Bomansius cheesmanae Kakinuma, 2019

Kakinuma, Shunsuke, 2019, A new species of Bomansius Lacroix (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) from Vanuatu, with redescriptions of its genus and its only congener, Bomansius gabrieli Lacroix, 1978, Insecta Mundi 728 (728), pp. 1-12 : 3-6

Bomansius cheesmanae Kakinuma , new species

( Fig. 1–16 )

“ Apteroaegus sp.” Mizunuma and Nagai 1994: 312, pl. 151, Fig. 147, with the manuscript name “ Apteroaegus cheesmani ”, without description (unavailable names).

Bomansius sp. Fujita 2010: 420, pl. 247, Fig. 1402, with the manuscript name “ Apteroaegus cheesmani ”, without explicit description of a new taxon or fixation of types (unavailable name).

Type material. Holotype male ( Fig. 1 ), NHM, labeled: a) “ NEW HEBRIDES: / Aneityum. / Red Crest. 1,200 ft. / 3 m. N.E. of Anelgauhat. / iv–v.1955”; b) “ L.E. Cheesman. / B.M. 1955-217.”; c) “ ♂ ”; d) red bordered, circular “Type”; e) on red paper, handwritten “ Apteroaegus / cheesmani / MS Benesh”, on underside “ B. Benesh / Holotype ”; e) black-bordered label, handwritten “ Apteroaegus / cheesmani / Benesh / Nom. M.S.”, on underside “ Det. B. Benesh / 24/3/57”; f) on red paper, “ Bomansius / cheesmanae / ♂ Kakinuma / HOLOTYPE ”.

Two male paratypes ( FMNH) labeled: a–c) as holotype; d) “on red paper, “Apteroaegus / cheesmani ”, on underside “ B. Benesh / Paratype ” ; e) “CNHM 1965 / Bernard Benesh / General Coleop. Colln.”. One male, three female paratypes ( NHM) labeled: a–b) as holotype; c) “ ♂ ” or “ ♀ ” as appropriate; d) on red paper, handwritten “Apteroaegus / cheesmani”, on underside “ B. Benesh / Paratype ”; e) yellow bordered, circular “Para- / type”. One male, three female paratypes ( FMNH, MJPC) labeled: a) “ NEW HEBRIDES: / Aneityum. / Red Crest. 1,200 ft. / 3 m. N.E. of Anelgauhat. / iii.1955 ”; b) as holotype; c) “ ♂ ” or “ ♀ ” as appropriate; d) “on red paper, “Apteroaegus / cheesmani ”, on underside “ B. Benesh / Paratype ”; e) “CNHM 1965 / Bernard Benesh / General Coleop. Colln.”. Six female paratypes ( NHM, LBC, MJPC) labeled: a) “ NEW HEBRIDES: / Aneityum. / Red Crest. 1,200 ft. / 3 m. N.E. of Anelgauhat. / iii.1955 ”; b) as holotype; c) “ ♀ ”; d) yellow bordered, circular “Para- / type”; e) “on red paper, “Apteroaegus / cheesmani ”, on underside “ B. Benesh / Paratype ”. One male paratype ( LBC) labeled: a) “ NEW HEBRIDES: / Aneityum. / Coast. / II.1955 ”; b–c) as holotype; d) on red paper, handwritten “Apteroaegus / cheesmani”, on underside “ B. Benesh / Paratype ”; e) yellow bordered, circular “Para- / type”. 14 male paratypes, seven female paratypes ( SKC, MJPC, NHM, Fig. 2–16 ) labeled: “ VANUATU: Tafea Prov. / Aneityum Island / near Anelghowhat / 19-21.II.2018 ”

All paratypes with paratype label, on yellow paper: “ Bomansius / cheesmanae / [male or female symbol] Kakinuma / PARATYPE ”

Totals: 20♂, 19♀ .

Phenology. February (22 specimens), March (10), April/May (7).

Etymology. This new species is named in honor of Lucy Evelyn Cheesman (1881–1969), a British entomologist and traveler who collected the holotype and many paratypes.

Distribution. Vanuatu (formerly New Hebrides): Aneityum Island.

Description

Holotype male. ( Fig. 1 ) Length: (including mandibles) 14.8 mm. (excluding mandibles) 12.3 mm. Width: 6.5 mm. Color: Reddish black (teneral). Head: Form widest behind eyes; dorsal surface smooth, surface glossy; punctures mostly small to minute, very shallow, sparse, without setae, with small areas punctured largely and deeply between eyes on each side. Labrum about 0.37× as wide as head. Eyes almost completely divided by canthi; anterior canthus narrow, long, adjoined with short posterior canthus. Mandibles almost as long as head; dorsomedial tooth projecting forward, ventromedial tooth obsolete; punctures on surface fine and shallow; dorsal surface at the base covered with dense long hairs, but sparser than inner margin. Mentum with moderately large and shallow punctures; anterior margin with long dense hairs. Pronotum: Form almost as wide as elytra; surface glossy; punctures mostly small to medium, larger around the disc, without setae; lateral edge slightly sinuous, with long sparse setae; front angles acute; lateral and basal margins with narrow bead. Elytra: Form about as wide as long. Surface glossy, covered with large punctures randomly dense and entire except around elytral suture; punctures mostly without setae, but on lateral and posterior declivity bearing short to very short setae; lateral margin with long, sparse setae, setae shorter and denser posteriorly. Legs: Protibia slightly curved inwards. Mesotibia with one very small external tooth below middle. Metatibia with a vestigial external tooth below middle.

