Matthewsius illawarrensis ( Matthews, 1974 ) Matthews, 1974

Gunter, Nicole L. & Weir, Thomas A., 2017, Two new genera of Australian dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) with the description of six new species and transfer of six described species, Zootaxa 4290 (2), pp. 201-243 : 215-217

Matthewsius illawarrensis ( Matthews, 1974) new combination

Figs. 2 B–H, 3A, 6A, 5F

Lepanus illawarrensis Matthews, 1974: 121

Material examined. New South Wales: Holotype: [35°33'00''S, 149°57'00''E] Clyde Mountain , E. Matthews, 9–12 January 1968 (in ANIC 25-057903 ) . Paratypes: [35°33'00''S, 149°57'00''E] Clyde Mountain , E. Matthews, 9–12 January 1968 (in ANIC 25-057904 x 12); [34°24'00''S, 150°51'00''E], Mount Keira , Wollongong, E. Matthews, 29 December 1967 (in ANIC 25-057905 x3); [34°40'00''S, 150°30'00''E], Barrengarry Mountain , N of Kangaroo Valley , E. Matthews, 29 December 1967 (in ANIC 25-057906 x4); [34°44'00''S, 150°32'00''E], Kangaroo Valley , E.B. Britton & R.B. Angus, 9 July 1965 (in ANIC 25-057907 x1). Other material: [34°40'00''S, 150°30'00''E], Barrengarry Mountain , N of Kangaroo Valley , G. Williams, 13 January 1977 (in ANIC 25- 032589 x2); [34°40'00''S, 150°30'00''E], Barrengarry Mountain, N of Kangaroo Valley, T. Williams & G. Williams, 1 January 1978 (in ANIC 25-058567 ) ; [34°40'00''S, 150°30'00''E], Barrengarry Mountain , N of Kangaroo Valley, T. Williams, & G. Williams, 30 January 1978 (in ANIC 25-058568 x1); [34°03'00''S, 150°05'00''E], Kanangra-Boyd National Park, L. Hill, 20 March 1982 (in ANIC 25-057910 ) ; [34°38'00''S, 150°43'00''E "], Minnamurra Falls , 10 mi. W Kiama, H. Howden & A. Howden, 25 December 1974 (in ANIC 25-057915 ) ; [34°38'00''S, 150°43'00''E], Minnamurra Falls , M. Wallace, 31 March 1978 (in ANIC 25-057908 ) ; [34°24'00''S, 150°50'00''E], Mount Keira Scout Camp , Wollongong, G.W. Gibbs, 24 January 1982 (in ANIC 25-057909 ) ; [33°30'00''S, 150°23'00''E], " Mount Wilson , Happy Valley section, G. Williams & T. Williams, 5 January 1980 (in ANIC 25-057911 ) ; [33°30'00''S, 150°23'00''E], Mount Wilson , Cathedral of Ferns section, G. Williams & T. Williams, 30 December 1979 (in ANIC and Geoff Williams Collection ( ANIC 25-057912, 25-058113 )) ; [33°30'00''S, 150°23'00''E], Mount Wilson , Blue Mountains National Park, G. Williams & T. Williams, 22 January 1978 (in ANIC 25-057913 ) ; [34°40'00''S, 150°30'00''E], Barrengarry Mountain , NW of Kangaroo Valley, G. Williams & T. Williams, 27 January 1979 (in Geoff Williams Collection ( ANIC 25-057914 )) ; [34°40'00''S, 150°30'00''E], Barrengarry Mountain , NW of Kangaroo Valley, G. Williams, & T. Williams, 31 Dec 1979 (in Geoff Williams Collection, ANIC 25-058116 ) ; [33°29'00''S, 150°28'00''E], Mount Irvine , J. Armstrong, no date, (in ANIC 25-057916 ) ; [33°30'00''S, 150°23'00''E], Mount Wilson Zircon Creek section, G. Williams & T. Williams, 5 January 1980 (in Geoff Williams Collection ( ANIC 25-058114 )) ; [34°24'00''S, 150°51'00''E], near summit of Mount Keira on NW slope via Wollongong, G. Williams & T. Williams, 25 November 1978 (in Geoff Williams Collection ( ANIC 25-058115 )) ; 35°38'09''S, 149°53'16''E, Macquarie Road, Buckenbowra State Forest , R. Harris & H. Smith, 16 March 1999 (in ANIC 25- 060770 (AM K266960)); [34°03'00''S, 150°05'00''E], Kanangra-Boyd National Park, Saddle between walls”, D. Bickel, 26 November 1994 (in ANIC 25- 060771 (AM K266958–9)); [35°43'00''S, 150°11'00''E], " Batemans Bay ” S. Peck & J. Peck, 3 June 1978 (in ANIC 25-0585690 ; [34°40'37''S, 150°18'00''E], 3 km S of Bundanoon, Morton National Park, collector unknown, 23–24 December 2000 (in ANIC 25-058570 ) ; 34°40'37''S, 150°18'00''E, 3 km S of Bundanoon, Morton National Park , C. Rojewski, 23–24 December 2000 (in ANIC 25- 057619 ) ; [34°36'00''S, 150°35'00''E], Robertson, G. Monteith, 5–13 April 2008, rainforest, 740 m, human dung pitfall, 15964 (in QM T156701– 24 x 24); [34°24'00''S, 150°51'00''E], Mount Kiera Scout Camp , 300 m, G. Monteith, 5–6 April 2008, rainforest, human dung pitfall, 15960 (in QM T156725– 27x 3).

