical ridge reaching one third of width of tibia, parallel to apical edge; posterior tarsomeres without ridges. Outer terminal spur of posterior tibia reaching nearly one half of the length of inner one.
Male genitalia similar in shape as in Mordella (Figs. 11–14, 22–25 and 32–35).
Differential diagnosis. The new genus is most related to the genus Tomoxioda Ermisch, 1950, from which it differs especially in the shape of the body, terminal palpomere and antennae. See the key for further differences from other related genera.
Species included. Mehlia jakli sp. nov., M. jelineki sp. nov. and M. seramensis sp. nov.
Etymology. The new genus is dedicated to my friend Ole Mehl (Struer, Denmark), a specialist in the Cerambycidae. Gender feminine.
Distribution. Malaysia: Malayan Peninsula: Perak, Kalimantan: Sabah; Indonesia: Sumatra, Ambon, Seram, Tanimbar Archipelago: Yamdena.
description: Published as part of Horák, Jan, 2010, Jakliella and Mehlia, new genera from Indonesia and Malaysia, with description of four new species (Coleoptera: Mordellidae), pp. 547-561 in Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 50 (2) on page 549, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5326281