Platycoelus orion, Will, Kipling, 2015

Will, Kipling, 2015, A taxonomic review, new species and a key to species of Platycoelus Blanchard, 1843 (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Pterostichini), Zootaxa 4034 (2), pp. 291-308 : 297

Platycoelus orion sp. nov.

Figs. 3 A; 6G,H; 8; 11A.

Types. HOLOTYPE. Male. "Kowanyama, N. Qld., 9.i.1977, D.L.Hancock"//"QM Reg. No. T193534". Deposited QM.

Paratype. Female. " 17°39'31"S / 141°05'15"E, AUSTRALIA:Queensland, Normanton @ Normanton R., UV light, 3m. 1.i.2008 K.Will". EMEC68095 (EMEC).

Type locality. Kowanyama, Queensland. Estimated coordinates: 15° 28' 44" S 141° 15' 30" W.

Description. Dorsal habitus ( Fig. 3 A). Size. Overall length (sbl) 12.8–15.5mm, greatest width over elytra 3.8– 4.3mm. Color. Dorsal and ventral surfaces black. Legs, mouthparts, and antennae piceous. Luster. Dorsally and ventrally shiny. Iridescence. Elytra and ventral surface of body with pronounced spectral iridescence. Head. Dorsal microsculpture not visible at 50x magnification. Frons with dense, irregularly placed fine punctulae. Clypealocular sulci linear, very shallowly and broadly impressed near clypeus. Ocular ratio 1.81–1.83, eyes large, prominent. Labrum truncate with setae equally distributed along width. Mentum long, deeply emarginate prominent lateral lobes, with one pair small, round, deep pits; median tooth prominent, broadly emarginate-bifid; one pair of setae positioned laterad of median tooth. Gula narrow, width at middle about as wide width of mentum emargination, anterior tentorial pits small, punctiform. Antennae, overall length long, antennomeres 9–11 reaching beyond pronotal base, antennomeres 5–11 elongate. Thorax. Pronotum transverse, sides evenly rounded from apex to base, without sinuation; base wider than width across anterior angles. Marginal bead wide, continuous from apex to base, basal margin bordered along lateral third, anterior angles not produced, hind angles rounded, slightly obtuse, inner basal impression shallowly impressed, broad, linear; outer impression shallow, elliptical impressions. Seta near hind angle in contact with or just apical of basal bead and one pore width from lateral bead. Microsculpture of disc not visible at 50x magnification. Elytral striae complete, sharply impressed. Elytral microsculpture hardly visible at 50x, formed as transverse mesh of microlines. Intervals with dense micropunctulae throughout. Profemur in males and females unmodified. Metacoxal sulcus straight, reaching lateral end of coxa. Prosternal process at apex rounded and not margined. Sterna with micropunctulae throughout. Abdomen. Abdominal ventrites punctate. Male genitalia. Aedeagus ( Fig. 6 G,H) abruptly curved ventrally in apical quarter.

Etymology. A Latinized noun in the nominative case from the name Orion Will , my son and my field assistant on the trip where the paratype male specimen of this species, and many other important carabid specimens, were collected.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Dorsal habitus of A, Platycoelus orion sp. nov.; B, P. planipennis; C, P. poeciloides.

FIGURE 6. Male genitalia. A, left lateral, and B, ventral view median lobe tip of Platycoelus irideomicans; C – D, P. major; E – F, P. melliei; G – H P. orion sp. nov.; I – J, P. planipennis.