Actenonyx bembidioides White

Kavanaugh, David H., 2022, A New Species of the New Zealand Endemic Genus Actenonyx White, 1846 (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Odacanthini) with Notes on Variation, Distribution, and Habitat, Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 67 (11), pp. 281-299 : 285-291

Actenonyx bembidioides White

Figures 1A , 2 A-B, 3A, 3C, 4, 6

Actenonyx bembidioides White, 1846:2 . Lectotype, here designated, a female, in BMNH, labeled: “Type” [printed on white circular label with red ring around text]/ “Colenso” [handwritten]/ “ Actenonyx bembidioides White Zool. Erebus & Terror. ” [handwritten]/ “ LECTOTYPE Actenonyx bembidioides White,1846 designated by D.H. Kavanaugh 2022” [red label]. Type locality: New Zealand, North Island , ManawatuWanganui, Colenso [locality of lectotype] .

Sphallax peryphoides Bates, 1867:56 . Type series comprised of three syntypes, including both sexes, place of deposition unknown. Specific synonymy recognized by Bates (1874:275).Type locality: New Zealand, Christchurch area.

Notes on nomenclature and types. — Neither White (1846) nor Bates (1867) designated a precise type locality in their original descriptions, although Bates (1874) subsequently listed “Christchurch” as the locality for his type material. It is unclear how many specimens White had at hand when he described A. bembidioides , hence the designation of a lectotype. It is also unclear why he did not cite Colenso as the type locality, but I here restrict it to that area because that is the locality for the lectotype.

Despite the efforts of curators in both BMNH and CMNZ, Bates’ type series of A. peryphoides has not yet been located. If and when it is found, a lectotype should be designated. Even without reference to the type series, Bates’ description of that nominal taxon, with a reference to the “obscure bronze colour” of the dorsum, is sufficient to assure me that his type series represented what I am identifying here as A. bembidioides and not the new species described below (see Diagnosis below).

Diagnosis. — Dorsal surface of elytra without or with faint to distinct aeneous metallic reflection; tooth of mentum slightly to moderately emarginate (bifid) medially; elytral silhouette subrectangular ( Fig. 1A ), humeri narrowly rounded, base broad, basal margin nearly straight laterally, subangulate or slightly sinuate paramedially, discal pore punctures only slightly foveate; abdominal sternite VI in most males with two pairs of apicoparamedial setae (one or three setae present unilaterally or bilaterally in a few specimens), in females with two pairs; median lobe of male genitalia ( Fig. 2 A-B) straighter, less arcuate, in lateral aspect, apical lamella short, broadly rounded apically and nearly centered on shaft in dorsal aspect; female genitalia with tergite IX longer ( Fig. 3A ), with apical margin slightly projected medially and narrowly convex and with sclerotization/pigmentation pattern with middle transverse band and apicoparalateral arms thicker and not sharply defined, apicoparalateral arms not extended laterally along the margin ( Fig.3A ), intersegmental membrane ventrad tergite IX with long and dense setae, ovipositor ( Fig. 3C ) with gonocoxite 2 (=“gonocoxite” of Deuve (1993)) distinctly longer than gonocoxite 1 (=“gonosubcoxite” of Deuve (1993)).

Comments. — The most reliable features for distinguishing members of this species from those of the new species described below involve the male and female genitalia. Genitalic features of both sexes differ markedly between the two species. Unfortunately, while each of the external features listed in the key and/or in the diagnosis above distinguish most members of these two species, none of them clearly distinguish all specimens. Examination of genitalic features is recommended to confirm identifications for either sex.

