Basidissus bendai Trýzna & Baňař, 2013, sp. nov.

Basidissus bendai sp. nov.

(Figs. 1, 7, 13–22)

Type locality. East Madagascar, Tamatave province, Andasibe-Mantadia National Park, Analamazaotra forest, 955 m.

Type material. Holotype, female: MADAGASCAR: TAMATAVE: ‘ Madagascar, 5.–13.ii.2007, / Andasibe- Mantadia N.P., / Analamazaotra forest, // S 18°56´45.0´´, / E 48°25´08.0´´ / 955 m, M. Trýzna leg. Red label [p] HOLOTYPE / Basidissus bendai sp. nov. / M. Trýzna & P. Baňař det., 2013 (BSNPC).

Description. Female holotype. Measurements (in mm): Total body length—3.02. Head: total length—0.60; length of rostrum—0.31; maximum width of rostrum—0.49; length of eye—0.29; maximum width across eyes— 0.73; minimum distance between eyes—0.36. Antennomeres: II—0.10, III—0.10, IV—0.07, V—0.08, VI—0.06, VII—0.06, VIII—0.07, IX—0.13, X—0.11, XI—0.14. Pronotum: maximum length—0.84; width at carina—1.22; minimum width—0.56. Elytra: maximum length—1.58; maximum width—1.36.

Colouration of the cuticle generally brown, meso- and metasternum dark brown, proximal half of femora black, rest of femora, tibiae, tarsi and antennae light brown. Vestiture on head whitish with mixed yellowish setae, pronotum with yellowish setae complemented by whitish, with irregular small spots. Elytra mixed with brownish, yellowish and whitish, irregularly distributed setae, only vaguely forming coloured spots. Pronotum with a single central tuft of erect yellowish setae. Humeral part of elytra light, tubercles covered by short undistinguished brownish setae. Vestiture on antennae short, appressed, brownish. All legs covered by dense, fine brown setae, all femora light in distal part, tibiae with a wide dark strip bordered by two narrow indistinct whitish stripes. Lateral parts of venter of thorax and abdominal sternites with sparse and yellow-whitish pubescence.

Structure. Head relatively short, rostrum flat and broad, without longitudinal carina (Fig. 15), only with inconspicuous median depression, ratio of rostrum length to maximum width 0.63. Scrobes not visible dorsally, scape slightly hidden in scrobe in dorsal view. Eyes large, convex, ocular index 1.94. Ratio of maximum width across eyes to maximum width of rostrum 1.49. Antennae (Fig. 18) reaching to posterior margin of pronotum. Funicle thin, club robust. Pronotum transverse, ratio of length to width at carina 0.69, gradually narrowed anteriorly, widest at dorsal transverse carina. Dorsal transverse carina very slightly bisinuate (Fig. 17), convex in the middle. Lateral carina only slightly emarginate in dorsal view terminating in half of pronotum length (Fig. 16) Dorsal transverse carina in contact with lateral carina right-angled from dorsal view (Fig. 17).

Elytra broadly suboval (Fig. 1), narrowed in distal third of their length. Ratio of the maximum length of elytra to maximum width 1.16. Abdomen shorter than broad (Fig. 13), sternites coarsely punctate. Pygidium (Fig. 14) robust, ratio of maximum width to maximum length 1.17. Female genitalia damaged: segment 8, lateral rod of right hemisternite, bursa copulatrix and spermatheca missing; medial rods broken in the middle, but present.

Hence, the total figure of both hemisternites (Fig. 19) is the reconstruction of a natural state. Medial and lateral rods long and slender. Apex of each hemisternite with robust, strongly sclerotized toothed plate (Figs. 19–21). Toothed plate consists of four teeth, apical one longest, two basalmost teeth partly fused. Lateral face of toothed plate with robust stylus (which is movable) anchored in distinctly membranous area (also see Comments).

Etymology. Patronym, dedicated to our friend and colleague Pavel Benda, director of the Bohemian Switzerland National Park (Czech Republic) and member of the 2013 Czech-Madagascan expedition.

Distribution. East Madagascar, Andasibe-Mantadia National Park, Analamazaotra forest (Fig. 22).

Differential diagnosis. Basidissus bendai sp. nov. is easily the smallest known species of the genus. Moreover, it differs from all other species by its totally different colour pattern and characters in the key (Fig. 1, 7).

Comments. A detailed study of the female terminalia of Basidissus bendai sp. nov. has clearly shown that the stylus on the toothed plates is movable, anchored in a circular membranous part of the toothed plate and surrounded by a group of strong, curved setae (Figs. 20–21). We assume that the stylus on the toothed plate of the hemisternites (if present and not extremely reduced) of the female genitalia of most anthribids could be generally movable. This character has not been studied so far, or has generally been overlooked and requires more detailed study in future.