Megatracheloides jourdani, Wanat, 2008

Wanat, Marek, 2008, The Apionidae (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea) of New Caledonia. Genus Megatracheloides, Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle 197, pp. 297-322 : 318-321

Megatracheloides jourdani n. sp.

Figs 47, 49, 51, 55, 61, 67, 86, 92, 104

TYPE MATERIAL. — Holotype ♂ labelled “ New Caledonia (N); TABLE 6 . Morphological indices of Megatracheloides jourdani 21.3361°S 165.7083°E; Poro (6 km SSE) plateau; 21 I 2007, 600 (mean value in parentheses).

m; ex Hibbertia lucens ; leg. M. Wanat” ( MNHN). Paratypes (7 ♂♂

8 ♀♀). Province Sud: Col Tamanou, at Némin river ( SEE of Thio),

21.6571°S 166.3224°E, 20 m, ex Hibbertia lucens , 30 XII 2006, 1

♀

, 31 XII 2006, 1 ♂ 3 ♀♀ – leg. MW & RD ( MW, IRD). Bouloparis/

Mt Do, 21.75394°S 161.99994°E, 933 m, 5 X 2006, 2 ♂♂, leg. J. P.

Kataoui ( IACP). Province Nord: Kouaoua (15 km W of), 21.383°S

165.7453°E, 285 m, 21 I 2007, ex Hibbertia lucens , 1 ♂ 2 ♀♀, leg.

MW & RD ( MW, IRD). Poro (6 km SSE), plateau above mine,

21.3361°S 165.7083°E, 600 m, 21 I 2007, ex Hibbertia lucens , 2 ♂♂

1 ♀, leg. MW ( MW). Pic d’Amoa, 20.9351°S 165.2946°E, 160-220

m, maquis, 14 I 2007, 2 ♀♀, 15 I 2007, 1 ♂; leg. MW & RD ( MW).

DIAGNOSTIC DESCRIPTION. — At first glance very similar to M.

cornutus (see description above), distinct only in the characters list-

ed below. Rostrum slightly shorter than in M. cornutus , particularly

in ♀ (compare rl/mxrw and brl/eyl ratios in both species). Elytra:

tubercle on the 6th interval indistinct, blunt; intervals 3-6 weaker

convex (Figs 49, 51); stria 1 shortened basally, not exceeding the

level of scutellum’s tip and disjunctive with the basal rim of elytron

(Fig. 55). Profemoral tooth in both sexes minute, conical, hardly longer than its basal width (Fig. 47).

FIGS 105-110. 105, Megatracheloides chloris , adult feeding on underside of leaf of Hibbertia pancheri (Chute de la Madeleine) . 106, M. chloris on Hibbertia pancheri , feeding signs on leaves. 107, M. cornutus , mating adults on inflorescence of H. lucens (Koghi Mts) . 108, M. cornutus on H. lucens , feeding signs on leaves. 109, M. bidentipes , adult feeding on leaf of H. baudouinii . 110, M. bidentipes on H. baudouinii , signs of female’s piercing on flower buds.

Male: Membranous process between T 7 and T 8 at most 1.5 x longer than broad. Tegminal plate: outer membranous lobes very large, as broad as parameroid lobes and about as long as the remainder of the plate, entirely covering the inner lobes (Fig. 86). Aedeagus: pedon over 4.0× longer than broad, with long, parallel-sided, abruptly separated apical half (Fig. 61), stronger sinuous in profile (Fig. 67).

Female: Abdominal T 7 with more projecting tip and slightly concave lateral margins (Fig. 92).

The remaining characters as in M. cornutus . Body length 4.7-6.2 mm. Morphological indices in Table 6.

BIOLOGY. — Maquis species, collected from Hibbertia lucens Brongn. et Gris.

DISTRIBUTION. — Scattered maquis localities from Pic d’Amoa in the north to Mt Do and the eastern base of Mt Humboldt in the south. Apparently a vicariant species to M. cornutus , which inhabits the southernmost area of Grande Terre.

