Cychramus splendidus Lawrence 2019, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Lawrence, John F.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Nitidulidae
Cychramus
Cychramus splendidus

description: Cychramus splendidus, sp. nov.
(Figs 7–8, 37, 41, 67, 71)
Diagnosis. This species differs from Cychramus picticollis Lea, the only Australian congener, which occurs from VIC to northern QLD, in its larger size (more than 3.5 mm long), different colour pattern (Fig. 7) with dark pronotal patch less broken up, sides and posterior edge reddish, scutellum dark, central section of combined elytra reddish and metaventrite and base of abdomen dark, rather than yellow, labral apex somewhat angulate with two minute teeth at middle flanking small notch (Fig. 37, compare Fig. 38), mentum without mesal lobe (Fig. 41, compare Fig. 42), pronotal punctation coarser and denser, elytral apices obliquely truncate, mesocoxae more widely separated than procoxae, inner edge of profemur angulate at basal third and gonocoxites (Figs 67, 71) as long as their combined widths and slightly narrowing apically. The ovipositor also differs in shape from that in C. picticollis (Fig. 75).
Description. Length = 3.80–4.50 (4.32 ± 0.27, n = 5) mm. Body (Figs 7–8) more or less hemispherical and strongly convex dorsally. BL/EW = 1.35–1.56 (1.43); GD/EW = 0.47–0.55 (0.52). Head yellow anteriorly and dark brown posteriorly, with two red spots on vertex; central portion of pronotal disc dark brown or black from anterior edge to posterior fourth and lateral fifths; sides reddish and this colour extending towards midline behind dark centre, with three small yellow incursions into centre; scutellum dark brown or black; elytra primarily dark brown or black, with broad red macula extending from elytral base and scutellum to about middle and laterally to mesal third of each elytron; ventral surface of head, legs, mouthparts, antennae, abdomen and pygidium yellow; prosternum and mesoventrite usually red and metaventrite black. Dorsal vestiture a dense covering of long, fine, inclined setae; ventral surfaces with setae usually shorter and less dense.
Head 1.07 times as long as wide. Eyes 0.36 times as long as head width. Temples 0.32 times as long as eye, straight. Vertexal line complete. Frontoclypeal suture absent. Labrum (Fig. 37) 0.36 times as long as wide, sides evenly curved; apex somewhat angulate, with two minute, acute teeth at middle. Antennal scape 1.78 times as long as wide and 2.00 times as long as pedicel; antennomere 3 about 1.63 times as long as 4; club 0.75 times as long as antennomeres 3–8 combined and 2.53 times as long as wide; terminal antennomere 1.20 times as long as wide. Antennal grooves distinctly converging, not extending to ends of eyes; genal ridges evenly curved, anteriorly covering part of the antennal grooves; genal lobes curved and apically rounded. Mandible with outer edge strongly evenly curved, apex unidentate, with reduced subapical lobe; mola relatively small; prostheca extensive and densely setose. Apical maxillary palpomere 3.00 times as long as wide, widest at basal third with narrowly rounded apex. Mentum (Fig. 41) 0.45 times as long as wide, widest at base, sides slightly curved and slightly converging; apex without mesal lobe and with broadly rounded lateral lobes; apical labial palpomere 1.67 times as long as wide, widest near base, broadly rounded at apex.
