Cis brachytrichus Lawrence, 2019

Lawrence, John F., 2019, The Australian Ciidae (Coleoptera: Tenebrionoidea): supplement, Zootaxa 4555 (4), pp. 451-490 : 463-464

Cis brachytrichus Lawrence sp. nov.

( Figs 6–7 , 56, 76)

Diagnosis. This species is most similar to Cis bisericeus , sharing with it the elongate body, dual vestiture, yellow upper surfaces with dark markings and bidentate pronotum and quadridentate frontoclypeus in the male. It differs from Cis bisericeus , also from Norfolk Island, however, in the length and shape of the dorsal setae (shorter and thicker bristles versus long, thin hairs).

Description. With characters of the genus. Length = 1.90–2.90 (2.24 ± 0.29, n = 10) mm. BL/EW 2.06–2.35 (2.21); GD/EW = 0.67–0.78 (0.73). Body elongate, moderately convex, with sides subparallel. Colour of head yellowish-brown to dark brown, pronotum reddish-brown to dark brown or black but with a variable central portion yellow, occasionally occupying most of pronotal disc; scutellar shield yellow and elytra primarily yellow with variable black markings, usually an elongate black lateral marking near edge at about middle and trwo smaller macula mesally, sometimes joined to form a zig-zag mark, and black sutural edge posteriorly; undersides of prothorax and pterothorax reddish-brown to dark brown; abdomen, legs and antennae yellow. Dorsal vestiture dual, consisting of shorter and longer bristles. Frons and vertex in female slightly, evenly convex, in male concave anteriorly. Longest eye diameter 0.28 times as great as head width. Frontoclypeal ridge in both sexes complete at middle and produced and elevated laterally, forming in female a pair of very short, rounded plates concealing antenal insertions, and in male a pair of longer, frontoclypeal plates and two subtriangular clypeal teeth separated by about one basal width. Antennomere length ratio: 3.33: 2.00: 2.78: 1.56: 1.11: 1.11: 1.00: 2.33: 2.22: 3.33; length/width ratios: 1.25, 1.38, 3.57, 1.75, 1.25, 1.25, 1.00. 1.00, 0.83, 1.30. Apical maxillary palpomere 1.57 times as long as wide, widest at about middle, gradually narrowed to obliquely truncate apex. Labial palps separated by 0.33 times basal width of one; ratio of palpomere lengths 1.00: 1.33: 1.00, apical palpomere distinctly narrower than preapical one, which is slightly inflated. Male gula 0.44 times as wide as head, densely filled with micropores, the pores extending anteriorly onto submentum as a relatively narrow, apically rounded patch; female gula 0.28 times as wide as head. Pronotum 0.77–0.86 (0.82) times as long as wide, widest at middle in both sexes; anterior edge very strongly rounded in female, produced and medially incised in male to from a pair of contiguous, subtriangular horns; lateral margins narrow, barely visible for their entire lengths from above with smooth edges; anterior angles produced forward but very small and narrowly rounded; posterior angles slightly obtuse; posterior edge broadly rounded, without marginal bead; disc evenly convex; punctation very coarse and dense, punctures usually separated by about half a diameter; interspaces finely sculptured and more or less shiny. Prosternum in front of coxae 1.10 times as long as mid length of procoxal cavity, moderately tumid, prosternal process 0.37 times as wide as mid length of coxal cavity, subtruncate at apex; procoxal cavities very narrowly open; postcoxal process narrowly acute. Elytra 1.33–1.56 (1.44) times as long as wide and 1.72–2.06 (1.86) times as long as pronotum; punctation single and confused, with punctures about as large as those on pronotum, interspaces finely sculptured and moderately shiny. Mesocoxal cavities separated by about 0.10 times shortest diameter of a cavity. Metaventrite slightly convex; discrimen about half as long as mid-length of ventrite (excluding anterior process); shortest distance between meso- and metacoxal cavities about 1.48 times as long as abdominal ventrite 1. Outer apical angle of protibia in male produced to form a moderately stout but apically rounded tooth, in female with smaller tooth. First abdominal ventrite 1.39 times as long as 2nd; sex patch in male about 0.60 times as long as ventrite 1, anterior to middle, circular, slightly raised posteriorly but without marginal rim. Sides of sternite VIII weakly curved and converging, its apex moderately deeply emarginate forming subacute angles. Pregenital ring relatively broad with subacute apex. Tegmen (Fig. 56) 2.20 times as long as wide, widest subapically, sides slightly diverging from about middle to subapex, then slightly converging to form a pair of narrowly rounded processes; apex at two levels, deeply, broadly emarginate ventrally but shallowly emarginate dorsally on either side of a pair of subacute processes separated by a median incision; base subangulate. Penis slightly longer than tegmen and 5.0 times as long as wide, sides slightly diverging to basal fourth, then slightly converging to acute apex; base more or less rounded. Ovipositor (Fig. 76) 3.73 times as long as wide, with sides subparallel but gradually narrowing at apical third; paraprocts 1.79 times as long as gonocoxites, longitudinally oriented; gonocoxites 1.27 times as long as their combined widths; proximal lobe 1.67 times as long as wide, distinctly divided into two more or less equal parts; distal lobe gradually narrowed to about middle, then abruptly narrowed forming a well-sclerotised, slightly curved, mesal apendage and a lightly sclerotised parallel-sided lateral appendage bearing gonostylus at its truncate apex; gonostylus 0.14 times as long as distal gonocoxite and 4 times as long as wide.

