Corresponding author: Helena Shaverdo (
Academic editor: M. Michat
Six new species of New Guinea
Shaverdo H, Wild M, Sumoked B, Balke M (2017) Six new species of the genus
This paper is in continuity with our previous taxonomic studies on the New Guinea species of the diving beetle genus
Here, the discovery of six new
The present work is based on the material from the following collections:
All methods follow those described in detail in our previous articles (
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Papua: Pegunungan Bintang Regency, trek between Aipomek and Diruemna,
Beetle large (TL-H 5.3–5.75 mm), elongate; piceous, with dark brown pronotal sites and head anteriorly; submatt, with fine but evident punctation and rather strongly impressed microreticulation; pronotum with distinct lateral bead; male antennae simple, slender (Fig.
Papua: Pegunungan Bintang Regency. The species is known only from the type material (Fig.
Papua: Puncak Jaya Regency,
Beetle medium-sized, oblong-oval, piceous, with brown sides of pronotum, dorsal punctation inconspicuous, microreticulation weakly impressed; pronotum without lateral bead; male antennae simple; male protarsomere 4 with large, thick, strongly curved anterolateral hook-like seta; median lobe evenly curved, pointed in lateral view and evenly tapering, with broadly pointed apex in ventral view, on both lateral sides with numerous short, thick setae situated on anterior half of distal part of median lobe; paramere robust, with notch on dorsal side and very dense, strong setae on subdistal part; proximal setae sparse and fine. The new species is very similar to
Papua: Puncak Jaya and Puncak Regencies (Fig.
The species is named in honour of helicopter pilot Tom Hans who has served the Papuan people for many years. The name is a noun in the genitive case.
Papua: Nabire Regency, 54–55 km of road Nabire to Enarotali, ca.
10 males, 15 females “IR #91-7 (IR 24). West New Guinea, Nabire-Ilaga km 54, 750m, 25.&27.1991 Balke” (
Beetle medium-sized (TL-H 3.8–4.8 mm), elongate; dark brown, with reddish brown pronotal sites and head anteriorly; submatt, with fine but evident punctation and rather strongly impressed microreticulation; pronotum without lateral bead (Fig.
Papua: Nabire Regency. The species is known only from the Mount Gamey area (Fig.
Papua: Puncak Regency, south from Iratoi,
Beetle small, oblong-oval, piceous, with dark brown head and pronotum, dorsal punctation inconspicuous, microreticulation weakly impressed; pronotum without lateral bead; male antennae simple; male protarsomere 4 with large, thick, strongly curved anterolateral hook-like seta; apex of median lobe with three small prolongations; paramere without dorsal notch, with long, rather dense, thin setae, situated along dorsal margin, not clearly divided into subdistal and proximal.
In oblong-oval shape of the body, fine dorsal sculpture, and absence of the pronotal bead, the species is similar to many small species of the
Papua: Puncak Regency. The species is known only from the type locality (Fig.
Iratoi is a mixed village of both Edofi and Wano people. It is located just beyond the foot hills coming out of Wano land at the northwestern border of their traditional territory. This area is quite low at an elevation of ca. 200 m, which offers many opportunities to easily access the many small streams and puddles which
The name refers to Iratoi, the type locality. The name is a noun in the nominative singular standing in apposition.
Papua: Puncak Jaya Regency, south from Iratoi,
Beetle small, oblong, dark brown to piceous, dorsal punctation dense and coarse, microreticulation distinctly impressed; pronotum without lateral bead; male antennae simple; male protarsomere 4 cylindrical, narrow, with large, thick, strongly curved anterolateral hook-like seta; median lobe slightly curved, with broadly pointed apex in lateral view and abruptly narrowed apically, with apex truncate in ventral view; paramere without dorsal notch, with subdistal setae very dense, strong, long and proximal setae very sparse, thin, small, weakly visible.
In shape of median lobe, the species resembles
Papua: Puncak Jaya Regency. The species is known only from the type locality (Fig.
The species is named after Michael Wild’s best Wano friend Liku who grew up at Iratoi and hunted many times in the area where the species was collected. The name is a noun in the genitive case.
