Cyphopisthes yorkensis, Ballerio, Alberto, 2013

Ballerio, Alberto, 2013, Revision of the Australian Ceratocanthinae (Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea, Hybosoridae), ZooKeys 339, pp. 67-91 : 74-77

Cyphopisthes yorkensis sp. n. Figs 4 A–D, 5A, 6

Type locality.

Iron Range, Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia.

Type material.

Holotype, female (QM, accession number: T189554): North Queensland, Iron Range, Cape York Pen., 1-9 June 1971, G. B. Monteith [extended specimen, glued on a card]. Paratypes: 1 ex., sex undetermined, same data as holotype (MNHN); 1 ex., sex undetermined: 12.44S, 143.14E, 3km ENE of Mt. Tozer, QLD, 28 Jun– 4 Jul. 1986, T. Weir & A. Calder (ANIC).

Description.

Size: HL = 0.80 mm; HW = 1.28 mm; PL = 1.24 mm; PW = 2.22 mm; EL = 2.42 mm; EW = 2.33 mm. Overall morphology as in generic description. Dark reddish-brown, shiny, glabrous (very fine short yellowish setation visible at 50 ×), sternum, tarsi and antennae reddish-brown.

Head: four to five anastomosing irregular transverse lines at anterior portion of clypeus, clypeal disc almost smooth, with only a few sparse fine simple punctures, sides of disc and frons with denser, bigger short comma-shaped punctures. Interocular distance about seven times the maximum width of dorsal ocular area.

Pronotum: margin completely bordered, anterior margin thicker than lateral and basal margin, anterior angles angulate. Punctation: on disc small horseshoe-shaped punctures with an opening directed anteriad, each one containing a fine simple puncture in middle, at sides punctures larger (about twice the size of discal punctures) than on disc, with an opening directed laterad, each puncture having inside it a small setigerous pore. Base with smaller comma-shaped punctures with openings directed anteriad. Punctation dense: interpunctural distance being shorter than, to equal to, puncture diameter.

Scutellum: covered by dense horseshoe-shaped punctures with posterior openings.

Elytra: (W/L: 0,93). Humeral callus indistinct, two short longitudinal lines (the inner being slightly shorter than the outer) starting at humerus and occupying the proximal third, sutural interstria indistinct, disc with longitudinally oriented comma-shaped punctures, each one having a simple small puncture at its internal side, humeral punctation made of short transverse comma-shaped punctures becoming horseshoe-shaped towards disc, with posterior openings, sides of elytral dorsum with longitudinally oriented long comma-shaped punctures opening laterad and a simple fine puncture at their outer side, punctation dense: interpunctural distance being shorter than their width. Pseudepileura with longitudinally oriented comma-shaped punctures.

Diagnosis.

Very close to the New Guinean Cyphopisthes amphicyllis (Sharp, 1875), because of the sparse fine punctation on the disc of head. The new species differs from it because of the more impressed punctation of the elytra, which is also slightly sparser than in Cyphopisthes amphicyllis and has many more comma-shaped punctures, whereas in Cyphopisthes amphicyllis the dominant type of punctation is horseshoe-shaped. Among Australian species it can be easily distinguished because of the sparse and fine punctation of clypeal disc and the more extended comma-shaped punctation on elytral disc.

Etymology.

Latin adjective in the nominative singular, meaning "from York". Named after the type locality.

Distribution and habitat.

Known from the Cape York Peninsula only (northern Queensland), where it occurs in the lowland rainforests of Iron Range and Mount Tozer.

Remarks.

Holotype and the paratype in MNHN were part of the type series of Cyphopisthes descarpentriesi .