Revision of the palm-pollinating weevil genus Elaeidobius Kuschel, 1952 (Curculionidae, Curculioninae, Derelomini) with descriptions of two new species

Abstract

<jats:p>The genus Elaeidobius Kuschel, 1952 (Curculionidae, Curculioniae, Derelomini) is an Afrotropical genus associated with the male inflorescences of the oil palm Elaeis guineensis Jacq. The activity of species in this genus is critical for pollen transportation and for the fruit set of this economically important palm. In this study, the genus Elaeidobius was revised using an integrative taxonomic approach, combining traditional taxonomic treatment of species and an analysis of sequences of mitochondrial genes (COI and COII). A total of eight species is now recognized: five now formally included within it [E. bilineatus Hustache, 1924) comb. nov., E. kamerunicus (Faust, 1898) comb. nov., E. plagiatus (Fåhraeus, 1844) comb. nov., E. singularis (Faust, 1898) comb. nov., E. subvittatus Faust, 1898)], one transferred here from the genus Prosoestus to the genus Elaeidobius, E. spatulifer (Marshall, 1950) comb. nov., and two newly described species (E. pilimargo Haran &amp; Kuschel sp. nov., E. piliventris Haran &amp; Kuschel sp. nov.). The following new synonymies are proposed: Prosoestus armatus Voss, 1956 = E. bilineatus (Hustache, 1924) comb. nov. and Derelomus uelensis Hustache = E. singularis (Faust, 1898). An illustrated key to the species is provided with photographs of the adult habitus and male genitalia.</jats:p>

Multilocus phylogeography of the world populations of Elaeidobius kamerunicus (Coleoptera, Curculionidae), pollinator of the palm Elaeis guineensis

“…The Sanger sequences were aligned with CodonCode Aligner v. 10.5.8 software (CodonCode Corporation, Dedham, Massachusetts, USA) and checked for the presence of pseudogenes using standard detection methods (Haran et al ., 2015). The genus Elaeidobius comprises a number of species, several of which are morphologically closely related (Haran et al ., 2020). In order to ensure the correct assignation of all specimens to E. kamerunicus , a phylogenetic tree was first reconstructed for each gene with the sequence of four congeneric species ( E. bilineatus , E. plagiatus , E. singularis and E. subvittatus ).…”

“…In its native range, the inflorescences of the oil palm are mainly pollinated by seven Derelomine weevils of the genus Elaeidobius Kuschel, namely the species E. bilineatus (Hustache), E. kamerunicus (Faust), E. pilimargo Haran & Kuschel, 2020, E. piliventris Haran & Kuschel, 2020, E. plagiatus (Fahraeus), E. singularis (Faust) and E. subvittatus (Faust) (Haran et al, 2020). All these species are sympatric over the entire native distribution range of the oil palm and they may be found together on a single inflorescence (Haran et al, 2020), usually giving rise to large population densities (Mariau et al, 1991). The exact role of each of these species in pollinating the host is not clear, but some species seem to have divergent oviposition preferences on anthesis (Syed, 1982).…”

Draft genome sequence, annotation, and SSR mining data of Elaeidobius kamerunicus Faust., an essential oil palm pollinating weevil

“…The introduction of this weevil species into oil palm plantations successfully improved fruit set, increased the yield of oil palm, and reducing the need for assisted pollination [2] . Recent studies of this species have only focused on analyzing genetic diversity and species identification [1] , [3] , [4] . Interestingly, several divergent mitochondrial lineages in this species have been discovered based on the information of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and cytochrome c oxidase subunit II (COII) gene sequences [1] , [3] .…”

Assessment of Oil Palm Pollinating Weevil (Elaeidobius kamerunicus) Population Density in Biparental dura × pisifera Hybrids on Deep Peat-Soil in Perak State, Malaysia

“…Incomplete pollination coupled with inefficient pollinator operation has resulted in a high number of parthenocarpic fruits [ 10 ]. Hence, it is crucial to study pollinator species’ behavior for the better transportation of pollen and the oil palm fruit-set development [ 11 ]. The male inflorescences of Elaeis guineensis palms are strongly associated with the pollinator Elaeidobius kamerunicus Faust (EK), found in the order Coleoptera and family Curculionidae [ 11 ].…”

“…Hence, it is crucial to study pollinator species’ behavior for the better transportation of pollen and the oil palm fruit-set development [ 11 ]. The male inflorescences of Elaeis guineensis palms are strongly associated with the pollinator Elaeidobius kamerunicus Faust (EK), found in the order Coleoptera and family Curculionidae [ 11 ]. The utmost important oil palm pollinating insect in Malaysia and other Asian countries is the weevil E. kamerunicus [ 12 , 13 ].…”