Pseudonthobium humboldtense Montreuil & Théry, 2011

Montreuil, Olivier & Théry, Thomas, 2011, Revision of the New Caledonian genus Pseudonthobium Paulian, 1984 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Epilissini), Zootaxa 2863, pp. 49-62 : 55-56

Pseudonthobium humboldtense Montreuil & Théry , new species

Habitus: Fig. 5 .

Type specimens. Holotype male: NEW CALEDONIA, 21°53’S 166°25’E, 1350m, rainfor., Mt Humboldt, summit track base, 5–7 Nov 2002, dung trap, Monteith leg. [QM]. Paratypes (166): 22 males and 14 females, same data as holotype [QM] — 14 males and 22 females — NEW CALEDONIA, 21°53’S 166°24’E, 1400m, Mt Humboldt, moss forest, 6 Nov 2002, night coll., Burwell & Monteith leg. & Wright [QM]; 17 males and 10 females — NEW CALEDONIA, 21°53’S 166°24’E, 1400m, Mt Humboldt, moss forest, 6–7 Nov 2002, Monteith leg., dung trap [QM]; 1 male and 2 females — NEW CALEDONIA, 21°53’S 166°24’E, 1400m, Mt Humboldt, moss forest, 6 Nov 2002, Burwell & Monteith leg. & Wright [QM]; 1 male — NEW CALEDONIA, 21°53’S 166°25’E, 1350m, Mt Humboldt, refuge, 5–8 Nov 2002, hand coll., Burwell & Monteith leg. & Wright [QM]; 2 males — NEW CALEDONIA, 21°53’S 166°25’E, 1350m, Mt Humboldt, refuge, 5–8 Nov 2002, night collecting, Burwell & Monteith leg. & Wright [QM]; 7 males and 5 females — NEW CALEDONIA, 21°53’S 166°25’E, 1350m, Mt Humboldt, refuge, 5–8 Nov 2002, dung trap, Burwell, Monteith & Wright leg. [QM]; 17 males and 6 females — NEW CALEDONIA, 21°53’S 166°25’E, 1600m, Mt Humboldt, summit, 5–7 Nov 2002, Monteith & Burwell leg., dung trap [QM]; 4 males and 3 females — NEW CALEDONIA, 21°53’S 166°25’E, 1600m, Mt Humboldt, summit, 5–7 Nov 2002, Burwell, Monteith & Wright leg. [QM]; 10 males and 8 females — NEW CALEDONIA, 21°53’S 166°25’E, 1300m, Mt Humboldt, source, 6–8 Nov 2002, Monteith leg., dung trap [QM]; 1 female — NEW CALE- DONIA, 21°53’S 166°25’E, Mt Humboldt, refuge, 7–8 Nov 2002, Monteith & Wright leg. [QM].

Description (male). Length 6.0–8.0 mm. Dark reddish-brown, feebly shiny. Setae yellowish-brown.

Head. Frons flat, clypeus feebly depressed at middle. Clypeus bidentate, lateral margins subconvex.

Pronotum. Base strongly bilobate, distinctly concave in the middle, obliquely divergent and concave on each side. Posterior edge obtuse. Lateral margin straight, anteriorly feebly convergent to strongly convergent. Anterior edge not sharp.

Elytra. Interstriae flat, strongly microreticulate, with fine punctation; punctures evenly dispersed, much smaller than those on pronotum, separated by about 1–2 times their diameter, bearing thin and very short setae. Anterior margin straight then strongly and abruptly projected obliquely from base of 5th stria to fit the basal margin of pronotum. Elytra of normal shape with evenly curved sides. Setae numerous, short, with even distribution on all interstriae.

8th tergite. Smooth, shiny, with fine and even punctation. Deep furrow along the inner side of margins. Apical margin strongly enlarged, notched in middle of inner border.

Sternites. Last sternite strongly enlarged; tegument feebly microreticulate, shiny, completely covered with strong punctation. Other sternites normally developed, feebly microreticulate, less shiny, punctate only on sides.

Legs. Outer margin of protibia tridentate in apical third, median tooth closer to apical tooth, basal tooth obsolete. Outer margin indistinctly crenulate at base and between teeth; crenulations bearing very short, white setae. Inner margin sinuate before apex and strongly enlarged from middle, enlargement extended by a lamella ( Fig. 22 ). Base of posterior margin of metafemora feebly notched.

Aedeagus ( Fig. 14 ). Left paramere strongly projected laterally in apical third, outer margin more projected forwards, external apical angle spiny. Right paramere strongly curved outwards in dorsal view, feebly spiny at apex, narrow and curved at apex in lateral view.

Notes. Female similar to male, with simple inner margin of protibia; 8th tergite short, very transverse.

This species is similar to P. sinuatotibiale in its general habitus, but smaller in size, the shape of elytra normal and not sinuate after the middle on the side, metafemora not notched at base and the elytra not elongate. The shape of the aedeagus is similar to P. sinuatotibiale , except for some differences in the parameres.

Distribution. This species is known only from Mt Humboldt, its type locality, in southeast New Caledonia.

Etymology. This species is named after its type locality.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 9. Habitus of Pseudonthobium. 1, P. fracticolloides Paulian, male; 2, P. doense n. sp., male; 3, P. genieri n. sp., male; 4, P. sinuatotibiale n. sp., male; 5, P. humboldtense n. sp., male; 6, P. paniense n. sp., male; 7, P. monteithianum n. sp., male; 8, P. foveolatum n. sp., female; 9, P. fracticolle (Fauvel), male. Scale bar: 1 mm.

FIGURES 18 – 25. Right protibia of male Pseudonthobium, dorsal view. 18, P. fracticolloides Paulian; 19, P. doense n. sp.; 20, P. g e n i e r i n. sp.; 21, P. sinuatotibiale n. sp.; 22, P. humboldtense n. sp.; 23, P. paniense n. sp.; 24, P. monteithianum n. sp.; 25, P. fracticolle (Fauvel). Scale bar: 1 mm.

FIGURES 10 – 17. Parameres of Pseudonthobium, right, dorsal and left views. 10, P. fracticolloides Paulian; 11, P. doense n. sp.; 12, P. g e n i e r i n. sp.; 13, P. sinuatotibiale n. sp.; 14, P. humboldtense n. sp.; 15, P. paniense n. sp.; 16, P. monteithianum n. sp.; 17, P. fracticolle (Fauvel). Scale bar: 1 mm.