Culcipternulus, Bartlett & Lambkin, 2022

Bartlett, Justin S. & Lambkin, Christine L., 2022, Australian Opilonini (Coleoptera: Cleridae: Clerinae) part I: A revised taxonomy for Australian Opilo Latreille including descriptions of new genera and species, Zootaxa 5220 (1), pp. 1-81 : 26-27

Culcipternulus gen. nov.

ZooBank registration: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:949D3490-731A-46C6-968D-9F11CE8FCCCC

Gender. Masculine.

Type species. Culcipternulus mareebensis sp. nov., by present designation.

Diagnosis. Punctures of at least elytral striae 1–3 terminating before apical macula; interstriae with neat singular row of hairs; all basitarsi with a small but distinct ventral tarsal pad ( Fig. 18 ); tegmen with sides gradually narrowing towards distal end of phallobasic apodeme, middle notably broader than parameroid lobes, ventral sinus shorter than dorsal sinus.

MAP 1. Species distribution for Ancyropilus and Culcipternotus, with colour legend to National Reserve System Terrestrial Ecoregions (topographic layer image credit: NASA 2002).

Description. Eyes coarsely-facetted, strongly emarginate above supra-antennal elevations, separated by 0.9– 1.08 eye widths; antennal scape with carina bordering each side of flattened rear face; sensory face of terminal maxillary palpomere approximately 2.5 times longer than inside margin; sensory face of terminal labial palpomere approximately 3 times longer than inside margin; genae wrinkled, submentum partly wrinkled; pronotum 1.16–1.23 times longer than wide, middle broader than anterior pronotal arch, disc with relatively heavy punctures, central discal impression not distinctly sulcate; elytra 2.48–2.55 times longer than wide at humeri, punctures without nodules, eighth stria beginning near base, most elytral striae terminating before apices, interstrial setae arranged in simple rows (not with several setae across strial width), intrafoveal setae present; hindwing with CuA 3+4 and CuA 1 cross-veins complete; tarsi each with four well-developed ventral pads (pads of basitarsi smaller, though wellformed); tegmen ventral sinus about three-quarters as long as dorsal sinus; median lobe with conspicuous rearwarddirected apico-lateral spine.

Etymology. The generic epithet Culcipternulus (a combination of Latin ‘culcita’ meaning cushion or pillow, Greek ‘pterna’ meaning heel, and the diminutive suffix ‘-ulus’), refers to the small ventral pads present on all basitarsi, a condition unique among the genera treated in this revision.

Remarks. Culcipternulus is represented in collections by only six specimens, potentially constituting two species seperable only by genetalic characters. One of these forms is described below, with formal designation of species-status for the other pending further investigation.

Figures

FIGURES 12–26. (12) Notopilo variipes elytra, detail showing foveate punctures with conspicuous lateral nodules; (13) Notopilo congruus elytra, detail showing foveate punctures without lateral nodules; (14) Ancyropilus monteithi elytra, detail showing densely setose intervals; (15) Infectostriatus absentis (paratype) elytra, eighth & ninth elytral stria absent; (16) Notopilo obesus (holotype) elytra, eighth & ninth elytral stria intact; (17) Platynotum bulli (paratype), flat pronotal disc (lateral view); (18) Culcipternotus mareebensis (paratype) tarsus, with four ventral pads; (19) Notopilo reduncus tarsus, with three ventral pads; (20) Olesterus australis eye, finely-facetted; (21) Notopilo confusus eye, coarsely-facetted; (22) Monilonotum pascoei elytra, detail showing intrafoveal seta apparently absent; (23) Ancyropilus brigalowae (paratype) elytra, detail showing short intrafoveal seta; (24) Platynotum foveosetosa (holotype) elytra, detail showing very long intrafoveal seta; (25) Notopilo reduncus elytra, showing puncture rows (striae) terminating before apex; (26) Platynotum femorale elytra, showing elytral puncture rows terminating mostly near apex.