Chortastus orientalis Schedl, 1957

Jordal, Bjarte H., 2025, Taxonomic revision of the rare Afrotropical genus Chortastus Schaufuss (Coleoptera: Scolytinae), Zootaxa 5647 (1), pp. 77-84 : 79-80

Chortastus orientalis Schedl, 1957

( Figs 5–8 )

Chortastus orientalis Schedl, 1957: 868 .

Type material. Holotype and paratypes: Tanzania, Lushoto , ex Ocotea usambarensis , 8.IX.1955 J. C. M. Gardner, leg. [ NHMUK], additional paratypes: same data [ NHMW], same data except 5.XII.1955 [ NHMUK] .

Diagnosis. Body length 3.3–3.4 mm, 2.0–2.1 × as long as wide. Female frons simple, finely reticulate and dull from vertex to epistoma, with short erect setae evenly distributed; underside of head (gular area) with a tuft of forward pointing setae; antennal club with two clearly visible, asymmetrically procurved, almost angular, sutures; vestiture on pronotum and elytra similar; elytral interstriae on declivity increasingly granular towards posterior margin.

Distribution: Tanzania.

Host plant: Kuloa usambarensis ( Lauraceae ).

Remarks. This species is only known from the type locality and is the only East-African representative of the genus. Specimens may be all females given the structure of the frons, and the presence of a gular tuft of setae.

Figures

FIGURES 1–8. Dorsal, lateral, front and posterior view of Chortastus species. 1–3 Chortastus camerunus male, and 4, female. 5–8, Chortastus orientalis female paratype.