Copelatus kely Ranarilalatiana & Bergsten

Ranarilalatiana, Tolotra, Raveloson Ravaomanarivo, Lala Harivelo & Bergsten, Johannes, 2019, Taxonomic revision of the genus Copelatus of Madagascar (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae, Copelatinae): the non- erichsonii group species, ZooKeys 869, pp. 19-90 : 19

publication ID	https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.869.33997
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B7C88A64-C06E-4B67-A352-F2F9C8FB0D1C
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3AFB0F44-539F-4621-9002-F2E44EEDC73A
taxon LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:act:3AFB0F44-539F-4621-9002-F2E44EEDC73A
treatment provided by	ZooKeys by Pensoft
scientific name	Copelatus kely Ranarilalatiana & Bergsten
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Copelatus kely Ranarilalatiana & Bergsten sp. nov. Figs 6B View Figure 6 , 9C View Figure 9

Type locality.

Ambohidray reserve, Andriambe [18.61317S, 048.32593E] [Madagascar, Alaotra Mangoro region, Moramanga district].

Type material.

Diagnosis.

Similar body shape to C. insuetus but C. kely is smaller than all other species in the Copelatus insuetus complex on Madagascar; body length 3.8-4.4 mm ( Fig. 9C View Figure 9 ). The penis is most similar to that of C. insuetus but the “shoulder” in lateral view is less distinct; there is no crossing of a dorsal ridge against the posterior dorsal margin at apex in left lateral view and longitudinal ventrolateral sulcation is lacking ( Fig. 6B View Figure 6 ).

Description.

Body length 3.8-4.3 mm. Body shape elongate oval to subparallel. Head rufo-testaceous and only vaguely infuscated medially and around eyes. Pronotum largely rufotestaceous with only faint infuscation medially. Lateral margins lighter testaceous but pronotum also medially lighter than elytra. This gives the habitus appearance of a lighter more rufous anterior part of body contrasting with brown elytra. Elytra brown with a testaceous band basally. Testaceous band narrower and with less of a tendancy to be extended posteriorly in second interval ( Fig. 9C View Figure 9 ) compared with C. insuetus . All appendages testaceous.

Elytra with six impressed discal and one submarginal striae. First to fourth striae full length or first stria slightly abbreviated at base; fifth and sixth striae abbreviated anteriorly; submarginal stria starting approx. one third to one half from the base. Head, pronotum, and elytra microreticulate and finely micropunctate. Striolation of pronotum rather restricted and present only in posterolateral corners and somewhat inwards along posterior margin but not posteromedially.

Ventral side largely testaceous to faintly infuscated, similar to C. insuetus but lighter. Prosternal process and lateral parts of metaventrite similar to C. insuetus but metacoxal lines less strongly diverging anteriorly.

Male: first three pro- and mesotarsomeres widened, but less so than in C. insuetus , and ventrally equipped with suction cups (same constellation as in C. insuetus ). Protibia modified, bisinuate and angled basally and broadened distally. Pro- and mesotarsal claws unmodified. Penis thin and simple, in ventral view with apical part slightly leftturned; in lateral view slightly angled after basal third giving a suggested “shoulder” ( Fig. 6B View Figure 6 ) but which is less distinct compared with C. insuetus . Apex in left lateral view without a dorsal ridge crossing posterior dorsal margin, but finely serrated preapically (only visible at high magnification). Parameres as in Figure 6B View Figure 6 .

Female: with very weak, faint and dispersed strioles on anterior half of elytra from third or fourth interval to the lateral margin.

Etymology.

The new species is named after the Malagasy word for small, “kely”, referring to the small body size. It is the smallest species so far known from the C. insuetus species complex on Madagascar. It is a non-latinised adjective.

Distribution.

Known from the eastern central part of Madagascar, at Ambohidray Reserve and in Analamazaotra NP ( Fig. 12B View Figure 12 ).

Habitat and ecology.

This species occurs in the eastern central rainforest. Most specimens were collected from small waterfilled pitfalltrap holes for Mantella frogs, but we’ve also found it in muddy, stagnant, forest pools with dead leaves. The altitude of known localities ranges from 930 to 1050 m. At Analamazaotra NP, we found one specimen occurring sympatrically with Copelatus insuetus at the same locality.

Comments.

This species may be endemic to a very limited area and apart from one specimen found in Analamazaotra NP, we collected the remaining series from the Ambohidray reserve. Most specimens were in fact found in water-filled pitfall trap holes set for a microendemic Mantella frog species. Copelatus kely adds to the importance of this reserve for conservation of rare and microendemic eastern rainforest species. Ambohidray reserve was established in 2013 and managed through collaboration between the local people association (VOI MMA) and Antananarivo University. During fieldwork at the reserve in April 2018 however, we observed worrying signs of disturbances; “tavy” or slash and burn of the forest for agriculture, the cutting of woods for charcoal, signs of zebu-cattle along forest paths. These factors could cause a serious threat to the aquatic insect fauna of the reserve. The reserve of Ambohidray harbours some species not known from anywere else on Madagascar. If the reserve has any ambition to serve as a refugium for these species, activities destroying or degrading the forests or aquatic habitats should be avoided. Copelatus kely is very close to C. insuetus , and the two species were not reciprocally monophyletic in the CO1 gene tree ( Fig. 2 View Figure 2 ).

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Arthropoda
Class	Insecta
Order	Coleoptera
Family	Dytiscidae
Genus	Copelatus

Copelatus kely Ranarilalatiana & Bergsten

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