Corresponding author: Helena Shaverdo (
Academic editor: M. Michat
Two new species of
Shaverdo H, Sagata K, Balke M (2016) Description of two new species of the
This paper continues our previous studies on the New Guinea species of the genus
Here, we provide a detailed diagnosis of the
We provided electronic resources for the species treated here in the form of species pages, which were automatically created by ZooKeys on the
Including the results of this work, 91
The present work is based on the material from the following collections:
The Natural History Museum, London, UK
Papua New Guinea National Insect Collection, Port Moresby, PNG
Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna, Austria
Zoologische Staatsammlung München, Munich, Germany
All specimen data are quoted as they appear on the labels attached to the specimens. Label text is cited using quotation marks. Comments in square brackets are ours. We extracted DNA and obtained DNA sequence data for some of the species/specimens, marked with individual DNA extraction numbers (e.g., “264 DNA M. Balke”). All types of the herein described species are provided with red labels. The female specimens, identification of which is difficult or sometimes impossible, were included in the type series only when collected with males of respective species and did not differ morphologically from them. If two or more morphologically similar species were collected together (i.e., males found together), their females were not included in the types series of the respective species but were instead mentioned under additional material. Species descriptions are based on the whole type series.
Some of the species treated herein are very similar to each other and, based on low overall genetic divergence, most likely also very recent (
Measurements were taken with a Wild M10 stereomicroscope choosing the smallest and the largest specimens within and among the populations. The following abbreviations were used: (total body length) (total body length without head) (maximum body width) (handwritten)
Drawings were made with the aid of a camera lucida attached to a Leica DM 2500 microscope. For detailed study and drawing, protarsi, and genitalia were removed and mounted on glass slides with (dimethyl hydantoin formaldehyde)
The terminology to denote the orientation of the genitalia (ventral for median lobe and dorsal and external for paramere) follows
The representatives of the
beetles small or middle-sized (
habitus oblong-oval (broadest approximately at elytral middle), with rounded pronotal and elytral sides, body outline continuous;
pronotum short, trapezoidal, with posterior angles not drawn backwards;
coloration brown to piceous, mainly uniform, sometimes with paler head and pronotum and darker elytra;
microreticulation and punctation of dorsal surface very fine to strongly impressed, so that beetles shiny to matt dorsally;
metacoxae and abdominal ventrites 1–5 (and 6 in males) with thin, almost longitudinal striae/strioles;
pronotum and elytra without striae or strioles;
pronotum with lateral bead;
male antennomeres not modified, antennomere 2 larger than antennomere 3;
male protarsomeres 1–3 not expanded laterally;
male protarsomere 4 cylindrical, narrow, with large anterolateral hook;
male protarsomere 5 not modified: long and narrow, without expansion and concavity, ventrally with two sparse rows of relatively short setae;
median lobe of aedeagus with continuous outline in ventral and lateral view;
ventral sclerite of median lobe not deeply divided in the middle, apically forming a shovel/fork-like structure with two apices;
apical part of median lobe with numerous setae;
paramere without notch on dorsal side;
paramere with long setae occupying whole dorsal side.
Representatives of this species group are recorded only from Papua New Guinea (PNG).
Representatives of this species group are recorded only from Papua New Guinea (PNG).
1. | PNG Madang, Eastern Highlands | |
2. | PNG: Simbu, Eastern Highlands, Gulf | |
3. | PNG: Sandaun, Hela | |
4. | PNG: Western Highlands, Enga, Madang | |
5. | PNG: Hela |
Papua New Guinea: Madang Province, Finisterre Range, Moro, approximately
(original description in
Habitus and coloration of
Habitus and coloration of the holotypes.
Lateral view of median lobe of
Papua New Guinea: Madang and Eastern Highlands Provinces (Fig.
Papua New Guinea: border Simbu and Eastern Highlands Provinces, Crater Mountain, between Wara Sera Station and Herowana Village, Hulene River, approximately
(original description in
Papua New Guinea: Simbu, Eastern Highlands, and Gulf Provinces (Fig.
Papua New Guinea: Sandaun Province, trail from Telefomin to Eliptamin.
(original description in
Papua New Guinea: Sandaun and Hela Provinces (Fig.
Papua New Guinea: Western Highlands Province, 5 km SE from Minj, Mondmill,
Beetle medium-sized, brown to piceous, with reddish head and pronotal sides, shiny; median lobe with slightly curved downwards apex but thin in lateral view and ventral sclerite with two unequal apices (left one long, narrow and curved and right one short, broad and more or less rounded). The species is similar to
Papua New Guinea: Western Highlands, Enga, and Madang Provinces (Fig.
The name refers to Mondmill, the type locality, where the species was found in great numbers. The name is an adjective in the nominative singular.
Papua New Guinea: Hela Province, Tari,
Beetle medium-sized, brown to dark brown, with reddish head and pronotal sides, submatt; median lobe with apex strongly curved downwards in lateral view and ventral sclerite with two unequal apices (left one long, narrow and curved apically and right one short, broad and more or less strait). The species is similar to
Papua New Guinea: Hela Province. This species is known only from the type locality (Fig.
Map of Papua New Guinea showing distribution of species of the
The name points to similarity of the new species to
The key is based mostly on male characters. In many cases females cannot be assigned to a species due to the similarity of their external and internal structures (for female genitalia see Figs 17a and 17b in
1 | Dorsal surface of the body matt, with strongly impressed microreticulation and dense coarse punctation or submatt, with finer microreticulation and punctation (Figs |
|
– | Dorsal surface of the body shiny, with distinctly weaker microreticulation and finer punctation (Figs |
|
2 | Dorsal surface of body matt, with strongly impressed microreticulation and dense coarse punctation (Fig. |
(3) |
– | Dorsal surface of body submatt, with punctation evidently sparser and finer and microreticulation weaker (Fig. |
(5) |
3 | Dorsal surface with very fine and sparse to moderately fine and dense punctation (Figs |
(1) |
– | Dorsal surface with very fine and sparse punctation (Figs |
|
4 | Median lobe with apex broad, strongly curved in lateral view, its ventral sclerite with two more or less equal tips (Fig. |
(2) |
– | Media lobe with apex thin, slightly curved in lateral view, its ventral sclerite with two tips of different length: left one very long and narrow and right one shorter and broader, somehow rounded (Figs |
(4) |
We are grateful Dr. H. Schillhammer (Vienna) for the habitus photos and Prof. D. Bilton (Plymouth) for a linguistic review of the manuscript.
Fieldwork was authorized by the PNG Department of Environment and Conservation (now PNG Climate and Environment Protection Authority) and supported by Wildlife Conservation Society, Goroka, EHP, Papua New Guinea, as well as the New Guinea Binatang Research Center, Madang, Papua New Guinea. Thanks are especially due to Aloysius Posman, Bangan John, Andrew Kinibel, and Sentiko Ibalim, and also to all other parataxonomists and paraecologists whose help is greatly appreciated.
Financial support for the study was provided by the FWF (Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung – the Austrian Science Fund) through a project P 24312-B17 to Helena Shaverdo. Michael Balke was supported by the UK Darwin Initiative and the German Science Foundation (DFG).