Stictobura ponmudiensis Poorani & Prathapan 2025, sp. nov.

Stictobura ponmudiensis Poorani, sp. nov. (Figs 1–3) Diagnosis. Stictobura ponmudiensis sp. nov. can be separated from its congeners by the strongly convex form, unique dorsal coloration (reddish to yellowish-testaceous head and pronotum, and black elytra) (Fig. 1a–d), and the genitalia of both male (Fig. 2j–p) and female (Fig. 3b, c). Description. Male: TL: 3.12–3.22 mm; EW: 2.88–3.05 mm; EH: 1.80–2.04 mm; TL/EW=1.06–1.08; PL/ PW=0.15–0.19; EL/EW=0.97. Form broadly circular (Fig. 1b), dorsum hemispherical and strongly convex (Fig. 1a, c, d), head with golden yellow hairs, longer towards clypeal margin, pronotum with yellowish hairs, elytra apparently glabrous but with sparse, short, semi-erect to erect, pale yellowish hairs, more distinct on anterior and lateral margins than on disc (Fig. 1a). Head and pronotum reddish to yellowish-testaceous, scutellar shield and elytra black (Fig. 1b–d). Ventral side with antenna, mouthparts, prothoracic hypomera, legs and abdomen yellowish-testaceous, except antennal club darker yellowish brown, meso- and metaventrite, epipleura, and middle of abdominal ventrite 1 dark brown, prosternal process yellowish testaceous to dark brown, all coxae darker. Head subquadrate(Fig.2a),posteriorly narrower,clypeal margin distinctly semi-circularly emarginate;interocular distance 0.6–0.7× as wide as head and 2.6–2.8× as wide as an eye; punctures irregular, separated by 2–5 diameters, slightly closer posteriorly, more broadly separated towards clypeal margin; interspaces with distinctly reticulate microsculpture. Labrum (Fig. 2d) subtrapezoidal with broadly rounded sides. Antenna (Fig. 2b) 11-segmented, scape longest, pedicel shorter than antennomere 3, antennomeres 4 and 5 subequal, 6–8 equal and shorter than 4 and 5, 9–11 progressively longer, forming an elongate, fusiform club. Terminal maxillary palpomere elongate conical, apically narrowed (Fig. 2c). Labium (Fig. 2e) with mentum subtrapezoidal, anterior edge excavated; prementum quadrate, posteriorly slightly narrower; labial palps with three palpomeres, terminal palpomere much narrower than penultimate, elongate conical. Pronotum densely punctate, punctures shallowly impressed and separated by 2–5 diameters on disc, closer near posterior margin and lateral sides, interspaces with distinct, reticulate microsculpture (Fig. 1e). Prosternal process (Fig. 2f) broad, quadrate, carinae anteriorly strongly divergent, narrower and subparallel towards posterior. Elytra with a distinct marginal bead; punctation distinctly dual, large punctures forming at least two almost regular to slightly irregular rows on either side of suture, widely separated on disc, finer punctures on interspaces, more widely separated; both types of punctures somewhat irregular but distinctly closer on lateral sides; interspaces shiny and smooth. Scutellar shield elongate triangular, apically pointed. Metaventrite medially coarsely and closely punctate. Legs with cryptotetramerous tarsi, tarsal claws swollen basally, lacking a distinct basal tooth (Fig. 2g). Abdomen (Fig. 2h) with five ventrites, ventrite 1 longer than ventrites 2–4; abdominal postcoxal lines incomplete, parallel to posterior margin of ventrite 1. Ventrite 5 (Figs. 1f, 2i) with a long, narrow, median slit, running from 2/4 of the ventrite length to apex, distinctly elevated, posterior margin subtriangular, apically narrowed and shortly produced. Abdominal sternite VIII medially emarginate (Fig. 2j). Abdominal tergite VIII broadly U-shaped (Fig. 