Matthewsianus polinae Kirejtshuk, 2022

Kirejtshuk, Alexander G. & Kovalev, Alexey V., 2022, Monograph on the Cillaeinae (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) from the Australian Region with comments on the taxonomy of the subfamily, Zootaxa 5103 (1), pp. 1-133 : 110-111

44. Matthewsianus polinae Kirejtshuk et Kovalev, sp. nov.

LSID urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:B0F295BE-30CF-473C-AE2E-EF87C9847573

Figs 33 , A–E

Type specimens examined: Australia, QLD: Holotype, female ( BMNH)—“Q” ( QLD), “9632”, “ Brachypeplus sp. , nr. olliffi ” Blackb., R.D. Pope det. 1964”; 1 paratype, female ( QMB)—“Millmeran, Q, Nov. 1946 ”, “ E. Sutton Coll. ”, “on loan from Queensland Museum, Brisbane, 90.14.”

Diagnosis. See the Diagnosis of the previous congener.

Description of holotype (female). Body length with abdomen 6.8, body length without abdomen 4.0, width 2.2, height 1.0 mm. Body subflattened to shallowly concave from above (with some depressions on pronotum: paramedian arcuate depressions through entire length at sides of disc and wide depression along each lateral edge; and on elytra: three long and rather weak longitudinal depressions along entire length of each elytron) and rather convex from below; bright reddish with brownish distal half of elytra (almost blackish); nearly mat. Upper surface usually with moderately dense and moderately conspicuous yellowish pubescence, and longitudinal rows of somewhat longer hairs on elytra, underside with finer, much longer, sparser and less conspicuous hairs than those on dorsum; pronotal and elytral lateral edges shortly but distinctly ciliate.

Head and pronotum with punctures, about as coarse as / or finer than eye facets, separated by slightly greater than one puncture diameter, interspaces between them smooth to alutaceous. Elytra with somewhat denser punctures than those on head and pronotum weak and in distal parts, partly disloged small tubercles (about as fine and dense as punctation on other places of elytral integument). Exposed abdominal tergite V as sculptured as elytral apices; other abdominal uncovered dorsal sclerites with somewhat sparser punctures than those on head and pronotum, and distally becoming yet sparser, interspaces between punctures smoothly alutaceous. Prosternum and metaventrite with very fine and scattered punctures (as well as sclerites of legs), interspaces between punctures mostly completely smooth. Mesoventrite only with few obsolete punctures and rather smoothed interspaces. Abdominal ventrites with rather coarse and sparser punctures (coarser than those on other places of body), somewhat denser punctation than that on thoracic underside and becoming denser on hypopygydium; interspaces between punctures smooth.

Head somewhat shorter than distance between eyes and somewhat depressed, with anterior edge of frons truncate, moderately small eyes having transverse diameter much smaller than scape width, with temples slightly projecting and arcuately directed to head base. Labrum moderately short and with clear median suture. Mandibles moderately short, stout and with bidentate apex. Antennal grooves distinct in outlines and S-likely convergent, with minimal distance greater than width of mentum. Terminal labial palpomere subcylindrical and somewhat than 2.0 × longer than wide. Terminal maxillary palpomere subcylindrical to subconical and about 3.0 × longer than wide. Antennae markedly shorter than head width, with scape gently expanded along anterior edge nearly 2.0 × as long as pedicel and slightly shorter than antennomere 3, antennomeres 4–8 gradually becoming shorter, and also with elongate oval club composing one third of total antennal length, equally separate segments and antennomere 11 acute at apex.

Pronotum rather transverse (about 1.7 × as wide as long), widest behind middle, subflattened on disc surrounding depressed paramedian stripes and gently excavate and very widely explanate along sides (about 2.0 × as widely explanate as width of scape); anterior edge nearly trapezoidly emarginate and anterior angles rather projecting; posterior angles slightly projecting and with distinct tip; posterior edge slightly bi-emarginate. Scutellar shield nearly 2.0 × as wide as long, subpentagonal and with widely rounded apex. Elytra as long as wide as their combined width, with widely rounded apices, moderately steeply sloping along sides and narrowly explanate at lateral edge, leaving last three abdominal segments completely exposed. Abdominal laterosternites V and VI much more than 3.0 × as long as wide in their posterior ends. Three last tergites medially convex and with weak depresions at lateral sides. Pygidium transverse (almost 1.1 × as wide as long), very widely truncate to shallowly emarginate at apex.

Prosternum with gently convex median portion and with subflattened process (not curved along procoxae); process strongly widened before nearly transverse apex (somewhat narrower than mentum), about 1.5 × as wide as distance between procoxae and with sharp lateral angles. Distance between mesocoxae about 1.5 × as great as that between metacoxae and about as great as that between procoxae. Metaventrite with distinct discrimen along distal two thirds and its posterior edge arcuately emarginate. Abdominal ventrites 1 and 3 subequal in length, ventrite 2 considerably shorter than each of ventrites 1 and 3, ventrite 4 nearly as long as combined length of ventrites 2 and 3. Hypopygidium about 1.3 × as long as ventrite 4 and subtruncate to widely rounded at apex.

Femora moderately long and narrow, meso- and metafemora slightly convex along posterior edge; pro- and mesofemora about 1.5 × as and metafemur about 2.0 × as wide as corresponding tibiae. Tibiae slightly curved and arcuately expanded in distal two thirds along outer edge, subtriangular and somewhat narrower than antennal club; with short and moderately thick spurs. Tarsi about 0.3 × as wide as tibiae, tarsal claws moderately long and thin.

Ovipositor moderately to weakly sclerotized with rather pigmented apex; its gonocoxites comprising almost 0.3 of entire length, lateral lobes slightly sclerotized and somewhat less than 0.3 × as long as gonocoxites in general, inner lobes behind lateral ones narrow to parallel-sided; moderately long styli located subapically.

Variations. The paratype of this species demonstrates somewhat coarser and somewhat denser punctation of its underside, and interspaces between punctures mostly completely smooth.

Distribution. This new species is known from Queensland.

Figures

FIGURE 33. Matthewsianus polinae gen. et sp. nov., orig. A–E: holotype, female from QLD; A: body, dorsal; B: head, dorsal; C: head and thorax, ventral; D: lateral side of abdominal segments 5 and 6, dorsal; E: ovipositor, ventral. Scale bars: a = 1.0 mm to Fig. A; b = 1.0 mm to Figs B–C; с = 0.25 mm to Figs E.