Morphostenophanes bannaensis Zhou, new species
Creators: name: Zhou, De-Yao
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Tenebrionidae
Morphostenophanes
Morphostenophanes bannaensis

description: Morphostenophanes bannaensis Zhou, new species ůṁẎȐAEƤ
(Figs. 26 A–C; 31B, G, L, Q; 32B, J–L; 33B, H)
Type materials. CHINA: Yunnan: ♂ (Holotype, MYNU), Jinghong City, Mengyang Town, Yexianggu, 2016. xi.12, native collector.
Diagnosis. Body large, greenish, elongate and strongly convex. Antennae and legs reddish. Pronotum relatively narrow, slightly constricted before base. Elytra with rows of tubercles of varying sizes, each with purplish central portions. Metatibiae strongly curved. Aedeagus with narrowed and fusiform apex of parameres. Apical lobes of sternite VIII spatulate.
Description. Male (Fig. 26 A–C). Greenish, antennae, mouthparts, and legs reddish brown; central parts of elytral tubercles purplish. Body elongate, length 25.1 mm, width 9.0 mm, strongly convex dorsad, noticeably constricted between pronotum and elytra.
Head (Fig. 31B, G) transversely subquadrate, densely and finely punctate, with outer margin strongly notched between genae and clypeus; clypeus transversely hexagonal, slightly convex in middle, gently bent downwards in front, with anterior margin nearly straight, weakly emarginate in middle, clypeal transverse impression marked; frontoclypeal suture deeply grooved, more deeply concaved in middle, becoming weaker laterally, widely U-shaped; genae strongly raised, depressed before eyes, strongly and roundly produced anterolaterally; frons broad, gradually sloping forwards; eyes transversely reniform, strongly convex laterally; inner ocular sulci shallowly grooved along inner margins, extending posterolaterally; tempora moderately convex, coarsely punctate. OI = 46.5. Antennae (Fig. 32B) slender, reaching basal fourth of elytra, with antennomeres weakly thickened to apices; relative lengths of antennomeres: 0.83: 0.34: 1.29: 1.22: 1.38: 1.38: 1.36: 1.33: 1.22: 1.17: 1.21. Mentum (Fig. 31G) quadrate, lateral margins straight; medial surface coarsely punctate, with several large pores bearing long setae, gradually rising from basal to apex, both sides of posterior half depressed.
Pronotum (Fig. 31L) quadrate, PW/PL = 1.00, widest in anterior third, anterior margin projecting anteriorly, marginal border marked; lateral margins rounded in anterior third, becoming straight posteriorly, lateral marginal borders thin, visible in dorsal view along anterior half; posterior margin rounded, weakly emarginate in middle, posterior marginal border markedly presented; anterior angles rounded; posterior angles obtuse, slightly projecting laterally; disc moderately convex, shagreened, sparsely and finely punctate. Scutellum widely triangular, extremely glossy.
Elytra fusiform, widest in middle, EL/EW = 1.86; strongly convex, highest behind apical third; striae furrowed, sinuate; intervals intermittently expanded and convex, forming rounded or ovate tubercles, shagreened and weakly wrinkled, sparsely and finely punctate.
Prosternum (Fig. 31Q) weakly rugulose, finely and sparsely punctate; prosternal process strongly declivous; hypomeron rugulose, finely microsculptured. Metasternum densely and finely punctate, metaventral anterior process transversely wrinkled. Abdomen depressed, surface somewhat rough, shagreened, densely and finely punctate, with sternites III and IV sulcate at both sides.
Legs slender. Protibiae (Fig. 32J) moderately curved in apical fourth, apical 2/3 of inner margin sparsely pubescent; mesotibiae (Fig. 32K) weakly curved in apical fourth, apical half of inner margin emarginate and pubescent; metatibiae (Fig. 32L) strongly recurved, 2/3 of apical inner margin densely pubescent.
Aedeagus (Fig. 33B) elongate, curved in lateral view; parameres slender, 0.22 as long as total length, with narrowed and fusiform apex. Sternite VIII (Fig. 33H) with spatulater apical lobes strongly produced backwards, constricted at each base.
Female: Unknown.
Comparative notes. Morphostenophanes bannaensis is the only species within the atavus -group possessing rows of purplish tubercles along eltra intervals. Such character state is also seen in M. linglong. However, M. linglong is clearly related to M. metallicus (see comparative notes of M. linglong). Large and elongate habitus, strongly curved metatibiae, narrowed apex of parameres, and similar apical lobes of sternite VIII suggest close relation between Morphostenophanes bannaensis, M. birmanicus, M. lincangensis and M. vietnamicus.
Distribution. (Map 1) CHINA: Yunnan.
Etymology. The new species is named after a simplified spelling of its type locality, Xishuangbanna.
description: Published as part of Zhou, De-Yao, 2020, A revision of the genus Morphostenophanes Pic, 1925 (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae, Stenochiinae, Cnodalonini), pp. 1-81 in Zootaxa 4769 (1) on page 45, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4769.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/3797078