2k). Male genital segment broadly trapezoidal, without apophysis (Fig. 2l). Male genitalia (Figs. 2m –u) symmetrical, with a short strut at outer margin of basal piece besides tegminal strut, penis guide of tegmen in inner view (Fig. 2n, r) elongate, anterior 1/5 th narrow, thereafter broader and subparallel up to 4/5 th of its length, apical 1/5 th strongly narrowed and produced into an elongate, tubular process; penis guide in lateral view (Fig. 2m, q) basally cylindrical and subparallel, obtusely produced inwards near 3/5 th of its length, apically narrowed and triangular, penis guide only slightly longer than parameres; parameres basally broadest, gradually narrowed thereafter and apically inwardly produced, apical margins with dense hairs; penis (Fig. 2o, s) stout, broader at 2–3/4 th of its length, penis apex modified as illustrated (Fig. 2p, t), penis capsule robust but lacking an outer arm, slightly variable in shape (Fig. 2p, t, u). Female. TL: 3.36–3.50 mm; EW: 3.02–3.22 mm; EH: 2.00– 2.12 mm; TL/EW=1.08–1.11; PL/PW=0.14–0.20; EL/EW=0.96–1.03. Externally similar to male but slightly larger in size. Ventrite 5 broadly conical (Fig. 3a). Genitalia (Fig. 3b, c) with coxites elongate triangular, bearing short styli, with a very long bursa and a large, elongate quadrate, strongly sclerotized structure, representing a poorly differentiated spermatheca, or part of the bursa. Material examined. Holotype, male: INDIA: Kerala: Ponmudi, 8°45’51.1” N, 77°06’46.9” E, 31.iii.2018, Viswajyothi K. Coll. (NBAIR). Paratypes: INDIA: Kerala, Ponmudi, 2.x.2011, D. Prathapan & K. Shameem Coll., 1 female; INDIA: Kerala: Ponmudi, 08°45’58.5” N, 77°6’38.9” E, 01.ix.2017, Amritha Kumari S. Coll. (1 male, 1 female, NBAIR); INDIA: Kerala, Agasthyamala, Athirumala, N 08°37’04.5” E 77°13’46.7” 1022 m, 26.iii.2014, Prathapan D & Shameem K Coll. (1 male, NBAIR); INDIA: Kerala, Chemmunchi, 12.IV.2010, Prathapan Coll. (1 male, NBAIR); INDIA: Kerala: Ponmudi, 24.xii.2007, K.D. Prathapan Coll. (4 females, NBAIR); INDIA: Kerala: Ponmudi, 17.viii.2022, K.D. Prathapan Coll. (4 males, NBAIR). Other material: INDIA: Kerala: Trivandrum, Bonacaud, 1083 m, 08°41.352’ N, 77°11.200’ E, 09.iv.2017, S.R. Hiremath Coll. (1 female); INDIA: Kerala: Trivandrum, Bonaccord Estate, 28–29.XII.2022, Prathapan KD Coll. (2 females). Distribution. India: Endemic to the Western Ghats (Kerala: Ponmudi). Etymology. This species is named after its type locality, “Ponmudi”, a hill station in the Western Ghats of Kerala, known for its diverse and unique fauna and flora. Notes. Poorani et al. (2011) did not illustrate the female genitalia of all the Stictobura species treated in their work. However, examination of the female genitalia in Stictobura species in this study indicates their value in species diagnosis though most of the Sticholotidini genera such as Sticholotis Crotch, 1874 and Jauravia Motschulsky, 1858 have uniform female genitalia and lack a distinctly differentiated spermatheca of diagnostic value. The female genitalia of S. ponmudiensis sp. nov. are similar to those of other Stictobura species such as S. semipolita (Fig. 4a) and S. melanaria (Fig. 4b) in having elongate triangular coxites bearing short styli, a very long bursa with a rather large, moderately to strongly sclerotized structure, probably representing a modified spermatheca. Stictobura semipolita has a strongly sclerotized and characteristically shaped structure (Fig. 4c, d) like S. ponmudiensis, but S. melanaria has a prominent, but at most weakly sclerotized, elongate lobe (Fig. 4e).