Atopida castanea White, 1846

(Figs 1A–D, 3A–B, 5A–B, 8A, 10A, 11, 12A, 17A)

Atopida castanea White, 1846: 8

Atopida castanea: Broun 1880: 313; Pic 1914: 16 (catalogue); Macfarlane et al. 2011: 420 (catalogue); Kiałka & Ruta 2017: 23 (catalogue).

Type material. Holotype (NHM): pinned into card, “Type” [round label with red border], “ New Zealand ” [handwritten], “ Atopida castanea White \ Zool. Ereb. & Terror \ Kaudi ... [illegible]” [handwritten].

Other material examined. 1 female (NZAC): “ Tauraroa \ 24-ii-29”; “ Tauraroa \ Mt Auckland ”, “coll. \ E. Fairborn \ 24-ii-1929 ”, “ A.E. Brookes \ Collection” ; 1 female (AMNZ): “Mangamuka \ R. \ N. Auk. \ 10-I-24 O. E. C.”, “C.E. Clarke \ Collection”; 2 females (AMNZ): “ Mangamuka \ Mt \ N. Auck. \ 9.I.24”, “ C.E. Clarke \ Collection ”; 2 exx. (NZAC): “ NEW ZEALAND AK \ Sharps Bush \ Henderson \ 23 Jan 1982 \ P. Maddison ”, “Beating” ; 1 ex. (NZAC): “ In tank \ Riverhead \ 16 Dec 1942 \ D McKenzie” ; 1 ex. (NZAC): “ Riverhead \ X light trap \ T.G. Edwards ”, “26 XII 54”, “ J.C. Watt \ Collection \ Ent. Div. \ DSIR, 1966.” ; 1 male (AMNZ): “ Albany \ 28.I.1983 \ Elaine Power”, “ Waitemata Co. \ North Island \ NEW ZEALAND \ AUCKLAND MUSEUM” ; 1 male (AMNZ): “ Forest SWEPT \ Ngaiotonga \ 10.X.1968 \ K.A.J. Wise ” ; 1 ex. (NHM): “ Tairua ”, “ New Zealand \ Broun Coll. \ Brit. Mus. \ 1922-482.” ; 1 ex. (NZAC): “ Whangarei \ 28.12.26”, “ A.E. Brookes \ Collection ” ; 1 ex. (NZAC): “ NEW ZEALAND CL \ Great Barrier Island \ 27 Jan 1980; G. Lowe \ Between Moco Valley & Stn Rk ”, “ In bush”, “ G. Lowe \ Collection \ July 1980 ” ; 1 male (AMNZ): “ NEW ZEALAND, CL \ Great Barrier I, Little \ Windy Hill, 220m, \ 7.xi.-11.xii.2001, P. \ Sutton & J. Gilbert. ”, “Forest edge, Malaise \ trap. L11043.” ; 1 male (AMNZ): “ NEW ZEALAND, CL \ Great Barrier I, \ Little Windy Hill, 220m, \ 25.x.-21.xi.2002, \ P. Sutton.”, “Forest edge, Malaise \ trap. L11053.” ; 4 males (AMNZ): “ NEW ZEALAND, CL \ Great Barrier I, Little \ Windy Hill, 220m, \ 11.xii.2001 - 18.i.2002, \ P. Sutton. ”, “Forest edge, Malaise \ trap. L11044.” ; 1 ex. (NZAC): “ NEW ZEALAND CL \ Little Barrier I \ 183m 29 Feb 1976 \ A.K. Walker \ sweeping” ; 1 female (NZAC): “ NEW ZEALAND CL \ Little Barrier I \ Main track to \ Hauturu Mt 198m \ 20-23 Feb 1976 ” ; 1 ex. (NZAC): “ NEW ZEALAND CL \ Little \ Barrier I \ 17 Dec 1983 \ J. Playfair”; 2 exx. (NZAC): “Little Barrier \ Island”, “Collector \ 29/12/31-10/1/32 \ A.E. Brookes ” ; 1 male (AMNZ): “ Summit Track \ 549-579 m \ Little Barrier I \ 19.I.1983 \ K.A.J. Wise ” ; 1 male (AMNZ): “ Summit Track \ 335-549 m \ Little Barrier I \ 19.I.1983 \ K.A.J. Wise ” ; 1 male (AMNZ): “ L. Barrier Is. \ XII.1963 \ M.B. Paterson ”, “off Rodney Co. \ North Island \ NEW ZEALAND \ AUCKLAND MUSEUM”, “ M.B. Paterson \ Collection” .

