Limbodessus baliem Balke & Hendrich

Balke, Michael, Ruthensteiner, Bernhard, Warikar, Evie Lilly, Neven, Katja & Hendrich, Lars, 2015, Two new species of Limbodessus diving beetles from New Guinea - short verbal descriptions flanked by online content (digital photography, μCT scans, drawings and DNA sequence data), Biodiversity Data Journal 3, pp. 7096-7096 : 7096

Limbodessus baliem Balke & Hendrich sp. n.

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: recordNumber: IR1; recordedBy: Balke & Hendrich; sex: male; lifeStage: adult; Taxon: taxonID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:3EC40F14-C7D9-42C8-84EB-91ADF93C9F7D; scientificName: Limbodessusbaliem; order: Coleoptera; family: Dytiscidae; Location: island: New Guinea; country: Indonesia; stateProvince: Papua; locality: Wamena ; verbatimElevation: 1600 m; locationRemarks: water holes near runway; verbatimCoordinates: 4° 6'16.76"S, 138°57'37.96"E; Event: samplingProtocol: collected with strainer; eventDate: 31.viii. & 6.ix.1990; Record Level: institutionCode: NHMW; collectionCode: Insects

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordNumber: IR1; recordedBy: Balke & Hendrich; individualCount: 15; lifeStage: adult; Taxon: taxonID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:3EC40F14-C7D9-42C8-84EB-91ADF93C9F7D; scientificName: Limbodessusbaliem; order: Coleoptera; family: Dytiscidae; Location: island: New Guinea; country: Indonesia; stateProvince: Papua; locality: Wamena ; verbatimElevation: 1600 m; locationRemarks: water holes near runway; verbatimCoordinates: 4° 6'16.76"S, 138°57'37.96"E; Event: samplingProtocol: collected with strainer; eventDate: 31.viii. & 6.ix.1990; Record Level: institutionCode: NHMW; collectionCode: Insects

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordNumber: IR54A = 57; recordedBy: Balke; individualCount: 3; lifeStage: adult; Taxon: taxonID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:3EC40F14-C7D9-42C8-84EB-91ADF93C9F7D; scientificName: Limbodessusbaliem; order: Coleoptera; family: Dytiscidae; Location: island: New Guinea; country: Indonesia; stateProvince: Papua; locality: Wamena ; verbatimElevation: 1700 m; locationRemarks: water holes near runway; verbatimCoordinates: 4° 6'16.76"S, 138°57'37.96"E; Event: samplingProtocol: collected with strainer; eventDate: 20.-27.ix.1992; Record Level: institutionCode: NHMW; collectionCode: Insects

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordedBy: Riedel; individualCount: 1; lifeStage: adult; Taxon: taxonID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:3EC40F14-C7D9-42C8-84EB-91ADF93C9F7D; scientificName: Limbodessusbaliem; order: Coleoptera; family: Dytiscidae; Location: island: New Guinea; country: Indonesia; stateProvince: Papua; locality: Wamena ; verbatimElevation: 1700 m; locationRemarks: water holes near runway; verbatimCoordinates: 4° 6'16.76"S, 138°57'37.96"E; Event: samplingProtocol: collected with strainer; eventDate: 15.x.1993; Record Level: institutionCode: ZSM; collectionCode: Insects

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordNumber: IR52; recordedBy: Balke; individualCount: 39; lifeStage: adult; Taxon: taxonID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:3EC40F14-C7D9-42C8-84EB-91ADF93C9F7D; scientificName: Limbodessusbaliem; order: Coleoptera; family: Dytiscidae; Location: island: New Guinea; country: Indonesia; stateProvince: Papua; locality: Wamena ; verbatimElevation: 1600 m; locationRemarks: water holes near runway; verbatimCoordinates: 4° 6'16.76"S, 138°57'37.96"E; Event: samplingProtocol: collected with strainer; eventDate: 19.ix.1992; Record Level: institutionCode: NHMW; collectionCode: Insects

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordNumber: IR53; recordedBy: Balke; individualCount: 3; lifeStage: adult; Taxon: taxonID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:3EC40F14-C7D9-42C8-84EB-91ADF93C9F7D; scientificName: Limbodessusbaliem; order: Coleoptera; family: Dytiscidae; Location: island: New Guinea; country: Indonesia; stateProvince: Papua; locality: Wamena ; verbatimElevation: 1600 m; locationRemarks: water holes near runway; verbatimCoordinates: 4° 6'16.76"S, 138°57'37.96"E; Event: samplingProtocol: collected with strainer; eventDate: 19.ix.1992; Record Level: institutionCode: NHMW; collectionCode: Insects

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordNumber: PAP04; recordedBy: UNCEN; individualID: one of them with green extraction voucher label M. Balke 5082 and one with 5083; individualCount: 37; lifeStage: adult; Taxon: taxonID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:3EC40F14-C7D9-42C8-84EB-91ADF93C9F7D; scientificName: Limbodessusbaliem; order: Coleoptera; family: Dytiscidae; Location: island: New Guinea; country: Indonesia; stateProvince: Papua; locality: Wamena ; verbatimElevation: 1600 m; locationRemarks: water holes near runway; verbatimCoordinates: 04 06.323S, 138 57.693E; Event: samplingProtocol: collected with strainer; eventDate: 18.x.2011; Record Level: institutionCode: MZB, ZSM; collectionCode: Insects

