Austrelatus baliem, 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

2. Austrelatus baliem sp. nov.

Figs 58 , 62 , 84 , 85-86

Type locality.

Indonesia: Papua Province: Jayawijaya Regency, Baliem Valley, Wamena, 1600 m a.s.l.

Type material.

Holotype: male "W.-Neuguinea/Baliem Valley Wamena (Ort), 1600 m /IR 1&6 31.8. & 6.9.1990 leg: Balke & Hendrich" (ZSM).

Paratypes: IN: Papua: Jayawijaya Regency: 13 males, 1 female "INDONESIA, Papua: Jayawijaya Distr.; Baliem valley, 15km NE of Wamena, forested gorge, Jiwika → salt spring 03°57.2-5'S, 138°57.2-6'E, 1715-2015 m; 7.ii.2015 J. Hájek & J. Šumpich leg." (NHMW, NMPC). 1 male "INDONESIA, Papua: Jayawijaya Distr. Baliem valley, 15km NE of Wamena, forested gorge, Jiwika → salt spring 03°57.2-5'S, 138°57.2-6'E, 1715-2015 m; J. Hájek & J. Šumpich leg., 7.ii.2015", “7288” [green text] (ZSM). 1 female "Indonesia: Papua, Jayawijaya Dist., Baliem valley 15km NE Jiwika, 1715-2015 m, 7.ii.2015, 03°57.2-5'S 138°57.2-6'E J. Hájek & J. Šumpich ()" (NMPC). 2 males "INDONESIA, Papua: Jayawijaya Distr.; Baliem valley, 14 km NNE of Wamena, wetland & gardens nr. Jiwika (Kurulu), 1660 m 03°58.0-5'S, 138°55.8-56.3'E, J. Hájek & J. Šumpich leg., 6.ii.2015" (NMPC). 9 males, 7 females "INDONESIA, Papua: Jayawijaya Distr.; Baliem valley, 10km NE of Wamena, forest above "Baliem valley resort" 04°03.6'S, 139°01.9'E, 2050 m; 2-3.ii.2015 J. Hájek & J. Šumpich leg." (MZB, NHMW, NMPC). 1 male "INDONESIA, Papua: Jayawijaya Distr.; Baliem valley, 10km NE of Wamena, forest above "Baliem valley resort" 04°03.6'S, 139°01.9'E, 2050 m J. Hájek & J. Šumpich leg., 2-3.ii.2015" (NMPC). 1 male “3351” [green label], "Indonesia: Papua, Jiwika, xi.2007, Riedel.", "24.XI.2007 1875 m" [hw] (ZSM). 1 male “4231” [green label], "Indonesia: Papua, Wasior [crossed out, Shaverdo] Riedel () xi.2007 Jiwika [hw, Shaverdo]" (ZSM). 3 males, 9 females "Indonesia: Jiwika, 03°57.161'S 138°57.357'E, 1875 m, sifted, 11.vii.2010, Riedel" (NHMW, ZSM). 1 male, 1 female "Indonesia: W. Papua, Balem valley, Kurulu, (Jiwika), 1875 m, 24.XI.2007, 03°57.161'S 138°57.357'E, A. Riedel leg." (ZSM).

Description.

Body size and form: Beetle small to medium-sized, oblong-oval to elongate (Fig. 58 ).

Measurements: TL 4.65-5.6 mm, TL-H 4.2-5.1 mm, MW 2.1-2.7 mm, TL/MW 2.07-2.17; PL 0.7-0.8 mm, PW 1.9-2.3 mm, PL/PW 0.35-0.37; DBE 0.9-1 mm, DBE/PW 0.44-0.47.

Holotype: TL 4.9 mm, TL-H 4.4 mm, MW 2.25 mm, TL/MW 2.17; PL 0.75 mm, PW 2.05 mm, PL/PW 0.37; DBE 0.95 mm, DBE/PW 0.46.

Colouration: Dorsally piceous, with brownish head and sides of pronotum (Fig. 58 ).

Head reddish brown to dark brown, narrowly darker posterior to eyes. Pronotum piceous on disc and reddish brown to dark brown on sides. Elytron piceous, sometimes brownish basally and apically and near suture. Scutellum piceous. Antennae, other head appendages, and pro- and mesolegs reddish brown to dark brown, metalegs darker, especially distally. Venter dark brown to piceous, with paler prosternum. Teneral beetles paler.

