Austronitidula multimaculata Lawrence 2019, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Lawrence, John F.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Nitidulidae
Austronitidula
Austronitidula multimaculata

description: Austronitidula multimaculata, sp. nov.
(Figs 5–6. 19, 25, 31, 36, 39, 45, 56, 61, 66, 83, 90)
Description. Length = 3.20–3.50 (3.40 ± 0.12, n = 4) mm. Body broadly ovate, slightly flattened: BL/EW = 1.65– 1.72 (1.68); GD/EW = 0.52–0.59 (0.55). Most surfaces yellowish-brown to dark brown; elytra with a number of circular or oval yellow maculae, sometimes partly coalescing; legs yellow; vestiture of moderately long, fine, decumbent setae.
Head about 0.90 times as long as wide. Eyes 0.16 times as long as head width, with distinct interfacetal setae. Temples 1.33 times as long as eye, slightly curved. Vertexal line complete. Head densely covered with circular and subcircular pits each with a pore tube in the centre and a seta at one end, these replaced with simple or spiculate setose punctures behind vertexal line. Frontoclypeal suture absent. Labrum 0.28 times as long as wide, broadly rounded laterally, apex consisting of two broadly rounded lobes flanking a moderately deep, angulate emargination. Antennal scape 1.50 times as long as wide and 2.25 times as long as pedicel; antennomere 3 about 1.62 times as long as 4 and 3.0 times as long as wide; club 0.55 times as long as antennomeres 3–8 combined and 1.8 times as long as wide; antennomeres 9 and 10 subequal in length and width, each with a large, apicolateral sensory patch; terminal antennomere 0.82 times as long as wide and broadly rounded. Antennal grooves slightly converging, extending to ends of temples; genal ridges subparallel anteriorly and extending slightly over antennal grooves, converging posteriorly; genal lobes narrowly rounded; subocular carinae present, partly lining antennal grooves. Mandible with outer edge relatively sharply but evenly curved, densely setose; apex unidentate; incisor edge with relatively large subtruncate retinaculum; mola well-developed; prostheca divided into slender setose membrane basally and setal fringe apically. Apical maxillary palpomere about 2.6 times as long as wide, widest near base with narrowly rounded apex. Mentum 0.54 times as long as wide; apex with short, broad mesal lobe between subacute lateral lobes; apical labial palpomere 1.86 times as long as wide, widest near base with broadly rounded apex.
Pronotum 0.47–0.52 (0.50) times as long as wide, widest at middle; anterior edge strongly emarginate; anterior angles distinctly produced and narrowly rounded; lateral margins somewhat horizontally explanate, with fine marginal bead and ciliate edges; posterior angles slightly obtuse; posterior edge broadly curved but slightly sinuate laterally; disc slightly, evenly convex; punctation relatively fine and sparse, punctures usually separated by one to two diameters, interspaces relatively smooth and shiny. Pronotal punctation consisting of subcircular pits, slightly emarginate anteriorly, about as large as eye facets and usually separated by 1.0–1.5 diameters, each with anteriorly incomplete raised rim, centrally located pore tube and moderately long decumbent seta arising from its anterior edge; interspaces with distinctive microsculpture consisting of a series of straight lines radiating from each puncture. Prosternum 0.76 times as long as mid length of procoxal cavity, moderately tumid mesally with median circular pubescent fovea in male; prosternal process 0.58 times as wide as mid length of procoxal cavity, distinctly curved behind coxae, slightly expanded apically; apex broadly rounded, without apical wall. Scutellar shield 0.26 times as wide as pronotum, broadly rounded at apex; punctation similar to that on pronotum. Elytra 1.21–1.25 (1.22) times as long as wide and 2.52–2.76 (2.63) times as long as pronotum; sides slightly explanate forming lateral margins extending to apical fifth and lined with short ciliae; apices independently rounded, exposing part of pygidium; humeri very weakly developed; anterolateral angles oblique and slightly rounded; disc slightly evenly convex; vestiture dual and more or less confused, with scattered longer, thicker, decumbent setae and more numerous shorter, finer, decumbent setae; surfaces relatively smooth and shiny. Elytral punctation consisting of irregularly ovoid pits