Notopilo Bartlett & Lambkin 2022, gen. nov.
Creators: name: Bartlett, Justin S.
name: Lambkin, Christine L.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Cleridae
Notopilo

description: Notopilo gen. nov.
ZooBank registration: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: CE086160-0DDF-41F7-9052-C2EDC95FF754
Gender. Masculine.
Type species. Opilo congruus Newman, 1842, by present designation.
Diagnosis. Antennal scape with a carina bordering each side of the rear face; elytral intrafoveal setae short but visible under magnification; elytral interstrial setae arranged in simple rows; ninth elytral stria present; pronotum rotund, or if appearing flattened then it is widest anteriorly (not in the middle); basitarsi without a distinct ventral pad; tegmen with ventral sinus shorter than dorsal sinus; apical lobes of median lobe without large rearward-directed spine or barb (a minute acumination present only in N. congruus comb. nov. and species of the cambageicola species group).
Description. Eyes coarsely-facetted, strongly emarginate above supra-antennal elevations, separated by 0.53– 2.0 eye widths; antennal scape with carina bordering each side of flattened rear face; sensory face of terminal maxillary palpomere approximately 1.0–2.3 times longer than inside margin; sensory face of terminal labial palpomere approximately 1.8–3.0 times longer than inside margin; genae and submentum wrinkled; pronotum 1.06–1.36 times longer than wide, broadest near middle or middle as wide as anterior pronotal arch, disc lightly to moderately punctate, median sulcus conspicuous or inconspicuous; elytra 1.4–3.15 times longer than wide at humeri, punctures with or without nodules, start of eighth stria variable (from base to near middle), at least some discal striae terminating between posterior margin of fascia and apices (most species) or all striae terminating close to fascia (variipes species group), interstrial setae in single rows, intrafoveal setae mostly short, less commonly spanning across entire puncture; hindwing with crossvein CuA 3+4 complete (most species) or absent (N. variipes comb. nov., N. xanthoprolatus sp. nov.), and crossvein CuA 1 complete (most species), incomplete (N. cambageicola sp. nov. and N. reduncus stat. rev., nom. nov.) or absent (variipes species group), MP 3+4 absent basad of CuA 1 crossvein; tarsomeres 2–4 each with a well-developed ventral pad; tegminal ventral sinus one-third as long to as long as dorsal sinus (never longer than dorsal sinus); apical lobes of median lobe generally plate-like, lacking conspicuous rearwards-directed apico-lateral spine (a minute lateral acumination present amongst members of the cambageicola species group and in N. congruus comb. nov.).
Etymology. The generic epithet Notopilo is an informal combining of not (a shortened form of the Greek notios, meaning ‘southern’, in reference to Australia, the ‘great southern land’) and opilo (from the Latin opilio, meaning ‘shepherd’, though used here in reference to the genus Opilo Latreille to which three of the included species had been assigned for more than a century). The name Notopilo also implies that its constituent species are ‘not’ congeneric with Opilo mollis (Linnaeus), the type species of Opilo.
Remarks. The monophyly of Notopilo is putatively supported by the complete absence of a remnant of hindwing vein MP 3+4 basad of crossvein CuA 1 (very short in other genera, but consistently absent only in the species of Notopilo). Sixteen of the twenty species assigned to Notopilo gen. nov. have been further assigned to one of five relatively homogenous species groups for which synapomorphies have been identified. Relationships of the four remaining species (see ‘unplaced to species group’ below) with each other and with the other Notopilo species remain undetermined. The decision not to assign genus status to each of the species groups was made because erecting several monotypic genera for the remaining species was deemed not to be a realistic solution. Consequentially, the relatively taxonomically conservative concept of Notopilo put forth here, has resulted in a genus that is less-obviously homogeneous than the other five genera proposed in this revision.
Key to species of Notopilo
(genitalia-based species groups not indicated)
1 Elytra with at least some punctures internally nodulate....................................................... 2
- Elytral punctation lacking internal nodules............................................................... 17
2 (1) Elytra with the three or four inner-most striae terminating within transverse fascia, outer striae extending slightly beyond fascia, at least some punctures nodulate; males with mat of short decumbent setae at striae 1–3 within, and just posterior of, fascia (Fig. 171).................................................... Notopilo variipes (Chevrolat) comb. nov.
- All elytral striae extending beyond fascia, or elytra not fasciate; males without setal mat............................ 3
3 (2) Eyes separated by at least 1.2 eye widths; pronotal anterior margin as broad as, or broader than, middle................ 4
- Eyes separated by no greater than one eye width; pronotal anterior margin rarely as broad as middle, typically at least slightly narrower........................................................................................... 9
4 (3) Elytra colour predominantly pale (Figs 158, 160, 161)....................................................... 5
- Elytra colour predominantly dark........................................................................ 7
5 (4) Each elytron with a single pre-apical semi-circular or triangular macula at the suture (Fig. 160).............................................................................................. Notopilo xanthoimprocerus sp. nov.
