Preliminary re-examination of genus-level taxonomy of the pollen beetle subfamily Meligethinae (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) Author Audisio, Paolo Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e dell’Uomo, Sapienza Rome University, via A. Borelli, 50, I- 00161 Rome, Italy; e-mail: paolo. audisio @ uniroma 1. it Author Cline, Andrew Richard Plant Pest Diagnostics Center, California Department of Food and Agriculture, 3294 Meadowview Road, Sacramento, CA 95832 - 1448, USA; e-mail: acline @ cdfa. ca. gov Author Biase, Alessio De Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e dell’Uomo, Sapienza Rome University, viale Dell’Università, 32, I- 00185 Rome, Italy; e-mail: alessio. debiase @ uniroma 1. it Author Antonini, Gloria Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e dell’Uomo, Sapienza Rome University, via A. Borelli, 50, I- 00161 Rome, Italy; e-mail: paolo. audisio @ uniroma 1. it Author Mancini, Emiliano Dipartimento di Scienze di Sanità Pubblica, Sapienza Rome University, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I- 00185, Rome, Italy; e-mail: emiliano. mancini @ uniroma 1. it Author Trizzino, Marco Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e dell’Uomo, Sapienza Rome University, via A. Borelli, 50, I- 00161 Rome, Italy; e-mail: paolo. audisio @ uniroma 1. it Author Costantini, Lorenzo Museo Nazionale d’Arte Orientale, Servizio di Bioarcheologia e Microscopia, via Merulana 248, I- 00185 Rome, Italy; e-mail: l. costantin @ mclink. it Author Strika, Sirio Museo Nazionale d’Arte Orientale, Servizio di Bioarcheologia e Microscopia, via Merulana 248, I- 00185 Rome, Italy; e-mail: l. costantin @ mclink. it Author Lamanna, Francesco Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e dell’Uomo, Sapienza Rome University, via A. Borelli, 50, I- 00161 Rome, Italy; e-mail: paolo. audisio @ uniroma 1. it Author Cerretti, Pierfilippo Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e dell’Uomo, Sapienza Rome University, via A. Borelli, 50, I- 00161 Rome, Italy; e-mail: paolo. audisio @ uniroma 1. it text Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 2009 2009-12-15 49 2 341 504 journal article 10.5281/zenodo.5319334 0374-1036 5319334 29. Xenostrongylogethes Audisio & Cline , gen. nov. ( Figs. 29 a–h ) Type species. Anthystrix luculenta Kirejtshuk & Easton, 1988: 42 , 45 [= Xenostrongylogethes luculentus ( Kirejtshuk & Easton, 1988 ) comb. nov. ]. Generic description and diagnosis. Inclusive species vary moderately in size ( 1.9–2.5 mm length), and share the following combination of characters. Body color and pubescence : pubescence long, golden to silvery-whitish and dense, recumbent, partially obscuring the predominantly dark brown dorsal body surface, sometimes obscuring the narrowly flattened and frequently paler pronotal and elytral sides ( Fig. 29a ); lateral margin of pronotum and elytra with a series of faintly distinct, short setae, each seta nearly 0.5× as long as those on elytral disc; posterior margin of pronotum with relatively short, distally multifid microsetae, microsetae also present on middle portion anterior to scutellum (as in Fig. 27f ). Dorsal habitus : body moderately convex and short, suboval ( Fig. 29a ); dorsal punctures on discal portion of pronotum as large as or larger than eye facet, moderately to deeply impressed ( Fig. 29a ); anterior margin of clypeus faintly emarginate medially, simple, i.e. without small distinct medial bulge, usually distinctly bordered ( Fig. 29a ); circum-ocular furrows (occipital sulci) on dorsal head surface almost obliterated, indistinct; eyes large and usually markedly projecting laterally ( Fig. 29a ); posterior angles of pronotum distinct, blunt, obtuse ( Fig. 29a ), never directed posteriorly; scutellum uniformly punctured on most of exposed portion (as in Fig. 27f); elytral punctures simple, never transversely strigose; elytral humeral angle distinct, widely obtuse, never protruding laterally (Fig. 29a); elytral humeral striae not distinct; elytral pre-sutural striae faintly visible, almost indistinct anteriorly, originating posterior to scutellar vertex, terminating at elytral apex, and delimiting on each elytron a faintly distinct, flat, unraised sutural border, more distinct at distal fourth, distinctly narrower than proximal width of 3 rd antennomere; elytral apices truncately rounded in both sexes (Fig. 29a); pygidium partially exposed, moderately convex, apically rounded in both sexes (Fig. 29a). Ventral habitus : antennal furrows markedly delimited, and moderately convergent posteriorly; mentum subpentagonal (Fig. 29d); prosternal antennal furrows on anterior margin of prosternum moderately distinct, widely divergent posteriorly, slightly raised and short in both sexes (Fig. 29d); prosternal process moderately narrow, subapical portion 1.7–1.8× as wide as maximum width of 1 st antennomere, apex bluntly rounded (Fig. 29d); lateral borders of prosternal process delimiting shallowly impressed but distinct furrows, distally terminating