Ptomaphaginus muluensis Schilthuizen & Perreau

Schilthuizen, Menno, Perreau, Michel & Njunjic, Iva, 2018, A review of the Cholevinae from the island of Borneo (Coleoptera, Leiodidae), ZooKeys 777, pp. 57-108 : 73-75

Ptomaphaginus muluensis Schilthuizen & Perreau sp. n. Figures 5b, 7e, f, 9g, 10e

Material.

Holotype: Malaysia, Sarawak, Mulu National Park, Mixed dipterocarp forest, TPS 7-10, v–viii.1978 (leg. P.M. Hammond & J.E. Marshall, NHMUK, B.M. 1978-49), male. Paratypes: Sarawak. Mulu National Park, mixed dipterocarp forest, TPS 7-10, v–viii.1978 (leg. P.M. Hammond & J.E. Marshall, NHMUK, B.M. 1978-49), 4 males, 5 females; Mulu National Park, Slope, TPS 13-16, v–viii.1978 (leg. P.M. Hammond & J.E. Marshall, NHMUK, B.M. 1978-49), 9 males, 6 females; Mulu National Park, Slope, TPS 17-21, v–viii.1978 (leg. P.M. Hammond & J.E. Marshall, NHMUK, B.M. 1978-49), 4 males, 5 females; Mulu National Park, Slope, TPS 5-6, v–viii.1978 (leg. P.M. Hammond & J.E. Marshall, NHMUK, B.M. 1978-49), 1 male.

Description.

Length 2.5-3.1 mm. Habitus: reddish brown; relatively parallel-sided and somewhat flattened, head broad, pronotum 1.6 times as wide as long, as wide as the elytra, caudal angles clearly extended. Elytra of moderate length, gently convex, in the caudal one-third gently rounded towards the apex, jointly ca. 1.4 times as long as wide (length measured from the caudal tip of the scutellum to the apex of the elytra). Body entirely covered in dense golden-yellow setation. Wings present. Antennae slender, 4th, 9th, and 10th antennomeres slightly wider than long. Male protarsi slightly dilated, the first four tarsomeres jointly ca. three times as long as wide. Aedeagus gently bent ventrad, in lateral view apically flattened and ending in a bulbous upturned tip, in dorsal view gradually narrowing towards the apex. Stylet long and thin, hair-like. Spiculum gastrale long-ovoid, with the caudal part truncated. Spermatheca J-shaped, with 7-10 narrow rings on the long shaft of the “J”, and 5-7 broader rings on the curved part. Spermiduct long, thin, consisting of at least ten 360° coils.

Differential diagnosis.

Very similar to P. louis , but externally distinguished by the larger size and more slender habitus, with longer elytra, broader pronotum and distinctly drawn-out caudal pronotal angles. Aedeagus in dorsal view tapering gradually towards the apex, not as abruptly as in P. louis ; in lateral view, the apex is not as convex. Spermatheca distinguished from P. louis by the J-shape with distinctive rings.

Habitat and distribution.

Only known from Mulu National Park, Sarawak. Several specimens infected with black Laboulbeniales on the elytra and the pygidium.

Etymology.

Named after Mulu National Park, to date the only locality from which this species is known.