Neobidessodes grossus ( Zimmermann, 1922 ) N WA, NT, N QLD, 2009

HENDRICH, LARS, HAWLITSCHEK, OLIVER & BALKE, MICHAEL, 2009, The epigean Australasian species of Neobidessodes gen. n. diving beetles- a revision integrating morphology, cybertaxonomy, DNA taxonomy and phylogeny (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae, Bidessini), Zootaxa 2288 (1), pp. 1-41 : 20-21

Neobidessodes grossus ( Zimmermann, 1922) comb.n.

( Figs 6 , 20 , 24 , 28 , 33, 34, 35 )

Bidessus grossus Zimmermann, 1922 : Zimmermann (1922: 2).

Bidessodes grossus ( Zimmermann, 1922) : Watts (1978: 29); Watts (1985: 24); Lawrence et al. (1987: 335); Biström (1988: 7); Nilsson (2001: 112); Watts (2002: 31, 43); Hendrich (2008: 317).

Type locality. Cape York Peninsula , Queensland, Australia .

Type material. Lectotype (by present designation). Female, “Cape York Penins.”, “Queensl. Mjöberg”, “Type”, “sept.”, “ Bidessus grossus n.sp. det. A. Zimmermann”, “136 65” [printed red label], “ grossus Zimm. ”, “Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet Stockholm ” [printed green label], “ LECTOTYPE Bidessus grossus Zimmermann, 1922 Hendrich des. 2006” [red label, printed], “ Neobidessodes grossus ( Zimmermann, 1922) Hendrich & Balke det. 2009” [white printed label] ( NHRS). Paralectotypes. Male (median lobe missing), “Queensl. Mjöberg”, “Cape York Penins.”, “sept.”, “135 65” [printed red label], “4299 E91 +” [printed blue label], “Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet Stockholm ” [printed green label], “ PARALECTOTYPE Bidessus grossus Zimmermann, 1922 Hendrich des. 2006” [red label, printed] ( NHRS); male, “Cap York Penins.”, “Queensl Mjöberg”, “Type”, “Sammlung A. Zimmermann”, “Typus” [red label, unauthorized designation], “Zool. Staatsslg. München” [printed blue label], “ PARALECTOTYPE Bidessus grossus Zimmermann, 1922 Hendrich des. 2006” [red label, printed]; female, “Cap York Penins.”, “Queensl Mjöberg”, “Type”, “Sammlung A. Zimmermann”, “Zool. Staatsslg. München” [printed blue label], “ PARALECTOTYPE Bidessus grossus Zimmermann, 1922 Hendrich des. 2006” [red label, printed] ( ZSM). All paralectotypes are provided with white and printed identification labels: “ Neobidessodes grossus ( Zimmermann, 1922) Hendrich & Balke det. 2009”.

Additional material studied. 36 specimens. Western Australia . 5 exs., Shire of Wyndham, East Kimberley, Gibb River Road , Drysdale River Crossing , 380 m, 14.VI.1999, Hendrich leg./loc. 9/109 ( CLH) ; 7 exs., Shire of Wyndham, East Kimberley, Gibb River Road , King Edward River Crossing , 280 m, 15.VI.1999, Hendrich leg./loc. 10/110 ( CLH) .

Northern Territory. 1 ex., Litchfield NP, Shady Creek, Florence Falls , 92 m, 20.VIII.2006, 13.06.116S 130.47.195 E, L. & E. Hendrich leg. (NT 3) ( CLH) ; 4 exs., Kakadu Hwy , Bowerbird Cr., 5 km W Mary River Roadh., small puddle, 20 m, 24.VIII.2006, L. & E. Hendrich leg./loc. 15a ( CLH, ZSM) , one specimen with “DNA M. Balke 1663” [green printed label] ( ZSM) ; 1 ex., Kakadu N.P., Nourlangie District, Arnhem Highway , 12 km WNW Jabiru, 50 m, pool of intermittent creek, 12.37.937S 132.38.134E, 29.X.1996, Hendrich leg./loc. 5 ( CLH) ; 1 ex., Kakadu N.P., Jim Jim District, Gungurul Lookout, 50 m, 13.59.359S 132.19.904E, 1.XI.1996, Hendrich /loc. 11 ( CLH) ; 1 ex., East Jabiru, Georgetown Billabong, 7 km NbyW Mt. Brockman , 12.VIII.1981, P. Outridge leg. ( NTM) ; 4 exs., NT, 6 km E Humpty Doo , 6.–19.XII.1990, Storey leg. ( ANIC) ; 1 ex., Georgetown Billabong 7 km NbyW Mt. Brockman , 12.VIII.1981, P. Outridge leg. ( ANIC) ; 1 ex., Georgetown Billabong 7 km NbyW Mt. Brockman , 16.X.1981, P. Outridge leg. ( ANIC) ; 3 exs., Nitmiluk NP, Edith Falls, Upper Pool , 123 m, 23.VIII.2006, 14.10.573S 132.11.537 E, L. & E. Hendrich leg. (NT 12) , one specimen with “DNA M. Balke 2147” [green printed label] ( CLH, ZSM) ; 1 ex., 38 km WSW Katherine, King River Bridge , 50 m, 12.V.1999, Hendrich leg./coll. Loc. 2/102 ( CLH) ; 1 ex., Kakadu Hwy, Harriet Creek at Hwy Cross. , 153 m, 24.VIII.2006, 13.44.512S 131.54.012 E, L. & E. Hendrich leg. (NT 14) ( CLH) ; 1 ex., Kakadu Hwy, Bowerbird Creek , 5 km W Mary River Roadh., large pool, 20 m, 24.VIII.2006, 13.38.142S 132.10.345 E, L. & E. Hendrich leg. (NT 15b) ( CLH) .