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordNumber: PAP05; recordedBy: UNCEN; individualCount: 10; lifeStage: adult; Taxon: taxonID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:3EC40F14-C7D9-42C8-84EB-91ADF93C9F7D; scientificName: Limbodessusbaliem; order: Coleoptera; family: Dytiscidae; Location: island: New Guinea; country: Indonesia; stateProvince: Papua; locality: Wamena, 20 mins towards Jiwika ; verbatimElevation: 1620 m; locationRemarks: limestone creek; verbatimCoordinates: 03 56.953S, 138 54.375E; Event: samplingProtocol: collected with strainer; eventDate: 18.x.2011; Record Level: institutionCode: MZB, ZSM; collectionCode: Insects

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordedBy: J. Hájek & J. Šumpich; individualCount: 8; lifeStage: adult; Taxon: taxonID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:3EC40F14-C7D9-42C8-84EB-91ADF93C9F7D; scientificName: Limbodessusbaliem; order: Coleoptera; family: Dytiscidae; Location: island: New Guinea; country: Indonesia; stateProvince: Papua; locality: Jiwika ; verbatimLocality: INDONESIA, Papua: Jayawijaya Distr., Baliem valley, 14 km NNE of Wamena, wetland & gardens nr Jiwika [Kurulu], 03°58.0-5'S, 138°55.8 56.3'E; 1660 m, J. Hájek & J. Šumpich leg., 6.ii.2015; verbatimElevation: 1660 m; locationRemarks: wetland; verbatimCoordinates: 03°58.0'S, 138°55.8'E; Event: samplingProtocol: collected with strainer; eventDate: 6.ii.2015; Record Level: institutionCode: NMPC; collectionCode: Insects

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordedBy: J. Hájek & J. Šumpich; individualCount: 31; lifeStage: adult; Taxon: taxonID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:3EC40F14-C7D9-42C8-84EB-91ADF93C9F7D; scientificName: Limbodessusbaliem; order: Coleoptera; family: Dytiscidae; Location: island: New Guinea; country: Indonesia; stateProvince: Papua; locality: Wamena ; verbatimLocality: INDONESIA, Papua: Jayawijaya Distr., Baliem valley, Wamena env., ruderal & open marsh nr Baliem river, 04°04.9'S, 138°57.3'E; 1650 m, J. Hájek & J. Šumpich leg., 31.i.+8.ii.2015; verbatimElevation: 1650 m; locationRemarks: wetland; verbatimCoordinates: 04°04.9'S, 138°57.3'E; Event: samplingProtocol: collected with strainer; eventDate: 31.i.+8.ii.2015; Record Level: institutionCode: NMPC; collectionCode: Insects

Description

A large, mainly yellow to orange Limbodessus : length of body 2.6-3.0 mm (N=20); with slight habitus disruption between pronotum and elytron Figs 13, 14, 15, 18; dorso ventrally rather flattened Figs 9, 11; cervical line present (sometimes faint or partly dissolved into punctures in females), distinct pronotal and elytral plicae present Figs 13, 14, 15, 18, 41; fully developed flight wings present. Metacoxa and metaventrite with few punctures only Fig. 27. Ventral side without modified elytral epipleuron.

Sexes dimorphic, see below.

Male

Antenna filiform Figs 13, 15, 18, 21, 24. Dorsal surface with coarse punctures but otherwise with shiny surface Figs 13, 19. Ventrally shiny, dark orange to dark brown Fig. 21. Median lobe of aedeagus as in Figs 29, 30 with tiny setae on tip, paramere as in Fig. 34.

Female

Antenna moniliform Fig. 14. Dorsal surface with very fine microreticulation between surface punctures and surfaces therefore appearing matt Figs 12, 14. Ventrally matt, darker, metacoxa and metaventrite blackish Fig. 20.

Etymology

The species is named after the type locality, the Baliem River Valley. The name is a noun in the nominative singular standing in apposition.

Distribution

Indonesian New Guinea, known only from the Baliem Valley which also contains the type locality Wamena (Fig. 23). The name is a noun in the nominative singular standing in apposition.

Ecology

The species was collected from small bodies of stagnant water around Wamena in the vast, flat valley floor of the Baliem Valley Figs 42, 43. This species seems to prefer sunny or partly shaded habitat with sand or clay on the bottom and not too strongly vegetated. Other species it was associated with were: Exocelina baliem Shaverdo, Hendrich & Balke, 2013, Hydrovatus enigmaticus Biström, 1997, Hyphydrus dani Biström, Balke & Hendrich, 1993, Hydaticus okalehubyi Balke & Hendrich, 1992, H. rivanolis Wewalka, 1979, and Rhantus dani Balke, 2001 ( Shaverdo et al. (2013), Biström et al. (1993), Balke and Hendrich (1992), Balke (2001).

Conservation

Aquatic habitats in the Baliem Valley in general are threatened by eutrophication from domestic animals, fish farming to some degree and increasing intensity of gardening throughout the valley.

Online resources

Higher resolution digital images, μCT data as well as sequence data have been deposited in public databases. The Species-ID species page is a versioned wiki site and can be enhanced through community contributions Hendrich and Balke (2011).

Species-ID species page

http://species-id.net/wiki/Limbodessus_baliem

DNA sequences

Partial 3' cox1 sequence deposited at: LN884313-LN884314.

μCT data

Deposited in Morphosource.