Oopterus monticola, Larochelle & Larivière & Larochelle & Larivière, 2017

Larochelle, Larivière, Marie-Claude, Larochelle & Larivière, 2017, Synopsis of the tribe Zolini in New Zealand (Coleoptera: Carabidae), Insecta Mundi 2017 (594), pp. 1-110 : 35-36

Oopterus monticola new species

Fig. 38 , 84 , 135

Holotype: male ( NZAC) labeled: “[ NEW ZEALAND CO] Rock & Pillar Ra Otago 13.IX.69 J.S. Dugdale (typed) / moss (typed) 69/203 (hand-written) / [male symbol] / HOLOTYPE [male symbol] Oopterus monticola Larochelle & Larivière, 2017 (red label; typed).” Paratypes: one female (NZAC) and one male (CMNZ) from the same locality as the holotype, bearing blue paratype labels.

Description. Body length 4.8–5.2 mm. Head, pronotum, and elytra mostly piceous black; abdomen mostly dark brown, yellow laterally and apically; apex of head reddish; lateral margins and suture of elytra reddish; antennae and legs mostly reddish; antennal segments 1+2 pale yellow; palpi mostly yellow, strongly infuscated; femora dark brown. Microsculpture strong and isodiametric on head, feeble and moderately transverse on pronotum, obsolete and very transverse (with microlines) on elytra. Iridescence absent on head and pronotum, very strong on elytra. Very shiny, without metallic luster. Head. Labrum strongly transverse, slightly emarginate anteriorly. Antennae submoniliform, moderately long: segment 1 (scape) moderately long, about 2x longer than its maximum width. Frontal furrows wide, shallow, convergent. Eyes moderately convex; two setiferous punctures on inner side of each eye. 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, strongly transverse, widest before middle; apex subtruncate; anterolateral angles poorly developed, rounded; anterior bead incomplete, obsolete medially; sides strongly rounded, slightly sinuate posteriorly; lateral grooves absent; a single setiferous puncture on each side (posteriorly); posterolateral angles subrectangular; posterolateral carinae blunt, very long (about as long as adjoining foveae); laterobasal foveae well defined, impunctate, shallow, moderately wide, oblong, prolonged forward, double; posterior bead absent; base subtruncate, about as wide as pronotal apex and elytral base. Legs. Moderately long. Elytra. Moderately convex, ovate, widest about middle. Basal margin incomplete, reaching about stria 4. Shoulders obtuse. Sides strongly rounded. Scutellar striole present. Striae complete, shallow, finely punctate; striae 5–6 shallower; interval 3 with three setiferous punctures. Recurrent stria long, sharp, directed apically toward stria 5. Subapical seta present. Intervals depressed. Sutural apices obtuse. Abdomen. Last visible sternum (sternum VII): male with two apical ambulatory setae; female with four apical ambulatory setae. Aedeagus. Lateral view ( Fig. 84 ): strongly arcuate, strongly widened in apical half; base strongly biconvex dorsally; middle slightly concave dorsally, strongly convex ventrally, with dorsal membranous area very wide and long; apex triangular, slightly biconcave dorsally, moderately concave ventrally, with extreme tip wide and long. Dorsal view: narrow, asymmetrical (ostium of membranous area deflected to right); apex straight; basal orifice narrow, closed anteriorly, moderately distant from membranous area. Parameres with five or six apical setae.

Material examined. 6 specimens ( CMNZ, LUNZ, NZAC).

Geographic distribution ( Fig. 135 ). South Island: CO–Rock and Pillar Range (McPhees Rock; Otago Ski Hut).

Ecology. Alpine. Epigean. Herbfields, along seepages and at the edge of a bog. Open ground. Nocturnal; hides during the day in moss.

Biology. Seasonality: September, November. Predacious (based on mouthpart morphology).

Dispersal power. Subapterous (incapable of flight). Moderate runner.

Collecting technique. Sifting moss.

Remarks. The name of this species is based on the Latin noun mons, montis (mountain) and the suffix - cola (dweller). Oopterus monticola is morphologically close to O. palmai . In addition to diagnostic characters of the male genitalia, O. monticola has the following distinguishing features: pronotum with sides strongly rounded, slightly sinuate posteriorly, posterolateral carinae blunt and very long, laterobasal foveae well defined, oblong; elytral striae 5–7 well developed, complete. Both species occur in the southern South Island: O. monticola is restricted to Central Otago (CO, Rock and Pillar Range), while O. palmai occurs in the Central Otago (CO) and Mackenzie (MK) regions.

Figures

Figures 35–38. Dorsal habitus. 35) Oopterus arthurensis new species. 36) O. corvinki new species. 37) O. palmai new species. 38) O. monticola new species. Scale line = 1 mm.

Figures 82–89. Aedeagi, lateral. 82) Oopterus corvinki new species. 83) O. palmai new species. 84) O. monticola new species. 85) O. strenuus. 86) O. clivinoides. 87) O. mohiensis new species. 88) O. frontalis. 89) O. punctatus new species.

Figures 130–135. Species distribution maps. 130) Oopterus laeviventris. 131) O. lewisi. 132) O. marrineri. 133) O. marrisi new species. 134) O. mohiensis new species. 135) O. monticola new species.