Indonesia: Papua Province: Pegunungan Bintang Regency, near Ok Bap, 04°49'28.6"S, 140°24'47.0"E, 1,961 m a.s.l.

Holotype : male “Indonesia: Papua, nr Ok Bab [sic!], 1961 m, 8.vi.2015, -4.82460033148527, 140.413050251081, Sumoked” (MZB). Paratypes: 16 males, 9 females with the same label as the holotype (MZB, KSP).

Body size and form : Beetle medium-sized: TL-H 4.3–4.8 mm, TL 4.85–5.4 mm, MW 2.3–2.5 mm (holotype: TL-H 4.6 mm, TL 5 mm, MW 2.4 mm), with oblong-oval habitus.

Colouration : Dorsally piceous, sometimes with dark brown posterior part of head, middle and lateral parts of pronotum, and usually with dark brown elytral sutural lines; head appendages yellowish red, legs yellowish red to reddish brown (Fig. 1). Teneral specimens paler, reddish brown.

Figure 1. 

Habitus and colouration of Exocelina athesphatos sp. nov., holotype.

Surface sculpture : Shiny dorsally, with inconspicuous to fine, distinct punctation and weakly impressed microreticulation. Head with dense punctation (spaces between punctures 1–2 times size of punctures), evidently finer and sparser anteriorly; diameter of punctures almost equal to diameter of cells of microreticulation. Pronotum with sparser and finer punctation than head. Elytra with very sparse and fine punctation, sometimes inconspicuous. Microreticulation of elytra weakly impressed, in some specimens slightly stronger. Pronotum and especially head with stronger microreticulation. Metaventrite and metacoxae distinctly microreticulate, metacoxal plates with longitudinal strioles and transverse wrinkles. Abdominal ventrites with distinct microreticulation, strioles, and very fine and sparse punctation.

Structures : Pronotum with distinct, relatively narrow lateral bead. Base of prosternum and neck of prosternal process with distinct ridge, slightly rounded anteriorly. Blade of prosternal process lanceolate, relatively broad, slightly convex, with distinct lateral bead and few setae. Abdominal ventrite 6 broadly rounded or almost truncate, with elongate medial impression.

Male : Antenna strongly modified (Figs 1, 8A): antennomere 2 strongly reduced, antennomeres 3 and 4 strongly enlarged (antennomere 3 the largest), antennomeres 5 and 6 distinctly enlarged, antennomeres 7–10 stout. Pro- and mesotarsomeres 1–3 dilated. Protarsomere 4 slightly dilated, with anterolateral angle shortly expanded (not visible in Fig. 3B due to a wrong angle, but evident for E. tsinga sp. nov. in Fig. 7B; the species are similar in this character) and with large, thick, slightly curved anterolateral hook-like seta. Protarsomere 5 ventrally with anterior row of 18 and posterior row of 9 short, thick, pointed setae (Fig. 3B). Median lobe long and slender, with slightly discontinuous outline (see in apical part), enlarged and thickened apex, and with extremely small, fine, sparse setae distally on lateral margins; apex distinctly curved downwards in lateral view and in ventral view, deeply concave, with divergent sides (Fig. 2). Paramere with very deep dorsal notch, separating subdistal part; subdistal part is very large, broad, with fringe of six or seven very broad, flattened setae and more numerous thin, fine setae; proximal setae numerous, dense, thin, much more inconspicuous than subdistal (Fig. 3A). Abdominal ventrite 6 with relatively deep, elongate medial impression forming two small tubercles on both sides subapically and with 14–18 lateral striae on each side (Fig. 9A).

Figure 2. 

Exocelina athesphatos sp. nov., paratype A median lobe in ventral view B median lobe in lateral view.

Figure 3. 

Exocelina athesphatos sp. nov., paratype A right paramere in external view B right male protarsomeres 4–5 in ventral view.

Female : Antennae and pro- and mesotarsi not modified. Abdominal ventrite 6 more rounded apically, with shallow elongate medial impression, without tubercles and lateral striae.

Based on shape of the modified male antennae and presence of pronotal bead, the new species can be placed close to the E. polita species complex in the identification key. However, this is not a monophyletic group. According to a molecular phylogenetic analysis (Toussaint et al., in preparation), the two new species are sister species, on their own separate branch within the E. ekari group.

Exocelina athesphatos sp. nov. is similar to E. utowaensis Shaverdo, Hendrich & Balke, 2012 in modifications of the abdominal ventrite 6 and general shape of the median lobe and paramere. But the new species distinctly differs from it in larger size (TL-H 3.4–3.8 mm in E. utowaensis), having pronotal bead (absent in E. utowaensis) and strongly modified male antennae (simple in E. utowaensis). Additionally, in general shape of the median lobe and paramere as well as in the relatively narrow pronotal bead, the new species resembles E. oceai Shaverdo, Hendrich & Balke, 2012, which is, however, much smaller (TL-H 3.35–3.8 mm) and has simple male antennae. For comparison with E. tsinga sp. nov. see below.

