Austrophaeogala ovipennis Hsiao & Pollock 2022, SP. NOV.
Creators: name: Hsiao, Yun
name: Pollock, Darren A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Mycteridae
Austrophaeogala
Austrophaeogala ovipennis

description: AUSTROPHAEOGALA OVIPENNIS SP. NOV.
(FIGS 3G–I, 7B, D, F)
Z o o b a n k r e g i s t r a t i o n: u r n: l s i d: z o o b a n k. org:act: F135A200-5D63-4298-9355-79220B72B9E3.
Type material: Holotype, ♂, QLD: ‘ 19.14S 146.29E QLD / Bluewater Creek / nr. Paluma Range / 11 Oct. 1990 at light/ T. Woodger, L. Ring’ (ANIC).
Paratypes: QLD: 1♀, 1 unsexed, ‘KURANDA/ 9/47// Bm 145// J.G. Brooks / Bequest. 1976’ (ANIC); 1 unsexed, ‘same locality and collector, 10/47’ (ANIC); 1 unsexed, ‘CAIRNS/ NQ/ 11 / 50 GB// J.G. BROOKS/ Bequest. 1976’ (ANIC); 2 unsexed, ‘same locality and collector, 12 / 70 GB’ (ANIC); 3 unsexed, ‘same locality and collector, 11 / 71 GB’ (ANIC); 1 unsexed, ‘ Tin Creek / Cook Hwy QLD / 31. ix. 1964 / J.G. Brooks’ (ANIC); 1♀, 3 unsexed, ‘ BARRON FALLS / KURANDA/ 24-10- 64// KURANDA/ NQ/ 10/64 GB// Q57// J.G. Brooks / Bequest. 1976’ (ANIC); 1♂, 2♀♀, 3 unsexed, ‘same locality and collector, 7-11-64, AT LIGHT’ (ANIC); 1 unsexed, ‘same locality, collector and method, 24. xi. 64’ (ANIC); 1♀, ‘ Cardstone QLD / 13. ii. 1966 at light/ H. Hyde’ (ANIC); 1 unsexed, ‘ Cardstone, Q. / 15. xi. 1966 / J.G. Brooks’ (ANIC); 3 unsexed, ‘same locality and collector, 23. xi. 1966 ’ (ANIC); 3 unsexed, ‘same locality and collector, 1–2. xii. 1966 ’ (ANIC); 1 unsexed, ‘same locality and collector, 3–4. xii. 1966 ’ (ANIC); 1♂, 3 unsexed, ‘same locality and collector, 5–6. xii. 1966 ’ (ANIC); 1♂, 1♀, 9 unsexed, ‘W. shore of L. Tinaroo / N.Q., 2500’, at light./ 7. xi. 66. E. Britton’ (ANIC); 1♂, 2 unsexed, ‘ Bligh’s Lookout,/ Cardwell Range,/ N.Q. at light/ 30. ix. 67. J. Brooks’ (ANIC); 3 unsexed, ‘ Black Mtn. Rd., 5 mi. / N. of Kuranda, N.Q. / (16.49S 145.39E)/ 8. xii. 1968. at light/ Britton, Brooks, Misko’ (ANIC); 3♀♀, 18ex, ‘ Black Mt. Rd. / 2 mi. N. of/ Kuranda, N.Q. / 4. xi. 67./ J.G. Brooks’ (16 in ANIC; 2 in BMNH; 3 in NMNS); 2♀♀, 5 unsexed, ‘same locality, date and collector, AT LIGHT, Q. 387// Trichosalpingus sp. // not brunneus Blkb/ fumatus Champ./ variabilis Lea/ lateralis Lea, major Lea/ obscurus Blkb’ (ANIC); 1♂, 8 unsexed, ‘same locality and collector, 2. xii. 67’ (ANIC); 1♀, ‘ Whitfield Rg. Rd.,/ c. 486m, Q./ 3. ii. 1970, at light,/ J.G. & J.A.G. Brooks’ (ANIC); 1♂, 3♀♀, ‘ 10.5m. UP WHITFIELD/ RA. RD. CAIRNS./ N.Q. 28.10.70./ J.G. BROOKS// CAIRNS/ N.Q./ 10 / 70 GB// Bm. 750// J.G. Brooks / Bequest. 1976’ (ANIC); 2 unsexed, ‘WHITFIELD RA./ CAIRNS. N.Q./ 1350’ 16-11-71./ J.G. BROOKS / ‘ AT LIGHT’’(ANIC); 1♀, ‘ 15.47S 145.17E / Moses Ck. 4km NbyE/ of Mt. Finnigan / QLD 14–16 Oct. / 1980 T. Weir’ (ANIC); 2♂♂, 3♀♀ ‘ 15.47S 145.14E / Shiptons Flat/ QLD 17–19 Oct. / 1980 T. Weir’ (ANIC); 1♀, ‘same data as holotype’ (ANIC); 2♀♀ ‘ 15.51S 145.20E / Gap Creek, QLD / 24 Nov. 1992 / at light, A. Calder / P. Zborowski’ (ANIC); 2♀♀ ‘ 15.54S 145.37E QLD / 9km SSW Kuranda / 25–26 Nov. 1992 / at light, A. Calder / P. Zborowski’ (ANIC); 1♀, ‘ 17.17S 145.38E QLD / Lake Eacham / 23 Nov. 1998 / A.A. Calder / at light’ (ANIC); 1♂, 3 unsexed, ‘same locality, 30 Sep. 2009, P. Zborowski’ (ANIC).