Paratype males. (n = 19, Fig. 2–4 , 8–10 ) Length: (including mandibles) 11.5–17.5 mm. (excluding mandibles) 11.0– 14.2 mm. Width: 5.7–8.6 mm. Color: Black or reddish black (teneral). Head: Labrum about 0.36–0.39× as wide as head. Surface less glossy than holotype, almost opaque or weakly glossy.

Eyes mostly totally ( Fig. 11–12 ), rarely not totally ( Fig. 13–14 : female) divided by canthus. Anterior canthus without or with very few minute setae from lateral view. Ventromedial tooth on mandible larger and more distinct than in holotype. Pronotum: Surface sometimes uneven, with same glossiness as head. Elytra: Striae vaguely indicated on some of paratypes. Legs: Protibia with or without 1-2 external teeth proximal to apex. Mesotibia with or without an external tooth below middle, with one or more proximal small teeth. Abdomen: Posterior half on each ventrite with sparse, moderately long setae medially. Large male ( Fig. 2–4 , 8–9 ): Head and pronotum conspicuously large. Mandibles strongly curved inward, with distinct inner teeth. Pronotum wider than elytra, widest at apical fifth, gradually convergent to basal fifth, then strongly convergent to hind angle; punctures smaller and shallower except around center and apex. Small male ( Fig. 10 ): Head small; punctures larger. Mandibles short, weakly curved. Pronotum almost entirely and densely covered with large, deep punctures; lateral sides nearly parallel from apical fifth to basal third.

Paratype females. (n = 19, Fig. 5–7 ) Length: (including mandibles) 12.9–16.0 mm. (excluding mandibles) 11.5–14.2 mm. Width: 5.8–7.2 mm. Externally different from holotype and male paratypes as follows: Body thicker and more convex overall. Head widest at eyes (canthus), much narrower than in male; punctures larger and denser. Labrum about 0.25× as wide as head, trapezoidal, weakly concave on large specimens. Mandibles acute, shorter, with one simple small internal tooth below middle; mentum narrower. Pronotum with rounded lateral sides, punctures similar to small males. Surface of head and pronotum weakly glossy. Protibia broader. Mesotibia and metatibia with more distinct external teeth. Very few setae on ventrites only at apex of 5th ventrite.

Notes. Bernard Benesh (1891–1964) placed determination labels and type labels on the specimens in the NHM and FMNH. The specimen that would have become his holotype is from the NHM, however, neither his indicated generic nor species names were ever made available. I have nevertheless followed Benesh in designating the same holotype specimen from the NHM and dedicating the species to Lucy Evelyn Cheesman. As described above, the holotype male is somewhat teneral and slightly differs from most of the specimens of the type series in color, glossiness of surface and the shape of mandibles, but these characters are not essential to confirm the identification of the species.

Diagnosis. Bomansius cheesmanae new species is similar to its only congener B. gabrieli , but differs by having a broader head, longer and more strongly curved male mandibles with a steeply forwardprojecting dorsomedial tooth and a smaller ventromedial tooth in males. The pronotum is larger and distinctly wider than the elytra in large males. Females have relatively longer mandibles and sparser punctures on the pronotum. Both sexes display a pronotal basal edge defined by a shallow and narrow groove without a row of large punctures, vague or obsolete elytral striae, and smaller elytral punctures.

Figures

Figure 1. Bomansius cheesmanae new species, holotype male, dorsal habitus with labels.

Figures 2–7. Bomansius cheesmanae new species, paratypes. 2–4) Male. 2) Dorsal habitus. 3) Ventral habitus. 4) Lateral habitus. 5–7) Female. 5) Dorsal habitus. 6) Ventral habitus. 7) Lateral habitus.

Figures 8–16. Bomansius cheesmanae new species, paratypes. 8–10) Males, dorsal habitus. 11–14) Eyes. 11–12) Male, eyes totally divided by canthi. 11) Dorsal view. 12) Lateral view. 13–14) Female, eyes not totally divided by canthi. 13) Dorsal view. 14) Lateral view. 15) Atrophied wing of male. 16) Male aedeagus with sternite of 9th abdominal segment, ventral view.