Austrelatus lisae, Shaverdo & Hájek & Hendrich & Surbakti & Panjaitan & Balke, 2023

Shaverdo, Helena, Hajek, Jiri, Hendrich, Lars, Surbakti, Suriani, Panjaitan, Rawati & Balke, Michael, 2023, Austrelatus gen. nov., a new genus of Australasian diving beetles (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae, Copelatinae), with the discovery of 31 new species from New Guinea, ZooKeys 1170, pp. 1-164 : 1

13. Austrelatus lisae sp. nov.

Figs 31 , 34 , 82

Type locality.

Indonesia: Papua Province, Nabire Regency, 38 km of road Nabire - Ilaga, 150 m a.s.l.

Type material.

Holotype: male "Irian Jaya: Paniai Prov. road Nabire - Ilaga, km 38 18.9.1996, 150 m, leg. M. Balke (96 # 26)" (ZSM).

Paratypes: IN: Papua: Nabire Regency: 2 males, 8 females with the same label as the holotype (MZB, NHMW, ZSM). 2 males "Irian Jaya: Nabire Prov. rd. Nabire - Ilaga, Km 35 Kali Cemara, 100 m, 23.10.1997, leg. Balke (IR97#14)" (NHMW). 1 male "Irian Jaya: Nabire Prov. rd. Nabire - Ilaga, Km 35 Kali Cemara, 100 m, 27.9.1997, leg. Balke (IR97#6)" (NHMW). 1 female "Irian Jaya: Paniai Prov. road Nabire - Ilaga, Km 90, 1.9.1996, 150 m leg. Balke (96 # 11)" (NHMW). 1 male "Indonesia: Papua, Road Nabire-Enarotali KM 80, 250 m, 22.x.2011, 03.33.860S 135.46.473E, UNCEN team (PAP12)", “5137” [green text] (ZSM). 1 male, 1 female "Irian Jaya: Kabup, Nabire, 30km S Nabire, Kali Cemara, 150 m, 15.8.1998, leg. M. Balke (CE 1)" (NHMW). 1 male "Irian: Nabire - Ikaya, "KM 35", Seitenstr. nach K. Cemara, 1991, leg. M. Balke" (ZSM).

Sarmi Regency: 2 males, 1 female "Indonesia: Papua, Sarmi, Waaf, N Foja Mts, riverbank, 120 m, 23.ix.2014, -2,3445 138,7395, UNCEN team (Pap030)", the males with additional green text labels “6457” and “6458” (ZSM). 1 male "Indonesia: Papua, N Foja Mts, Waaf Village, river Tor, 80 m, 4.-7.vi.2016,", " -2.336679 138.749959, Sumoked (Pap062)" (NHMW). 1 female "Indonesia: Papua, Foja Mountaints N foot, N Waaf vill., pondok, 150 m, 4.-7.vi.2016,", " -2.0614 138.7439, Sumoked (Pap061)" (ZSM).

Mimika Regency: 1 male “7890” [green text], "Indonesia: Papua, Kabupaten Mimika, Timika, 149 m, 25-30.v.2017", " -4.252020° 136.643384°, B.Sumoked (Pap68-Bob06)" (ZSM).

Description.

Body size and form: Beetle medium-sized, with oblong-oval habitus (Fig. 31 ).

Measurements: TL 5.6-6.2 mm, TL-H 5-5.6 mm, MW 2.7-3 mm, TL/MW 2.07, PL 0.8-0.9 mm, PW 2.3-2.6 mm, PL/PW 0.35; DBE 0.95-1 mm, DBE/PW 0.39-0.41.

Holotype: TL 6.2 mm, TL-H 5.6 mm, MW 3 mm, TL/MW 2.07; PL 0.9 mm, PW 2.6 mm, PL/PW 0.35; DBE 1 mm, DBE/PW 0.39.

Colouration: Dorsally piceous, with red head, pronotal sides, and elytral basal spots as well as prominent yellow or red lateral band in apical 1/2 of elytron (Fig. 31 ).

Head yellowish red to red, usually narrowly dark brown behind eyes. Pronotum gradually dark brown to piceous medially and reddish laterally, with yellowish red to red sides. Elytron dark brown to piceous, usually with a reddish yellow to red, narrow band at middle of base, due to confluence of two basal spots; therefore, band sometimes notched at its posterior margin; seldom band reduced into two spots; elytron at apex with elongate but broad yellow or red spot, developed into distinct lateral band reaching middle of elytron, therefore elytron with a prominent apical pattern. Scutellum reddish brown. Antennae and other head appendages yellowish red to yellowish brown. Pro- and mesolegs yellowish red to yellowish brown proximally and darker distally, metalegs darker. Venter reddish brown to brown, with paler prosternum.

Surface sculpture: Elytron with six more or less complete dorsal striae; stria 1 usually reduced basally; submarginal stria absent: 6+0 (Fig. 31 ).

