Kumatoeides megale Gómez-Zurita 2018, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Gómez-Zurita, Jesús
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Chrysomelidae
Kumatoeides
Kumatoeides megale

description: Kumatoeides megale sp. nov.
(Figs 1b, 2e, 3b)
Holotype: Male, New Caledonia (N), Col des Roussettes, nr. refuge, -21.4074 165.5250, 530 m, rainforest, 2.xii.2010, leg. M. Wanat & R. Ruta, HOLOTYPE Kumatoeides megale sp. nov. J. Gómez-Zurita det. [red label] (MNHN). Paratype: Male, New Caledonia (N), Col des Roussettes (refuge), -21.4070 165.5265, 520 m, 2.xii.2010, at light, leg. M. Wanat & R. Ruta, PARATYPE Kumatoeides megale sp. nov. J. Gómez-zurita det. [red label] (MNHW).
Other material examined: (1) two males, New Caledonia (N), -21.4079 165.5249, 520 m, Col des Roussettes (refuge), 1.xii.2010, at light, leg. M. Wanat & R. Ruta, Kumatoeides megale m. J. Gómez-Zurita det. 2018 (MNHW); (2) one male, IBE-JGZ-3974, New Caledonia (N), -21.4079 165.5249, 520 m, Col des Roussettes (refuge), 1.xii.2010, at light, leg. M. Wanat & R. Ruta, Kumatoeides megale m. J. Gómez-Zurita det. 2018 (IBE-JGZ).
Labrum, head, elytra, hypomera and abdominal ventrites hazelnut brown; pronotum, meso- and metathoracic ventrites and epimera with darker brownish areas and faint metallic reflection on pronotum and scutellum; antennae, palpi and legs yellowish orange (Fig. 1b). Length: 3.20 mm (range: 3.07–3.20 mm); width: 1.54 mm.
Head hypognathous at rest; frons and vertex weakly convex, microsculptured, finely sulcate medially with scattered strong punctures; deeply furrowed above eyes with supraantennal swellings only indicated by deep punctures posteriorly; glabrous except for long seta at middle of supraocular furrow and sparse, very short setae near and on short genae. Clypeus as long as wide at apex, microsculptured, with punctures medially. Labrum about 1.5x as wide as long, microreticulate and very feebly emarginate at apex. Last maxillary palpomere elongate, conical at apical half. Eyes large, bulging, weakly emarginate at inner border. Antennae slender, reaching beyond middle of elytra; scape elongate, nearly cylindrical, more than twice longer than thick, bent posteriorly near base, rather gradually narrowing at base; pedicel cup-shaped, half as long as scape; antennomeres 3–10 slender, clubshaped, 3–6 glossy with sparse long setae, 7–11 slightly incrassate, finely granulose, clothed with dense, short hairs; antennomeres 3, 4 and 6 subequal, slightly longer than pedicel; fifth antennomere as long as antennomeres 8–10, slightly shorter than seventh; eleventh antennomere longest, pointed, obliquely cut at apex internally. Pronotum transverse (1.47x as wide at base than long at middle), convex but with slight transverse impressions at sides of apical half; anterior border convex, slightly produced forward medially, with very fine margin at sides, narrower than posterior border, weakly bisinuate, with very short median lobe before scutellum, and margined; anterior angles subround, largely explanate, not produced forward, with setigerous pore anteriorly at middle; posterior angles obtuse, with trichobothria at angle and long obliquely and dorsally bent golden setae; sides slightly sinuate at basal half, widest after middle, with rather wide explanate margin; surface glabrous, shiny, very finely microsculptured, slightly irregular, with dense deep elongate punctures as big as and generally larger than distance separating them. Hypomera smooth, unpunctured; anterior border very feebly convex. Prosternal process relatively narrow, about 0.7x as wide as transverse diameter of procoxae, transversally expanded at apex to enclose procoxae posteriorly, smooth with scattered disheveled fine hairs. Mesosternal process as wide as prosternal process, spatulate at apex, smooth, unpunctured. Metaventrite shorter than mesoventrite at middle, smooth on disc, with fine longitudinally impressed suture and short apical median notch; sides finely microreticulate with scattered short fine appressed hairs. Scutellum arched, as long as wide at base, round at apex, very finely microsculptured. Elytra long, basally as wide as base of pronotum, gently curved at sides, widest at middle and regularly curved at apex; elytra with transverse impression at basal 1/3; humeri strongly marked, unpunctured; eight complete regular striae on each elytron with longitudinally conjoined slit-like small punctation or dot-like individual, large punctures in striae 5–9 basally; additional short scutellar stria reaching transversely depressed area and short subhumeral curved stria of individual punctures joining marginal bead of punctures before middle of elytron; intervals convex, more convex at apical and lateral declivities of elytra; intervals unpunctured, very finely microreticulate. First pro- and mesotarsomeres elongate, as long as next two tarsomeres combined, and widened; claws appendiculate. Abdominal ventrites finely shagreened, with scattered posteriorly recumbent fine translucent hairs; last ventrite weakly emarginate at apex, with short median longitudinal impression. Penis (Fig. 2e) long, stout, narrower close to base in dorso-ventral view and gradually widening, widest at level with operculum, nearly straight in lateral view, widest near base and progressively narrowing toward apex; apex sinuous in lateral view, with tip bent dorsally; dorsal flap of operculum subrectangular, transverse; sides of operculum feebly curved, converging apically to short, broad axehead apical expansion.
Females: Unknown.
Diagnosis: Kumatoeides megale sp. nov. is externally nearly identical to K. millei sp. nov., but they can be easily recognized based on conspicuous differences in their male genitalia (see Figs 2e and 2g). This species is also like a larger version of K. aulacia sp. nov. Apart from the larger size, both species can be distinguished by the relative proportions of first protarsomeres in males, longer in K. megale. From other species, it can be distinguished by the lack of metallic shine, by the close, strong punctation of pronotum, and by the completely ordered punctation of elytra.
Derivatio nominis: The name is the Latin transliteration of the Greek adjective (fem.) µεγάλη, meaning large, to indicate that this is the largest species of the genus known so far.
Distribution: Only five male specimens of the new species are currently known, and all from nearby localities in Col de Roussettes, in the heart of the Massif de la Boghen in the Central Range (Chaîne centrale) (Fig. 3b).
description: Published as part of Gómez-Zurita, Jesús, 2018, Description of Kumatoeides gen. nov. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae, Eumolpinae) from New Caledonia, pp. 89-115 in Zootaxa 4521 (1) on pages 100-101, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4521.1.4, http://zenodo.org/record/2609701