Oopterus sobrinus Broun, 1886

Larochelle, Larivière, Marie-Claude, Larochelle & Larivière, 2017, Synopsis of the tribe Zolini in New Zealand (Coleoptera: Carabidae), Insecta Mundi 2017 (594), pp. 1-110 : 29-30

Oopterus sobrinus Broun, 1886

Fig. 32 , 79 , 144

Oöpterus sobrinus Broun, 1886: 936 ([TK] Taranaki, near Mount Egmont ). Holotype: female (BMNH) labeled: “Type (circular red-bordered label; typed) / [female symbol] (hand-written) / 1685. (handwritten) / [TK] Taranaki (hand-written) / New Zeal. Broun Coll. Brit. Mus. 1922–482. (white label with red horizontal line; typed) / Zolus . / Oöpterus sobrinus (hand-written).”

Oöpterus nigritulus Broun, 1908: 341 . Holotype: female (BMNH) labeled: “Type (circular red-bordered label; typed) / 2619. [female symbol] (hand-written) / Zolus / New Zeal. Broun Coll. Brit. Mus. 1922–482. (white label with red horizontal line; typed) / [WN] Karori. Palmerston N. / Oöpterus nigritulus [female symbol] (hand-written).” New synonym

Oöpterus laevigatus Broun, 1912: 389 . Holotype: male [teneral] (BMNH) labeled: “Type (circular redbordered label; typed) / 3174. [male symbol] (hand-written) / Zolus / New Zeal. Broun Coll. Brit. Mus. 1922–482. (white label with red horizontal line; typed) / [WA] Hastwell. Napier. / Oöpterus laevigatus (hand-written).” New synonym

Pseudoopterus sobrinus: Csiki 1928: 226 .

Pseudoopterus nigritulus: Csiki 1928: 225 .

Pseudoopterus laevigatus: Csiki 1928: 225 .

Oopterus sobrinus: Hudson 1934: 177 .

Zolus nigritulus: Hudson 1934: 38 .

Oopterus nigritulus: Hudson 1934: 177

Oopterus laevigatus: Hudson 1934: 177 .

Description. Body length 5.1–6.0 mm. Head, pronotum, elytra, and abdomen mostly black; lateral margins, suture, and apex of elytra reddish; abdomen yellow laterally and apically; antennae and legs pale red; palpi and femora pale yellow. Microsculpture strong and isodiametric on head, very transverse (with microlines), obsolete on pronotum, feeble on elytra. Iridescence absent on head and pronotum, feeble on elytra. Very shiny, with metallic luster (aeneous) on elytra. Head. Labrum strongly transverse, slightly emarginate anteriorly. Antennae submoniliform, moderately long: segment 1 (scape) short, stout, about 1.5x longer than its maximum width. Frontal furrows wide, shallow, convergent. Eyes moderately convex; a single setiferous puncture on inner side of each eye (posteriorly). Tempora not inflated. Mentum: medial tooth entire, acute apically, moderately shorter than lateral lobes. Paraglossae membranous, prominent, about as long as ligula. Thorax. Pronotum moderately convex, impunctate, wrinkled discally, slightly transverse, widest about middle; apex truncate; anterolateral angles poorly developed, obtusely rounded; anterior bead complete; sides moderately rounded, not sinuate posteriorly; lateral grooves moderately deep, very long (about as long as adjoining foveae); setiferous punctures absent on each side; posterolateral angles obtuse; posterolateral carinae sharp, very long (about as long as adjoining foveae); laterobasal foveae well defined, impunctate, moderately deep and wide, square, not prolonged forward, double; posterior bead absent; base emarginate, about as wide as pronotal apex and elytral base. Legs. Moderately long. Elytra. Moderately convex, subovate, widest about middle. Basal margin incomplete, reaching about stria 4. Shoulders obtuse. Sides moderately rounded. Scutellar striole absent. Striae incomplete, mostly obsolete, virtually impunctate; stria 1 deep; striae 2–4 shallow; interval 3 with three setiferous punctures. Recurrent stria long, sharp, directed apically toward stria 5. Subapical seta present. Intervals subdepressed. Sutural apices obtusely rounded. Abdomen. Last visible sternum (sternum VII): male with two apical ambulatory setae; female with four apical ambulatory setae. Aedeagus. Lateral view ( Fig. 79 ): strongly arcuate, narrowed in apical half; base slightly convex dorsally; middle slightly convex dorsally, moderately convex ventrally, with dorsal membranous area invisible; apex elongate-rounded, slightly concave dorsally and ventrally, with extreme tip unusually wide and short. Dorsal view: narrow, symmetrical (ostium of membranous area dorsal); apex straight; basal orifice narrow, closed anteriorly, close to membranous area. Parameres with three apical setae.

Material examined. 52 specimens ( BMNH, JNNZ, LUNZ, MONZ, NZAC).

Geographic distribution ( Fig. 144 ). North Island: HB, ND, RI, TK, WA, WI, WN.

Ecology. Lowland, montane, subalpine. Epigean-arboreal. Wet forests (beech, broadleaf, podocarp). Shaded ground. Nocturnal; active on trees at night; hides during the day under the loose bark of fallen trees, in fallen rotten branches, in moss growing on logs and trees. Gregarious.

Biology. Seasonality: November–June, August. Predacious (based on mouthpart morphology).

Dispersal power. Subapterous (incapable of flight). Moderate runner. Regular climber on trees and logs.

Collecting techniques. Lifting loose bark of fallen trees; breaking rotten branches; sifting moss.

References. Larochelle and Larivière 2001: 74–75, 77 (as O. sobrinus , O. laevigatus , O. nigritulus ; catalogue; biology, dispersal power, ecology, geographic distribution, references), 2016: 20–21 ( O. sobrinus , O. laevigatus , O. nigritulus ; list).

Remark. Examination of the types of Oopterus nigritulus and O. laevigatus revealed them to be conspecific with O. sobrinus .

Figures

Figures 31–34. Dorsal habitus. 31) Oopterus fulvipes. 32) O. sobrinus. 33) O. collaris. 34) O. laeviventris. Scale line = 1 mm.

Figures 74–81. Aedeagi, lateral. 74) Oopterus discoideus new species. 75) O. marrisi new species. 76) O. lewisi. 77) O. patulus. 78) O. fulvipes. 79) O. sobrinus. 80) O. collaris. 81) O. laeviventris.

Figures 142–147. Species distribution maps. 142) Oopterus quadripunctatus new species. 143) O. sculpturatus. 144) O. sobrinus. 145) O. strenuus. 146) O. suavis. 147) O. taieriensis new species.