Zarcosia intermedia Gompel 2020, n. sp.

(Figures 1; 3s; 4v; 5q; 6l)

Etymology. The species is named in reference of the intermediate morphology of its males, combining secondary sexual characters found in Z. srilankaensis and Z. dentatifemur.

Type locality. Sri Lanka: Central, Kandy district, Victoria Rendenigala Ramtembe Sanctuary [07°13’ N 80°57’ E].

Distribution. Sri Lanka (Figure 1).

Description. (Figure 3s). Female unknown. Body length. ♂: 2.83± 0.08 mm (n=3). Robust, sturdy, uniformly reddish brown, covered with double pubescence.

Head. Transverse, wider than pronotum, covered with blond pubescence. Punctation coarse and dense. Palpi orange, last article securiform.

Antennae. Strong, shorter than elytra, antennomere 3–10 short, 8–10 as long as wide, conical. Covered with hirsute blond pubescence.

Pronotum (Figure 6l). Globose, as long as wide, disc convex. Sides diverging outward from the base to the apical third, then converging markedly inward toward apical margin anteriorly. Densely punctuated, space between points smaller than the diameters of points. Covered with double pubescence, moderately long blond hairs borne from the punctation and pulverulent interspersed hairs. Base bi-sinuated with a dense fringe of golden pubescence anterior to the scutellum.

Elytra. Length: ♂: 1.86± 0.04 mm (n=3). Densely punctuated, space between points larger than the points themselves, covered with double pubescence. Moderately convex, depressed on disc. Apex with a a tuft of hairs along the suture (similar to Z. srilankaensis n. sp., Figure 5h).

Legs. Short, sturdy. Sexual characters: foretibia with a sharp tooth on their inner side (Figure 5q). Mesothoracic femora with an acute apical tooth, straight and pointing outward (similar to that of Z. dentatifemur (Pic, 1912), Figure 5w).

Aedeagus (Figure 4v). Sturdy, sides regularly parallel in dorsal view, strongly convergent in the apical fifth, shortly tapered. Moderately bent in lateral view with a slight apical sinuation (no deflection).

Type material. Holotype (♂, UCDC). Sri Lanka: Central, Kandy district, Victoria Rendenigala Ramtembe Sanctuary, 07°13’ N 80°57’ E (445 m) (M. & J. Wasbauer) 23.VIII.1999. Paratypes. Sri Lanka: Central, Kandy district, Victoria Rendenigala Ramtembe Sanctuary, 07°13’ N 80°57’ E (445 m) (M. & J. Wasbauer) 23.VIII.1999 (1 ♂ paratype, UCDC; 1 ♂ paratype, NGPC).

Note. This species was collected together with Z. dentatifemur (Pic, 1912), Z. spinifemur n. sp., Z. srilankaensis n. sp. and Z. brunnea n. sp. The sample contained a large series of females, which I could not assign to the respective species. In particular, Z. brunnea n. sp., Z. srilankaensis n. sp. and Z. intermedia n. sp. form a very homogeneous group. Their males are easily distinguished by stable sexual characters (aedeagus, teeth on the tibiae, hooks on the femora), but in spite of extensive comparisons of the females collected with them, I could not decide whether these females represented one or more taxa, nor which.