Maechidius luniceps Fairmaire 1883
Creators: name: Telnov, Dmitry
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Scarabaeidae
Maechidius
Maechidius luniceps

description: Maechidius luniceps Fairmaire, 1883
Figs 57, 142–143, 229, 320, 393, 489, 552, 655–657
The type material of this species was not registered at the MNHN (O. Montreuil, personal communication).
New material
PAPUA NEW GUINEA • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; “ NEW BRITAIN Talasea 4.XI.1940 F.Henderson per T.L.Frogatt // ♂ or ♀ // C.2410// Pres. by. Com. Inst. Ent. B. M. 1948-142// Maechidius luniceps, Fairm. Determined from description. G.J.A.”; BMNH • 2 specs; “RABAUL N.Britain FHTaylor// NEW BRITAIN. B.M.1933-603.”; BMNH.
Description
Dorsum uniformly brown to black-brown, venter and appendages somewhat paler.Head flattened dorsally, glossy dorsally and ventrally. Male labroclypeus (Fig. 142) broadly shallowly V-shaped emarginate on anterior margin, anterolateral angles obtuse angulate, protruding anteriad. Female labroclypeus (Fig. 143) very broadly emarginate on anterior margin with anterolateral angles rounded and not protruding. Lateral margins of labroclypeus slightly sinuous in both dorsal and lateral views. Anterior and lateral margins of labroclypeus smooth. Underside of labroclypeus with sparse long delicate setae along anterior and lateral margins. Canthus nearly straight in dorsal view. Punctures of frons irregularly circular, annular, large and shallow. Intervening spaces generally smaller than punctures, glossy. Setae inconspicuous, appressed to suberect; each seta rises from anterior margin of corresponding puncture, surpassing length of corresponding puncture. Antenna 9-segmented, club 3-lamellate. Pronotum transverse, flattened dorsally, subopaque dorsally and laterally. Anterior margin of pronotum broadly emarginate with slightly protruding anterolateral angles, basal margin broadly rounded. Lateral margin of pronotum in dorsal view slightly rounded, delicately crenulate all along (Fig. 229). Lateral margin of pronotum slightly sinuous in lateral view. Short suberect curved seta present between every two crenulae. Hypomeron separated from prosternum by low nearly straight carina, with long setae on anterolateral margin opposite to compound eye. Antennal pocket shallow. Pronotal punctures larger than those on head, irregularly circular to ovoid, annular, shallow and dense. Intervening spaces smaller than punctures, in part microreticulate. Moderately long curved suberect seta rises from anterior margin of each puncture, surpassing its length. Scutellar shield narrowly rounded apically. Elytron opaque, without tracks of longitudinal carinae. Elytral punctures linear (elongate and narrow), incision-shaped, moderately deep (Fig. 320). Intervening spaces densely microreticulate. Seta rises from anterior margin of each puncture, suberect, hardly surpassing length of corresponding incision. Male and female pygidium flattened dorsally, with large shallow irregularly shaped annular punctures (Fig. 489). Intervening spaces microreticulate, much smaller than punctures. Setae of pygidium sparse, suberect, moderately long. Male and female protibia widened distally, with delicate dorsal carina and three obtuse external teeth (Fig. 393). Male protibial terminal spur short and thickened, female one narrow and pointed. Tarsal claws with pulvilli. Spiculum gastrale as in Fig. 552. Aedeagus as in Figs 655–657.
Sexual dimorphism
Female lamellae of antennal club shorter; labroclypeus shallower emarginate anteriorly, with stronger rounder and less produced anterolateral angles; protibial terminal spur longer and more slender.
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 page 73, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2020.721.1127, http://zenodo.org/record/4122118