Type material.
Holotype male, pinned, with labels as follows: "Morocco, 2260-2350m/ Tizi-n-Tichka pass, 30.VI- 1.VII.1998 , ex larva VIII. 1999 / J. Batelka & H. Batelková lgt." 31°24'58N; 7°23'34W. Allotype female, pinned: the same data as the holotype. Paratypes: 23 males, 63 females: the same data as the holotype.
Holotype and Allotype deposited in the collection of National Museum in Prague, 62 paratypes in the author’s collection, 2 paratypes in Naturhistorisches Museum, Wien, 2 paratypes in Muséumd’Histoire Naturelle, Genève , 20 paratypes in coll. J. Batelka (Praha).
Diagnosis.
The species is morphologically distinct from the most closely related species Triotemnus grangeri (Peyerimhoff), which in Triotemnus grangeri has the lateral edges of elytral declivity more strongly developed, the declivital flattened area is much wider, the vestiture on frontal edge of pronotum and lateral and posterior margins of elytra is slightly longer, and the uniseriate setae along the suture on the elytral declivity are much more stout and longer.
Description .
Male. Length 1.43-2.00 mm (1.63 mm in holotype), 2.55-2.86 times longer than wide (2.76 in holotype). Ferruginous to dark brown if fully coloured. Head. Frons shallowly concave up to the level just above upper edge of the eyes, concavity rather deeply punctured except very finely punctured, nearly impunctate area above epistoma, shining, very finely shagreened, excavation divided from vertex by rounded costa elevated in the middle forming a short transversely rounded keel; vertex semi-shining, deeply and rather densely punctured; vestiture of very long, erected, golden hair-like setae situated on the lateral edges of the frontal excavation mainly, these on concavity of about half length. Eyes emarginate on anterior margin around the antennal insertion, rather small. Each mandible with a short and strong (wide based) pointed tooth-like process directed upward, reaching just the lower level of frontal excavation. Antennae yellowish, antennal funicle 4-segmented, antennal club longitudinally oval, anterior side with one transverse suture just above the middle, apical half covered by dense setae, basal half corneous, posterior side without sutures. Pronotum 1.14-1.21 times longer than wide (1.20 in holotype), sub-oval, widest in the middle of its length, frontal edge rounded, basal angles broadly rounded, posterior margin rounded; anterior disk weekly declivous, summit not clearly marked, approximately in the frontal third, disk shining, strongly and densely punctate along an impunctate and smooth median longitudinal area, punctato-granulate on the remaining disk, granulation becoming stronger laterally and frontally mainly, interspaces finely rugose; vestiture of sparse semi-erect hair-like setae directed towards impunctate medial line, setae becoming much longer anteriorly. Elytra 1.39-1.64 times longer than wide (1.51 in holotype), 1.32-1.35 times longer than pronotum (1.33 in holotype), sub-parallel on basal three-fourths, widest in posterior half, than converging to broadly rounded (sub-straight) apical margin; base of elytrae rounded, not armed; scutellum visible, but very small, smooth and shining, flush with elytra; elytral striae rather deeply sparsely and regularly punctured, not impressed, interspaces slightly larger then the diameter of the punctures; interstriae less densely and less deeply punctured; elytral suture slightly elevated on nearly its entire length except on the basal fifth of elytra. Elytral declivity regularly rounded at suture, otherwise flattened up to the clearly defined lateral edges which are armed by a narrow and regularly elevated ridge, the costate ridge slightly undulated by a small blunt tubercles, lateral elevated edges slightly higher than slightly elevated suture, declivital disc smooth, shining, impunctate except distinctly punctuate in continuation of striae 1 and 2; elytral apex broadly round (nearly straight from dorsal view), armed by a slightly elevated costa. Elytral vestiture of two types, sparse and very long (more than two times longer than distance between the strial punctres) hair-like erected setae and semi-erected half long hair-like setae, setae becoming much longer (approximately double length) and dense laterally and posteriorly and on lateral margins of the declivity; disk of the elytral declivity without setae except sparse uniseriate short stout oblique setae along the suture, these directed toward the declivital margins (these setae often abraded). Legs light brown. Procoxae contiguous, prosternal process narrow, sharply pointed; mesocoxae nearowly separated by distance less then width of scapus, mesoventral process descending, narrow and bluntly pointed; metacoxae separated by twice the width between mesocoxae. Number of tibial socketed teeth on outer lateral margin varying between the specimens: protibiae with 5-7 socketed teeth, mostly 6, meso- and metatibiae with 6 socketed teeth.
Female . Length 1.43-1.92 mm (1.70 mm in allotype), 2.60-2.87 times longer than wide (2.62 in allotype). Head similar to male, but mandibulae not armed by tooth like processes, frons convex, slightly flattened just above the epistoma, semi-matt, very densely punctato-ganulate, this sculpture becoming more fine on the flattened area, vestiture of golden, rather dense, long, erected hair-like setae becoming gradually longer towards the epistomal margin. Antennal club oval, but shorter than in male. Elytra with lateral margins of the elytral declivity slightly less sharply developed.
Etymology.
The new species is dedicated to my colleague Jan Batelka, who collected the specimens. Jan Batelka is the leading scientist in taxonomy of the beetle family Rhipiphoridae .
Biology.
Specimens were collected from wilting shrubs of Bupleurum spinosum p additional specimens were obtained by rearing in the lab. The newly described species is phloeophagous. The gallery system was not studied.
Distribution.
Morocco (High Atlas), endemic. Even though the species is suggested as endemic here, it is possible that it may be found in other areas, mainly within Morocco and Algeria, because of the host plant occurrence in neighbouring areas.