Surface sculpture: Elytron with 11 complete, not strongly impressed dorsal striae; submarginal stria present or absent: 11+(0-1). Dorsal surface with strong microreticulation, submatt (Fig. 58 ).

Head without strioles, with dense punctation (spaces between punctures 1-3 × size of punctures); punctures coarse (diameter of punctures equal to diameter of microreticulation cells or larger than it); head with a row of coarse setigerous punctures along inner margin of each eye and a short row at frontal angle of each eye; a slightly longer puncture row forms fronto-clypeal depression at each head side; microreticulation strongly impressed. Pronotum with numerous strioles, often also on disc; pronotal punctation slightly finer than on head; setigerous punctures form a row along pronotal margins, absent in posterior middle; disc of pronotum with indistinct longitudinal median scratch. Pronotum with strong microreticulation. Elytron with 11 striae; striae 1, 5, 7, 9 sometimes shortly reduced or interrupted basally and apically, stria 9 sometimes interrupted or reduced to few striae; stria 10 can be shortly reduced basally; seldom small, solitary strioles present between striae; submarginal stria present or absent, often interrupted. Elytron with distinct punctation and strong microreticulation. Ventral part with fine punctation, invisible on metaventrite and metacoxae and weak on abdominal ventrites; prosternum smooth medially; metaventrite and metacoxae with distinct microreticulation; on abdominal ventrites microreticulation slightly finer; metacoxal plates with numerous, distinctly impressed 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 ventrite 5 without strioles, abdominal ventrite 6 with distinct punctation that sparse medially and forms a dense, rugose lateral area at each side, with few lateral strioles.

Structures: Head large and broad. Pronotum relatively long; lateral margins distinctly convergent anteriorly. Base of prosternum rounded anteriorly, convex medially; blade of prosternal process rather narrow.

Male: Protibia straight, not modified. Proclaws long, subequal. Median lobe of aedeagus with two lobes of dorsal sclerite rather narrow; left dorsal lobe subequal in length to right one, with a long, narrow lateral crest in left lateral view; apex of left dorsal lobe straight, broadly pointed, dorsally with indistinct, fine surface structure (scales); right dorsal lobe with small, slightly curved downwards apex; ventral sclerite membranous: left ventral lobe without lateral sclerotised area. Paramere of narrow triangular form, with setae not clearly divided into distal and proximal; more distally situated setae slightly denser and longer than more proximal ones, with several the most proximal setae standing separately (Fig. 62 ).

Female: As male.

Variability.

There is an insignificant variation in the colouration and dorsal striation described above.

Affinities.

The species is very distinct due to its sub-matt dorsal surface, 11+(0-1) elytron striae, almost uniform dark brown to piceous colouration and shape of the median lobe.

Etymology.

The species is named after Baliem River Valley. The name is a noun in the nominative singular, standing in apposition.

Distribution.

New Guinean endemic. Indonesia: Papua Province: Jayawijaya Regency (Fig. 84 ).

Habitat.

All specimens were collected in small, shallow puddles near or on trekking paths, rich in rotten leaves and twigs. The specimens from Jiwika, close to the salt springs, were collected in very shady pools in the forest; pools were filled with rotten leaves (Fig. 85 ). The specimens from gardens close to Jiwika were mostly collected in a sun exposed irrigation canal close to road; there they co-habited with Exocelina baliem Shaverdo, Hendrich & Balke, 2013 (Fig. 86 ). The specimens from the Baliem Valley Resort were found at night, during a rain, crawling in the thin film of water flowing on the forest path.

Figures

Figure 62. Austrelatus baliem 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 84. Map of New Guinea showing distribution of 14 Austrelatus species.

Figures 58 - 61. Habitus and colouration of 58 Austrelatus baliem sp. nov. 59 A. kaszabi (Guignot, 1956), holotype 60 A. garainensis sp. nov. 61 A. mimika sp. nov.

Figures 85, 86. Habitats of Austrelatus baliem sp. nov., Indonesia: Papua, Baliem valley 85 15 km NE of Wamena, Jiwika, shady forest pools 86 14 km NNE of Wamena, wetland and gardens near Jiwika, an irrigation canal. Photographs by JH.