Eurycyphon tomweiri, Zwick, Peter, 2015

Zwick, Peter, 2015, Australian Marsh Beetles (Coleoptera: Scirtidae). 8. The new genera Cygnocyphon, Eximiocyphon, Paracyphon, Leptocyphon, Tectocyphon, and additions to Contacyphon de Gozis, Nanocyphon Zwick and Eurycyphon Watts, Zootaxa 3981 (4), pp. 451-490 : 473

Eurycyphon tomweiri , n. sp.

( Figs. 65–67 )

Type material. ♂ holotype: 30.30S 152.23E NSW Thungutti Camp New England N.P. 16-18.Nov.1990 TA.Weir at light ( ANIC).

Habitus. BL 2.8 mm, BL/BW ~1.5. Broadly oval, very shiny, pilosity sparse, head, pronotum and scutellum with very fine sparse punctures, elytra with large, widely spaced punctures. Head, pronotum, scutellum, and appendages bright orange, distal antennomeres only about twice as long as wide, slightly infuscate. Elytra chestnut brown. The dorsal pilosity is almost erect, its colour conforms with the respective body part.

Male. T8 strongly transverse, neither hairs nor microtrichia present, the straight caudal margin beset with conical pegs, a few minute setae and microtrichia next to them. Apodemes straight, connected by an arched transverse sclerite. Each apodeme caudally forked, the long straight branch extends to midlength of the plate, the short branch is directed laterally into the lateral lobe of the plate ( Fig. 65 ). S8 not observed. T9 with strong apodemes anteriorly connected by a sclerite arch and continuing along the sides of the plate. Plate large, with parabolic hind edge with a minute transverse medial notch. The hairless plate is subdivided by a distinct V-shaped line beginning at the antecosta. The medial field behind the line has sclerotized caudolateral edges with fine pores. T9 lies over S9 concealing it, only the paired apodemes were seen by transparency ( Fig. 66 ). The tegmen is a sclerotized half circle supporting the parameres. Each is an oval terminal lobe on a thin sinuous stalk. The surface of the lobe is covered with many blunt pegs and appears rough, distally it is finely frazzled. Basolaterally there is on each side an approximately triangular lobe with serrate outer edge on the semicircular sclerite. Penis with large turnip-shaped pala out of which branch the parameroids which are much longer than the trigonium. Their outer edge is convex, the medial one concave, the apex is slender and bluntly tipped. Trigonium shaped like a sugarloaf, with a pair of small paramedian tips ( Fig. 67 ).

Female. Unknown.

Note. This beautiful species stands out by its two-coloured body. The transverse T8 armed with pegs, and the rough distal paramere lobe resemble E. castaneus which may be a close relative. As in E. castaneus the homology of the serrate triangle next to (or on?) the tegmen is doubtful.

Etymology. Named for the collector, Tom Weir, who supported my work in the Australian National Insect Collection as curator, in 2006 and 2007.

Figures

FIGURES 61 – 67. Eurycyphon spp., males, IV. E. castaneus, n. sp.: 61, T 8; 62, T 9; 63, penis; 64, tegmen, with S 9 in the background; 68 – 70 and 71 – 73 to the same scale, respectively. E. tomweiri, n. sp.: 65, T 8, with enlarged detail of caudal edge; 66, T 9, apodemes of S 9 in centre visible by transparency; 67, penis and tegmen, superimposed. All to the same scale. pd, parameroid; pe, paramere; st, presumed stylus; tr, trigonium.