Type specimen: Holotype, ♂: “ 29.01S, 167.57E Norfolk Island Selwyn Pine Rd. 120m 25 Mar. 1984 E. D. Edwards / ANIC Image” ( ANIC 25-014989 ).

Paratypes. Norfolk Island: Highlands Guesthouse , near (29.02S, 167.57E), Stop 1, 20–26.iii.1984, collected at light, D. C. Rentz (1, ANIC) ; Highlands Guesthouse. (29.01S, 167.57E), 20.iii.1984, at light, P. Greenslade (1, ANIC) ; Kingston , 7.xi.1967, G. Kuschel (2, NZAC, ANIC) ; Middlegate , 3.xi.1967, decaying Araucaria, G. Kuschel (2 NZAC, ANIC) ; Mt. Bates , 240m, 6.xi.1967, G. Kuschel (1, ANZAC) ; Mt. Pitt Reserve , 26–30xi.1979, pyrethrum, rainforest, G. B. Monteith (1, QMB) ; Norfolk I., A. M. Lea (1, SAM) ; Rocky Point Reserve (29.03S, 167.55E), 14.xi–2.xii.1984, Malaise trap /ethanol, I. D. Naumann (1, ANIC) ; Selwyn Pine Rd. (29.01S, 167.57E), 120m, 25.iii.1984, E. D. Edwards (1, ANIC) .

Distribution. Known only from Norfolk Island.

Biology. Collected at light, in Malaise trap, by pyrethrum fogging and in decaying Araucaria .

Etymology. Derived from the Greek brachys, meaning short, and thrix, trichos, meaning hair and referring to the shorter dorsal bristles in this species than in the related Cis bisericeus Lawrence.

Figures

FIGURES 1–15. habitus: 1–2, Cis apodemus sp. nov.: 1, male, dorsal (1.3 mm); 2, same, lateral; 3–5, Cis bicolorellus sp. nov.: 3, male, unicoloured, dorsal (1.1 mm); 4, same, lateral; 5, female, bicoloured form, dorsal (1.2 mm); 6–7, Cis brachytrichus sp. nov.: 6, male, dorsal (2.1 mm); 7, same, lateral; 8–10, Cis christmasensis sp. nov.: 8, male, dorsal (1.4 mm); 9, female, dorsal (1.5 mm); 10, same, lateral. 11–14, Cis densus sp. nov.: 11, male, dorsal (1.2 mm); 12, same, lateral; 13, female, dorsal (1.1 mm); 14, same, lateral; 15, Cis depressus sp. nov., male, dorsal (1.3 mm).