Eurhamphus Shuckard, 1838

Anderson, Robert S., 2019, Eurhamphus pancinii, a new species of the genus Eurhamphus Shuckard, 1838 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Molytinae: Orthorhinini) from West Papua, Zootaxa 4613 (3), pp. 596-599 : 596-597

Eurhamphus Shuckard, 1838

Type species: Eurhamphus fasciculatus Shuckard, 1838 ; monotypy.

Diagnosis: Body length (exclusive of head and rostrum) 19–33 mm. Body black, densely covered with creamy white to medium brown, appressed, elongate hair-like scales, some very long and erect in two dorsolateral clumps at about the midlength of pronotum and in variously sized and positioned clumps on the elytra. Rostrum length in both sexes variable, as long as, slightly longer, or much longer than length of pronotum; rostrum of male glabrous ventrally but granulate dorsally to various extent, rostrum of female straight, finely densely punctate, smooth, not granulate. Procoxae of male lacking projections, mesosternum with single tubercle between mesocoxae in both sexes. Legs elongate, robust; inner faces of femora simple, not toothed or with very small subapical tooth.

The large size, tufts of erect dorsal pronotal and elytral vestiture and dorsally granulate rostrum in the male are distinctive for the genus.

Distribution: The genus is known from northern New South Wales northwards into Queensland in Australia as well as Yapen Island and the Arfak Mountains, West Papua. The recent discovery of the genus in West Papua may indicate that it is more widely distributed where native Araucaria are found; however, extensive collecting on Araucaria in the Wau and Bululo region of Papua New Guinea (Anderson et al. 2018a) has so far failed to produce any specimens of Eurhamphus .

Life history: There is no mention of host plants on the labels of any specimens examined; however, Froggatt’s (1927) early description of the life history of E. fasciculatus states that he reared a specimen from a pupa found in a snapped-off trunk of Hoop Pine, Araucaria cunninghamii , at Brooklana in 1923. Monteith & Baldwin (2018) presented a good summary of the life history of E. fasciculatus on Araucaria cunninghamii including details of biology and jousting behavior of males.