Enithares paramegalops Lansbury, 1968

Polhemus, Dan A., 2020, Nine new species of Enithares (Heteroptera: Notonectidae) from New Guinea, with distributional notes on other species and an updated world checklist, Zootaxa 4772 (1), pp. 132-182 : 157

Enithares paramegalops Lansbury

( Figs. 43, 44 , 50 , 66 )

Enithares paramegalops Lansbury 1968: 406 .

Material examined. PAPUA NEW GUINEA, Gulf Prov.: 13 males, 23 females, roadside ponds in lowland forest, 2 km. S. of Kopi oil camp, 20 m., 7°19′21′′S, 144°10′52′′E, water temp. 24° C., 27 February 1995, 15:00–1800 hrs., CL 7000, D. A . Polhemus ( BPBM) . INDONESIA, Sulawesi Tengah Prov.: 1 male, 1 female ( BPBM), Kab. Donggala, Kec. Biromaru, small stream in sandy bed SE of Oloboju, 19 km. SE of Palu , 220 m., vic. 0°53′11′′S, 119°55′39′′E, 10 October 1985, CL 2162, J. T. and D. A . Polhemus ( USNM, BPBM). Maluku Prov.: 2 males, 2 females , Ambon, Kab. Maluku Tengah, Kec. Baguala, Wairea River , nr. Wairea , 0– 100 m., 4 October 1985, CL 2153, J. T. and D. A . Polhemus ( USNM, BPBM). Additional material examined (identification provisional) : INDONESIA, Maluku Utara Prov., Obi Is.: 2 females, Jikodolong , 3–4 August 1981, A . C. Messer ( USNM); 2 females, 12 km. SW of Jikodolong, on logging road, 5 August 1981, A . C. Messer ( USNM) .

Discussion. The male holotype of E. paramegalops from Itouda, in the Paniai Lakes region of western New Guinea, is housed in the Bishop Museum and was examined in the course of this study. As with the holotype of E. megalops , the genital capsule and certain leg segments had been stored dry in a vial below the specimen. The capsule was again carefully removed and examined under glycerin immersion. The shapes of the proctiger, the PL, and the LABP are still evident, whereas the aedeagus has suffered significant distortion upon drying. The genitalic structures of the male at hand from Celebes are a close match for those of the holotype. Nieser & Chen (1996) noted that “It is possible that E. paramegalops will turn out to be a synonym of E. megalops but more specimens, especially some longer series collected at the same locality are needed to solve this problem.′′ Based on the cur- rent set of specimens in hand, the male paramere shape, which is short and rotund in E. megalops versus slightly longer and more distally tapering in E. paramegalops (compare Figs. 49, 50 ), is sufficient to separate these two species. The shape of the apex of the PL is by contrast somewhat variable, although generally more angular in E. paramegalops .

Ecological notes. Enithares paramegalops is a widespread species that was originally described from specimens taken in the Wissel Lakes area near Enarotali, in Indonesian New Guinea. The species was later recorded from the Luwuk Peninsula of Celebes, and from the island of Bacan in the northern Moluccas by Nieser & Chen (1996). Another record from central Celebes can now be added, as well as a new record for the island of Ambon, in the central Moluccas, and a record from southern coastal Papua New Guinea, which extends the species’ range considerably to the east. The two Celebes specimens were intermixed in a much larger series of E. producta , illustrating how both E. megalops and E. paramegalops seem to be taken in much smaller numbers than other syntopic Enithares species. The series from Papua New Guinea ( Fig. 66 ), by contrast, is by far the longest ever recorded for this species

Figures

FIGURE 66. Distribution of species in the E. megalops group on New Guinea. Triangles = E. megalops; circles = E. paramegalops Lansbury; pentagons = E. arfak.

FIGURES 41–48. Enithares species in the E. megalops group, dorsal habitus photographs. 41–42. Enithares megalops Lansbury, male and female; male specimen from Indonesia, West Papua Province, Kasim, CL 2620, female paratype specimen from Indonesia, West Papua Prov., Bomberai Peninsula. 43–44. Enithares paramegalops Lansbury, male and female; male specimen from Papua New Guinea, Gulf Province, Kopi, CL 7000, female paratype specimen from Indonesia, Papua Prov., Enarotali. 45–46. Enithares kasim n. sp., male and female; specimens from Indonesia, West Papua Province, Kasim, CL 2630. 47–48. Enithares arfak n. sp., male and female; specimens from Indonesia, West Papua Province, Mupi River, CL 2646.

FIGURES 49–54. Enithares species in the E. megalops group, male genitalic complex, left lateral view. 49. Enithares megalops Lansbury; specimen from Indonesia, West Papua Prov., Kasim, CL 2620. 50. Enithares paramegalops Lansbury; specimen from Papua New Guinea, Gulf Prov., Kopi, CL 7000, 51. Enithares arfak n. sp.; specimen from Indonesia, West Papua Prov., Mupi River, CL 2646. 52. Enithares kasim n. sp.; specimen from Indonesia, West Papua Prov., Kasim, CL 2630. 53. Enithares nigra Lansbury, specimen from Papua New Guinea, Southern Highlands Prov., Moro, CL 7024. 54. Enithares vulgaris Lansbury n. sp.; specimen from Indonesia, Papua Prov., Biak Island, CL 2643.