- Each elytron with a broad pre-apical band and a post-basal spot or fascia......................................... 6
6 (5) Each elytron with a post-basal fascia that runs along suture towards scutellum; elytra not particularly elongate (length to width ratio 2.71:1) (Fig. 158)........................................................... Notopilo eremosus sp. nov.
- Each elytron with a post-basal spot that does not run along suture; elytra notably elongate (length to width ratio range 2.88– 3.13:1) (Fig. 161).......................................................... Notopilo xanthoprolatus sp. nov.
7 (4) Pronotal anterior margin conspicuously broader than middle; elytra elongate (length to width ratio range 2.92–2.95:1) (Fig. 157)............................................................................ Notopilo calicis sp. nov.
- Pronotal anterior margin about as broad as middle or slightly narrower; elytra less elongate (length to width ratio range 2.4–2.6:1).......................................................................................... 8
8 (7) Legs entirely black; elytral pale maculae typically glossy and enamel-like in appearance (Fig. 156)................................................................................................ Notopilo beswickensis sp. nov.
- Legs bicoloured; elytral pale maculae never glossy and enamel-like in appearance (Fig. 159)..................................................................................................... Notopilo tompricensis sp. nov.
9 (3) Elytral transverse fascia positioned posterior of elytral mid-length, with its anterior margin at the mid-point or nearer to the apices than the base; profemora entirely, or almost entirely, black (Fig. 170)............... Notopilo gerstmeieri sp. nov.
- If elytral transverse fascia as above, then profemora basally pale.............................................. 10
10 (4) Humeral macula present and joined to elytral fascia along lateral margin proximal to epipleuron... Notopilo elstoni sp. nov.
- Humeral macula, if present, not joined to elytra fascia along lateral margin...................................... 11
11 (10) Elytra lacking apical maculation, broad and short (length to width ratio 2:1), notably broader than pronotum (Fig. 175)..................................................................................... Notopilo obesus sp. nov.
- Elytra more elongate (length to width ratio at least 2.3:1 or greater), apical macula present.......................... 12
12 (11) Elytral fascia conspicuously rounded at suture (Fig. 174); nodules of elytral punctures small and difficult to view, or apparently absent.................................................................... Notopilo katherinensis sp. nov.
- Not as above, or if elytral fascia rounded at suture then nodules of elytral punctures easily viewable under magnification... .................................................................................................. 13
13 (12) Length to width ratio of pre-fasciate area of single elytron ranging from 2.2:1 to 2.7:1 (Figs 165, 172)................ 14
- Length to width ratio of pre-fasciate area of single elytron ranging from 1.7:1 to 2:1 (e.g., Fig. 164).................. 15
14 (13) Elytral stria 10 (sometimes also 9) terminating before apical macula....................... Notopilo confusus sp. nov.
- Elytral striae 9-10 terminating near or within apical macula........................... Notopilo tanybasilaris sp. nov.
15 (13) Elytral humeri maculate (whether distinct or faint, humeral macula never entirely absent), entire base never maculate (Fig. 162); nodules of elytral punctures distinct........................................ Notopilo cambageicola sp. nov.
- Elytral humeri lacking maculation (as in Figs 163–165), or entire elytral base maculate; nodules of elytral punctures sometimes indistinct.......................................................................................... 16
16 (15) Eighth elytral stria beginning between the 4 th and 7 th puncture of the 7 th stria, elytral humeri not maculate (typical form, Queensland/NT to Pilbara into Gascoyne, WA) or elytral base entirely maculate (WA variety, south of Pilbara /Gascoyne border); length of ventral tegminal sinus about half the length of dorsal sinus (Fig. 50)...... Notopilo lawnhillensis sp. nov.
- Eighth elytral stria beginning between the 1 st and 3 rd puncture of 7 th striae, elytral humeri never maculate; ventral tegminal sinus about one-third the length of dorsal sinus (Fig. 49); north Queensland (from Townsville region to tip of Cape York Peninsula)................................................................. Notopilo interfabulatus sp. nov.
17 (1) All elytra striae terminating within fascia (Fig. 169)................................. Notopilo brevistriatus sp. nov.
- Elytra striae terminating posterior of fascia............................................................... 18
18 (17) Legs bicoloured.............................................................. Notopilo congruus comb. nov.
- Legs black......................................................................................... 19
19 (18) Antennal flagellomeres slender.......................................... Notopilo reduncus stat. rev., nom. nov.
- Antennal flagellomeres thick-set.................................................... Notopilo magnus sp. nov.
description: Published as part of Bartlett, Justin S. & Lambkin, Christine L., 2022, Australian Opilonini (Coleoptera: Cleridae: Clerinae) part I: A revised taxonomy for Australian Opilo Latreille including descriptions of new genera and species, pp. 1-81 in Zootaxa 5220 (1) on pages 36-38, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5220.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/7441294