Endaeus jaculifer Haran & Zelvelder 2026, sp. nov.

Endaeus jaculifer Haran & Zelvelder sp. nov. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: DA84520E-74E4-4215-B4CD-87CF3D78F000 Fig. 9 Differential diagnosis Endaeus jaculifer Haran & Zelvelder sp. nov. is morphologically very close to E. baikieae, E. xylopiae Haran & Zelvelder sp. nov. and E. convexiculus Haran & Zelvelder sp. nov. Males differ by having a long spear-shaped tooth on its metafemora, more elongate antennal club and mucros exceeding the inner part of protibiae. Males of the four species differ greatly in the shape of their penis, that of E. jaculifer having very short apodemes, a robust body of penis and comparatively small brushes of 7–8 setae at apex (more than 10 in E. baikieae). Among the species of Endaeus for which a barcode sequence is available, this species is closest to E. convexiculus, also found on Xylopia aethiopica (COI p- distance of 11.0%). Etymology This species is named in reference to the ‘spear-shaped’ (‘ jaculi -’, combining form of Latin ‘ jaculum ’ = ‘dart’ and ‘-fer’) tooth on its metafemora. Type material Holotype GABON • ♂; “GABON, Parc de la Lékédi / 26.x.2023 / J. Haran & R. Allio coll. / JHAR06086-08 / -1.778 13.000 [1°46′40.8″ S, 13°00′00.0″ E], 25m, 20h45 / Xylopia aethiopi. [ca]; Collection-Cirad / Holotype / Endaeus jaculifer Haran & Zelvelder 2026 ”; CBGP, JHAR06086-08. Description Male BODY LENGTH. 2.45 mm. COLOUR. Body integument uniformly pale brown, head sometimes slightly darker, legs slightly lighter; vestiture of head, prothorax and elytra made of pale yellow to light orange setae, not concealing integument; vestiture of prothorax and elytra made of combination of short, subrecumbent setae, slightly shorter than elytral interstriae, forming 3–4 ill-defined longitudinal rows on each interstria and long suberect setae, forming row on each interstria, 1.5–2 × as long as subrecumbent setae, as long as or longer than width of interstriae. HEAD. Head capsule with short, pale, subrecumbent setae and longer, pale suberect setae forming two ill-defined rows on forehead; rostrum slightly shorter than prothorax (0.85 ×) in lateral view, 2.5 × as long as width of eye, moderately downcurved; antennae inserted at apical ⅓ of rostrum; eyes convex, strongly exceeding lateral curve of head capsule in dorsal view and slightly exceeding dorsal curve of head capsule in lateral view; space between eyes about half as wide as base of rostrum; antennal scape longer than segments 1–5 of funicle, widening at apical ⅓ of length; funicle with segment 1 globular; 2 twice as long as wide, 3–6 isodiametric; club longer than wide (W:L ratio 0.4–0.5). PROTHORAX. Wider than long (W:L ratio 1.3), widest near middle of length, sides rounded, apical margin about 0.75 × as wide as basal margin; dorsum flat in lateral view; integument shiny, micropunctuate, with uniformly distributed, medium-sized, roughly circular punctures; space between punctures as wide as diameter of punctures or larger; sides and apical margin of prothorax with erect setae pointing upwards and forwards respectively; subrecumbent setae pointing towards inner line of prothorax on dorsum. ELYTRA. Sides slightly convex in dorsal view, widest near middle of length (W:L ratio: ~0.75); humeri raised; interstriae 3–4 × as wide as striae; interstriae 10 weakly widening from base to level of metacoxae, about 1.5 × as wide as interstriae 9 at widest point; in lateral view, dorsum of elytra almost flat on basal ½ of length, then declivity; scutellar shield shiny, rounded. ABDOMEN. Underside covered with recumbent whitish setae about as long as subrecumbent setae of elytra. LEGS. Pro- and meso-femora subequal in thickness, thickened in middle of length, armed with flat triangular tooth, profemoral tooth followed by row of 5 erect setae located between base of triangular tooth and distance from apex of femora equal to length of tarsomere 1, curve formed between apex of tooth to apex of femora uneven, sunken at base of tooth; meta-femora slightly thinner, bearing spear-shaped tooth, about ½ as long as length of meta-tibiae, often bearing long subrecumbent setae at apex; protibiae curved in basal ½, external margin straight in apical ¾, internal margin bisinuate, carinate, apex with long, robust, almost straight mucro located basally on corbel, exceeding inner margin of protibiae; apex of meso-tibiae with robust, slightly downcurved mucro located on inner part of corbel; tarsal claws widely divergent, appendiculate with dull triangular inner tooth. TERMINALIA. Body of penis elongate (W:L ratio: 0.35), about 5.6 × as long as apodemes, sides subparallel, narrowing in apical 1 / 5; apex trapezoidal, bearing few hairs of variable size and orientation on both sides; tip forming button-like shape; lateral extensions of body oriented ventrally, extended into two flat, translucent rectangular areas extending beyond apex at distance equal to size of apodemes (but can be missing or folded beneath penis); curvature in lateral view moderate and regular on dorsal side, almost flat on ventral side, widest in its basal ½; internal sclerite not visible (Fig. 9C). Female Females of this species are currently unknown. Remarks In the same sampling event, three additional specimens related to this species were collected. They exhibit a slightly divergent external morphology (ratio of elytra, insertion of antennae on rostrum, etc.) and p -distance ranking up to 7.4% for the 418 bp long fragment of COI. The penis of males, however, shows no significant divergence with the holotype. Thus, E. jaculifer Haran & Zelvelder sp. nov. is likely a species complex and more material is needed to clarify the species boundaries in the additional lineages identified. The corresponding specimens (JHAR06086-06/09) were labelled “ Endaeus nr. jaculife r” pending further exploration of this complex. Life history This species was collected in the same conditions as E. xylopiae Haran & Zelvelder sp. nov., see details under that species. Distribution This species is currently only known for the type locality in La Lékédi park, in south-east Gabon (Haut-Ogooué Province). Its host is widely distributed in tropical Africa, from Senegal to Ethiopia and from Mozambique to Chad (WFO 2024).