Scolytodes vietus Jordal and Smith 2020, sp. nov.

Scolytodes vietus Jordal and Smith, sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 4A00139F-CF08-48C5-9225-24890F6475C3

(Figs 109, 112, 115)

Type material. Holotype, female: Ecuador: Napo Prov., Res. Ethnica Waorani, 1km S Onkone Gare Camp., Trans. Et., 00°39’10’’S, 76°26’W, 220m elev., October 1994, T.L. Erwin et al. collectors; indiv#002120. Allotype, male: same data as HT, except October 1995. Paratypes (4): same data as HT (1); except October 1995 (2); except October 1996 (1). Holotype and allotype temporarily held in trust at USNM for MECN, two paratypes in QCAZ, one each in MSUC and ZMBN.

Diagnosis. Interstriae 10 weakly, but sharply, elevated to near apex. Protibiae with an additional mesal tooth near tarsal insertion. Pronotum strongly asperate on anterior half, forming continuous rugae. Nearly identical to S. rugicollis and S. pannuceus Wood, 1971, but distinguished by the longer sharp edge of interstriae 10, the female frons is not shiny but pubescent in the lower central area and the long setae originate slightly below and not above upper level of eyes.

Description, female. Length 1.4–1.7 mm, 2.3–2.5 × as long as wide; bicoloured, with pronotum and head dark brown, elytra and legs light brown. Head. Eyes entire, separated above by 3.0–3.3 × their width. Frons lightly impressed from just below upper level of eyes to epistoma, densely punctured in impressed area; vestiture consisting of, short, fine setae in central part of the impressed area and on epistoma, and a fringe of longer, plumose setae along the margin of impressed are, with tips curved towards centre. Antennal club pilose. Funiculus 5-segmented. Pronotum reticulate, subshining, punctures shallow, spaced by 1–2 × their diameter, punctures not reaching anterior margin, rough asperities present on anterior half forming near contiguous rugae, anterior row of asperities elevated, forming a distinct rim. Vestiture consisting of 4 long, erect setae (2-0-2) and scant additional, shorter, fine setae on the anterior third of pronotum. Elytra shiny, smooth; striae regular, striae 1 impressed on posterior part of disc and declivity, other striae not, with small punctures spaced by 1–2 × their diameter; interstrial punctures about half the size of strial punctures, sometimes nearly invisible. Interstriae 10 weakly, but sharply, raised to near apex. Vestiture consisting of 25–40 fine, erect setae on odd-numbered interstriae, mainly on posterior two-thirds. Legs. Procoxae separated by 0.3 × the width of one procoxa. Mesocoxae separated by 0.6–0.7 × the width of a procoxa. Protibiae narrow, distal teeth 1 similar to 2, with 3–4 additional, tiny, sharp granules towards tibial base; an additional mesal tooth present on posterior face near tarsal insertion; protibial mucro very short to obtuse, straight. Meso- and metatibiae with 6 socketed teeth on distal half. Ventral vestiture. Setae on mesanepisternum and metanepisternum plumose or trifid, on metasternum bifid or trifid anteriorly, simple on posterior and ventral part.

Male. Similar to female except frons convex, reticulate, with few punctures in rough cuticle; frontal vestiture consisting of scant, fine setae.

Key (Wood 2007). Keys to couplet 87, near S. erineophilus, but differs by the simple, erect setae on odd-numbered interstriae, the sharp and continuous rugae on pronotum, the different female frons (more widely separated eyes, different arrangement of setae). Very closely related to S. rugicollis and S. pannuceus, both absent from the key. Another key for the Central American species (Wood, 1982) is equally ambiguous, given the long interstriae 10 (shorter in the two spp), and impressed striae 1 (erroneously interpreted in S. rugicollis).

Etymology. The Latin name vietus is a masculine adjective, meaning wrinkled, referring to the roughly asperate pronotum with continuous rugae.

Biology and distribution. Collected by canopy fogging trees in a single Ecuadorian Amazon lowland locality. All samples were taken in two collecting events, in the month of October, in two consecutive years.