ETYMOLOGY. — Named in honour of Hervé Jourdan (IRD), in thanks for his generous help during my 2006/2007 expedition.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to express my sincerest thanks to the Direction de l’Environnement (Province Sud) and Direction du Développement Économique et de l’Environnement (Province Nord) for the issuance of permits to collect Apionidae in New Caledonia. I owe a special debt of gratitude to the following persons: BenoÎt Perignon, BenoÎt Michel, David Paulaud, and Joseph Manaute, of DENV Nouméa, for much advice and assistance, and for the permit to use scientists’ refuges in the Parc Provincial Rivière Bleue; Christian Mille and Sylvie Cazeres of IAC, Pocquereux, for their hospitality, guidance, and technical help in 2007; Jean-Jérome Cassan of DDEE, Pouembout, for his help and advice in Province Nord; late Henri Blaffart of Association Dayu Biik for his great help in field work and hospitality in Tiendanite; Martin Brinkert for his help in getting full access to the areas of Aoupinié and Tchamba; Jean Chazeau, Gilles Dagostini and JérÔme Munzinger of IRD, Nouméa for discussion and generous help in identification of plant species for this study. Hervé Jourdan and Veronique Perrin of IRD had a big part in the success of 2006/2007 expedition helping with custom procedures of the equipment. Sophie Rouys, Jörn Theuerkauf and Paweł Krzyżyński are thanked for a great logistic help, advice, nice company and long Polish talks during my stays on New Caledonia. I greatly thank Dariusz Skibiński and Roland Dobosz for their company and invaluable help during expeditions to New Caledonia.

I am grateful to all the curators and coleopterists, who made their materials and comparative specimens available to me: Jane Beard and Max Barclay (BMNH), Marcel Cludts (IRB), Guillermo Kuschel (NZAC), Geoff Monteith (QLDM), Rolf Oberprieler (ANIC), Hélène Perrin (MNHN), Alexander Riedel (SMNK), Al Samuelson (BPBM). Roman Guziak is thanked for his counting computer programme helpful with morphological indices.

Present contribution is a part of the studies conducted with financial support of the former State Committee of Scientific Research, Poland (currently the Ministry of Science and Higher Education), as a grant no. 3 P04C 08223.

REFERENCES

ALONSO-ZARAZAGA M. A. 1992. — Rhadinocybini trib. n. in the Apioninae CHAZEAU J. 1993.— Research on New Caledonian terrestrial fauna:achieve- Schoenherr, 1823 (Coleoptera, Apionidae). Graellsia 48: 193-194. ments and prospects. Biodiversity Letters 1: 123-129.

BAUER A. M. & SADLIER R. A. 2000.— The Herpetofauna of New Caledonia. CHAZEAU J. 1995. — Bibliographie indexée de la faune terrestre de Nou- Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles in cooperation with the velle-Calédonie. Systématique, écologie et biogéographie. ORSTOM édi- IRD, Ithaca, New York, 322 p. tions, Paris, 95 p.

FAUST J. 1889. — Beitrag zur Käferfauna zweier Inseln. Stett. Entomol. Z. LUCAS R.1920.— Catalogus alphabeticus generum et subgenerum Coleop- 50: 61-106. terorum orbis terrarum totius (famil.,trib.,subtrib.,sect.incl.). Pars I. Archiv FAUVEL A. 1867. — Catalogue des Coléoptères de la Nouvelle Calédonie et für Naturgeschichte 84, A(1): xxi + 128 p., (2): 129-288, (3): 289-448.

dépendances avec descriptions, notes et synonymies nouvelles. Bull. Soc. MONTROUZIER P. 1861. — Essai sur la faune entomologique de la Nouvelle- Linn. Normandie (1866) (2) 1: 172-209, 214. Calédonie (Balade) et des îles des Pins, Art, Lifu, etc., (suite 1). Ann. Soc. GUILLON J. H. 1975. — Les massifs péridotitiques de la Nouvelle-Calédonie. Entomol. Fr. (III), 8: 867-916.

