Beckhoplia setosa Dombrow 2020, new species
Creators: name: Dombrow, Holger E.
name: Colville, Jonathan F.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Melolonthidae
Beckhoplia
Beckhoplia setosa

description: Beckhoplia setosa Dombrow, new species
(Figs. 42, 48, 60, 68–69, 103)
http://zoobank.org/ 02F4C75F-B9E7-42FA-8B31-7903CDD2680C
Type locality. [RSA, NCP]: 6 km NO Nieuwoudtville.
Type material. [1] Holotype ♂: white label pr «AFRIKA: Südafrika, Kapprovinz | 6 km NO Nieuwoudtville | 31°19’16”S, 19°07’00”E | 30.08.1989, leg. R. Fritz» || green label pr «Host plant: | Homeria miniata »|| blue label pr «Bioregion: | Sandstone Fynbos | Vegetation Type: FFs1 – | Bokkeveld Sandstone Fynbos» || yellow label hw «54», pr «.990» | coll. Dombrow || red label pr « Holotype | Beckhoplia | setosa sp.n. | det.: H. Dombrow 2019» (ZSM).
Condition of holotype. Very good. Glued on card. Dissected, parameres and spiculum gastrale glued behind beetle. Left prothoracic tarsus missing after tarsomere III.
Differential diagnosis. Differs from B. castanea: Pronotum of B. setosa without medial furrow. Pronotum of B. castanea with medial furrow. Pretarsomere of metathoracic tarsus of B. setosa with a granulate ridge ventrally. Pretarsomere of metathoracic tarsus of B. castanea with an undulate ridge ventrally. Interno-posterior margin of parameres of B. setosa (Figs. 68, 103) curly bracket-shaped in dorsal view. Interno-posterior margin of parameres of B. castanea rounded, slightly incised medially (Figs. 70, 104). Anterior margin of phallobase of B. setosa (Figs. 68, 103) concave in dorsal view. Anterior margin of phallobase of B. castanea broad v-shaped (Figs. 70, 104).
Description
Measurements: length 7.9 mm; width 4.0 mm.
Integument: Black; elytra transparently pale-brown.
Tegument: Clypeus bare; sparse setose with very short to short, erect, brown setae on the inner side of the vertically reflexed anterior and lateral margin. Head loose setose with medium-long to long, erect, black setae. Eye canthus with a dense setose ciliary of medium-long, black setae. Scapus loose setose with medium-long, erect, black setae, brown ventrally, sparse and short on pedicellus; funiculum with few very short, erect, brown setae; clavus sparse setose with extremely short and very short, semi-erect, black setae. Pronotum loose setose with medium-long and long, erect, black setae; with a loose setose ciliary of long, black setae on lateral margin. Scutellum loose setose with medium-long, erect, black setae, with a longitudinal, median, bar strip in anterior third. Elytra without pattern; sparse setose with very short, reclinate, brownish setae; short to medium-long, semi-erect, black setae interspersed, lengthening towards anterior margin; with a sparse juxta-sutural row of robust, medium-long, erect, black setae, from anterior margin, crossing scutellar torus towards apical torus. Suture with a loose row of short to long, robust, semi-erect, black setae. Thorax and pleurites loose pilose with long, black hairs. Ventrite I–V sparse setose with short, semi-erect, black setae; medium-long to long, semi-erect, black setae interspersed. Propygidium and pygidium sparse setose with medium-long to long, semi-erect and erect, black setae; tip of pygidium with a sparse ciliary of medium-long, black setae. Prothoracic femur loose pilose with long, black hairs; bare internally. Prothoracic tibia sparse setose with short, semi-erect, pale-brown setae, sparser ventrally; medium-long, semi-erect, brown setae interspersed, long and erect ventrally; with a sparse setose longitudinal row of medium-long, erect, brown setae dorsally; a loose setose ciliary of short, black setae on internal ridge; a setaceous ciliary of short, brown setae on anterior margin, more robust towards internal ridge; a longer, downwards pointing setose ciliary of brown setae along anterior margin of apical tooth. Mesothoracic femur loose pilose with long, black hairs, distinctly long and brown ventrally; bare internally. Mesothoracic tibia sparse setose with short, semi-erect, whitish setae; medium-long, semi-erect, black, robust setae interspersed, sparser, finer, medium-long and long internally. Posterior margin with a bristled ciliary of short, black bristles, lengthening dorsally, missing internally. Metathoracic femur loose setose with medium-long to distinctly long, erect, black setae; pale-brown ventrally; bare internally. Metathoracic tibia loose setose with very short and short, reclinate, brown setae; medium-long and long, robust, semi-erect, black setae interspersed, finer internally. Posterior margin with a loose bristled outer marginal ciliary of short, black bristles, lengthening dorsally and ventrally. Prothoracic and mesothoracic tarsomere I–IV bare. Metathoracic tarsomere I–IV sparse setose with short, reclinate, black setae. Tarsomere I–IV of all thoracic legs with a setaceous, apical, marginal ciliary of short, black setae, lengthening towards metathoracic tarsomeres, fine dorsally and more robust ventrally. Pretarsomere of all thoracic legs sparse setose with very short, reclinate, pale-brown setae; few, medium-long, semi-erect, black setae at apical margin, shorter and red-brown ventrally.
