Mecynotarsus weiri Kejval & Cz 2013, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Kejval, Zbyněk
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Anthicidae
Mecynotarsus
Mecynotarsus weiri

description: Mecynotarsus weiri sp. nov.
(Figs 112–115, 167, 185, 208)
Type locality. Australia, Western Australia, 4 km W of King Cascade, 15°38′S 1251°15′E.
Type material. HOLOTYPE: ♂, ‘ 15.38 S 125.15 E CALM Site 28/3 4 km W of King Cascade W.A. 12-16 June 1988 T. A. Weir [p] // at light closed forest [p] // AUST. NAT. INS. COLL: [p; green label]’ (ANIC). PARATYPES: 4 ♂♂ 7 ♀♀, same data as holotype (ANIC, 2 spec. ZKDC); 1 ♀, same data, lacking the 2nd label, in addition: ‘ Mecynotarsus sp. 1 det. T. A. Weir 1989 [p+h]’ (ANIC); 3 ♀♀, ‘ 14.49S 126.49E Carson escarpment W.A. 9–15 Aug. 1975 I. F. B. Common and M. S. Upton [p] // AUS. NAT. INS. COLL. [p; green label]’ (ANIC); 3 ♂♂, ‘ 12.52S, 132.50E Koongarra, 15 km E. of Mt. Cahill, N. T. 15.xi.1972, M. S. Upton [p] // ANIC Specimen [p; green label]’ (ANIC).
Description (holotype, male). Body length 2.1 mm. Head and pronotum largely brown black, at places reddish brown, elytra reddish brown; legs and antennae reddish to reddish brown.
Antero-lateral margins of frons simple. Gular rugules minute and scattered. Clypeal granules indistinct. Setation of head short, appressed, mostly scaly, finer only medially on vertex.Antennae moderately long; antennomeres III–V 1.7 times, X 1.2 times as long as wide; setation mostly scaly, whitish, finer on apical 3–4 antennomeres.
Pronotum narrow, 1.9 times as long as wide, its lateral margins somewhat unevenly and moderately convex; posterior collar narrow but distinct. Pronotal horn very narrow, its posterior angles indistinct in dorsal view (Fig. 167); horn margins armed with 4 narrow lobules on each side, apical lobule strongly bilobed; horn crest distinctly raised, very narrow, with coarse rugules on margins; 4 minute submarginal rugules subapically; single median rugule posteriorly. Setation whitish to greyish, scaly, covering even dorsal side of pronotal horn; scales on pronotal disc rather uniform, about as long as wide, hexagonal, appressed and contiguous; antebasal paired setae present, rather short and thick, especially median pair, another tactile setae absent.
Elytra 1.5 times as long as wide, rather convex; omoplates and postbasal impression absent. Setation scaly, grey and brown black, forming rather conspicuous markings (Fig. 208), appressed and evenly ordered; scales elongate, rounded to subtruncate apically, contiguous, entirely covering surface (Fig. 185); erect tactile setae absent.
Male characters. Sternum VII moderately emarginate postero-medially (Fig. 112). Tergum VIII and aedeagus as in Figs 113–115.
Variation. Body length (♂ ♀) 1.9–2.1 mm. Pronotal horn with 3–5 lobules on each side, apical lobule always strongly bilobed; 1–5 submarginal rugules (always in apical third) and 1–5 median rugules. Black markings on elytra always distinct, rarely reduced to small paired apical and rather rounded lateral spots.
Differential diagnosis. Mecynotarsus weiri sp. nov. is a very conspicuous species, which can be easily recognized by its very dense, uniformly scaly setation, whitish to greyish colouration with conspicuous, sharply outlined dark markings on the elytra, extremely narrow and elongate pronotal horn with reduced median and submarginal rugules, as well as by the rather distinctive morphology of the aedeagus.
Etymology. Dedicated to Tom Weir (CSIRO, Australia), who collected this species.
Distribution. Australia: Western Australia, Northern Territory.
description: Published as part of Kejval, Zbyněk, 2013, Taxonomic revision of the Australian Notoxinae (Coleoptera: Anthicidae), pp. 1-98 in Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae (suppl.) (suppl.) 53 on pages 81-82, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4272709