Diagnosis. Body large (TL ca. 5.4–6.9 mm), maroon brown. Trigonium narrow, same length as parameroids; pala triangular, slightly longer than parameroids; tegmen with wide parameres. Similar to A. suturalis, but larger, elytra never contrasting yellowish, penis more elongated, pronotum widest in anterior 1/3 of its length, pronotum of females covered with coarse, granulate punctures also in posterior portion, no shining interspaces present.

Redescription. Male. Body elongated, large (TL 5.5–6.9 mm), moderately convex. Body maroon brown, head and pronotum slightly darker, elytra, legs and antenna slightly lighter. Punctation on head and pronotum granulate, strong and dense, punctures touching each other, punctation on elytra simple, punctures elongated, small and dense, punctures separated by 0.7–1.0× diameter of a puncture. Body covered with moderately long yellowish setae, slightly ruffled on head and rather adherent on pronotum and elytra. Supraantennal ridges well-marked, slightly elevated. Pronotum widest in anterior 1/3, sides curved, anterolateral angles not produced, posterolateral angles obtuse, rounded. Elytra without carinae, humeri well-marked, elytral interspaces dull. Ventrite 5 rounded, apex truncate. Penis (L 0.91 mm, W 0.38 mm) elongated, trigonium narrow, apex truncate, same length as parameroids; parameroids elongated, apices obliquely truncate, with slightly irregular edge, apical part covered with punctures; pala triangular, slightly longer than parameroids. Tegmen (L 0.74 mm, W 0.64 mm) with wide, subrectangular to oval parameres, apices rounded, apical part covered with scarce punctures and numerous rows of delicate setae.

Female. Body large (TL 5.4–6.5 mm), elongate, moderately convex, macropterous. Supraantennal ridges wellmarked, slightly elevated semicircularly above bases of antennae. Pronotum covered with coarse punctation, widest in anterior portion, anterolateral angles explanate, well-marked, posterolateral angles obtuse. Elytra covered with very short, adherent setae, shorter than in males, not reaching next puncture, elytral interspaces shining, punctation coarse, punctures separated by 0.5× diameter of a puncture. Ventrite 5 rounded, with arcuately emarginated apex, tergite VII with transverse rectangular sclerotization. Lateral portions of ventrites 3 and 4 with small, oval setal patches. Bursal sclerite (L 0.40 mm, W 0.19 mm) consisting of two rod-like sclerites in anterior portion and two additional, well pigmented sclerites hooked at posterior end.

Measurements and ratios. Males (n = 4) TL 5.50–6.9 mm (6.0 mm), PL 1.0– 1.33 mm (1.13 mm), PW 1.60– 2.15 mm (1.84 mm), EL 4.40–5.60 mm (4.91 mm), EW 2.40–3.21 mm (2.76 mm), TL/EW 2.07–2.33 (2.18), PW/PL 1.60–1.70 (1.63), EL/EW 1.69–1.97 (1.79), EL/PL 4.19–4.72 (4.37), EW/PW 1.49–1.53 (1.50). Females (n = 6) TL 5.40–6.50 mm (5.92 mm), PL 1.10–1.20 mm (1.13 mm), PW 1.70–2.19 mm (1.94 mm), EL 4.33–5.40 mm (4.81 mm), EW 2.30–3.12 mm (2.69 mm), TL/EW 2.06–2.35 (2.21), PW/PL 1.55–1.83 (1.71), EL/EW 1.67–1.88 (1.79), EL/PL 3.94–4.58 (4.25), EW/PW 1.28–1.42 (1.39).

Distribution. The species occurs in northern part of North Island, in Northland, Auckland and Coromandel areas (Fig. 18A).

Remarks. The species is rather rare in the collections, what is a bit surprising for a species described already in 1840s. Probably its relatively big size attracted attention of White. Females that we identified as A. castanea differ considerably in the details of the 1) pronotum shape, and 2) elytral setation. Some of the specimens have distinctly explanate anterolateral angles (especially specimens from Mangamuka, Fig. 1B), while other do not exhibit this feature (Fig. 1D). Setation of elytra is either short and adherent or longer and semierect. As the morphology of bursal sclerite seems to be rather stable in all the specimens we assume the above mentioned differences should be attributed to infraspecific variation, although the problem needs to be studied more thoroughly in future.