Head without strioles, with relatively sparse punctation (spaces between punctures 1-3 × size of punctures); punctures relatively fine, coarser medially (diameter of punctures smaller or equal to diameter of cells of microreticulation); head with a row of coarse setigerous punctures along inner margin of each eye and a very short row of punctures at frontal angle of each eye; a slightly longer puncture row forms fronto-clypeal depression at each head side; head with strong microreticulation. Pronotum with strioles at posterolateral angles and with thin, rather inconspicuous longitudinal wrinkles at posterior margin; pronotal punctation slightly finer and sparser than on head; coarse setigerous punctures form a broad row along pronotal margins, absent in posterior middle; disc of pronotum with a short, thin, longitudinal median scratch. Pronotal microreticulation distinct, rather weakly impressed on disc. Elytron with 6 dorsal striae; stria 1 usually reduced in basal ¼ to ½; striae 2, 4, 6 complete; striae 3 and especially 5 usually reduced or interrupted basally, stria 5 seldom complete; submarginal striae absent, elytron in very seldom specimens with a tiny lateral striole. Elytron with distinct punctation and microreticulation. Elytron seldom with numerous strioles in females. Ventral part with extremely fine, scarce, inconspicuous punctation, invisible on metaventrite and metacoxae and more distinct on abdominal ventrites; prosternum smooth medially; metaventrite and metacoxae with fine microreticulation; on abdominal ventrites microreticulation almost invisible; metacoxal plates with more or less short almost longitudinal strioles, abdominal ventrites 1 and 2 with numerous, long, longitudinal strioles from margin to margin, on abdominal ventrites 3 and 4 strioles situated laterally and turn to middle, almost horizontal, abdominal ventrites 5 and 6 without strioles but with rather distinct punctation that sparser medially and forms a dense lateral area at each side.

Structures: Head relatively broad. Pronotum short and broad; lateral margins distinctly convergent anteriorly. Base of prosternum narrowly rounded anteriorly, slightly convex medially; blade of prosternal process small, convex in middle.

Male: Protibia almost straight, with only slightly curved ventral margin. Proclaws relatively long, subequal in length, anterior claw more strongly curved downwards than posterior due to basal incision of its inner margin that can be strongly or weakly developed. Median lobe of aedeagus with two lobes of dorsal sclerite narrow; right dorsal lobe distinctly longer than left one; in lateral view, apex of left dorsal truncate and slightly sinuate upwards; right dorsal lobe with well-developed, rather deep median impression (in right lateral view) and rounded apex. Left lobe of ventral sclerite with its sclerotised area very strongly sclerotised, large, slender, long, subequal with left ventral lobe, apically seems slightly hooked due to bent to left; this sclerotised area hidden under right ventral lobe and between left and right lobes of dorsal sclerite, slightly visible (usually hook’s apex) in left lateral view. Paramere with setae not clearly divided into distal and proximal; more distally situated setae slightly denser than more proximal ones, sometimes with few the most proximal setae standing separately (Fig. 34 ).

Female: In elytral striolation similar to males; seldom are there striolated, matt forms: 1 specimen from the locality Pap061.

Variability.

The species is so far known from two regions in Papua. The male from Sarmi have more strongly curved anterior proclaw than those of Nabire and slightly differently shaped median lobe sclerites. Also, there is an insignificant variation in the colouration and elytral striolation described above.

Affinities.

Based on size and elytral striolation, the species remands A. neoguineensis but it has different dorsal colouration and absolutely different shape of the median lobe. Its shape seems to be unique and the species can be easily distinguished from any similar species. However, based on presence of the very strongly sclerotised, hook-like part of the left lobe of ventral sclerite, the species can be put close to A. brazza sp. nov., A. pseudooksibilensis sp. nov., and A. oksibilensis sp. nov., which have the similar structure thought of the different form.

Etymology.

The species is named after Lisa, the younger daughter of H. Shaverdo. "Although it is sometimes difficult, I am very happy to have you." The species name is a noun in the genitive case.

Distribution.

New Guinean endemic. Indonesia: Papua Province: Mimika, Nabire and Sarmi regencies (Fig. 82 ).

Habitat.

In Nabire Regency, all specimens were collected in shallow (up to 20 cm water depth), shaded or at least partly shaded forest pools and puddles of different size, rich in rotten leaves and twigs.

Figures

Figure 34. Austrelatus lisae sp. nov., median lobe A left lateral view B right lateral view C ventral view D left paramere in external view E right paramere in internal view. Scale bar: one unit - 0.1 mm (A-C).

Figure 82. Map of New Guinea showing distribution of 11 Austrelatus species.

Figures 29 - 32. Habitus and colouration of 29 Austrelatus brazza sp. nov., without elytral striae 30 A. brazza sp. nov., with elytral striae 31 A. lisae sp. nov. 32 A. bormensis sp. nov.