Abstract:
The weevil genus Cryptolarynx Van Schalkwyk, 1966 is endemic to the Northern and Western
Cape provinces of South Africa. The two previously known species of the genus, C. vitis (Marshall,
1957) and C. estriatus (Marshall, 1957), have an aberrant globular body and head shape, which has made
it difficult to place the genus into the classification systems of the Curculionoidea. This paper presents
the description of 21 new species of Cryptolarynx from South Africa (C. subglaber Haran sp. nov.,
C. squamulatus Haran sp. nov., C. muellerae Haran sp. nov., C. hirtulus Haran sp. nov., C. robustus
Haran sp. nov., C. namaquanus Haran sp. nov., C. carinatus Haran sp. nov., C. variabilis Haran sp. nov.,
C. pyrophilus Haran sp. nov., C. pilipes Haran sp. nov., C. armatus Haran sp. nov., C. falciformis Haran
sp. nov., C. oberprieleri Haran sp. nov., C. spinicornis Haran sp. nov., C. cederbergensis Haran sp. nov.,
C. homaroides Haran sp. nov., C. marshalli Haran sp. nov., C. endroedyi Haran sp. nov., C. oberlanderi
Haran sp. nov., C. san Haran sp. nov., and C. luteipennis Haran sp. nov.) and of one new genus and
species, Hadrocryptolarynx major Haran gen. et sp. nov., also from South Africa. A redescription of the genus Cryptolarynx is provided to incorporate the characters of the new species. The plant genus Oxalis
(Oxalidaceae) is recorded as larval host for several species of Cryptolarynx and for Hadrocryptolarynx
Haran gen. nov., as their larvae develop in the subterranean bulbs of members of the genus, and the
egg, larva and pupa of C. variabilis are described. The characters of the Cryptolarynx larva confirm that
Cryptolaryngini are an early-diverging group of Curculionidae, with a placement among taxa currently
classified in the subfamily Brachycerinae sensu lato, and although their exact taxonomic position
remains unresolved, some larval characters, and also pupal ones, suggest a close relationship between
Cryptolaryngini and Stenopelmus Schoenherr. Potential use of species of Cryptolarynx in the biological
control of weedy South African species of Oxalis is discussed.