Mémoires ORSTOM, Paris, 76, 120 p. MORAT P. 1993a. — The terrestrial biota of New Caledonia. Biodiversity Let- HANNECART F. & LETOCART Y. 1980. — Oiseaux de Nouvelle-Calédonie et ters 1: 69-71.

des Loyautés, Vol. 1. Éditions Cardinalis, Nouméa, 150 p. MORAT P. 1993 b. — Our knowledge of the flora of New Caledonia: ende- HANNECART F. & LETOCART Y. 1983. — Oiseaux de Nouvelle-Calédonie et mism and diversity inrelation to vegetation types and substrates. Biodides Loyautés, Vol. 2. Éditions Cardinalis, Nouméa, 135 p. versity Letters 1: 72-81.

HELLER K. M. 1916. — Die Käfer von Neu-Caledonien und den benachbar- MORAT P., JAFFRÉ T & VEILLON J.-M. 1995. — Grande Terre: New Caledoten Inselgruppen, in SARASIN F. & ROUX J. (eds), Nova Caledonia, Zoolo- nia, France, in DAVIS S. D., HEYWOOD V. H. & HAMILTON A. C. (eds), gie. C. W. Kreidels Verlag, Wiesbaden 2 (3): 229-364. Centres of Plant Diversity: a Guide and Strategy for Their Conservation, HOLLOWAY J.D.1979.— A survey of the Lepidoptera,biogeography and ecol- Vol. 2: Asia, Australasia and the Pacific. WWF and IUCN,Washington DC ogy of New Caledonia. Ser. Entomol., 15, W. Junk, The Hague, 588 p. (USA): 529-537.

JAFFRÉ T., MORAT P. & VEILLON J.-M. 1994. — La flore: caractéristiques et RHEINHEIMER J. 1999. — Sterculapion bartramiae, eine neue Apionidencomposition floristique des principales formations végétales. Bois et Forêts Art aus Neukaledonien (Coleoptera: Apionidae). Koleopt. Rundschau des Tropiques 242: 7 -30. 69: 167-169.

JAFFRÉ T., MORAT P., VEILLON, J.-M. RIGAULT F. & DAGOSTINI G. 2001. — SOLEM A. 1961. — New Caledonian land and fresh-water snails. An anno- Composition et caractérisation de la flore indigène de Nouvelle-Calédo- tated checklist. Fieldiana, Zoology 41: 415-501.

nie. IRD, Nouméa, 121 p. WANAT M. 1990.— Studies on Oriental Apionidae (Coleoptera) . 1. New gen- KISSINGER D. G. 1968. — Curculionidae subfamily Apioninae of North and era and species from Thailand, Sumatra, Moluccas and New Caledonia. Central America, with reviews of the world genera of Apioninae and world Ann. Zool. 43: 347-361.

subgenera of Apion Herbst (Coleoptera) . Taxonomic Publications, South WANAT M.2001.— Genera of Australo-Pacific Rhadinocybinae and Myrmac- Lancaster, Massachusetts, 559 p. icelinae, with biogeography of the Apionidae ( Coleoptera : Curculionoidea ) KROENKE L. W. 1996. — Plate tectonic development of the western and and phylogeny of the Brentidae (s. lato). Mantis, Olsztyn, Poland, 432 p. southwestern Pacific: mesozoic to the present, in KEAST A. & MILLER WANAT M.2007.— Alignment and homology of male terminalia in Curculionoidea S. E. (eds), The origin and evolution of Pacific Island biotas, New Guinea and other Coleoptera . Invertebrate Systematics 21(2): 147-171.

to Eastern Polynesia: patterns and processes. SPB Academic Publishing, WENCKER M. 1863. — Description de plusieurs espèces nouvelles exotiques Amsterdam: 19-34. du genre Apion Herbst. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Fr. (4), 3: 177-182.