Geographical distribution.— This species is widely distributed throughout North and South Islands of New Zealand but has not been recorded from Stewart Island or any of the Offshore Islands ( Larochelle and Larivière 2001). I examined a total of 159 specimens (84 males and 75 females) from the following localities ( Fig. 4 ): North Island. Auckland: Auckland (Broun collector; one female, BMNH). Bay of Plenty: White Pine Bush (14 March 1967, T.H. Davies collector; one male and two females, NMNH). Coromandel: Tairua (two males, BMNH). Northland: Mangamuka River (at Hokianga Harbour , 9 January 1924, A. Richardson collector; one female, BMNH). Rangitikei: Colenso (one female, BMNH). Taranaki: Mount Egmont (1520 m; one female, BMNH). Taupo: Erua (28 December 1940, C.E. Clarke collector; three males and one female, BMNH); Mount Ruapehu (980 m, 12 February 1938; three males and one female, BMNH); Ohakune (1 October 1919, T.R. Harris collector; one male, BMNH), (December 1922, T.R. Harris collector; two males, BMNH), (December 1922, T. R. Harris collector). Wanganui: Rangitikei River (near Porewa, March 1941, S. Gibbs collector; four males, BMNH); Wairua (one male, BMNH). Wellington: Lower Hutt (February 1976; five males and one female, NMNH). Waikato: Waipa River (at Otewa Gorge, 23 February 1941; one male, BMNH). South Island. Buller: Greymouth ( Maori Creek ; one female, BMNH), (Helms; three males and six females, BMNH), (3 November 1880, Helms collector; one male, BMNH), (1885, Helms collector; one female, BMNH). Dunedin: Mount Maungatua (610 m, 9 December 1923; one female, BMNH). Fiordland: Lake Manapouri ( Hope Arm , 6 January 1929; one male and one female, BMNH); Lake Te Anau (Mistletoe Creek at Te Anau Downs , 216 m, 22-23 December 1993, D.H. and T.W. Kavanaugh collectors; 37 males and 27 females, CASC, BMNH, NZAC); Pompolona (6 November 1986, J.G. Edwards collector; one female, CASC); Te Anau (10 November 1986, J.G. Edwards collector; one female, CASC). Mid Canterbury: Broken River (at Arthur’s Pass Road , 30 October 1986, J.G. Edwards collector; one male, CASC); Cass (27 December 1942, A. Richardson collector; one male, BMNH). North Canterbury: Hurunui (one male, BMNH). Nelson: Cobb River (23 November 1977, E. I. Schlinger collector; one female, CASC); Mount Arthur (Brookes collector; one female, NMNH); Wangapeka (one male, BMNH); Wangapeka Valley (18 November 1934, E.S. Gourlay collector; one female, CASC); Westport (November-December 1901, J.J. Walker collector; one male, BMNH). Otago Lakes: Arrow River (at Arrowtown , 22 December 1993, D.H. Kavanaugh collector; two males and three females, CASC); Route Burn River (6 January 1945, C.E. Clarke collector; one female, BMNH); Young River (20 km above Lake Wanaka, 10 December 1994, W.W. Middlekauf collector; one female, CASC), (20 km above Lake Wanaka , 29 November 1992, W.W. Middlekauf collector; one male and one female, CASC). South Canterbury: Lake Tekapo (one male, BMNH). Southland: Wyndham (6-10 March 1982, W.W. Middlekauff collector; one male, CASC). Locality unknown. (one male, NMNH); (A. Swak collector; one male and one female, BMNH); (C. Darwin collector; one female, BMNH); (Koebele collector; one male and two females, CASC); (five males and eight females, BMNH); (three males and six females, NMNH).

Habitat distribution. — Larochelle and Larivière (2001) described a very broad altitudinal range for this species (from lowland to alpine areas) and diurnal activity of both adults and larvae “in sunshine” on “open dry gravelly-stony banks of streams…at some distance from water.” In our limited encounters with this species in 1993, my helpers and I found specimens only at low (210 m) to moderate (400 m) elevations on the open banks of small to moderate-size streams ( Fig. 6 ). Beetles were found under stones or in gravel in daytime on a cloudy day and actively running on the surface at night in these same areas, ranging from about 10 cm to 15 m back from the water’s edge. The altitudinal range mentioned by Larochelle and Larivière no doubt includes records for the new species, A. aotearoa , described below, so the true altitudinal range of A. bembidioides alone may be somewhat more restricted than previously considered. It seems likely, however, that the altitudinal ranges overlap at least partially, based on the record of A. bembidioides from Lake Tekapo (minimum elevation of 715 m).

Geographical relationships with related species. — The geographical range of this species overlaps broadly with that of A. aotearoa , the new species described below. I have examined a few specimens of both species collected on both North and South Islands and labeled as from the same locality, but this does not mean that members of the two species actually were found together (syntopic). Shared records from North Island include Okahune (but specimens collected were in different years), Rangitkei River near Porewa (specimens of both species were collected in March, 1941), and Tairua (no shared dates of collection). Shared records from South Island include Cass (but with different dates of collection and collectors), Lake Tekapo (no dates of collection or collectors named), Te Anau (with different dates of collection and collectors), and Westport (same collector but over a two-month period in 1901). It is certainly possible that the two species are syntopic in some parts of their geographical ranges, but data that I have examined cannot confirm this.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Dorsal habitus of Actenonyx species. A. A. bembidioides White (South Island, Southland, Te Anau Downs, Mistletoe Creek, 216 m); B. A. aotearoa sp. nov. (South Island, Fiordlands National Park, east end of Homer Tunnel, 915m). Scale lines = 1.0 mm.

FIGURE 2. Male genitalia of Actenonyx species. A and B. A. bembidioides White (South Island, Southland, Te Anau Downs, Mistletoe Creek, 216 m); C and D. A. aotearoa sp. nov. (South Island, Fiordlands National Park, east end of Homer Tunnel, 915m). A and C. Dorsal aspect; B and D. Left lateral aspect. Scale line = 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 3. Female genitalia and reproductive tract. A and C. A. bembidioides White (South Island, Southland, Te Anau Downs, Mistletoe Creek, 216 m); B and D. A. aotearoa sp. nov. (South Island, Fiordlands National Park, east end of Homer Tunnel, 915m); A and B. Tergite IX, dorsal aspect; C and D. Genital capsule and reproductive tract; bc = bursa copulatrix; co = common oviduct; gc1 = gonocoxite 1; gc2 = gonocoxite 2; sbb = spermathecal basal bulb; sg = spermathecal gland; sgd =spermathecal gland duct. Scale lines = 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 4. Map showing distribution records for specimens of Actenonyx bembidioides White examined for this study (red circle = type locality; black circles = other localities). Scale line = 200 km.

FIGURE 6. Photograph of habitat for Actenonyx bembidioides White. Arrow River at Arrowtown, Otago, South Island.