Matthewsius speewah ( Storey & Monteith, 2000 ) Storey & Monteith, 2000

Gunter, Nicole L. & Weir, Thomas A., 2017, Two new genera of Australian dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) with the description of six new species and transfer of six described species, Zootaxa 4290 (2), pp. 201-243 : 221

Matthewsius speewah ( Storey & Monteith, 2000) new combination

Figs 3 D, 6D, 5B

Aptenocanthon speewah Storey & Monteith, 2000: 353

Material examined. Paratypes: [16°55'00"S, 145°40'00"E], Mount Williams , Cook , Monteith, & Janetzki, 2–3 December 1993 (in ANIC 25-053840 ) . Other material: 16°54'43"S, 145°39'47"E, Mount Williams, 900–1000 m, Monteith & Aland, baited pitfalls rainforest, 5–6 November 2014 (in ANIC 25-065500–2 ) ; 16°54'43"S, 145°39'47"E, Mount Williams , 900–1000 m ” Monteith & Aland, litter, rainforest, 5–6 November 2014 (in ANIC 25-065503–4 )

Description. Total Length: 3.4–4.2 mm

Colour: Black. Antennae yellow.

Male: Head: Broad U-shape between clypeal teeth, which are slightly upturned. Rest of margin of head feebly convex to eye. Mentum almost square, bordered anteriorly, reticulate with setation on posterior corners. Edge of head bordered, wider between eye canthus and suture; genal angle slightly prominent. Dorsal parts of eyes notched; eyes narrow, separated by an interocular space of about 14 times eye width; eye canthus not dividing eye. Surface smooth, nitid, glabrous, with round punctures separated by 2 diameters. Head width to length ratio 40:62.

Pronotum: Anterior angles almost 90°, with a distinct border. Basal angles rounded and obtuse, basal margin rounded, lateral edge finely margined. Hypomeron surface finely reticulate, glabrous with a few punctures. Punctures along basal margin extend to basal edge, with punctures different from disc. All round punctures without setae, separated by 2 diameters, less dense medially. Hypomeral stria present, long. Pronotum width to length ratio 52:27.

Elytra: Surface with extremely fine setae, finely reticulate; sculpturing more evident apically. Intervals flat, finely punctate; punctures masked by fine meshes. Elytral striae narrow, shallowly impressed, with simple punctures. All striae on disc equal width, stria 7 only present in basal 1/3rd; striae 8 confined to groove posteriorly. Ratio of length of elytra along suture to maximum elytral width 48:58.

Legs: Prothoracic legs with trochantofemoral anterior pit and trochanter excavated dorsally for reception of inner apical edge of protibia. Protibiae with 3 teeth on outer edge, which is only serrate between 2nd and 3rd teeth and proximal to them, each tooth with 2 groups of setae dorsally, front edge straight between apical tooth and short, broad apical spur. The tooth on underside near base of tarsus is a sharp projection. Protibiae inner apical angle produced, with an apical comb of short, flattened bristles and on lower surface a brush of long setae extending beyond edge of comb. Claws small and simple. Mesotibiae broad and densely setose on the inner side. Metatibiae are slightly bent with the inner edge of tibia not crenulate. Males with small blunt tooth at inner apical edge of metatibia. Basal tarsomere wider than the other tarsomeres but not lobed.

Abdomen: Pygidium with a deep, transverse groove at the base reaching basal angle; narrowed medially and terminating in a pit at each end. Narrow, impressed line around the pygidium. Ventrites finely reticulate, with a row of punctures along the anterior edge of ventrites 2–5, ventrite 6 punctate. Suture between abdominal ventrites simple.

Pterothorax: Medial lobe of metaventrite nitid, finely punctate, broadly margined between mesocoxae. Mesometaventral suture slightly arched. Lateral lobe of the metaventrite with impressed, close-spaced, horseshoeshaped punctures. Mesoventrite nitid, lateral edges with ocellate punctures and medially finely punctate; not notched anteriorly. Mesepimera punctate. Metanepisterna with rudimentary punctures.

Hind wings: Absent.

Female: Protibiae not expanded at the inner apical angle with longer apical spur. Setae on tarsomeres shorter and less dense than males. Mesotibiae lack inner brush of setae.

Distribution. Fig. 5 B. Known only from the summit of Mount Williams from 900–1000 m, Queensland. Collected in rainforest in pitfall traps, dung baited traps, and berlesed litter.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Pygidium and aedeagus (left view, dorsal view, right view) of species of Matthewsius new genus, all scale bars 0.5 mm. A, Matthewsius illawarrensis new combination; B, M. penelopae new combination; C, M. rossi new combination; D, M. speewah new combination; E, M. stricklandensis new species; F, M. vanleeuweni new species.

FIGURE 5. Distributional maps of species belonging to the new genera Matthewsius and Monteithocanthon including close up insets of A, Pilbara region, Western Australia; B, northeastern Queensland; C, southeastern Queensland; D, southwestern Western Australia; E, southeastern South Australia; F, central to southeastern New South Wales.