about as large as those on pronotum but with impressed posterior or anterior and posterior ends and median trough attached to anterior end; a microseta arising just in front of each pit, and megasetae arising from scattered simple punctures. Epipleura barely inclined and usually not visible in lateral view, moderately wide anteriorly and narrowed posteriorly, extending to anterior edge of ventrite 5. Anterior edge of mesoventrite on same plane as metaventrite, with small, broadly triangular prosternal rest, short, weak median carina and a pair of oblique patches of linear sculpture; posterior edge not elevated; apex broadly emarginate. Mesocoxae separated by 0.56 times longest longitudinal diameter of mesocoxal cavity. Metaventrite slightly convex; discrimen as long as ventrite; apex of anterior lobe broadly rounded and not depressed; postcoxal lines arising at lateral fourth of coxal rim and forming very small axillary spaces; posterior edge of metaventrite between metacoxae broadly weakly emarginate. Metacoxae separated by distance equal to mid length (shortest diameter) of metacoxa. Ratio of distances between procoxae, mesocoxae and metacoxae 1.25: 1.00: 1.67. Protibia gradually expanded to subapex, which is produced to form a lobe bearing two stout spines separated by space from 3 additional spines at apex; outer edge moderately densely lined with short, stout, blunt pale spines mixed with fine setae; protibial ridge absent in male. Mesotibia and metatibia both similarly expanded apically with similar apical spines, but outer edge lined with acute, hyaline spines. Basal tarsomeres only slightly widened; pretarsal claws simple.
Abdomen with broadly rounded intercoxal process; ventrite 1 with curved or subangulate postcoxal lines which do not extend to anterior third of ventrite; ventrites 2–5 each with transverse, sub-basal carina; ventrite 5 broadly rounded in both sexes. Punctation of most ventral surfaces with small, subcircular pits containing a longitudinal trough near anterior end and associated with a decumbent seta arising next to the anterior end; mesoventrite mostly impunctate but with linear microsculpture and a few punctures posterolaterally. Base of pygidium with or without two broadly curved carinae meeting at midline; apex subtruncate in male, broadly rounded in female. Genital capsule in male 1.48 times as long as wide, broadly rounded at apex, with paired oblique dorsal struts not meeting at midline; ventral plate about 0.65 times as long as wide with paired mesal lobes each slightly longer than lateral lobes, 1.78 times as long as wide, very weakly emarginate and densely setose at apex; spiculum gastrale slightly curved with indistinct curve at apex. Tegmen 2.22 times as long as wide, sides parallel to about middle, then slightly converging to broadly rounded apex; tegminal strut 0.37 times as long as body of tegmen. Penis 0.67 times as long as tegmen and 1.93 times as long as wide; sides subparallel to subapex, then abruptly converging to subacute apex; basal penile strut 2.22 times as long as body of penis, slightly expanded at tip; both tegmen and penis strongly curved in lateral view. Ovipositor 2.83 times as long as wide, somewhat flattened; paraprocts 0.82 times as long as gonocoxites, which are 3.06 times as long as their combined widths, slightly wider at base, gradually narrowing to contiguous narrowly rounded apices; gonostyli apical, 0.12 times as long as gonocoxites, 4 times as long as wide and parallel-sided.
Types. Holotype, ♂, “ Kuitpo /Kyema For., Mt. Lofty Range, SA, Aug. 1981 pitfall, trap P. Greenslade / ANIC Image” (ANIC, # 25-067891).
Paratypes. South Australia: Kuitpo /Kyema For., Mt. Lofty Range, iv.1981, v.1982, iv.1983, pitfall trap, P. Greenslade (3, ANIC).
Distribution. Known only from Mt. Lofty Range, SA.
Biology. All specimens collected in pitfall traps.
Etymology. Generic epithet derived from Australia and the genus name Nitidula. Specific epithet from the Latin multus, much, and macula, spot, referring to the numerous elytral spots.
description: Published as part of Lawrence, John F., 2019, Australian Nitidulinae: general review with descriptions of new genera and species (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), pp. 261-290 in Zootaxa 4657 (2) on pages 275-276, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4657.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/3769191