Phloeosinusmetasequoiae sp. nov. (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Scolytinae, Phloeosinini), a new insect pest of Metasequoiaglyptostroboides in China.

Abstract

We describe herein a previously unknown species of bark beetle, Phloeosinusmetasequoiae Ning, sp. nov., which was discovered in the Xingdoushan National Nature Reserve, Hubei Province, China. This new species can be distinguished from other species in the genus Phloeosinus Chapuis, 1869 by its deeply emarginate compound eyes, coarse frontal and prothoracic surfaces, reticulate texture, and deeply V-shaped basal margin of the elytra. Phylogenetic analyses based on the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and the large nuclear ribosomal subunit (28S) genes indicated that the new species represents an independent lineage with the closely related Phloeosinusaubei (Perris, 1885), to which it has a 95% similarity. The new species is known only from the type locality. Diagnoses, descriptions, photographs, and a distribution map are presented, along with a description of host plant damage.