Anthonomus (Persexarthrus) behnei Košťál, 2014, sp. n.
Creators: name: Košťál, Michael
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Curculionidae
Anthonomus
Anthonomus behnei

description: Anthonomus (Persexarthrus) behnei sp. n.
Figs 3, 8, 12, 20, 21
Type locality. Morghab (Iran).
Type series. Holotype: male “ IRAN mer. FARS Kuhha-ye Zagros Mts. Michael Košťál leg. / Kuh-e Kum Mts. Morghab env. 2250 m N 30°23.4’ E 53°11.0’ 13.v.2013 / Amygdalus sp. / HOLOTYPUS Anthonomus behnei sp.n. Michael Košťál des. 2013“ (KO). Paratypes: same data as holotype (15 ♂♂, 18 ♀♀ KO; 1 ♂ 1♀ DEI; 1 ♂ 1♀ BE); “ IRAN mer. FARS Kuhha-ye Zagros Mts. Michael Košťál leg. / Ardakan env. 2300 m N 30°22.0’ E 51°46.9’ 6.v.2008 “ (1 ♀ KO).; “ IRAN mer. FARS Kuhha-ye Zagros Mts. Michael Košťál leg. / Khaneh Zenyan pr. Shiraz 2000 m N 29°36.7’ E 52°16.3’ 3.v.2008 / Amygdalus sp.” (2 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀ KO); same data but date “ 14.v.2013 ” (1 ♂, 1 ♀ KO).
Description. Male (holotype) (Fig. 20). Length 2.43 mm. Body: moderately slender, very slightly broadened posteriorly. Rostrum: black, long (Rl/Pl = 1.45); in lateral view regularly weakly curved, uniform in width from base to apex; in dorsal view widened from base to apex, densely roughly sculptured with intermixed elongated punctures, especially at apex, before antennal insertion with two parallel slightly indicated furrows, with dark brown recumbent seta-like scales, at rostrum base intermixed with recumbent whitish seta-like scales. Head: frons approximately of same width as rostrum at base, very densely sculptured, with white and light brown seta-like scales mostly directed laterally and some anteriorly; eyes prominent. Antennae: Reddish brown with dark brown club, inserted at about 2/3 of rostrum length; funicular segment 1 2.1x longer than wide, segment 2 much more slender than segment 1, slightly longer than wide; club spindle-shaped, 2.4x as long as wide. Pronotum: dark brown to blackish with brown narrow anterior margin, with large, irregularly rounded punctures: intervals between punctures considerably narrower than puncture diameter, shining; on sites and in middle line moderately densely covered with whitish and intemixed brown recumbent seta-like scales forming nearly unnoticeable broad lateral clearly visible medial white longitudinal line; transverse (Pw/Pl = 1.52), broadest shortly after middle, with unequally rounded sides, slightly and broadly constricted at anterior margin; disc slightly convex. Elytra: Dark brown to blackish, interstria 1 very slightly lighter; suboval (El/Ew = 1.45), in first two thirds of length slightly divergent, broadly rounded at posterior third, widest between medium and last third, flat on disc. Striae formed by deep round closely arranged punctures, weakly narrower than interstriae; interstriae very finely sculptured. Whitish recumbent hair-like tiny scales very densely covering scutellum; considerably longer whitish elongated (l/w ≈ 7) seta-like scales sparsely scattered on elytra and here intermixed with light brown subrecumbent thin scales, especially in posterior half of elytra with blackish suberect seta-like scales. More densely arranged scales only feebly indicate anterior disc macula, broad anterior band and the posterior band. Legs: Dark brown to black except brown reddish femoral base, femorotibial junction, tibial apex, tarsomere 1 and basal part of claws, sparsely covered by whitish to brown reddish subrecumbent to suberect seta-like scales; profemora with large triangular sharp tooth (Fig. 3), meso- and metafemora with very small sharp tooth; tarsomere 3 weakly bilobed and only slightly wider than tarsomere 2, onychium shorter than tarsomeres 1–2 combined; claws with small teeth in middle of their length. Venter: Regularly covered with white seta-like scales, medial part of metasternum, ventrite 1 and 2 with fine dense transverse furrowing and round deep punctures. Penis: Fig. 8 a–c. Plates of sternite IX: Fig. 8 d.
Female (Fig. 21). As in male except rostrum slightly longer (Rl/Pl = 1.56–1.65) and more strongly curved. Spermatheca: Fig. 12.
Variability. Length in males 2.2–3.1 mm, in females 2.6 – 4.0 mm. Integument varies only slightly, especially in some larger specimens which have the humeri brown to brown-reddish. Elytra of densely white squamose specimens with two dark bands with only blackish seta-like scales. Anterior dark band V-shaped, convergent posteriorly, posterior one rectangularly transverse. In some specimens the distal half of the femora is reddish.
Etymology. I devote this species to my friend and eminent weevil specialist Lutz Behne, who helped me considerably with material from the Dieckmann collection and with literature.
Diagnosis. Anthonomus behnei is the only known species of the subgenus Persexarthrus with toothed claws.
Comparative notes. This species is most similar to dark specimens of A. variabilis, from which it differs by having toothed claws and less developed sexual dimorphism and by genitalia of both sexes.
Biological notes. I collected this species in Iran in Khaneh Zenyan on Prunus eburnea (Spach) Aitchison together with A. variabilis and in Morghab on a shrubby species, which was either P. erioclada Bornmüller or P. lycioides (Spach) C. K. Schneider (I. Mehregan pers. comm.).
Distribution. Iran.
Non-type specimens examined. None.
description: Published as part of Košťál, Michael, 2014, Revision of the subgenus Persexarthrus Voss of the genus Anthonomus Germar (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Anthonomini), pp. 561-574 in Zootaxa 3785 (4) on pages 572-573, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3785.4.5, http://zenodo.org/record/228999