Endaeus lenticulatus Haran 2026, sp. nov.

Endaeus lenticulatus Haran sp. nov. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: FEA84F8A-7B47-48B8-B2A4-729CE9545D17 Figs 1–2 Differential diagnosis Endaeus lenticulatus Haran sp. nov. can be distinguished from the other known Afrotropical species of the genus by the following combination of characters: large size (4.0– 4.5 mm), lenticular orange ochre elytra and black rostrum and funicle. It is morphologically closely related to E. castus, but the integument of the later species is uniformly pale brown. The two species show an uncorrected p -distance for the COI barcode fragment of 15.8%. Etymology This species is named in reference to its lentil-like (Vicia lens (L.) Coss. & Germ) general appearance, resulting in a preliminary name given by the authors at time of discovery. The specific epithet is the Latin translation of ‘lens-shaped’. Type material Holotype GABON • ♂; “GABON, Parc Nat. des / Monts de Cristal; 10.xi.2023; J. Haran coll. / JHAR07053-01; 0.464 10.277 [0°27′50.4″ N, 10°16′37.2″ E] / Uvariodendron molundense / Collection-Cirad / Holotype; Endaeus lenticulatus / Haran 2026”; JHAR07053-01; CBGP. Paratypes GABON • 1 ♂; Parc National des Monts de Cristal; 0°27′50.4″ N, 10°16’37.2″ E; 10 Nov. 2023; J. Haran leg.; emerging from petals of Uvariodendron molundense (Annonaceae); JHAR0753-02; HNG • 1 ♂; same data as for preceding; CBGP, JHAR0753-03 • 1 ♀; same data as for preceding; CBGP, JHAR0753- 04 • 2 specs, preserved in ethanol, sex undetermined; same data as for preceding; CBGP, JHAR0753-05 and JHAR0753-06. Description Male BODY LENGTH. 4.0– 4.5 mm. COLOUR. Body integument entirely orange ochre, shiny, rostrum club and funicular segments 3–6 black; vestiture of elytra made of combination of suberect orange ochre setae, as long as ½ of interstriae width, forming 2–3 ill-defined longitudinal rows on each interstria and shorter recumbent setae forming dense cover of 6–8 setae per width of interstriae; setae not concealing integument. HEAD. Rostrum as long as prothorax in lateral view, moderately downcurved, in dorsal view widening slightly from base to apex, with four deeply punctuated furrows extending from base to antennal insertion and smooth area at antennal insertion; integument black, shiny, covered with tiny recumbent setae up to apex; antennae inserted at apical ⅓ of length of rostrum; head capsule covered with tiny recumbent setae; eyes slightly protruding, moderately exceeding lateral curve of head capsule in dorsal view; interocular space narrow, ⅓ as wide as rostrum width at base, with small fovea; antennal funicle with segment 1 conical, about as long as wide, 2 twice as long as wide, 2–4 globular, isodiametric, 5–6 wider than long, 6 distinctly separated from club, ⅔ as wide as club width, bearing ring of erect setae reaching middle of length or apex of segment 1 of club; scape as long as funicle + segment 1 of club, widening at apical ⅓ of length. PROTHORAX. Wider than long (W:L ratio: 1.48), widest near middle of length, sides rounded, narrowed in apical ¼, apical margin ⅔ as wide as basal margin; integument shiny, with combination of larger punctures, subcircular, of diameter smaller than space between punctures, each bearing suberect seta, and minute background punctures of diameter as wide as space between them. Space between punctures micropunctate, as wide as or narrower than diameter of larger punctures; setae oriented toward median longitudinal line. ELYTRA. Sides convex, widest near middle of length (W:L ratio: 0.85); humeri raised; each elytron separately rounded apically; striae ¼ as wide as interstriae, made of superficial and aligned circular punctures; interstriae flat; interstriae 10 with widening from base to level of metacoxae, middle of widening about 2 × as wide as interstriae 9 at same level; scutellar shield longer than wide, concolorous, bearing setae. ABDOMEN. Underside covered with yellowish setae, longer on ventrite 5. LEGS. Profemora clavate, with large triangular tooth bearing flange of erect setae on external margin extending from apex of tooth to close to apex of femora; protibiae strongly downcurved in basal ½, external margin straight in apical ½, internal margin bisinuate, carinate, with series of suberect setae forming tuft at apex, apex with strong mucro, larger than claw; meso-tibiae armed with mucro, on meta-tibiae mucro reduced to small spine; tarsal claws bifid. TERMINALIA. Body of penis elongate (W:L ratio: 0.20), 4 × as long as apodemes, sides subparallel, widest at basal ⅓, narrowing from there to apex, narrowing strongly in apical 1 / 6, apex acuminate; in lateral view curvature strong, almost forming angle in basal ⅓, widest near middle of length, from there narrowing apicad regularly (Fig. 1C). Female Females can be distinguished from males by their rostrum which is longer than the prothorax in lateral view. Antennal insertion is located near the middle of the length of the rostrum in ♀♀ and at the apical ⅓ in ♂♂. Life history Larvae of Endaeus lenticulatus Haran sp. nov. mine the fleshy petals of Uvariodendron molundense (Annonaceae; Fig. 2A–E). Eggs are laid in shallow oviposition holes made by adults on the petals (Fig. 2C). First instar larvae start feeding on the sides of the holes and then dig galleries within the petals (Fig. 2D–E). From two to three larvae can coexist per petal. In the dissected flowers (n = 10), galleries were located at the edge of the petals (whitish areas), the central area being generally occupied by the larvae of an unidentified Lepidoptera (frass on Fig. 2B). After anthesis, larvae develop saprophagically in fallen petals. Last larval instars leave the petals and burrow a few centimetres deep in the soil into an earthen gallery where pupation takes place (Fig. 2F). Adults emerge after about two weeks. None of the flowers examined during the day contained adults, suggesting that this species has a crepuscular or night activity. This species does not seem to be attracted by UV light, since no specimens were collected using this collecting method in the vicinity of dense populations of the host plant. All adults used for the species description were obtained by rearing the larvae. A preliminary assessment of scent of flowers at the anthesis stage of U. molundense shows a composition largely dominated by two Monoterpenes: Myrcene and 6,7-epoxy-Myrcene (Appendix 2). Distribution This species is only known for the type locality in north-west Gabon (Estuaire Province). The distribution of its host plant, as currently accepted (Dagallier et al. 2023), is centred in Gabon and Cameroon, with some specimens occurring in the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo.