Maechidius lapsus Telnov 2020, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Telnov, Dmitry
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Scarabaeidae
Maechidius
Maechidius lapsus

description: Maechidius lapsus sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: EA0D564C-7967-4819-8D85-30D7DE7A1EA6
Figs 50, 133–134, 223, 314, 387, 481–482, 632–639
Etymology
Name derives from Latin ‘ lapsus ’ (meaning ‘lapse’, ‘slip’) since specimens of this species were incorrectly identified and published under the name of Paramaechidius pauxillus by several coleopterists (e.g., Frey 1969; Prokofiev 2018). Noun in apposition.
Type material
Holotype
INDONESIA • ♂; “N. DUTCH NEW GUINEA: Waigeu. Camp Nok. 2,500ft. iv.1938. L.E.Cheesman. B.M.1938-593. // Paramaechidius pauxillus Heller [h] det. G.Frey, 1967/68 [p]”; BMNH.
Paratypes (26 specimens)
INDONESIA • 1 ♂, 2 ♀♀; same label as in holotype but “ pauxillus Heller ” [h] “det. G.Frey, 1967/68 [p] [not mentioning genus name]”; BMNH • 1 ♂; paratype of Maechidius clypeatus comb. nov.; “ NEW GUINEA: NETH. Waris, S. of Hollandia,4500- 500m VIII-1-7-1959 [p] // T. C. Maa Collector BISHOP [p] // PARATYPE [p, red label] // Paramaechidius clypeatus n sp [h] det. G.Frey,1967/68 [p]”; NHMB • 1 ♀; “ DUTCH NEW GUINEA: Cyclops Mts.Sabron. Camp I. 1,200 ft. 15.v.1936. L.E.Cheesman. B.M.1936-271.”; BMNH • 1 ♂; “ DUTCH NEW GUINEA: Cyclops Mts., Sabron. 2,000 ft. vi.1936. L.E.Cheesman. B.M.1936-271.”; BMNH • 1 ♀; “ DUTCH NEW GUINEA: Cyclops Mts., Sabron. 2,000 ft. vii.1936. L.E.Cheesman. B.M.1936-271.”; BMNH • 1 ♂; “ INDONESIA or. Irian Jaya 170km S Nabire Epomani 1150m, 06.I.1996 leg. A. Weigel ”; NME • 1 ♀; “ INDONESIA, Irian Jaya Nabire area, road Nabire–Ilaga,km 54, 03°29’517”S 135°43’913”E, 750m NN IV.1998, leg. M.Balke // Sammlung NATURKUNDEMUSEUM ERFURT”; NME • 6 ♂♂, 1 ♀; “ IRIAN JAYA, Japen [sic ♂] Isl., Kontinuai, road to Ambaidru, 600-700 m, 23-25.XII.2000, leg. A. RIEDEL”; SMNH • 1 ♂; same label; DTC • 6 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀; “ Collection Naturhistorisches Museum Basel // Papua New Guinea Madang Prov. L. Cizek lgt. // Salemben village 145°24’E 4°42’S 16.XII. 2000, 750 m”; NHMB.
Description
MEASUREMENTS. Male holotype, total body length 5.90 mm. Head 1.20 mm long, across eyes 1.30 mm wide. Pronotum 1.30 mm long, maximum width 1.90 mm. Elytral length 3.40 mm, maximum combined width 2.80 mm. Selected female paratype from Waigeo Is., total body length 7.00 mm. Head 1.20 mm long, across eyes 1.40 mm wide. Pronotum 1.50 mm long, maximum width 2.10 mm. Elytral length 4.30 mm, maximum combined width 3.60 mm. Male paratype from Cyclops Mts, total body length 6.30 mm, selected female paratype 7.00 mm long.
With general features of Maechidius bintang sp. nov., M. crypticus sp. nov., M. dendrolagus sp. nov., M. lapsus sp. nov., M. owenstanleyi sp. nov. and M. weigeli sp. nov. (see descriptions above and below). Dorsum in part covered with dense to moderately dense microscopical velvety pubescence. Frons strongly humped in lateral view. Male labroclypeus (Fig. 133) subtruncate on anterior margin, in female (Fig. 134) vaguely emarginate. Anterolateral angles of labroclypeus strongly protruding anteriad, acute, its lateral margins slightly sinuous both in dorsal and lateral view in both sexes. Antennae 9-segmented, club 3-lamellate. Head and pronotum covered with long, suberect elongate scale-like clavate setae. Pronotum constricted laterally postmedially towards base in dorsal view (Fig. 223). Punctures of pronotal disc oblong, rather small but deep, intervening spaces larger than punctures. Punctures becoming denser along lateral margins. Elytral disc with ovoid to linear incision-shaped deep punctures (Fig. 314). Intervening spaces microreticulate, subopaque, larger than punctures. Setae longer, sparser, stronger appressed on elytra than on forebody. Elytron with or without tracks of two longitudinal carinae on each elytron. Male and female pygidium flattened dorsally, with deep oblong variably shaped and sized punctures (Figs 481–482). Pygidium setae scale-like, elongate, clavate. Male protibia with two inconspicuous distal teeth, female (Fig. 387) with two stronger, acute teeth. Male aedeagus as in Figs 632–639, paramere each with lateral denticle (aedeagus of this species was erroneously attributed to Paramaechidius pauxillus by Prokofiev (2018: fig. 6)).
Sexual dimorphism
Female is generally larger, with straight and pointed protibial spur, distally distinctly bidentate protibia.
Ecology
Occurs in lowland and lower montane rainforests up to 1060 m altitude.
Distribution
Hitherto known from the Cyclops Mountains and western part of the Central Cordillera of New Guinea, Madang Province of Papua New Guinea, Yapen Island (Cenderawasih Bay) and Waigeo Island (Raja Ampat Islands).
description: Published as part of Telnov, Dmitry, 2020, A revision of the Maechidiini Burmeister, 1855 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) from the Indo-Australian transition zone, and the first record of the tribe west of Wallace's Line, pp. 1-210 in European Journal of Taxonomy 721 on pages 62-64, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2020.721.1127, http://zenodo.org/record/4122118