Indonesia: Papua Province. The species is known only from the type locality.

The specimens were collected from small puddles, in roadside ditches besides a dirt road (in Fig. 4 at the left hand side). The beetles have been presumably been washed into these ditches from small forest creeks during heavy rainfalls.

Figure 4. 

Dirt road from Ok Sibil to Ok Bap.

The species name αθέσφατος derives from Greek, meaning “unadulterated, pure”. The name is an adjective in the nominative singular.

Indonesia: Papua Province, Mimika Regency, Tsinga Village, Tsingogong River, 04°11.320'S, 137°16.364'E, 1,306 m a.s.l.

Holotype : male “Indonesia: Kabupaten [Regency] Mimika, Desa [Village] Tsinga, Sungai [River] Tsingogong”, “1306 m, 25–30.v.2017, 04°11.320'S, 137°16.364'E, B. Sumoked” (MZB). Paratypes: 33 males, 38 females with the same label as the holotype (MZB, KSP). 6 males, 7 females “Indonesia: Kabupaten Mimika, Desa Tsinga, 1381 m, 25–30.v.2017”, “04°11.379'S, 137°13.456'E, B. Sumoked” (MZB, KSP).

Body size and form : Beetle medium-sized: TL-H 4.05–4.8 mm, TL 4.5–5.3 mm, MW 2.15–2.5 mm (holotype: TL-H 4.5 mm, TL 5 mm, MW 2.4 mm), with oblong-oval to elongate habitus (Fig. 5).

Figure 5. 

Habitus and colouration of Exocelina tsinga sp. nov., holotype.

Colouration : As in E. athesphatos sp. nov.

Surface sculpture : As in E. athesphatos sp. nov.

Structures : Pronotum with distinct, relatively narrow anteriorly lateral bead. Base of prosternum and neck of prosternal process with distinct ridge, slightly rounded anteriorly. Blade of prosternal process lanceolate, relatively broad, slightly convex, with distinct lateral bead and few setae. Abdominal ventrite 6 broadly rounded or slightly truncate.

Male : Antenna strongly modified (Figs 5, 8B): antennomere 2 strongly reduced, antennomeres 3 and 4 strongly enlarged (antennomere 3 the largest), antennomeres 5 and 6 distinctly enlarged, antennomeres 7–9 stout. Pro- and mesotarsomeres 1–3 dilated. Protarsomere 4 slightly dilated, with anterolateral angle shortly expanded and with large, thick, slightly curved anterolateral hook-like seta. Protarsomere 5 ventrally with anterior row of 14 and posterior row of 6 short, thick, pointed setae (Fig. 7B). Median lobe relatively long and slender, with slightly discontinuous outline in subapical part (mainly visible in ventral view); in lateral view, apex thin, more or less pointed and curved downwards; in ventral view, apex broad, almost truncate (Fig. 6). Paramere with very deep dorsal notch, separating subdistal part; subdistal part is large, broad, curved downwards and pressed closely to paramere, with fringe of seven very broad, flattened setae; proximal setae numerous, dense, thin, much more inconspicuous than subdistal (Fig. 7A). Abdominal ventrite 6 slightly depressed medially, with 10–12 lateral striae on each side (Fig. 9B).

Figure 6. 

Exocelina tsinga sp. nov., paratype A median lobe in ventral view B median lobe in lateral view.

Figure 7. 

Exocelina tsinga sp. nov., paratype A right paramere in external view B right male protarsomeres 4–5 in ventral view.

Female : Antennae and pro- and mesotarsi not modified. Abdominal ventrite 6 without depression and lateral striae.

About the placement within the E. ekari group, we consider the species in the same way as E. athesphatos sp. nov. Both species are very similar in external morphology (colouration, body form and sculpture, shape of male antennae) and, therefore, difficult to distinguish without detailed study (Figs 1, 5). However, males antennomeres of E. tsinga sp. nov. are slightly smaller than in E. athesphatos sp. nov. and have slightly different form (Fig. 8). The species can be easily separated by the shape of abdominal ventrite 6 (Fig. 9), median lobe and paramere.

Figure 8. 

Male antennae A Exocelina athesphatos sp. nov., paratype B E. tsinga sp. nov., paratype.

Figure 9. 

Abdominal ventrite 6 A Exocelina athesphatos sp. nov., paratype B E. tsinga sp. nov., holotype.

Indonesia: Papua Province, Mimika Regency. The species is known only from the type locality.

The specimens were collected from small puddles on bedrock (Fig. 11), besides fast flowing mountains streams (such as Tsingogong River in Fig. 10).

Figure 10. 

Tsingogong River.

Figure 11. 

Small water holes on bedrock besides Tsingogong River.

The species is named after Tsinga Village. The name is a noun in the nominative singular standing in apposition.