Megatracheloides bidentipes, Wanat, 2008

Wanat, Marek, 2008, The Apionidae (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea) of New Caledonia. Genus Megatracheloides, Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle 197, pp. 297-322 : 309-312

Megatracheloides bidentipes n. sp.

Figs 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 16, 17, 22, 26, 27, 33, 37, 57, 63, 69, 74, 81, 84, 94, 99, 109, 110

TYPE MATERIAL. — New Caledonia. Holotype ♂, 11844, 22°17’S, 166°53’E, 250 m, Pic du Grand Kaori, site 2, 1.XII.2004, S. G. Wright, hand netting, maquis ( MNHN) . Paratypes (46 ♂♂, 44 ♀♀). 1 ♂, coll. Pascoe, dissected and det. as M. chloris by J. Balfour-Browne, ( BMNH). Province Sud. Mt. Koghi : 1 ♂, 10.IV.1914, leg. P. D. Montague, New Caledonia exped., acq. 1918-87, det. by Balfour-Browne as M. chloris (Fst.) (BMNH) ; 1 ♂ 1 ♀, 500 m, 26-30.I.1963, leg. C. M. Yoshimoto ( BPBM); 1 ♂, 450-600 m, 4-6.X.1967, leg. J. & M. Sedlacek ( BPBM); 1 ♂, 15.XII.1981, leg. R. Catala ( MNHN); 1 ♀, 450 m, 21.I.1976, leg. J. Gutierrez ( NZAC); 1 ♂ 1 ♀, 500 m, 28.I.1963, on Hibbertia , leg. G. Kuschel ( IRD, MW); 1 ♂♂, 9.I.1978, leg. J. Fainika ( IRD); 3 ♀♀, 16-18.XII.2006, 22.178°S, 166.5039°E, 420-450 m, ex Hibbertia lucens , leg. MW & RD ( MW). Upper Ngoe River : 1 ♀, leg. P. Montague ( BMNH). Grand Lac: 1 ♂, maquis scrub, 9-10.VIII.1971, leg. J. Holloway ( MW). Col de Mouirange (4 km SW): 1 ♀, 20 m, 10.VIII.1979, W. C. Gagne ( BPBM). Rivière des Pirogues E Plum: 1 ♂, 20 m, 23-26.XII.1990, leg. Wiesner & Worm ( AR). Mt. Mou : 1 ♀, 1100 m, 3.II.1963, leg. G. Kuschel ( NZAC). Yaté: 1 ♀. Baie du Prony: 1 ♀, coll. A. Fauvel ( IRB). Mt. Dzumac : 1 ♀, 800 m, 16.III.1976, leg. J. Gutierrez ( IRD). Mt. Dzumac Road : 1 ♀, 22.0858°S, 166.4402°E, 700 m, no. 8935, 27.II.2002, beating, leg. G. Monteith ( ANIC); 3 ♂♂ 2 ♀♀, Mt. Ouin to Mts Couvélé junctions, 22.069°S, 166.4467°E, 800-900 m, 29.XII.2006, leg. MW ( MW, USMB); 1 ♂, Mt. Ouin road junction, 22.0318°S, 166.4674°E, 900 m, 28.XII.2006, 6 ♂♂ 3 ♀♀, 30.XII.2006, ex Hibbertia lucens , leg. MW & RD ( MW). Mt. Humboldt (refuge): 1 ♀, 21.8763°S, 166.4075°E, 1350 m, no. 11130, 5-8.XI.2002, beating, leg. S. Wright ( ANIC); 2 ♂♂, 21.88277°S, 166.4125°E, 10-11.II.2005, leg. S. Cazeres & Ch. Mille; 1 ♀, 15.II.2006, leg. S. Cazeres ( IACP). Montagnes des Sources : 3 ♂♂ 2 ♀♀, 15.VI.1978, leg. A. Delobel ( IRD). Parc territorial de la Rivière Bleue (Haute Pourina): 1 ♂ 1 ♀, 22.1°S, 166.6333°E, 800 m, 22.XI.2002, leg. G. Monteith ( ANIC, MW); 8 ♂♂ 2 ♀♀, 22.0568°S, 166.6247°E, 750-780 m, 21.XII.2006, ex Hibbertia baudouinii , leg. MW ( MW, USMB); 2 ♂♂ 1 ♀, track to La Tranchée, 22.0833°S, 166.6333°E, 190-330 m, 20.XII.2006, leg. MW & RD ( MW). Pic du Grand Kaori: 3 ♂♂ 1 ♀, 22.2833°S, 166.9°E, 250 m, no. 11198, 16-18.XI.2002; 2 ♂♂ 2 ♀♀, (site 2), 22.2845°S, 166.8923°E, no. 11844, maquis, 1.XII.2004, hand netting, all leg. S. Wright ( ANIC, QLDM, MW); 2 ♀♀, (site 3), 22.2833°S, 166.9°E, no. 12236, 20.IV.2005, leg. G. Monteith ( QLDM, MW). Forêt Nord (lower road): 1 ♂ 1 ♀, 22.3177°S, 166.9172°E, 340 m, no. 12103, rainforest, 22.XII.2004, beating, leg. G. Monteith ( QLDM, MW). Pic du Pin: 1 ♂, (site 3), 22.2333°S, 166.8333°E, no. 12106, 26.XI.2004, ex Hibbertia sp. , ‘ QM Party’ ( QLDM); 3 ♀♀, (base), 22.2482°S, 166.829°E, 280 m, 25.XII.2006, forest & plantation, leg. MW & RD; 1 ♂ 2 ♀♀, 26.XII.2006, leg. MW ( MW). Port Boisé (GÎte Kanua): 1 ♀, 22.35°S, 166.9667°E, 20 m, 14.II.2004, ex Hibbertia sp. ( lucens or podocarpifolia). Forêt Nord (Botanical Reserve): 1 ♂ 2 ♀♀, 22.3167°S, 166.9167°E, 200 m, maquis, 15.II.2004, all leg. MW ( MW, IACP). Chutes de la Madeleine: 1 ♂ 1 ♀, 22.225°S, 166.8548°E, 240 m, no. 11836, 27.XI.2004, day hand collecting, leg. C. Burwell, S. Wright & P. Grimbacher ( QLDM, MW). Plaine du Champ de Bataille: 1 ♀, 22.3015°S ,

