Oopterus marrisi, Larochelle & Larivière & Larochelle & Larivière, 2017

Larochelle, Larivière, Marie-Claude, Larochelle & Larivière, 2017, Synopsis of the tribe Zolini in New Zealand (Coleoptera: Carabidae), Insecta Mundi 2017 (594), pp. 1-110 : 24-25

Oopterus marrisi new species

Fig. 28 , 75 , 133

Holotype: male ( NZAC) labeled: “[ NEW ZEALAND FD] Wilmot Pass. 701m. (hand-written) / Manapouri Exp. Jan 70 (typed) / at night (typed) on moss. (hand-written) / [male symbol] / HOLOTYPE [male symbol] Oopterus marrisi Larochelle & Larivière, 2017 (red label; typed).” Paratypes: two males (LUNZ, NZAC) from Murchison Mountains (FD), bearing blue paratype labels.

Description. Body length 5.7–6.6 mm. Head, pronotum, elytra, and abdomen mostly reddish black; base of pronotum reddish medially; lateral margins, suture, and extreme apex of elytra reddish; abdomen bright reddish laterally and apically; antennae, palpi, and legs reddish; apical half of femora yellow. Microsculpture absent. Iridescence absent. Very shiny, with metallic luster (aeneous) on pronotum and elytra. Head. Labrum moderately transverse, slightly emarginate anteriorly. Antennae submoniliform, moderately long: segment 1 (scape) moderately long, about 2x longer than its maximum width. Frontal furrows wide, deep, convergent. Eyes moderately convex; a single setiferous puncture on inner side of each eye (posteriorly). Tempora not inflated. Mentum: medial tooth entire, acute apically, moderately shorter than lateral lobes. Paraglossae membranous, prominent, slightly longer than ligula. Thorax. Pronotum moderately convex, finely punctate between laterobasal foveae, wrinkled discally, strongly transverse, widest about middle; apex subtruncate; anterolateral angles poorly developed, rounded; anterior bead incomplete, obsolete medially; sides moderately rounded, slightly sinuate posteriorly; lateral grooves absent; setiferous punctures absent on each side; posterolateral angles subrectangular; posterolateral carinae obsolete; laterobasal foveae well defined, virtually impunctate, very deep and wide, oblong, prolonged forward, double; posterior bead absent; base emarginate, wider than pronotal apex, about as wide as elytral base. Legs. Moderately long. Elytra. Strongly convex, ovate, widest about middle. Basal margin complete, reaching about scutellum. Shoulders obtuse. Sides strongly rounded. Scutellar striole present. Striae 1–4 complete; striae 5–7 incomplete; stria 1 deep; striae 2–4 shallow, finely punctate; striae 5–7 obsolete; stria 3 with three setiferous punctures. Recurrent stria long, sharp, directed apically toward stria 5. Subapical seta present. Intervals subdepressed. Sutural apices rounded. Abdomen. Last visible sternum (sternum VII): male with two apical ambulatory setae; female with four apical ambulatory setae. Aedeagus. Lateral view ( Fig. 75 ): moderately arcuate, widened in apical half; base slightly convex dorsally; middle slightly convex dorsally, strongly convex ventrally, with dorsal membranous area moderately wide and very long; apex subtriangular, slightly convex dorsally, straight ventrally, with extreme tip narrow and rather long. Dorsal view: narrow, asymmetrical (ostium of membranous area deflected to right); apex straight; basal orifice narrow, closed anteriorly, moderately distant from membranous area. Parameres with five to seven apical setae.

Material examined. 6 specimens ( LUNZ, NZAC).

Geographic distribution ( Fig. 133 ). South Island: FD –Fiordland National Park (Borland Valley Bivouac (South of); McKenzie Burn; Murchison Mountains; Wilmot Pass).

Ecology. Montane. Endogean. Wet beech forests. Shaded ground. Nocturnal; active at night on moss; hides during the day in thick moss, leaf litter, and under bark.

Biology. Seasonality: November–January. Tenerals: November. Predacious (based on mouthpart morphology).

Dispersal power. Subapterous (incapable of flight). Moderate runner.

Collecting techniques. Sifting moss and leaf litter; lifting bark.

Remarks. This species is named after our friend and colleague John M. W. Marris (Lincoln University, Lincoln, Christchurch) for his special help and encouragement in our entomological studies. Oopterus marrisi is morphologically close to O. discoideus . In addition to diagnostic characters of the male genitalia, O. marrisi has the following distinguishing features: body length 5.7–6.6 mm; head, pronotum, and elytra mostly reddish black; eyes moderately convex; tempora not inflated; pronotum moderately convex, sides moderately rounded, slightly sinuate posteriorly, laterobasal foveae oblong. Both species are known only from the Fiordland region (South Island).

Figures

Figures 27–30. Dorsal habitus. 27) Oopterus discoideus new species. 28) O. marrisi new species. 29) O. lewisi. 30) O. patulus. Scale line = 1 mm.

Figures 74–81. Aedeagi, lateral. 74) Oopterus discoideus new species. 75) O. marrisi new species. 76) O. lewisi. 77) O. patulus. 78) O. fulvipes. 79) O. sobrinus. 80) O. collaris. 81) O. laeviventris.

Figures 130–135. Species distribution maps. 130) Oopterus laeviventris. 131) O. lewisi. 132) O. marrineri. 133) O. marrisi new species. 134) O. mohiensis new species. 135) O. monticola new species.