Curculio francisi Pelsue and Zhang, New Species
Creators: name: Frank W. Pelsue, Jr.
name: Zhang, Runzhi
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2000
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Curculionidae
Curculio
Curculio francisi

description: Curculio francisi Pelsue and Zhang, New Species   
Figs. 19–20, 59–61  
HOLOTYPE. China. Xishuangbanna: male[China / Yunnan /Xishuangbanna/2,600 M/ 24 September 1957 / S. Wong] (IZAS)  
PARATYPE. (1) China. male[China / Yunnan / Xishuangbanna /2,600 M/ 24 September 1957 / S. Wong] (FWPC)  
 Recognition Characters. Medium­sized, elongate, oval; derm uniformly fuscorufous; rostrum, 0.56 as long as body; frons broad, 0.34 as wide as head across eyes; hind femoral tooth medium­sized; hind femur lacks proximolateral sulcus; elytra with moderately prominent humeri and feeble white macula, intervals 5–7 with white fascia past midpoint; crosshatched setae are short, stout, and piceous.   
 Description. Male: Length: 3.6–3.7 mm (mean 5 3.65). Width: 1.7–1.8 mm (mean 5 1.75). Head: Medium­sized, moderately convex; punctures small, clothed with fine, short, narrow, elongate, ochroleucus scales; anteroventral macula of short, narrow, elongate, white scales ventral to eyes and rostrum; eyes round, large, finely faceted; frons broad, 0.34 as wide as head across eyes; clothed with longer, narrow, elongate, ochroleucus scales; interocular fovea lacking. Rostrum: Length: 2.0– 2.2 mm (mean 5 2.1), 0.56 as long as body; cylindrical, thick at base, gradually tapering to apex; sides subparallel to antennal insertion becoming narrower, then expanding slightly at apex; straight to antennal insertion, then gradually curving to apex; median dorsal carina from frons to antennal insertion; punctures small, oval, in line to antennal insertion; base with few narrow, elongate, ochroleucus scales; scrobe lateral; scape inserted in apical half. Antennae: Length: Scape 1.0 mm; Funiculus: segment one 0.25 mm, two 0.175 mm; three 0.1 mm, four 0.1, five 0.1 mm, six 0.1 mm, seven 0.1 mm; club 0.4 mm; funicle 1.5 mm; scape 0.67 as long as funicle; scape and funicle rubiginous; vestiture of sparse, narrow, elongate, ochroleucus scales, with longer, erect, short setae toward apex of each segment; club medium, oval, compact, acuminate, clothed with fine velvety pile, few erect setae; club as long as funicular segments 4–7. Thorax: Length: 1.0– 1.1 mm (mean 5 1.05). Width: 1.3–1.5 mm (mean 5 1.4). 0.77 as long as broad; disc margins subparallel, broadly rounded to constriction; slightly convex laterally; disc punctures small with clavate, testaceous mixed with few white scales; ventrally, clavate scales mostly white; base sinuate with basal declivity; mesosternal intercoxal process prominent clothed with narrow, elongate, white scales; scutellum medium, as long as broad, clothed with white scales; mesepimeron, mesepisternum and metepisternum clothed with clavate, ochroleucus scales. Elytra: Length: 2.1 mm. Striae narrow, deep, with narrow, elongate, ochroleucus scales; humeri feebly prominent, with basal declivity angled to pronotum; disc flat in lateral view; intervals broad, flat, clothed, with narrow, clavate, ochroleucus scales, with a feeble macula of narrow, clavate, white scales behind humeri and a feeble fascia of white scales on intervals 5–7 distad of midpoint; scattered white scales towards apex, with fuscous scales between fascia; crosshatched setae short, stout, and piceous. Legs: Length of hind femur 1.6–1.7 mm (mean 5 1.65), tooth medium­sized, with acute apex, lacks proximolateral sulcus; profemoral tooth small, mesofemoral tooth small, but larger than profemoral tooth; vestiture of long, narrow, mixed ochroleucus and white scales; tibiae straight except near apex becoming sinuate, apical comb ascending on posterior margin; pro­ and mesouncus large, longer than tarsal claw, metauncus as long as tarsal claw. Abdomen: Sternite 1 not as long as 2 behind coxal cavity, with flat median; sternite 2 as long as 3 ascending to 3; 4 not as long as 3; sternite 5 as long as 3 and 4 combined, emarginate apex; vestiture of all sternites with elongate, narrow, alternating ochroleucus and white scales. Pygidium: Exposed, medium, clothed with narrow, elongate, seta­like ochroleucus scales. Genitalia: Median lobe of aedeagus 0.6 mm in length, 0.2 mm in width, sides parallel to round apices with deep central slit (Fig. 60), thickened, sharply arced to apex in lateral view; aedeagal apodeme 0.9 mm in length (Figs. 59–61).   
 Distribution. China, Yunnan Province, Xishuangbanna, 24 September 1957, S. Wong.   
 Remarks. This species resembles C. marioi n. sp. in that it has a short median vitta on interval one from the scutellum to the macula of white scales at midpoint, but differs in that it is smaller in size, with shorter rostrum, different dorsal shape of pronotum and male genitalia. The species is named in honor of senior author’s grandson Frankie.
description: Published as part of Frank W. Pelsue, Jr. & Zhang, Runzhi, 2000, A Review Of The Curculio From China With Descriptions Of New Taxa. Part II. The Curculio Alboscutellatus Group (Curculionidae: Curculioninae: Cyrculionini), pp. 467-496 in The Coleopterists Bulletin 54 (4) on pages 486-488, DOI: 10.1649/0010-065x(2000)054[0467:arotcf]2.0.co;2, http://zenodo.org/record/4900281