Khoisan javalae Meregalli & Borovec, 2025

Meregalli, Massimo & Borovec, Roman, 2025, Khoisan, a new genus of Cyclominae from South Africa, with nine new species (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), Zootaxa 5646 (1), pp. 1-37 : 28-30

Khoisan javalae Meregalli & Borovec sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:F563F62A-AC54-424C-BFC7-9B58984E4C3E

Figure 15

Type locality: South Africa, Western Cape, south of Ladismith .

Material examined: Holotype: ♂, RSA, Western Cape, S Ladismith to Riversdale , 277 m, 33°40.566'S, 21°10.527'E, 27.x.2019, R. Borovec & M. Meregalli lgt., Sifting of litter under shrubby Euphorbia (TMSA) . Paratypes: 1 ♂, 1 ♀, same data as holotype ( MMTI, RBSC) .

Description. Body length 2.19–2.31 mm, holotype 2.31 mm. Body brownish, antennae darker. Scales pale ochre-coloured, erect, oval or longer, narrowly pedunculate, oval on dorsum of pronotum, elytral interstriae, head, rostrum, anterior part of scapes, legs and underside, longer, pedunculate on anterior margin of pronotum, base of elytra, around and on top of tubercles, on pronotum sparse on dorsum, denser on anterior margin and dorsal tubercles, on elytra aligned in one–two irregular rows on interstriae, reciprocally isolate, not hiding integument, denser on declivity, distance between two consecutive scales at most as long as length of one scale, scales on tubercles dense, tightly packed; setae thin, pale brown, erect, inserted on top of tubercles.

Rostrum in males wider, 2.5× as long as wide, in basal part sides weakly tapered, in females 3× as long as wide, in basal part slenderer; in lateral view strongly curved at point of antennal insertion, in both sexes as long as pronotum, beyond antennal insertion slightly enlarged apicad, with slightly concave sides. Antennal insertions between midlength and apical third.

Scapes 1.35–1.45× as long as funicle, at apex subequal in width as club; funicles 5-segmented, first segment long, the others short; segment 1 1.8–1.9× as long as wide and 1.4–1.5× as long as funicle 2, this 1.2–1.3× as long as wide; segment 3 1.1× as long as wide; segment 4 as long as wide, segment 5 1.1–1.2× as wide as long; clubs 1.7× as long as wide.

Pronotum as long as wide, moderately constricted behind anterior margin; disc flat, with two median moderately raised humps, and two more humps before posterior margin; anterior margin broad, ratio width at anterior lateral tubercle/width at apex 1.40–1.45, strongly curved, prominent above head, with two lateral tubercles, sides with strong tubercle at point of maximum width, behind anterior constriction, linearly and distinctly converging basad, base arched.

Elytra in males 1.02–1.05× as long as wide, in females 1.08–1.12× as long as wide, striae with narrow punctures, as wide as interstriae; interstriae 2 with low tubercle at beginning of declivity, interstriae 3 with basal tubercle, followed by two dorsal low tubercles and a low tubercle at apex, interstriae 5 with three low tubercles, interstriae 7 with four, more raised tubercles, equally spaced from base to apex.

Legs short, protibiae relatively slender, 3.28× as long as wide at point of maximum width, moderately broadened towards apical third, with small granules, slightly constricted apically, apex with few rigid brownish spines.

Penis 2.4–2.6× as long as wide, widest at basal two thirds, here subparallel-sided with slightly rounded sides, at apical third constricted, slightly evenly tapered apicad with straight sides, apex subtriangular with shortly slightly sinuate sides and short, rounded tip; in lateral view regularly curved, evenly tapered apicad, sharply regularly pointed. Endophallus with two small, hammer-shaped sclerites.

Spermatheca not examined.

Bionomics. The type material was sifted below a large shrub of Euphorbia mauritanica on a slope with Fynbos vegetation ( Figure 16 ).

Derivation of the name. We name this species after Marion Javal, Julien Haran’s wife and researcher at the Institute for Research and Development, Montpellier ( France), acknowledging her hospitality during our visit in Stellenbosch. We are pleased to have named two species of this new, fascinating genus after Marion and her husband Julien.

Distribution. South Africa, southern part of Western Cape, between Ladismith and Roberston ( Figure 18 ).

Remarks. Among the species of Khoisan with 5-segmented funicles, K. maddocki differs from K. javalae in having blackish elytra, with very high tubercles, the pronotum longer than wide, the rostrum moderately curved in lateral view and the penis with elongate apical lamella, whereas K. karooicus differs in having a blackish elytral integument, the punctures on the elytral striae broader than the width of the interstriae, with scales arranged in two to three rows, the pronotum with sides subparallel towards the base and the penis with shortly convergent sides, and K. oneili differs in having a pronotum with narrower apex, the anterior tubercles of the sides strongly prominent outwards, the ratio width at the anterior lateral tubercle / width at the anterior margin 1.6–1.7, the elytral tubercles in lateral view high and the penis short.

Figures

FIGURE 15. Khoisan javalae. Body, dorsum (a), side (b); head with rostrum, dorsal view (g), lateral view (c); antenna (j); pronotum, dorsal view (d), lateral view (i); elytra, dorsolateral view (f), dorsal view (e); protibia (h); penis, ventral view (1), profile (k), apex, dorsal view (m). Scale bar 1 mm; figures not to scale.

FIGURE 16. Habitat of Khoisan javalae, South of Ladismith.

FIGURE 18. Distribution map. Symbols with a black dot indicate the locality of the holotype. Map generated from https:// www.openstreetmap.org.