Pronotum 0.48–0.56 (0.51) times as long as wide, widest near posterior edge; anterior edge weakly emarginate; anterior angles produced and broadly rounded; sides distinctly obliquely explanate, with very narrow marginal bead; posterior angles obtuse and rounded; posterior edge more or less evenly curved, without marginal bead; disc strongly, evenly convex; punctation fine and moderately dense, with punctures about twice as large as an eye facet and usually separated by half a puncture diameter; interspaces smooth and shiny. Pronotal punctation consisting of very small, subcircular pits, without distinct rim, with median longitudinal trough and two pores located adjacent to inclined or decumbent setae. Prosternum 0.81 times as long as mid length of procoxal cavity, slightly convex; prosternal process 0.47 times as wide as mid length of procoxal cavity, not curved behind coxae, parallel-sided with truncate apex and distinct oblique wall. Scutellar shield 0.26 times as wide as pronotum, broadly rounded at apex, finely, sparsely punctate. Elytra 0.85–1.00 (0.92) times as long as wide and 1.70–1.91 (1.80) times as long as pronotum; sides strongly declined, without lateral margins; elytral apices obliquely subtruncate, apices almost meeting at suture; humeri very weak and well removed from anterior angles, which are broadly angulate; disc convex; punctation and vestiture single, confused, fine and dense, Elytral punctation consisting of small circular pits slightly larger than those on pronotum, with median pore and without posterior rim, and located immediately behind inclined or decumbent seta. Epipleura tilted so that they are not visible in lateral view, broad at base, gradually narrowed and extending to posterior edge of ventrite 2. Anterior edge of mesoventrite on same plane as metaventrite, slightly concave in middle, without median carina; posterior edge not elevated, broadly emarginate. Mesocoxae separated by 0.58 times longest longitudinal diameter of mesocoxal cavity. Metaventrite slightly convex; anterior lobe apically broadly rounded and not declined; discrimen about 0.80 times as long as ventrite; postcoxal lines arising at about middle of coxal rim, extending laterally, curving posteriorly at lateral third and meeting lateral edge of ventrite at anterior fourth, so that axillary spaces are relatively small; posterior edge of ventrite between metacoxae slightly curved. Metacoxae separated by a distance 1.10 times mid length (shortest diameter) of metacoxa. Ratio of distances between procoxae, mesocoxae and metacoxae 1.00: 1.30: 2.30. Inner edge of profemur widest and somewhat angulate at basal third at beginning of apical groove to receive protibia. Protibia slightly expanded to outer apical angle; outer edge densely lined with short, blunt dark spines, and apex with a few similar spines. Mesotibia strongly expanded to subapex; outer edge densely lined with long spines extending onto apex; metatibia slightly expanded; outer edge lined with sparser long spines and setae, spines continuing onto apex. Basal pro- and mesotarsomeres distinctly widened, metatarsomeres slightly so.
Abdomen with broadly rounded intercoxal process; ventrite 1 slightly shorter than 2, 3 or 4, without postcoxal lines; ventrites 2–5 each with transverse, sub-basal carina; ventrite 5 slightly longer than 4 and very broadly rounded. Mentum, postmentum, prosternum, hypomera and mesoventrite impunctate or sparsely punctate; metaventrite and all abdominal ventrites densely covered with small elongate-oval, pits with longitudinal trough and two pores plus their associated setae. Pygidium with basal carina and broadly rounded apex. Male unknown. Ovipositor 1.65 times as long as wide, flattened; paraprocts 1.54 times as long as gonocoxites (Figs 67, 71), which are as long as their combined widths, widest at base and slightly narrowing apically, contiguous and broadly truncate at apex; gonostyli absent.
Type specimens. Holotype, ♀, “ Lord Howe Island Mt. Lidgbird E shelf 31: 33.817S 159: 05.378E, 444m, sift- ing Dracophyllum litter 9.ii.2017 Jenkins, Shaw & Jensen LHI 2017Feb9 -J19b” (AMS, K446406).
Paratypes. NSW: Lord Howe Island: Mt. Gower, at igloo (31°35.16’S, 159°05.01’E), 05.xii.2000, on ground/ trees at night, C. Reid (1, AMS K187784); Mt. Gower, summit (31°35.23’S, 159°04.22’E), 28.xi.2000, ex Metrosideros scutocarpa, LHIS052/05B, beating, P. Flemons, J. Tarnowski (1, AMS K187782); Mt. Gower, tk (31°34.58’S, 159°05.03’E), Site G 6, 600m, Heydisc. Canterburyana forest, 1–12.xi.2005, Site G6 litter, N. Velez (1, AMS 446405); Mt. Gower, walking trail (31°35.12’S, 159°04.35’E), 28.xi.2000, ex Lepidorrhachis mooreana, LHIS050/ 05B, beating, P. Flemons, J. Tarnowski (1, AMS K187783).
Distribution. Known only from Lord Howe Island. Biology. Adult specimens were collected by beating or litter sifting. Larvae keyed out to the genus Cychramus, based on Böving & Rozen (1962) and Hayashi (1978), and found in a rotten wood berlesate collected on Mt. Gower, 26 May 1980, by S. B. and J. Peck, probably belong to this species. Etymology. From the Latin splendidus, light, shining.
description: Published as part of Lawrence, John F., 2019, Australian Nitidulinae: general review with descriptions of new genera and species (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), pp. 261-290 in Zootaxa 4657 (2) on pages 265-267, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4657.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/3769191