Byrrhinus confoveorum Matsumoto, 2021

Byrrhinus confoveorum Matsumoto , new species

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( Figs. 1‒9 View Figs )

Type Locality. Côte d’ Ivoire, Yéalé Village , Mt. Nimba.

Type Material. Holotype male, deposited at BMNH “ IVORY COAST, 380m, Yéalé Village , Mt Nimba , 07°31 ′ 35.3 ′′ N, 08°25 ′ 20.1 ′′ W, 18‒29.IV. 2016, Light Trap, // Aristophanous,M., Geiser,M., Moretto,P., leg., BMNH(E) 2016‒109, TripRef: CI‒ 003 (ANHRT 17) // NHMUK014190460”. Additional label on red paper added “ Byrrhinus confoveorum sp. nov. K. Matsumoto det. 2020 HOLOTYPE ♂”. GoogleMaps

Description of Holotype, Male. Body: Elongate, oval, dorsum convex, BL: 2.5 mm, EL: 1.9 mm, EW: 1.6 mm, PL: 0.6 mm, PW: 1.3 mm, and HW: 0.6 mm. Color: Dorsal side black brown; venter brown to dark reddish brown, tibia brown, tarsal claws brown. Dorsal and ventral surfaces densely covered with setae.

Dorsum ( Fig. 1 View Figs ). Head: Partially retracted into prothorax; overall surface smooth, not punctate. Antenna: With 11 antennomeres, filiform, fully pubescent, antennomeres long and slender, antennomere 1 widest, antennomere 2 slightly narrower than 1, antennomeres 3–6 long and thin, 7–11 skewed oval. Pronotum: Transverse, widest at posterior, narrowest at anterior, narrower than elytra; anterior margin concave, posterior margin strongly sinuate; lateral margin convex; surface covered with dense punctation, surface between punctures smooth and shiny. Scutellar shield: Subtriangular, large, lateral sides slightly convex. Elytra: Longer than combined width; anterior margin sinuate; anterior lateral angle nearly right angled, rounded; lateral margins gently arcuate from anterior end to anterior 2/3, increasing in curvature towards the apex; surface with small and moderately dense punctation; punctation becoming shallower towards the elytral tip; elytral striae not clearly visible; surface between punctures smooth and shiny.

Venter ( Fig. 2 View Figs ). Prosternum: Concave on anterior margin; prosternal process as long as wide, lateral margin concave, posterior margin right-angled. Mesoventrite: Wider than long, narrowing posterior; anterior margin concave where receiving prosternal process, discrimen very short; lateral margins sub-parallel and gently curved, posterior margin nearly flat, anterior margin trisinuate. Metaventrite: Long and wide, flat in the middle; discrimen thin and not clearly visible. Abdomen: With five clearly visible ventrites. Intercoxal process sinuate with pointed apex. Posterior margin of ventrites 1 and 2 convex, ventrites 3 and 4 slightly concave, ventrite 5 nearly semi-circular. Surface covered with long, light yellow, recumbent setae ( Fig. 9 View Figs ).

Legs ( Fig. 2 View Figs ). Tibiae: Outer lateral margin almost straight, inner lateral margin straight. Tarsi: Simple, tarsomeres increasing in length towards the apex. Tarsal claws: Long, narrow, symmetrical.

Aedeagus. Strongly sclerotized; parameres, median lobe and phallobase slender and strongly asymmetrical in all planes; with one long and one short lateral projection on right paramere in ventral view ( Figs. 3‒6 View Figs ). Spiculum long and slender (Fig. 7). Sternite VIII widely V-shaped with triangular structure on each posteriolateral angle ( Fig. 8 View Figs ).

Female. Unknown.

Etymology. The specific epithet is the genitive plural of the Latin confoveo, “caring for”. This species is dedicated to those people who have been caring for individuals and society, especially for care workers, doctors, nurses, teachers, and frontline staff.

Distribution. Byrrhinus confoveorum is known only from the type locality.

Differential Diagnosis. Byrrhinus confoveorum is related to B. helicophallus and B. bomansi , but it can easily be distinguished by the genitalia. Byrrhinus bomansi has slender and slightly asymmetrical parameres with only one shallow lateral projection on the right paramere in ventral view. Byrrhinus helicophallus has wider and highly asymmetrical parameres with only one shallow lateral projection on the right paramere in ventral view. Byrrhinus confoveorum has extremely complex, asymmetrical, slender genitalia, with one long and one short lateral projection on the right paramere in ventral view.

Natural History. The specimen was collected at light at an elevation of 380 m in an area of Western Guinean lowland forests. The life history of B. confoveorum is not known.