Smicronyx kenyanus Haran 2018, sp. n.
Creators: name: Haran, Julien
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Curculionidae
Smicronyx
Smicronyx kenyanus

description: Smicronyx kenyanus Haran sp. n.
Figs 1L, 4D, 5L
Material examined. Holotype ♂. ‘ Côte de l’Afr. (ique) or. (ientale) angl.(aise)’ [Kenya], ‘ de Tiwi a Gazi’, ‘Alluaud et Jeannel’ ‘ Nov. 1911 St. 6’ ‘Museum Paris’ ‘ Smicronyx kenyanus Haran’ (MNHN).
Description. (♂) Body length 2.0 mm. Colour. Body integument black, antennae, femora and tibiae dark reddish; vestiture of elytra consisting of recumbent, elliptical, slightly longer than wide scales, aligned in two lines on each interstria, dark-brown on the disc, paler on the sides, and with white scales forming patches at base of elytra and an irregular transverse band after middle; each interstria with a series of semi-erect elongate scales, similar in colour to scales of background; vestiture of prothorax comprising brown recumbent scales, longer than wide, oriented toward median line, and white scales condensed at base of median line and on sides. Head. Rostrum slightly longer than head capsule plus prothorax, downcurved, curvature stronger at base and near antennal insertion, densely covered by scales and punctate between base and antennal insertion, punctures and vestiture less dense beyond antennal insertion, smooth and shiny at apex, bearing two tufts of paler scales at base near eyes; transverse furrow at base of rostrum shiny, glabrous; head capsule with few scattered scales dorsally; eyes flat, subcontiguous on ventral side, space between eyes equal to the diameter of one ommatidium; antennae dark-reddish, scape slightly bisinuate at base, moderately clavate at apex, segment 1 elongate, equal in length to 2+3, 4–7 wider than long. Prothorax. Almost quadrate, slightly wider than long (w/l: 1.05), widest in middle of length, sides moderately rounded, slightly narrowing at apex; integument shiny, coarsely punctuate and granulate, mostly concealed by coating. Elytra. Sides subparallel in basal half, rounded in apical half, widest near middle (w/l ratio: 0.71); humeri raised; striae much narrower that interstriae, visible through the coating, interstriae flat, wide, shiny and slightly reticulate, apical callus slightly raised and covered by paler scales; scutellum small but visible, covered with white scales. Abdomen. Underside mostly covered with slightly overlapping whitish scales. Legs. Dark reddish, covered with whitish semi-erect elongate scales; femora moderately clavate, armed ventrally with small but visible tooth; tibiae straight, slightly bisinuate ventrally. Genitalia. Penis elongate (w/l ratio: 0.50), sides expanding from base to apex, apex rounded, curvature regular in lateral view, tapering toward apex near apex (Fig. 5L). Females not known.
Life history. Unknown. The holotype was collected in November.
Distribution. Kenya
Discussion. Smicronyx kenyanus is distinguished from S. namibicus by its narrower prothorax and its less contrasting pattern of scales on the elytra (Fig. 1J). It can be distinguished from S. gossypii and S. syriacus by its rostrum, which is longer and more downcurved in lateral view (Fig. 4B) than in the latter two species (Figs. 3 E–F). The penis is also very distinct, expanding regularly from base to apex (Fig. 5J).
Name derivation. Named in reference to the country where this species was found.
description: Published as part of Haran, Julien, 2018, A review of the genus Smicronyx Schoenherr (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Curculioninae) in tropical Africa, pp. 267-287 in Zootaxa 4508 (2) on page 281, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4508.2.9, http://zenodo.org/record/2607088