Macratria susuami, Telnov, 2023

Telnov, Dmitry, 2023, Fourth contribution to the Macratriinae LeConte, 1862 of the Papuan Region and Wallacea (Coleoptera: Anthicidae) with descriptions of sixteen new species, Zootaxa 5361 (1), pp. 1-52 : 42-44

Macratria susuami sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:EAAC0B33-360A-4175-BF53-996B01801A27

( Figs 116–124 )

Type material designated. Holotype ♂ BMNH: PAPUA N GUINEA [printed] Bulolo , Kulolo Creek. Under bark Castanopsis [handwritten] // 11.xi. 83 J. Dovunava coll. No. 2548 [handwritten] C.I.E.A [printed] 1626 [handwritten] // 2548 [printed] // Macratria sp [handwritten] det. M.L. Cox, 198 [printed] 4 [handwritten] // Pres by Comm Inst Ent B.M. 198 [printed] 4 [handwritten] –1 [printed]. The right metatarsus is missing.

Derivatio nominis. Named after the Susuami language of the Upper Watut Valley near the type locality of Bulolo. Noun in apposition.

Measurements, holotype male, total body length 5.2 mm; head length 0.9 mm, head width across compound eyes 0.9 mm, pronotal length 1.3 mm, maximum pronotal width 0.8 mm, elytral length 3 mm, combined maximum elytral width 1.2 mm.

Description. Male ( Figs 116–118 ). Dorsum and venter uniformly black including coxae, trochanters and base of every femur. Mouthparts, antennomeres 1–6, maxillary palpomeres and remaining part of every femur yellowish-brown. Tibiae and tarsi brown. Head moderately glossy dorsally and ventrally, elliptical. Frons moderately wide, nearly as wide as dorsal eye length. Compound eye large, occupying most of lateral side of head beyond antennal insertion, strongly protruding from lateral outline of head. Interfacetal setae long and dense. Tempus not present, area posterior to eye rounded in one flat arc with head base. Frontoclypeal suture or impression not observed. Head dorsal punctures shallow, inconspicuous. Intervening spaces smooth, generally wider than punctures. Head dorsal setae dirty yellowish, appressed, moderately dense, effectively concealing sculpture of head. Tactile setae not observed. Antenna slender and filiform, gradually thickened in apical half, extending towards base of pronotum when directed posteriad. Basal antennomere elongate, about twice as long as antennomere two. Antennomere three about 1.8× as long as antennomere two, about as long as antennomere four. Antennomeres 8–11 thickened. Terminal antennomere elongate, apically pointed, about 2.7–2.8× as long as penultimate antennomere. Terminal maxillary palpomere strongly cultriform, about as long as compound eye. Pronotum subopaque dorsally, stronger glossy on prothoracic hypomeron, flattened in dorsal aspect, elongate cylindrical, slightly narrower than head across compound eyes. Anterior margin medially subtruncate. Lateral margins shortly constricted laterally anteriad and slightly, gradually constricted towards base. Dorsal pronotal punctures much larger and denser than those on head, moderately deep. Intervening spaces glossy, generally narrower than punctures. Pronotal dorsal setation dirty yellowish, long, appressed to subdecumbent, dense, effectively concealing dorsal sculpture of pronotum. Prothoracic hypomeron densely setose. Tactile setae not observed. Scutellar shield small, broad, truncate at posterior margin. Elytron elongate, moderately glossy, slightly, gradually narrows posteriad. Humerus broadly rounded. Postbasal transverse impression barely indicated, broad. Punctures on each elytron in anterior half arranged into five incomplete, flat, irregularly shaped and poorly defined rows. Intervening spaces between rows smooth. Elytral setation dirty yellowish, moderately long and dense, directed posteriad, not fully concealing dorsal sculpture of elytron. Transverse premedium spot of denser setae of elytron, touching both suture or lateral margin. Setation in apical fourth also denser but does not forms a spot. Lateral humeral stria not shifted dorsad, not visible in dorsal view. Sutural stria complete, narrow. Metathoracic wing fully developed. Legs long. Femora clavate. Protarsus elongate, subequal in length to protibia. Tibial terminal spurs of anterior and middle leg paired, serrate, of metathoracic leg fused together, forming one rather broad spur ( Fig. 119 ). Metatibia on posterior margin in distal two thirds glossy, nearly glabrous, with a bunch of long whitish setae before and both sides along this glabrous zone. Basal protarsomere widened, ventrally with a hook-like lobe. Basal metatarsomere longer than combined length of remaining tarsomeres. All claws strongly dentate at base. Male tergite VII elongate, constricted towards posterior margin, here shortly rounded ( Fig. 119 ). Male morphological sternite VII massive, with paired, thick very long, somewhat sinuous, apically densely setose lateral prong, posterior margin produced posterior medially, broadly emarginate and laterally spinose ( Fig. 120–121 ). Tergite VIII, morphological sternites VIII and IX as in Fig. 122 . Aedeagus ( Figs 123–124 ) with wide basale which is about twice as long as narrow apicale.

Sexual dimorphism. Female is unknown.

Differential diagnosis. Macratria susuami sp. nov. strongly resembles M. yapena Telnov, 2011 (Cenderawasih Bay: Yapen Island) in the general appearance, colouration, vestiture and the shape of the male morphological sternite VII. The median projection of the morphological sternite VII is less deeply emarginate in M. susuami sp. nov. compared to that of M. yapena and the setae in the emargination less long, the median part of the external margin of the lateral prong of the sternite VII without extraordinary long setae in the new species, the median lobe with comparatively longer apical prongs than in M. yapena . The male metatibial terminal spurs not fused, the metatibia somewhat sinuous and with a group of comparatively longer setae on posterior margin before sinuous part, the terminal maxillary palpomere comparatively shorter in M. yapena . Ventral hook-like lobe of the male basal protarsomere is not described in M. yapena or any other Macratria species.

Ecology. Labelled as having been collected under Castanopsis sp. bark, but this appears highly dubious since Macratria are not known to be subcortical.

Distribution. Upper Watut Valley, Madang Province, New Guinea.

Figures

FIGURES 116–118. Macratria susuami sp. nov., holotype ♁. 116—Habitus, dorsal view; 117—Head and left antenna, anterodorsal view; 118—Left metatibia, dorsal view [not to scale].

FIGURES 119–124. Macratria susuami sp. nov., holotype ♁. 119—Tergite VII, dorsal view; 120—Morphological sternite VII, ventral view; 121—Morphological sternite VII, apices of lateral prongs and median part of posterior margin, ventral view; 122—Same, morphological tergite VIII, morphological sternites VIII and IX, ventral view; 123—Same, aedeagus; 124—Same, aedeagus, apical portion [not to scale].