Nothocyphon platyphallus, Zwick, Peter, 2015

Zwick, Peter, 2015, Australian Marsh Beetles (Coleoptera: Scirtidae). 7. Genus Nothocyphon, new genus, Zootaxa 3981 (3), pp. 301-359 : 342-344

Nothocyphon platyphallus , n. sp.

( Figs. 109–111 )

Type material: 1♂ holotype: Mt. Wellington, Tas. 12.12.0 1 Griffith \ Griffith collection Id. by A.M.Lea \ Cyphon nr. adelaidae Bl. S.A. \ 2946 ( SAMA). Paratypes: 1♂: Huon R. Tas Lea \ Cyphon 8802 Tasmania; 1♂: C.E.Cole Tyenna Tas. 6.– 7.12.17 /16 (both SAMA). 1♂: 41.11S, 148.00E, TAS, Mt. Michael 740m, 27.Nov.1989, sweeping Tube 202 M. Mitchell; 1♂: 41.20N, 147.50E, TAS, Mt. Victoria 900m, 25.Nov.1989, pyrethrin knockdown tree 1, Tube 237 R.Roy coll.; 1♂: 42.42S 147.52E TAS Big Sassy Creek 12 May 1989 Tube 137 pyrethrin knockdown Atherospermum J.Diggle rainforest \ ANIC Coleoptera Voucher No. 88-0316; 1♂: Frankford Tasmania (all ANIC).

Habitus. BL 2.9–3.4 mm. BL/BW ~1.7. Elongate oval, elytra about 1.8 times wider than the pronotum. Head, pronotum and scutellum with granular, fine punctation, surface shining. Elytral punctures simple, larger than on pronotum.

Colour varies from light brown to dark brown with lighter shoulders and a narrow reddish stripe along suture. Front corners and stripes along sides of pronotum lighter than disk. The specimen from Mt. Michael is the palest, with pale humeri and a long caudally narrowing pale parasutural stripe plus a pale fascia along the outer edge in the caudal half of elytra.

The prosternal process resembles a tennis racket, narrow base, wide oval plate. Despite this, the U-shaped long receiving mesoventral groove is narrow. It appears like the continuation of the narrow space between the paramedian crests on the declivous front of the segment.

Male. S8 is Y-shaped, weak, observed only by transparency of T8 ( Fig. 109 ). Only apodemes of T9 sclerotized, S9 represented by two widely separate caudally pilose lobes ( Fig. 110 ).

Penis elongate, with trapezoidal base ( Fig. 111 ). Trigonium flat, leaf-shaped, with small serrations along the truncate tip. Where the trigonium is widest are two paramedian crests with a few forward pointing teeth. The narrow parameroids surround the trigonium apex but their apices do not meet. Tegmen a narrow sclerite forming a caudally open ring. Its separate widened ends represent the parameres, anterolaterally with a few strong teeth.

Female. Unknown.

Notes. This Tasmanian endemic shares the short ring-shaped tegmen with widened externally hooked ends as parameres with the other members of the group. However, N. platyphallu s is larger and differs by possessing a mandibular tooth, and by a wider end of the prosternal process. Two specimens were taken near rivers and streams, development may take place in flowing water.

Etymology. The Greek name describing the flat trigonium is a noun in apposition.

Figures

FIGURES 104 – 111. Nothocyphon frater - group, males. N. soror: 104, T 8; 105, T 9; 106, terminal segments and genitalia, naturally superimposed, S 7 shown as transparent; 107, penis; 108, tegmen and parameres. Figs. 104, 105, 107, 108 at half the magnification of Fig. 106. — N. platyphallus: 109, T 8 and S 8; 110, T 9 and the hairy lobes of S 9, superimposed; 111, penis with parameres and tegmen. 109 − 111 to the same scale. Abbreviations: aT 8, aT 9, apodemes of T 8 and T 9, respectively.