166.7446°E, 40 m, 17.XII.2006, maquis and stream banks, leg. MW & RD ( MW). Bois du Sud: 1 ♀, 22.1746°S, 166.7627°E, 160 m, 23.XII.2006, night beating;, 2 ♂♂ 1 ♀, 26.XII.2006, maquis, leg. MW & RD ( MW).

DIAGNOSIS. — Externally very similar to M. chloris and often misidentified with this species in older collections, despite having the elytra with evenly convex intervals, uniquely bifurcate male profemoral tooth, longer and thinner female rostrum, different apex of abdominal ventrite 5, and a wide set of differences in male and female terminalia, concerning primarily the tegminal plate and ovipositor.

DESCRIPTION. — Body length 4.6-7.6 mm. Coloration of elytra intensely blue-green. The following differences from M. chloris have been noticed (excepting those concerning morphological indices given in Table 3).

Rostrum longer, particularly in female (Figs 3, 4, 8, 9), puncturation finer, often obsolescent; sulci on venter of pro- and mesorostrum obsolete. Antennae: scape m: 4.5-4.8 x, f: 5.3-6.8 x longer than wide, club as long or longer than the scape. Head with subocular keel obsolete to absent; vertex almost even throughout, impunctate. All elytral intervals evenly convex, without tubercles at angulation of elytral outline (Figs 6, 16). Mesoventrite with extremely weak median depression, without distinct median keel. Legs: base of profemur longitudinally or obliquely grooved; protarsus stouter, 2.6-2.9 x longer than wide, length/width ratios: ts1 1.45-1.60, ts2 0.8-0.9, ts3 0.9-1.0, onychium 3.2-3.9, exceeding ts3 by 0.25-0.30 length (Fig. 27).

Male: profemoral tooth very large, always bifid, with secondary tooth of the same shape and more than half as long as the main one (Fig. 22). Abdominal V5 broadly flattened in apical half, deeply emarginate (Fig. 33). S8 very short, with weak emargination. S9 with arms of fork broad and rounded (Fig. 74). Tegmen: parameroid lobes long and narrow, more than 3 x longer than fenestrae, at base with 5-7 short macrochaetae replaced with minute spines on the narrowed, distal parts; membranous lobes attached at inner side of parameroid lobes, hardly longer than fenestrae and much shorter than the outer extensions of parameroid lobes, basally with triangular, melanized areas, without clear microchaetae; fenestrae well margined, entirely closed; postfenestral plate complely divided; prostegium very long, narrowly divided, not TABLE 3. Morphological indices of Megatracheincised laterally (Fig. 69). Aedeagus: median lobe 4.0-4.5 x longer than broad, loides bidentipes . with short, blunt apex (Fig. 57), in profile weakly sinuate apically, with apical

(Fig. 99), spermathecal duct narrowed shortly before its junction with bursa.

VARIATION. — Beetles collected from Hibbertia baudouinii Brongn. & Gris

with huge flowers are usually distinctly larger than those from other plant

species. In large-sized specimens elytra are more elongate and profemoral

are teeth better developed, in males symmetrically forked. FIGS 42-55. 42, Megatracheloides cornutus , male head, lateral view. 43, M. cornutus , female head and pronotum, lateral view. 44, M. cornutus , female elytra,lateral view. 45, M. cornutus , male elytra,front view. 46, M. cornutus , male profemoral spine. 47, M. jourdani , male profemoral spine. 48, M. cornutus , female head,dorsal view. 49, M. jourdani , male elytra,front view. 50, M. cornutus , elytra,dorsal view. 51, M. jourdani elytra,dorsal view. 52, M. cornutus , male, pronotum, dorsal view. 53, M. cornutus , male, pygidium, dorsal view. 54, M. cornutus , elytral base. 55, M. jourdani , elytral base. Scale bars: 1.0 mm (Figs 42-44, 48-51), 0.5 mm (Figs 45-47, 52, 53), 0.25 mm (Figs 54, 44).

BIOLOGY. — Collected from several narrow-leaved Hibbertia ( lucens Brongn. & Gris , baudouinii Brongn. & Gris , occasionally trachyphylla Schltr., and some unidentified species). Never found on H. pancheri (Brongn. & Gris) Briquet or H. wagapii Gilg , apparently having too small flower buds to host this species. A pupa was found in decayed bud still remaining attached to the inflorescence in the end of December, adult female emerged after two weeks.

DISTRIBUTION. — Southern Province.

ETYMOLOGY. — The name is derived from the double tooth on male profemur, one of the best diagnostic characters of this remarkable species.