Scelianoma elydimorpha, a new genus and new species of entimine weevil from southwestern Puerto Rico (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Entiminae)

Status of knowledge of the broad-nosed weevils of Colombia (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Entiminae)

Broad-nosed weevils in the subfamily Entiminae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) are highly diverse, not only in terms of number of species, but also in their sizes, forms and colours. There are eight tribes, 50 genera and 224 entimine species recorded from Colombia: seven genera and 142 species are considered endemic and only a handful of species, which are recognised as pests of Citrus or potatoes, are broadly known. The large diversity of this subfamily in the country is only superficially known and even though genus level identifications are generally achievable, species identification remains quite challenging, due in part to limited access to broadly-scattered basic information. Summaries of available information and bibliographic resources for each of the tribes represented in Colombia are offered, along with a checklist of the species of Entiminae recorded from the country, obtained from literature and a pictorial key for tribal recognition. New combinations are proposed for eight species of the genus Lanterius Alonso-Zarazaga & Lyal. Information on the distribution of entimine species in Colombia is compiled for the first time, including complete references to each original description and available taxonomic revisions. About a third of the species of Entiminae remain as recorded from the country without specific locality information. In addition, genus level distributional maps are presented, generated from data obtained from four Colombian entomological collections. Lastly, some challenges for entimine identification in Colombia, which likely extend throughout the Neotropical region, are briefly discussed. This contribution aims, in part, to facilitate and promote entimine research in northern South America.

Three new species of entimine weevils in Early Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

BACKGROUND

Using syntactic and semantic conventions of the taxonomic concept approach (Franz et al. 2015), we describe three newly recognized fossil broad-nosed weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae) preserved in Early Miocene amber (ca. 20.4-16.0 mya) from the Dominican Republic: Scelianoma compactasp. n. sec. Franz & Zhang (2017) (henceforth abbreviated as [FZ2017]), Tropirhinus palpebratussp. n. [FZ2017], and Diaprepes anticussp. n. [FZ2017]. The taxonomic assignment of the amber inclusions is grounded in a preceding phylogenetic analysis by Franz (2012). As many as 88 of the 143 therein identified characters were coded for the fossils, whose traits are largely congruent with those present in extant congeners while also differing in ways that justify their new nomenclatural and taxonomic status.

NEW INFORMATION

We present detailed images, descriptions, and phylogenetically informed diagnoses for the three new species-level entities, along with logically consistent Region Connection Calculus (RCC-5) alignments of the amended genus-level classifications for Scelianoma Franz and Girón 2009 [FZ2017], Tropirhinus Schoenherr 1823 [FZ2017], and Diaprepes Schoenherr 1823 [FZ2017] - in relation to 2-4 preceding classifications published in 1982-2012. The description of Scelianoma compacta [FZ2017] from Hispaniola is indicative of a more widespread historical range of Scelianoma [FZ2017] than reflected in the extant, southwestern Puerto Rican Scelianoma elydimorpha Franz and Girón 2009 sec. Franz and Girón (2009). The presence of Diaprepes anticus [FZ2017] in Hispaniola during the Early Miocene suggests an eastward directed process of island colonization and likely speciation of members of Diaprepes [FZ2017], given that most extant relatives occur throughout the Lesser Antilles. The herein presented data will facilitate more reliable reconstructions of historical biographic processes thought to have played a prominent role in the diversification of the West Indian and Neotropical mainland broad-nosed weevil lineages.

Phylogenetic assessment of the Caribbean weevil genus Lachnopus Schoenherr (Coleoptera:Curculionidae:Entiminae)

The genus Lachnopus Schoenherr (Coleoptera : Curculionidae : Entiminae : Geonemini Gistel), with 66 species described to date, is the largest and most widespread entimine weevil genus in the Caribbean region. The monophyly and internal phylogenetic composition of Lachnopus are tested, using a cladistic analysis of 61 adult morphological characters of 31 ingroup species and five outgroup taxa representing the genera Diaprepes Schoenherr, Exophthalmus Schoenherr, Pachnaeus Schoenherr (all Eustylini), Ischionoplus Chevrolat (Geonemini) and Apodrosus Marshall (Polydrusini). The analysis produced two most parsimonious cladograms with a length of 167 steps, a consistency index of 36 and a retention index of 73. According to the strict consensus and preferred character state optimisations, the examined species of Lachnopus do not form a monophyletic entity, even though most species are placed in a major L. coffeae–L. guerinii ingroup clade, which stands in sister relationship to Ischionoplus. This major clade is constituted by at least three well-recognisable subgroups, each associated with a particular geographic range in the Caribbean region: (1) a widely distributed L. coffeae–L. lineicollis ‘grade’; (2) the Hispaniolan L. proteus–L. mercator clade; (3) and the L. hispidus–L. guerinii clade with species from Cuba, Florida and Jamaica. This study provides a sound phylogenetic basis for future revisions of Lachnopus and related geonemine genera.