Description. Colour. Black. Antennae yellow.

Total length: 3.8–5.6 mm

Male: Head: Broad U-shape between clypeal teeth, which are slightly upturned. Rest of margin of head feebly convex to eye. Mentum almost square, bordered anteriorly, reticulate, with setation dense on posterior corners. Edge of head bordered, wider between eye canthus and suture, genal angle slightly prominent. Dorsal parts of eyes notch-like, separated by an interocular space of about 18 times eye width; eye canthus not dividing eye. Surface smooth, nitid, glabrous, with heavy, round punctures separated by less than 1 diameter. Head width to length ratio 50:31.

Pronotum: Anterior angles almost 90° with a distinct border. Basal angles rounded and obtuse. Basal margin rounded. Lateral edge margined. Hypomeron surface smooth with heavy punctation. Punctures along basal margin almost extend to basal edge, with punctures different from disc. All punctures round without setae, separated by less than 1 diameter, less dense medially. Hypomeral stria short. Pronotum width to length ratio 85:45.

Elytra: Surface smooth. Intervals smooth and finely punctate. Setae absent on intervals. Striae impressed, 1–6 geminate, appearing as 2 parallel lines, 7 single; all striae with simple punctures and crenulate apically. Striae on disc equal width, extending to the base; striae 7 is weak and only extending to basal 2/3rd; 8th striae confined to groove posteriorly. Ratio of length of elytra along suture to maximum elytral width 85:98.

Legs: Protibiae with 3 teeth on outer edge, abruptly widened apically from second tooth, serrate between all teeth and proximal to them, each tooth with 2 groups of setae dorsally, front edge straight between apical tooth and short, broad apical spur. The tooth on underside near base of protarsus is a sharp projection. Protibiae inner apical angle produced, with an apical comb of short, flattened bristles and on lower surface a brush of long setae extending beyond edge of comb. Claws small and simple or slightly angulate at base. Mesotibiae broad and in males densely setose on the inner side. Metatibiae are broad, slightly bent, twisted, with the inner edge of tibia not crenulate. Males with small, blunt tooth at inner apical edge of metatibiae. Metatarsomere wider than the other tarsomeres but not lobed. Tarsi of male densely setose.

Abdomen: Pygidium with transverse groove at the base reaching basal angle, with a narrow groove around the rest of the pygidium. Ventrites with fine reticulation only at the sides, with a row of punctures along the anterior edge of ventrites 2–5, ventrite 6 punctate. Suture between abdominal ventrites simple.

Pterothorax: Medial lobe of metaventrite finely punctate and broadly margined between the mesocoxae. Mesometaventral suture slightly arched. Lateral lobe of the metaventrite with horseshoe-shaped punctures. Mesoventrite with horseshoe-shaped punctures not extending medially, not notched anteriorly. Mesepimera and metanepisterna smooth, heavily punctate with horseshoe-shaped punctures.

Hind wings: Absent.

Female: Protibiae not expanded at the inner apical angle and with longer apical spur. Setae on tarsomeres shorter and less dense. Mesotibiae lack inner brush of setae.

Distribution. See Figure 5 F. Known only from New South Wales from Blue Mountains, through Illawarra area, south to Batemans Bay. Collected in dung baited traps in rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Key characters of Matthewsius new genus, all scale bars 0.25 mm. A, lateral view of elytra (M. stricklandensis); B, ventral view of profemur, note presence of trochantofemoral anterior pit and ornamentation on apex of protibia (M. illawarrensis); C, close up of ornamentation on apex of protibia, white arrow pointing to comb and black arrow pointing to brush of setae (M. illawarrensis); D, prothoracic leg with three tibial teeth each with two groups of setae dorsally (M. illawarrensis ♂); E, male mesotibia with dense brush of setae (M. illawarrensis ♂); F, female mesotibia without dense brush of setae (M. illawarrensis ♀); G, male metatibia with small, blunt tooth (M. illawarrensis ♂); H, female metatibia without small, blunt tooth (M. illawarrensis ♀), inset includes close up of claw; I, male metatibia with small, blunt tooth (M. penelopae ♂).

FIGURE 5. Distributional maps of species belonging to the new genera Matthewsius and Monteithocanthon including close up insets of A, Pilbara region, Western Australia; B, northeastern Queensland; C, southeastern Queensland; D, southwestern Western Australia; E, southeastern South Australia; F, central to southeastern New South Wales.