Head: Suture between head and clypeus linear, crenated. Head dense punctate with small, shallow, roundish, partly merging punctures, micropunctate within. Funicle I–II cylindrical, slightly thickened medially; funicle III asymmetric frustum-shaped; clavus elliptic, as long as pedicellus and funiculum combined.
Pronotum: Widest at anterior two fifth; dense punctate with shallow, very small and small, roundish punctures. Anterior corner orthogonal. Lateral margin linearly attenuate anteriorly, subparallel posteriorly. With an indistinct, shortened, shallow, medial furrow from posterior margin termination behind disk. Posterior corner angled.
Scutellum: Parabola-shaped; slightly longer than broad; dense punctate with shallow, small, roundish punctures, micropunctate within; with a shortened, median, longitudinal, narrow, smooth stripe from anterior margin terminating in anterior third. Lateral margin slightly convex. Tip rounded.
Elytra: Ovate; longer than broad; widest medially; protruding propygidium. Lateral margin slightly convex attenuate apically. Sculpture indistinct; slightly pulvinate laterally; humerus indistinct; with a broad roundish torus around scutellum; lateral trench missing; complanate beside scutellum and along suture. Loose punctate with very small to extremely small, shallow, roundish punctures, micropunctures in-between; a sparse juxta-sutural row of small, roundish tubercles from anterior margin, crossing scutellar torus towards apical torus; a sparse supra-humeral row of small, shallow, roundish punctures from anterior margin between humerus and scutellar torus towards apical torus.
Abdomen: Ventrite I distinctly shortened medially; ventrite V broadest, not constricted ventrally. Propygidium with a slightly projected stoma at posterior corner. Pygidium distinctly pulvinate longitudinally and laterally; upper margin moderately convex; lateral margin subparallel in upper quarter, linearly attenuate apically; tip rounded.
Prothoracic leg: Femur and tibia robust. Tibia smooth ventrally. Median tooth robust. Basal tooth rudimentary. Interspace between teeth almost equal. Shape of interspace between anterior and median tooth concave and between median and basal tooth linear. Tarsomere I–IV combined extremely short; lengthening from tarsomere I–IV; slightly more than 2 / 5 in length of tibia. Pretarsomere distinctly thickened; with a small, triangular-shaped, median tooth ventrally; slightly less than 1 / 10 more in length of tarsomere I–IV combined. Internal claw slightly less than 1 / 10 more in length of pretarsomere. External claw slightly less than 4 / 5 in length of internal claw.
Mesothoracic leg: Tibia slightly more than 7 / 10 in length of femur. Tarsomere I–IV combined extremely short; slightly more than 3 / 10 in length of tibia. Pretarsomere with a shortened smooth ridge ventrally followed by a roundish cutting apically; slightly less than 1 / 10 more in length of tarsomere I–IV combined. External claw slightly shorter than pretarsomere. Internal claw slightly less than 9 / 10 in length of external claw.
Metathoracic leg: Tibia 9 / 10 in length of femur. Tarsomere I–IV distinctly short; slightly more than 7 / 10 in length of tibia. Pretarsomere slightly thickened; with a granulate ridge ventrally; slightly less than 2 / 5 in length of tarsomere I–IV combined. External claw slightly more than 1 / 10 more in length of pretarsomere. Internal claw less more than 4 / 5 in length of external claw.
Parameres: (Figs. 68–69, 103).
♀: Unknown.
Distribution. Northern Cape Province (Fig. 140), only known from the type locality.
Vegetation Type. Bokkeveld Sandstone Fynbos [FFs 1].
Host Plants. Iridaceae: Moraea miniata Andrews.
Etymology. The name derives from the long brown setae on pronotum [Latin: set = a bristle].
description: Published as part of Dombrow, Holger E. & Colville, Jonathan F., 2020, Review of the genus Beckhoplia Dombrow, 2005 with the description of fifteen new species from South Africa and observations on its biogeography (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae: Hopliini), pp. 1-79 in Zootaxa 4823 on pages 27-28, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4823.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4401916