Platycoelus politus, Will, Kipling, 2015

Will, Kipling, 2015, A taxonomic review, new species and a key to species of Platycoelus Blanchard, 1843 (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Pterostichini), Zootaxa 4034 (2), pp. 291-308 : 298-303

Platycoelus politus sp. nov.

Figs. 5 b; 7C,D; 8.

Types. HOLOTYPE. Male. ""Camp Milo" Cooloola, S.E.Q., E. Dahms, 3–13.iii.1970 "//"Banksia dom. Open Forest, To Light"//"QM Reg. No. T193535". Deposited QM.

Paratypes: Queensland: Sky Window, Eungella National Park, 21°08'57"S 148°29'57"E, rainforest, 775m. 13.i.2008, K.Will AUS2008.i.13.1, EMEC344346, ♂EMEC. Illaweena St. Drewvale, 27° 38.6' S 153° 03.8' E, heath/scribbly gum, 40m, QM party, pitfall 51993, 31 Mar–29 Apr 2004, ♀T193537 and 30 Jan–1 Mar 2004, ♂T193538, QM. Boondall Wetlands, site 1, 27° 20.4' S 153° 04.5' E, Melaleuca woodland, 5–10m, QM party, pitfall 51938, 30 Jan–1 Mar 2004, ♂T193536 and pitfall 52000, Mar– 29 Apr 2004, ♂T193541, QM. Passchendaele State Forest, Turkey Gully. 28° 31' S 151° 50' E. open forest, 840m, Burwell, Cook and Wright 9895, 21–23 Feb 2001, ♂T193539 and ♂T193540, QM. 5 km north of Mt. Bryden, 21° 21' S 148° 32 ' E, Eucalyptus woodland, 680m, J. Augusteyn 51632, pitfall, May 2003, ♂T193542, QM.

Type locality. Queensland, Camp Milo, Cooloola National Park. Estimated coordinates 25° 59' 45" S 153° 4' 14" E.

Description. Dorsal habitus ( Fig. 4 B). Size. Overall length (sbl) 13.2–15.7mm, greatest width over elytra 4.1– 4.9mm. Color. Dorsal and ventral surfaces black or piceous. Legs, mouthparts, and antennae piceous. Luster. Dorsally and ventrally moderately shiny. Iridescence. Elytra with obvious spectral iridescence; pronotum without iridescence; ventral surface of body slightly iridescent. Head. Dorsal microsculpture with microlines not visible at 50x magnification. Frons minutely and sparsely punctulate, more densely near base of head. Clypeal-ocular sulci impressed, linear, parallel near clypeus and divergent on frons. Ocular ratio 1.64–1.75, eyes large, prominent. Labrum truncate with setae equally distributed along width. Mentum long, deeply emarginate prominent lateral lobes, with one pair small, round, deep pits; median tooth prominent, bifid; one pair of setae positioned laterad of median tooth. Gula narrow, width at middle about as wide width of mentum emargination, anterior tentorial pits small, punctiform. Antennae, overall length long, antennomeres 10–11 reaching beyond pronotal base, antennomeres 5–11 elongate. Thorax. Pronotum slightly transverse, nearly quadrate; sides evenly and very shallowly rounded from apex to base, without sinuation; base wider than width across anterior angles. Marginal bead wide, continuous from apex to base; basal margin bordered, sometimes interrupted medially, anterior angles not produced, hind angles rounded, very slightly obtuse and nearly right angled, inner basal impression shallowly impressed, linear; outer impression very shallow, broad and not well defined onto the slightly reflexed basolateral region. Seta near hind angle in contact with or just apical of basal bead and two pore widths from lateral bead. Microsculpture of disc not visible at 50x magnification. Elytral striae complete, sharply impressed. Elytral microsculpture hardly visible at 50x, formed as transverse mesh of microlines. Profemur in males and females unmodified. Metacoxal sulcus straight, reaching lateral end of coxa. Prosternal process at apex rounded and not margined. Sterna smooth throughout or with very shallow micropunctulae laterally. Abdomen. Abdominal ventrites smooth. Male genitalia. Aedeagus ( Fig. 7 C,D) very slightly curved ventrally in apical quarter.

Etymology. The specific epithet is a the Latin word for smooth or polished. In allusion to the smooth proepisternum characteristic of this species.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Dorsal habitus of A, Platycoelus politissimus; B, P. politus; C, P. prolixus; D, P. sulcatulus.

FIGURE 5. Male genitalia. A, left lateral, and B, ventral view median lobe tip of Platycoelus brigalowphilus sp. nov.; same view C – D, P. caledonicus; E – F, P. chongheeae sp. nov.; G – H, P. depressus; I – J P. hermes sp. nov.; K – L P. interstitialis.

FIGURE 7. Male genitalia. A, left lateral, and B, ventral view median lobe tip of Platycoelus poeciloides; C – D, P. politus; E – F, P. prolixus; G – H, P. sulcatulus.