Ctenognathus kaikoura Larochelle and Larivière, 2021

Larochelle & Larivière, Marie-Claude, 2021, Synopsis of the tribe Platynini in New Zealand (Coleoptera: Carabidae), Insecta Mundi 2021 (864), pp. 1-96 : 48-49

Ctenognathus kaikoura Larochelle and Larivière , new species

Fig. 69 , 112 , 136

Ctenognathus kaikoura Larochelle and Larivière , new species. Holotype: male (NZAC) labeled “[ NEW ZEALAND KA] Puhipuhi Val. [= Puhi Puhi Valley ] Kaikoura Marlborough (typed) / 31 Aug 70. G.W. Ramsay Under stones. (hand-written) / HOLOTYPE [male symbol] Ctenognathus kaikoura Larochelle & Larivière, 2021 (red label; typed).” Paratypes: one female (NZAC) from Hundalee (KA) and one female (LUNZ) from Oaro (KA), bearing blue paratype labels.

Description. Body length 9.8–10.5 mm. Head, pronotum, and elytra mostly piceous black; lateral margins of pronotum and elytra reddish; abdomen smoky brown, yellowish lateroapically; antennae and palpi rufotestaceous; legs reddish. Microsculpture isodiametric on head, moderately transverse on pronotum, and isodiametric on elytra. Iridescence absent. Very shiny. Forebody narrow in comparison to elytra. Head. Moderately wide. Mandibles moderately long and curved anteriorly. Labrum strongly transverse, slightly emarginate anteriorly. Eyes strongly convex; two setiferous punctures on inner side of each eye. Tempora not inflated. Neck constriction shallow dorsolaterally. Mentum: medial tooth subtruncate or subtriangular apically; two setae. Submentum with six setae. Palpi with terminal segment obtuse apically. Thorax. Pronotum slightly convex, impunctate, obsoletely wrinkled on disc and across base, narrow, moderately cordate, widest before middle; apex slightly emarginate; anterolateral angles well developed, rounded; anterior bead complete; sides moderately rounded, moderately sinuate posteriorly; lateral beads complete; lateral depressions wide; two setiferous punctures (anterior and posterior) on each side; posterolateral angles acute, strongly projected laterally; laterobasal foveae very deep, moderately wide, prolonged forward; posterior bead complete; base subtruncate. Legs. Very long. Metafemora with two posteroventral setae. Meso- and metatarsomeres 1–4 poorly developed, not carinate dorsally, shallowly bisulcate laterally. Metatarsomeres 4 moderately bilobed, symmetrical apically. Metatarsomeres 5 glabrous ventrally. Elytra. Subdepressed, sloping down toward apex, subovate, widest about middle. Shoulders strongly rounded. Sides strongly rounded. Scutellar setiferous pore visible. Scutellar striole moderately long, impunctate. Striae shallow, impunctate. Intervals subdepressed; interval 3 with three moderately deep, minute setiferous punctures. Umbilicate series with 16–19 setiferous punctures. Subapical sinuations feeble. Apices obtuse. Abdomen. Sterna IV–VI: both sexes with two long apical ambulatory setae. Sternum VII (last visible sternum): male with two long apical ambulatory setae; female with eight long apical ambulatory setae. Aedeagus. Lateral view ( Fig. 112 ): strongly arcuate; base moderately convex dorsally, with basal lobe narrow; middle strongly convex with a slight concavity before apex dorsally, moderately concave ventrally, with dorsal membranous area strongly widened in apical half and moderately long; apex subtriangular, slightly convex dorsally, slightly concave ventrally, with extreme tip subtriangular and very long. Dorsal view: moderately wide, asymmetrical (ostium of membranous area deflected to the left); basal bulb moderately distant from membranous area.

Material examined. 7 specimens ( AMNZ, BMNH, LUNZ, NZAC).

Geographic distribution ( Fig. 136 ). South Island: KA–Hundalee. Oaro. Puhi Puhi Valley. MB –Saxton Pass. Wairau River Bridge (above Judges Creek).

Ecology. Lowland, montane. Dry forests (beech). Shaded ground; dry soil. Nocturnal; hides during the day under stones and in leaf litter.

Biology. Seasonality: October, December, February, August. Tenerals: March. Predacious (based on mouthpart morphology).

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

Collecting techniques. Lifting stones; sifting leaf litter.

Remarks. The species is named the Kaikoura region (KA) which includes the type locality Puhi Puhi Valley, and is applied as a noun in apposition. In addition to diagnostic characters of the male genitalia, Ctenognathus kaikoura has meso- and metatarsomeres 1–4 without dorsal carinae, characters that separate it from other South Island Ctenognathus species. Ctenognathus kaikoura is restricted to the dry beech forests of northeastern areas of the South Island (MB, KA).

Figures

Figures 69–72. Dorsal habitus. 69) Ctenognathus kaikoura new species. 70) C. sandageri. 71) C. helmsi. 72) C. xanthomelus. Scale line = 1 mm.

Figures 108–114. Aedeagus, lateral. 108) Ctenognathus takahe new species. 109) C. arnaudensis. 110) C. marieclaudiae new species. 111) C. edwardsii. 112) C. kaikoura new species. 113) C. sandageri. 114) C. helmsi.

Figures 136–141. Species distribution maps. 136) Ctenognathus kaikoura new species. 137) C. marieclaudiae new species. 138) C. novaezelandiae. 139) C. oreobius. 140) C. otagoensis. 141) C. perumalae new species.