Queensland. 1 ex. , N Queensland, 24 miles S Musgrave [ Musgrave Homestead], 20.V.1972, at light, J.G. Brooks leg. ( ANIC); 1 ex. , N Queensland, Holroyd River , 13.IX.1993, by hand, P. Zborowski. & S.O. Shattuck leg. ( ANIC); 1 ex. , N Queensland, Kennedy River Xing, 16.VI.1992, temporary pool in dry river bed, sandy base, T.A. Weir leg. ( ANIC); 1 ex. , N Queensland, Pretender Creek , 14.IX.1993, lagoon, P. Zborowski. & S.O. Shattuck leg. ( ANIC) .

Re-description. Measurements (N = 4). TL = 3.70–3.85 mm, TL-H = 3.25–3.55 mm; MW = 1.70–1.80 mm.

Colour. Antennae, palpi and head reddish yellow with two darkened spots on clypeus anteriorly. Pronotum reddish yellow with thin darkened band basally. Elytron red-brown with three very indefinite, often scarcely recognizable, reddish spots at side. The first and middle spots coalescent laterally, the middle and posterior spots are pointed behind ( Fig. 6 ). Ventral side, including legs and epipleura, reddish-yellow, prosternal process and metacoxal plates somewhat darkened.

Sculpture and structure. Narrowly elongate-oval. Head very sparsely and extremely finely microreticulate with some strong punctures. Punctures on prothorax moderately dense, uniformly distributed and of substantial size on disc, those on elytra denser and stronger than on pronotum. Pronotal striae on pronotum absent. Apical third of elytra slightly flanged laterally (see Watts 1978: 31). Elytra lacking basal and sutural striae. Pronotum and elytron with short pubescence and, due to a fine microreticulation, weakly shiny; base of prothorax light brown. Punctures on midline of metasternum and abdomen faint and sparse, those on the central part of metacoxa and first ventral segment stronger and denser. Metacoxal lines raised, weakly diverging in anterior half.

Male. Median lobe ( Fig. 20a, b ) very large and robust, in ventral view very elongated, strongly tapered at tip ( Fig. 20a ). Parameres more elongated than in the other species of the genus. Protarsus somewhat expanded. Mesotarsus less so. Inner edge of mesotibia straight.

Female. Tarsi simple.

Affinities. The large size, the almost unicoloured red-brown dorsal surface, the shape of the median lobe ( Fig. 20a, b ), and the slightly flanged elytra distinguish N. grossus from all other known Australian Neobidessodes .

Distribution. Northern Australia (WA, NT, QLD), from the Kimberley region, Arnhemland, Kakadu National Park to northern Queensland ( Watts 1985, 2002, Lawrence et al. 1987, Weir 1998, Larson 1997, Hendrich 2003) ( Fig. 24 ).

Habitat. A more lentic species than other Neobidessodes ( Figs 33, 34, 35 ). In the Kakadu area the specimens were found in isolated, eutrophic pools of an otherwise dry bed of a creek, with a bottom consisting of gravel and coarse sand. At Edith Falls it was found among debris and roots at the edge of a slow flowing creek with sandy and gravely bottom. In the East Kimberley region it was obtained from mats of floating roots and organic debris of paperbark trees, in the slow flowing and shallow Drysdale river (50 m width, up to 20 cm depth), with a bottom consisting of fine sand. It seems to be a rare species during the dry season but possibly more common in lowland floodplains just after the rainy season.

Figures

FIGURE 28. Phylogram of the tree obtained using GARLI and with cox1 data for Neobidessodes alone. Node support, when above 50%: bold (GARLI bootstrap), normal font (TNT parsimony jackknife values). Abbreviations behind N. thoracicus sp.n.: “b.s” = black specimens; “l.f.” = “light form”.

FIGURES 5–8. Habitus of 5) Neobidessodes samkrisi sp.n. (holotype, male); 6) N. grossus; 7) N. mjobergi; 8) Neobidessodes bilita (female) (scale bar = 1 mm) (Photos: A. Riedel).

FIGURES 18–20. Median lobe of aedeagus in ventral (a) and lateral view (b), and right paramere in lateral view (c): 18) Neobidessodes bilita; 19) N. denticulatus and 20) N. grossus (scale bar = 0.5 mm) (Photos: L. Hendrich).

FIGURES 23–24. Distribution of Neobidessodes: 23) N. flavosignatus; 24) N. samkrisi sp.n. (square) and N. grossus (dots).

FIGURES 30–35. Habitats of Neobidessodes: 30) Slow flowing stream and rest pool in monsoonal rainforest at Gubara (Kakadu NP, NT), habitat of “black specimens” of Neobidessodes thoracicus sp.n.; 31) NT, Manton Dam Recreation Area, 46 km S Darwin (NT 1), habitat of N. denticulatus, N. flavosignatus and N. mjobergi; 32) NT, Finnis River 10 km W Batchelor (NT 2), habitat of N. mjobergi and N. denticulatus; 33) NT, Litchfield NP, Shady Creek, Florence Falls (NT 3), habitat of N. grossus; 34) NT, Nitmiluk NP, Edith Falls, Upper Pool (NT 12), habitat of N. grossus; 35) NT, Kakadu Hwy, Harriet Creek at Hwy Crossing (NT 14), habitat of N. grossus and N. thoracicus sp.n. (Photos: L. Hendrich).