Pseudopoophagus nepalensis, Legalov, 2025

Genus: Pseudopoophagus Voss, 1935 View in CoL

Type species: Pseudopoophagus rufitarsis Voss, 1935

Pseudopoophagus nepalensis sp. n. ( Fig. 2 View Figure 2 )

https://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:

Type material: Holotype ( NME), female, Nepal, Koshi Province, Taplejung Distr., 32 km NE of Taplejung, way before Gyabla , 27°34'58''N, 87°52'17''E, 2410 m, 8.V.2003, A. Weigel. GoogleMaps

Description. Female: Body black, covered with curved light narrow scales. Antennae and tarsi brown. Rostrum long, about 1.3 times as long as pronotum, about 5.5 times as long as wide at apex, about 5.1 times as long as wide at midlength, about 4.2 times as long as wi de at base, curved, subcylindrical, punctate, with middle carina. Antennal scrobes oblique, passing beneath rostrum. Eyes large, not protruding from contour of head, finely faceted. Forehead quite narrow, about 0.8 times as narrow as rostrum base width, flattened, densely punctate. Temples long, longer than eye. Vertex densely punctate. Antennae geniculate, inserted laterally in apical third of rostrum. First antennomere long, about 7.3 times as long as wide at apex, not reaching base of eyes. Second and third antennomeres long-conical. Second antennomere conical, about 2.8 times as long as wide at apex, about 0.3 times as long as and about 0.7 times as narrow as first antennomere. Fourth to eight antennomeres conical. Third antennomere about 4.0 times as long as wide at apex, 0.5 times as long as and 0.5 times as narrow as second antennomere. Fourth antennomere 2.0 times as long as wide at apex, 0.5 times as long as and of same width to third antennomere. Fifth antennomere equal in length and width, slightly shorter and of same width to fourth antennomere. Sixth antennomere equal to fifth antennomere. Seventh antennomere about 0.8 times as long as wide at apex, slightly shorter and slightly wider than sixth antennomere. Eighth equal to seventh antennomere. Antennal club compact. Ninth antennomere about 1.1 times as long as wide at apex, 3.0 times as long as and about 2.0 times as wide as eighth antennomere. Tenth antennomere about 0.8 times as long as wide at apex, about 0.7 times as long as and of same width to ninth antennomere. Eleventh antennomere about 1.2 times as long as wide at base, about 1.2 times as long as and about 0.8 times as narrow as tenth antennomere. Pronotum campanulate, constricted behind apex and before base, about 1.3 times as long as wide at apex, equal to wide at midlength, about 0.9 times as long at pronotal base. Pronotal disk convex dorsally, densely transverse-rugose. Scutellar shield suboval, about 1.4 times as long as wide in middle. Elytra about 1.7 times as long as wide at base, about 1.6 times as long as wide at midlength, about 2.7 times as long as wide at apical fourth, about 2.9 times as long as pronotum. Humeri convex. Elytral striae distinct. Interstriae convex, wider than striae. Prosternum punctate. Pre- and postcoxal portions of prosternum short. Precoxal portion about 0.5 times as long as length of procoxal cavity. Procoxal cavities contiguous. Postcoxal portion about 0.4 times as long as procoxal cavity. Mesocoxal cavities widely separated. Metanepisternum about 5.6 times as long as wide in middle. Metaventrite quite short, 1.5 times as long as metacoxal cavity length, convex, finely punctate. Abdomen convex ventrally, punctate. First ventrite 0.8 times as long as metacoxal length. Second ventrite about 1.4 times as long as first ventrite. Third ventrite 0.5 times as long as second ventrite. Posterior margin of second-fourth ventrites simple. Fourth ventrite slightly shorter than third ventrite. Fifth ventrite 1.8 times as long as fourth ventrite. Procoxae conical. Metacoxae transverse. Femora large and weakly thickened, dentate. Tibiae almost straight, unarmed. Tarsi long. First tarsomere long-conical. Second tarsomere conical. Third tarsomere bilobed. Fifth tarsomere elongate. Tarsal claws divergent and dentate. Total body length (without rostrum) 2.6 mm. Length of rostrum 0.8 mm.

Differential diagnosis. The new species is similar to Pseudopoophagus sapensis Savitsky, 2022 from Vietnam but differs in black body, wider elytra, narrow scales not forming maculae and wider antennal club.

Etymology. From Nepal.

Localisation. Nepal ( Koshi Province, Taplejung District).

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank M. Hartmann (Erfurt, Germany), D. Telnov (London, United Kingdom) and S.E. Tshernyshev ( Novosibirsk, Russia) for their help with this research, and anonymous reviewers for improving the overall quality of the manuscript.

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