Phyllobius occultatus Germann, Wartmann & Winkelmann, 2025

Phyllobius occultatus Germann, Wartmann & Winkelmann , sp. nov. ( Figs 8–11; 15–16 View FIGURE 1–8 View FIGURE 9–16 ; 17–26 View FIGURES 17–30 )

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Holotype: ♂, “ GR Peloponnes Mani / SE Kalamata , Taygetos Mts. / 0, 7 km NE SAIDONA / 09.V.2019 805 m / lgt. R. JACOB // 36°52’59,7″ N / 022°17’27,9″ E // von Griech. Tanne/ Abies cephalonica // HOLOTYPE Phyllobius occultatus des. Germann, Wartmann & Winkelmann, 2025” [red label] ( NMB). GoogleMaps

Paratypes: 1 ♂, 1 ♀ “S-GR. Mani 4.[19]93 / 10 km nördl. KITA; / 90m; leg.: Fam. Dillge ” (cCG) .— 6 ex. same data as HT (cRJ) GoogleMaps .— 2 ♂, 1 ♀, 9 ex. “GR Peloponnes Mani / SE Kalamata, Taygetos Mts. / KARIOVOUNI / 08.V.2019 500 m / lgt. R. JACOB // 36°51’17,8″ N / 022°20’36,8″ E ” ( cRJ, cSW, NMB) GoogleMaps .— 1 ♀ “ GR Peloponnes Mani / SE Kalamata, Taygetos Mts. / NW MILA / 08.V.2019 534 m / lgt. R. JACOB // 36°50’18,1″ N / 022°20’28,5″ E ” ( cRJ) GoogleMaps .— 8 ex. “ GR Peloponnes Mani / Taygetos Mts. SE Kalamata / NE Platsa / 08.V.2019 380 m / lgt. R. JACOB ” (cRJ, MNFB, BMNH) .— 7 ex. “GR: Peloponnese: Messinia, Mt. Taygetos W, Saidona E , 36°52’59”N 22°17’25”E, 800 m, 19.05.2011, leg. Winkelmann ( FO5 )” ( cHW) GoogleMaps .— 22 ex. “GR: Peloponnese: Messinia, Mt. Taygetos, Marathos S , 36°53’46”N 22°19’09”E, 1300 m, 21.05.2011, leg. Winkelmann ( FO8 )” ( cHW) GoogleMaps .— 5 ex. “GR: Peloponnese: Messinia, Mt. Taygetos W, Saidona , 680 m, 36°53’01”N 22°17’07”E, 23.05.2011, leg. Winkelmann ( FO11 )” ( cHW). GoogleMaps All paratypes with an additional red label: “ PARATYPE Phyllobius occultatus des. Germann, Wartmann & Winkelmann, 2025”.

Size. (Without rostrum) males 3.6–5.0 mm, females 4.2–6.1 mm.

Colour. Body and head black; antennae and legs blackish, dark brown or reddish-brown, often apex of scape and club of antennae blackish ( Figs 9–10 View FIGURE 9–16 ).

Head. Eyes convex, protruding from outline of head, oval in section. Rostrum elongate, slightly longer than wide (L/W: 1.12), parallel-sided, epistome with glossy triangular area. Epifrons elevated, minimal width at first third, abruptly widening forward, flattened towards frons. Frons impressed in middle with short bar-shaped sulcus. Scrobes deep, oval, visible from above. Temples twice as long as eye’s diameter. Head and rostrum with thin brownish hairs, without scales. Antennal scape long slightly bowed and thickened towards apex, reaching fore margin of prothorax in repose. Funiculus slender, 1 st and 2 nd funicular antennomeres two and a half times longer than wide, 3rd one and a half longer than wide, 4 th to 7 th as long as wide, club fusiform, long and slender, slightly wider as 7 th funicular antennomere.

Prothorax. (L/W): 0.6, transverse, widest in middle, laterally strongly rounded, densely and irregularly punctuate on disc, vestiture consisting of oval, light green metallic recumbent scales, often with golden shimmer and adjacent long brownish hairs. Scales arranged in 2 spots at each side of prothorax from base to middle, separated in middle. Metathorax. Hind wings present, longer than elytra.

Elytra. (L/W): 1.9–2.0, parallel-sided. Base somewhat wider than prothorax. Shoulders well-pronounced. Striae thin, linear, interstriae four times wider, with thin and short, bright bowed hairs and strong, raised pointed blackish hairs, longer than width of 2 interstriae. Vestiture consisting of light green-metallic, ovoid, drop-shaped to broad oval scales with golden shimmer, loosely spread over elytra with gaps in between. Scutellum bare, glossy and triangular.

Legs. Strong, femora thickened, with strong denticle, profemora of males strongly swollen, about 3 times as thick as meso- and metafemora, denticle shaped as equilateral triangle, tibiae straight along outer margin, inner margin bisinuate. Four visible tarsal segments, 1 st tarsomere 1.5 times longer than 2 nd, 3 rd shorter, bilobed, twice wider than 2 nd, 4 th tiny, onychium as long as segment 1. Claws simple, fused at base.

Abdomen. Ventrite 5 in males apically flat, apical margin blunt, in females ventrite 5 vaulted and weakly pointed apicad.

Male terminalia. ( Figs 17–19; 23 View FIGURES 17–30 ) Penis elongate, parallel sided, apically triangular with prolonged tip ( Figs 17–18 View FIGURES 17–30 ), in lateral view regularly bowed, prolonged tip reflexed ( Fig. 18 View FIGURES 17–30 ). Tegmen with apodeme twice as long as parameres, those as long as width of tegminal ring. Sternite VIII (with hemisternite IX) weakly S-shaped, 2/3 as long as aedeagus.

Female terminalia. ( Figs 20–22; 24–26 View FIGURES 17–30 ) Gonocoxites dorso-ventrally flattened, without styli, proximal gonocoxites tube-like, distal gonocoxites heavier sclerotized towards tip and set with long light sensillae ( Fig. 25 View FIGURES 17–30 ). Sternite VIII with very long and slender apodeme, sclerotized part of plate strongly rounded and set with long hairs ( Fig. 20 View FIGURES 17–30 ). Spermatheca shaped like number 5, with short recumbent cornu, and long tube-like and bent collum ( Fig. 22 View FIGURES 17–30 ).

Sexual dimorphism and variability. Males in dorsal view with elytra more parallel (in females more rounded in apical third), profemora more strongly swollen ( Figs 9–10 View FIGURE 9–16 ) in males, less so in females. Head with rostrum slender (a bit more inflated in females), apex of elytra in females weakly mucronate ( Fig. 11 View FIGURE 9–16 ).

Derivation of name: The name occultatus derives from the Latin verb “occultare” in English “to hide”, as the new species was hidden in the catalogue of Greek weevils.

Ecological note: Most specimens were collected on higher elevations (500–1300 m a.s.l.) on Abies cephalonica Loudon ( Fig. 31 View FIGURE 31 ), which seems to be the preferred host of Ph. occultatus sp. nov. In contrast to that observation, all Ph. brenskei were collected on Quercus spp.