Papua: Puncak Regency, Puluk area,
Beetle small, dark brown to piceous, with paler anterior part of head and sides of pronotum, dorsal punctation fine, microreticulation distinctly impressed; pronotum without lateral bead; male antennae simple; male protarsomere 4 cylindrical, narrow, with large, thick, strongly curved anterolateral hook-like seta; median lobe slightly curved, with truncate apex in lateral view and abruptly narrowed apically, with apex concave in ventral view, having short, thick subdistal setae laterally; paramere without dorsal notch, with subdistal setae dense, strong, long and proximal setae very sparse, thin, small, weakly visible.
In habitus shape, coloration, and absence of the pronotal bead,
Papua: Puncak Regency. The species is known only from the type locality (Fig.
The species is named after a young Wano man Pu, who grew up in Puluk and accompanied his father (now deceased) on many hunting trips in the area where this species was collected. The name is a noun in the genitive case.
West Papua: Manokwari Regency, approximately 10 km NW from Ransiki, Kali Way,
Small, with oblong with subparallel sides to broadly oval habitus; coloration red to dark brown; dorsal surface with strong punctation and microreticulation, matt; pronotum with distinct lateral bead; male antennomeres simple; male protarsomere 4 with large, thick, strongly curved anterolateral hook-like seta; median lobe slightly tapering in ventral view and with curved apex in lateral view; paramere without notch on dorsal side, with thin, sparse, inconspicuous setae. For the complete description, please see
Recently discovered beetles from the western part of Manokwari Regency show distinct differences in the size, body shape, and coloration from those of the type series. They are larger: TL-H 3.25–3.7 mm (representatives of the type series: TL-H 2.85–3.2 mm) and have darker coloration: dark brown, with paler anterior margin of the head and sides of the pronotum. Very interesting is the variability of the body shape: the beetles from Ransiki and Nabire are oblong, with subparallel sides, the beetles from the Tamrau Mountains (localities BH023, BH033, and BH034) also have this body shape but they are distinctly larger, whereas the beetles from Kebar-Aibogar have a more rounded habitus, which is distinctly broadly oval in the specimen from Fumato. That represents almost gradual change of the body shape from oblong, parallel-sided in the east to broadly oval in the west. No variability has been found in the shape of the median lobe and paramere, or in the surface sculpture. Therefore, at present, we treat all new material as
West Papua: Manokwari Regency and Papua: Nabire Regency (Fig.
This group includes two species, which have one unique character: few (usually three) last subdistal setae of the paramere, standing isolated, are modified having indistinct or very evident basal prolongation (Figs
Papua: Puncak Jaya Regency, Wigoduk,
3 males, 10 females “Indonesia: Papua, Mokndoma, 2150m, 5.ix.2014,
Beetle medium-sized, piceous, with pronotum paler anteriorly and laterally, dorsal punctation dense and coarse, microreticulation strongly impressed; pronotum without lateral bead; male antennae evidently modified: antennomeres 3–4 and 9–10 stout, antennomeres 5–8 distinctly enlarged, larger than other antennomeres; protarsomere 4 with large, thick, strongly curved anterolateral hook-like seta; protarsomere 5 slightly concave ventrally; median lobe slightly curved, narrow, with apex slightly curved downwards as very small “beak” in lateral view; with slightly concave apex and subparallel sides in ventral view; paramere without dorsal notch, subdistal setae numerous, long, dense, strong, proximal setae thin and sparse, inconspicuous.
The species is similar to
There are three specimens (see “Additional material”) of much smaller size (TL-H 3.8–3.95 mm, TL 3.2–3.6 mm, MW 1.85–1.9 mm; for
Papua: Puncak Jaya Regency. The species is known from two localities: Wigoduk and Mokndoma (Fig.
At 2150 m, Mokndoma is an area of high cloud forest. Although this area lies within the territory of the Wano tribe, the word Mokndoma is from the neighboring Dem language. Mok means “flat” and Ndoma means “ground”. So the name of the place is literally “Flat ground”. This is the current home of the second author. In many places at Mokndoma, the ground is boggy with lots of moss and tannin stained streams and ponds. It is an almost mystical place featuring moss tunnels, bog grass, mountain rhododendrons, woody epiphytes, wild ginger and many shrubby small coniferous trees. Upon leaving the open flat area and heading into the thick jungle to the east, west or south, one finds many small streams (Fig.