at predistal lateral expansions; posterior margin of mesoventrite simple, not medially incised; scarce sexual dimorphism in shape/size of impressions on metaventrite; first two visible male abdominal ventrites medially bearing a distinct and widely transverse tuft of dense, blackish-brown, shortly erect setae, absent in females; caudal marginal lines of metacoxal cavities simple, subparallel and contiguous to posterior margin of metacoxal cavities, with shallow arched impression of outer ‘axillary’ line; ‘axillary’ space on first abdominal ventrite moderately developed, ‘axillary’ angle slightly obtuse; moderately distinct and shallowly impressed arched impressions on basal portion of last visible abdominal ventrite, partially covered by distal portion of penultimate visible abdominal ventrite. Appendages : male 1 st antennomere 0.9–1.0× as long as width of protibiae excluding distal teeth (Figs. 29a, c); 3 rd antennomere ~2.7× as long as wide in both sexes, nearly as long as but distinctly thinner than 2 nd antennomere (Fig. 29c); 4 th antennomere slightly longer than 5 th , the latter short, slightly longer than wide (Fig. 29c); scarce sexual dimorphism in antennal club size, slightly larger and partially including 8 th antennomere in males (Fig. 29c), smaller and 3-jointed in females; labial palpi moderately short in both sexes, terminal segment 1.6–1.8× as long as wide; maxillary palpi moderately long and thin, last segment 2.1–2.3× as long as wide; mandible mid-sized, moderately short, apex bifid, moderately acuminate, sexual dimorphism absent; tarsi of normal size and shape, 0.7–0.9× as long as corresponding tibiae (Fig. 29a); tarsal claws simple, never toothed at base; protibiae with reduced teeth on outer margins (Figs. 29a, b); lateral margin of meso- and metatibiae bearing a single and regular row of long and thin, yellowish pegs (Fig. 29a), without U-shaped sinuosity at distal third; sexual dimorphism nearly absent in meso- and metatibiae shape, more or less abruptly dilated inwards in basal portion in both sexes, subparallel-sided in medial and distal portions (Fig. 29a); tarsal plates of prolegs wider in males; posterior margin of metafemora simple in both sexes, without tubercles or projections. Male genitalia : simple, processes along inner side of parameres absent (Fig. 29e), without deep median longitudinal desclerotization from proximal portion of tegmen extending to medial distal V-shaped excision; median lobe of aedeagus simple, without lateral emargination (Fig. 29f); main sclerites of internal sac (flagellum) large, forceps-shaped and well sclerotized, slightly shorter than aedeagus (Fig. 29g). Female genitalia ( ovipositor ): large; styli long and distinct, simple, unpigmented, inserted near apex of contiguous gonostyloids, each gonostyloid lightly sclerotized and moderately pigmented distally, with a simple, never indentate outer portion of basicoxites ( Fig. 29h ), and a single, small, pigmented and more sclerotized arcuate area along outer subdistal portion of gonostyloids. ‘Central point’ of ovipositor located more distad than middle, without proximad directed spicule. Fig. 29. Xenostrongylogethes Audisio & Cline , gen. nov. : a–h – X. luculentus ( Kirejtshuk & Easton, 1988 ) . a – male habitus (length 2.5 mm); b – protibia (length 0.32 mm); c – male antenna (length 0.50 mm); d – ventral view of head and anterior portion of prosternum (pronotal width 1.22 mm); e–f – male genitalia ( e – length 0.42 mm; f – length 0.47 mm); g – major sclerites of male endophallus (length 0.42 mm); h – distal portion of ovipositor (length 0.49 mm). Etymology. This genus is named for the short oval and moderately convex body shape of inclusive species, covered by dense, long, whitish to yellowish pubescence, which strongly resembles members of the Palaearctic Nitidulinae genus Xenostrongylus Wollaston, 1854 , and from ‘- gethes ’, to emphasize its phylogenetic relationship with Meligethes . Gender masculine. Biology. Larval development is strictly associated with male inflorescences of Asteraceae within the isolated tribe Tarchonantheae (especially Tarchonanthus L.) (AUDISIO unpublished data). Phylogenetic position. Xenostrongylogethes gen. nov. is moderately isolated within the Anthystrix complex of genera, potentially more closely related to Sebastiangethes than other members of the complex. Xenostrongylogethes gen. nov. exhibits some peculiar traits such as reduced antennal sexual dimorphism, and a distinct and large tuft of short, dense, dark, medial setae on the first two visible abdominal ventrites in males. Taxonomy and geographic distribution. The genus includes a single southern African species. A second new southern African species awaits description from the Northwest Province and southern Limpopo . An upcoming paper is devoted to the description of this new species and the taxonomic revision of the genus (AUDISIO et al. in prep.). Xenostrongylogethes luculentus (Kirejtshuk & South Africa : E Cape , W Cape , KwaZulu-Natal Easton, 1988) comb. nov.