Enithares digitata Lansbury, 1974

Polhemus, Dan A., 2020, Nine new species of Enithares (Heteroptera: Notonectidae) from New Guinea, with distributional notes on other species and an updated world checklist, Zootaxa 4772 (1), pp. 132-182 : 154

Enithares digitata Lansbury

( Fig. 55 )

Enithares digitata Lansbury 1974: 226 .

Material examined. INDONESIA, West Papua Prov., Waigeo Is.: 2 males, 3 females, N. Dutch New Guinea, Waigeu [ Waigeo Island ], Camp Nok, 2500 ft., iv [April] 1938, L. E. Cheesman, B. M. 1938-593 (paratypes, USNM ex. JTPC) .

Discussion. This species was described by Lansbury (1974) based on a series of 6 males and 12 females taken by L. E. Cheesman on Waigeo Island, to which the species appears to be endemic. Her collecting site at “Camp Nok” does not appear on any maps, but she noted that it lay on the western spur of the Mt. Nok massif, also known as the Buffelhorn ( Cheesman 1940). No additional specimens have been collected since the type series.

The figure of the male genitalia in Lansbury (1974) clearly indicates that this species is a member of the E. atra group, with an elongate paramere and a large, distinctively shaped LABP. Enithares digitata is moderately small in size, and the short series examined shows a marked color dimorphism, with some individuals predominantly dark brown with scattered lighter brown markings on the scutellum and anterior pronotum, and other individuals entirely pale yellowish brown, without any dark markings present.

Ecological notes. Enithares digitata appears to be endemic to Waigeo Island ( Fig. 55 ), and occupies the Waigeo area of freshwater endemism (Area 1) as defined by D. Polhemus & Allen (2007).

Figures

FIGURE 55. Distribution of species in the E. atra group on New Guinea. Square = E. digitata Lansbury; circles = E. elongata Lansbury; triangles = E. insularis n. sp.; pentagon = E. tagula n. sp.