Wigoduk is the name of a valley system to the northeast of Mokndoma. It is about onehour hike from the second author’s house site in Mokndoma. Wigoduk is located at 1800 m, right on the eastern bank of a wide bend in the Nggoduk River (Fig.
The name refers to Wigoduk, the type locality. The name is an adjective in the nominative singular.
Papua: Puncak Jaya Regency, Puluk area,
3 males, 1 female “Indonesia: Papua, Wano Land, Puluk, 1320m, 1.ix.2014,
Beetle medium-sized, piceous, with pronotum paler anteriorly and laterally, dorsal punctation dense and coarse, microreticulation strongly impressed; pronotum without lateral bead; male antennomeres 3–10 stout; protarsomere 4 with large, thick, strongly curved anterolateral hook-like seta; protarsomere 5 slightly concave ventrally; median lobe slightly curved, with apex rounded, slightly curved downwards in lateral view, in ventral view narrowed subdistally, with subparallel sides and slightly asymmetrical, concave apex; paramere without dorsal notch, subdistal setae numerous, long, dense, strong, three isolated setae of the paramere with distinct basal prolongations, proximal setae thin and sparse, inconspicuous.
The species is similar to
The males from the localities Pap020 and Pap024 (see “Additional material”) have thicker and shorter median lobe, with its apex distinctly broader in lateral view and more concave in ventral view. More material from the region is necessary to conclude whether two distinct but very similar species occur here or it is just a matter of variability.
Papua: Puncak Jaya Regency. The species is known from Puluk area (Fig.
At Puluk (1370 m), there are three permanent Wano families living, and near their houses, the small trees and bushes are kept trimmed back. The soil is dark, and very fertile. Off into the jungle, around their houses in a circumference of approximately 30–50 m, secondary growth is always encroaching on the hamlet site. Outwards to 250 m beyond the secondary growth, the jungle is lush, but somewhat thinned out, since they clear out smaller trees, and underbrush for firewood and materials for building houses and gardens. Their gardens are out beyond that, and are roughly made and maintained. Beyond that, the jungle is pristine. Just in the jungle to the west of the hamlet site is a small stream where
The name refers to Puluk area where the species were found. The name is an adjective in the nominative singular.
The key is based mostly on the male characters. In many cases females cannot be assigned to species due to similarity of their external and internal structures (for female genitalia see figs 17a and 17b in
1 | Pronotum with lateral bead |
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– | Pronotum without lateral bead |
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2 | Beetle larger, TL-H 5.3–5.8 mm (Fig. |
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– | Beetle smaller, TL-H 2.85–3.2 mm (fig. 1 in |
(7) |
3 | Male antennae extremely modified: antennomeres 4-6 excessively large, 3 and 7 strongly enlarged (Fig. |
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– | Male antennae simple or differently modified |
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4 | Apex of median lobe with three small prolongations (Fig. |
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– | Median lobe with simple apex, other characters variable |
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5 | Beetle larger, TL-H 3.7–4.75 mm |
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– | Beetle smaller, TL-H 3.2–3.6 mm |
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6 | Beetle shiny, with fine dorsal microreticulation and punctation almost invisible (Fig. |
(2) |
– | Beetle matt, with strong dorsal microreticulation and punctation. Male antennae modified: antennomeres 3–10 stout or some of them distinctly enlarged. Medial lobe with apex more or less rounded in lateral view |
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7 | Male antennomeres 3–4 and 9–10 stout, antennomeres 5–8 distinctly enlarged, larger than other antennomeres (Fig. |
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– | Male antennomeres 3–10 stout (Fig. |
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8 | Dorsal punctation dense, coarse (Fig. |
(5) |
– | Dorsal punctation very fine (Fig. |
(6) |
Wano Land, Mokndoma, small forest stream; photo by M. Wild.
Wano Land, Wigoduk, Nggoduk River; photo by M. Wild.
Habitus and coloration
Habitus and coloration
Map of the western part of New Guinea showing the species distributions.
We are grateful Dr. H. Schillhammer (Vienna) for the habitus photos and Prof. D. Bilton (Plymouth) for a linguistic review of the manuscript.
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 German Science Foundation (DFG BA2152/11-1, 11-2, 19-1).