Aphanocephalus nitidus Lea 1922
Creators: name: Szawaryn, Karol
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Discolomatidae
Aphanocephalus
Aphanocephalus nitidus

description: Aphanocephalus nitidus Lea, 1922
(Figs 8C, D, 12D–F)
Aphanocephalus nitidus Lea, 1922: 307.
Material examined. Type material.
Lectotype and paralectotype (here designated). QUEENSLAND: " nitidus Lea, TYPE, Tambourine / I.11798, Aphanocephalus nitidus Lea, Queensland [black ink, handwritten] TYPE [red ink handwritten]/ SAMA Database No. 25-036290 " (SAMA). Two specimens (left unsexed, right male) are mounted on the same card, the left specimen with „TY” handwritten beneath it, is here designated as the lectotype, the second specimen is a paralectotype.
Other material. QUEENSLAND: Binna Burra QLD Lamington Nat. Pk 25 Mar. -4 Apr. 1985 J. & N. Lawrence / under bark and in rotten wood (1♀, ANIC); Palm Grove Nat. Park. Tamborine Mtn. QLD, 24& 29 Oct. 1993, under bark in rotten wood and fungi, S.A. Slipinski, J.F. Lawrence, colls (1♀, ANIC). NEW SOUTH WALES: 28.27S 152.45E NSW Unumgar SF 580m nr. Grevillia Coxs Rd 789 2-11 Jan. 1987 A Newton & M. Thyer / subtropical rainf. FMHD #87-177 Berk leaf & log litter (1♀, ANIC).
Type locality. Queensland, Tamborine Mountain.
Distribution. Queensland (Fig. 16).
Diagnosis. Very distinctive large species with rounded body outline (Figs 5D, 8C), hemispherical in lateral view (Fig. 8D), appearing glabrous, covered with very short, inconspicuous pubescence, almost entirely dark brown to black with just lateral elytral margin teastaceous. Male genitalia are very unique among all Australian Aphanocephalus.
Redescription. Length: 2.10–2.20 mm, width: 1.65–1.75 mm. Body elongate oval about 1.25–1.35 times as long as wide (Figs 5D, 8C), convex in lateral view (Fig. 8D). Pronotum and elytra appearing glabrous, covered with white, minute, sparse setae. Head, pronotum, elytra and ventral side dark brown to black, lateral sides of pronotum and broad lateral rim on elytra paler, testacous, mouthparts, legs and epipleuron yellow.
Pronotum covered with single sized small punctae, with narrow, longitudinal area in front of scutellar shield without punctae. Lateral margins of pronotum bordered, anterior margin without bordering line. Elytra covered with two types of punctae, setiferous and without setae, of almost equal size, uniformly intermixed. Pronotum and elytra narrowly explanate laterally, margins well visible throughout. Lateral sides of elytra regularly rounded, without pseudopores. Epipleuron with shallow sub-marginal furrow.
Mentum with lateral carinae present only in basal part. Labial palps separated by narrow carina. Prosternum without notosternal carina; prosternal process with lateral carinae absent. Metaventrite longer than ventrite 1. Ventrite 1 longer than ventrites 2–4 combined. Ventrite 1 almost entirely covered with large punctae, only middle area covered with smaller punctae; ventrites 2–5 covered with micro punctae only.
Male genitalia. Tegmen in inner view asymmetric, with basal part broad, laterally rounded, and apical part much narrower, sub-parallel sided, with small notch apically (Fig. 12F); in lateral view broad, sub-parallel in basal half, apical half distinctly curved inward, tapering toward apex, sub-triangular in shape, with apex rounded (Fig. 12E). Penis in lateral view short, about as long as length of gonopore, inner margin distinctly angled in apical 1/3 rd, inner margin distinctly rounded; gonopore very large, with outer margin sinusoidal, inner margin rounded, narrowing toward apex, apically truncate (Fig. 12D).
Female genitalia not examined.
Remarks. In the original description Lea (1922) did not designate a holotype. In SAMA collection two specimens with the label “TYPE” are mounted on the same card, the left specimen with „TY” handwritten beneath it, is here designated as the lectotype to fix the taxonomic status of this species.
description: Published as part of Szawaryn, Karol, 2025, Revision of the Australian species of Aphanocephalus Wollaston (Coleoptera: Discolomatidae), pp. 401-440 in Zootaxa 5632 (3) on pages 423-424, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5632.3.1, http://zenodo.org/record/15372416