Other material: QLD: 1♀, ‘Mt. Coot-tha, QLD/ by C9 station nr./ Brisbane 17–21 Nov./ C. Reid Eucalyptus / / Ac. melanoxylon ’ (ANIC).
Diagnosis: This species is similar to A. lawrencei; diagnostic features are given above, in the diagnosis for A. lawrencei.
Description: Body length: 4.3–7.2 mm (5.8 in holotype); width: 1.8–2.8 mm (1.9 in holotype).
Male (Fig. 3G, H). Body elongate pear-shaped, widened posteriorly; body brown to blackish brown, colour of antennae, maxillary and labial palps and legs lighter; surface sparsely covered with short, fine yellowish setae, setae on dorsum slightly longer than ventral side.
Head subquadrate, with frontoclypeal region distinctly depressed and vertex moderately convex, frontal furrows shallowly depressed; surface semilustrous, coarsely and densely punctate, with fine, sparse, decumbent yellowish setae, slightly clustered. Compound eyes small, globular and prominent, protruding laterally, ratio of eye diameter to interocular space 1:3.8. Clypeus short, flat, broad, distal margin truncate, with some yellowish setae on the distal margin of the disc. Apical maxillary palpomeres elongate securiform. Apical labial palpomere oval, subtruncate apically. Antennae short, barely extending to the posterior angles of pronotum; scape and pedicel robust, antennomeres III–VII filiform, VIII–X filiform to slightly serrate, XI oval, rounded apically; scape and antennomeres III subequal in length, pedicel shorter than antennomeres III, pedicel and antennomeres IV– XI subequal in length.
Pronotum transverse, distinctly wider posteriorly, 1.3× wider than head, 0.70× longer than wide; surface semilustrous, coarsely and densely punctate, with fine, sparse, decumbent yellowish setae, slightly clustered; lateral margins arcuate, widest near midlength, sometimes with few small, weakly developed tubercles; anterior margin nearly straight; posterior margin weakly arcuate; anterior angles obtuse; basal angles obtuse; disc weakly convex, with paired shallow depressions medially, with paired small, deep posterior foveae, foveae connected by shallow groove along posterior margin. Scutellar shield distinctly wider than long, weakly convex, obtuse apically; surface semilustrous, coarsely and densely punctate, with clustered decumbent yellowish setae densely distributed.
Elytra (Fig. 3G) 1.5× wider than pronotum, 1.9× longer than wide, usually widened posteriorly, only nearly parallel-sided in few specimens; surface semilustrous, coarsely and densely punctate, with fine, sparse, decumbent yellowish setae, slightly clustered.
Ventral surface coarsely and densely punctate, punctation on abdomen fine, covered with fine, sparse, decumbent yellowish setae. Abdominal ventrites II (Fig. 7D) with sex patch consisting of long, dense, slightly erected yellowish setae. Pygidium broadly rectangular, apical margin weakly and widely emarginate medially, sparsely pubescent. Abdominal sternite VIII subtruncate apically, slightly emarginate medially, sparsely pubescent apically.
Legs slender, relatively short. Claws simple, with basal swelling. Male genitalia with median lobe oriented dorsad the tegmen; abdominal sternite IX forming ringlike sclerite. Tegmen (Fig. 7F) with basale relatively short, stout, deeply concave basally, sides narrowed distally, 1.5× longer than apicale; apicale approximate basally, becoming widely separated apically, acuminate and strongly incurvate distally. Median lobe (Fig. 7F) stout, hastate, divided into broad basal disc and ensiform apex, basal disc with length approximately 0.6× ensiform apex; basal disc explanate, produced basolaterally; apex ensiform, tapered apically.
Female (Fig. 3I). Similar to male holotype externally. Ovipositor with sides subparallel, moderately narrowed apically. Paraproct elongate, with length 2.9× coxite, 3.5× longer than wide; proctiger with apex rounded; two distinct ventral and dorsal baculi present. Coxites segmented, sparsely pubescent. Styli short, subcylindrical, inserted subapically. Bursa copulatrix sac-like, distinctly rounded.
Etymology: The specific epithet is composed of the Latin ovi - (egg-shaped, oval) and pennis (elytra, lit. wings), referring to its broadly oval elytra.
Distribution: This species is distributed in coastal regions of Queensland. It is presumed to be mainly distributed in northern Queensland, with only one specimen collected from Mount Coot-tha, Brisbane, southern Queensland (Fig. 8).
Remarks: One female specimen from Mount Coot-tha exhibiting characteristics of this species is excluded from the type series, as the locality represents an outlier beyond the northern Queensland geographic range of all other specimens. A future comprehensive faunistic survey is required to determine the natural distribution of this species. Label data suggest that individuals of this species can be attracted to light traps and are active during the summer season (November to February).
description: Published as part of Hsiao, Yun & Pollock, Darren A., 2022, Morphology-based phylogeny of oval palm and flower beetles (Coleoptera: Mycteridae: Eurypinae), with descriptions of new genera and species from Australia, pp. 677-703 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 196 on pages 694-696, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab122, http://zenodo.org/record/7186785