Mecynotarsus festivus, Kejval & Cz, 2013

Kejval, Zbyněk, 2013, Taxonomic revision of the Australian Notoxinae (Coleoptera: Anthicidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae (suppl.) 53, pp. 1-98 : 41-42

Mecynotarsus festivus sp. nov.

( Figs 51, 52 , 150 , 194 )

Type locality. Australia, Northern Territory, 9 km NE of Mudginbarry Homestead, 12°31′S 132°54′E.

Type material. HOLOTYPE: ♂, ‘ 12.31S 132.54E 9 km N by E of Mudginbarry HS. NT. 30.x.72, at light, E. B. Britton [p] // AUST. NAT. INS. COLL. [p; green label]’ ( ANIC). PARATYPES: 5 ♀♀, ‘ 12.40S 132.54E Magela Creek , N.T. 9 km SSE of Mudginbarry HS. 6.xi.72, at light, E. Britton [p] // AUST. NAT. INS. COLL. [p; green label]’ ( ANIC, 1 spec. ZKDC) ; 2 ♀♀, ‘ 12.40S 132.54E Magela Creek , 9 km SSE of Mudginbarry HS., N.T. 7.xi.1972, M. S. Upton [p] // AUST. NAT. INS. COLL. [p; green label]’ ( ANIC) ; 1 ♂, ‘ 12.41S 130.58E Berry Springs, N.T. 30 km SSE of Darwin 11.xi.72, at light, E. Britton [p] // AUST. NAT. INS. COLL. [p; green label]’ ( ANIC) ; 1 ♀, ‘ 12.06S 133.04E Cooper Creek, NT. 19 km E. by S. of Mt. Borradaile , 9.xi.72, M. S. Upton [p] // AUST. NAT. INS. COLL. [p; green label]’ ( ANIC) ; 1 ♀, ‘ 12.06S 133.04E Cooper Creek, NT., 19 km E. by S. of Mt. Borradaile , 2.xi.72, at light, E. Britton [p] // AUST. NAT. INS. COLL. [p; green label]’ ( ANIC) ; 1 ♂, ‘ 13.35S 132.36E NT: Kakadu NP Upper S. Alligator R. 4-5 June 1988 P. S. Cranston ex light trap [p] // AUST. NAT. INS. COLL. [p; green label]’ ( ANIC) ; 2 ♂♂ 1 ♀, ‘ Bessie Springs 16.40S 135.51E 8 km ESE of Cape Crawford, NT. 26 Oct. 1975 M. S. Upton [p] // AUST. NAT. INS. COLL. [p; green label]’ ( ANIC) .

Additional specimens. WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Drysdale River, 15°02′S 126°55′E, 3.–8.viii.1975, I. F. B. Common & M. S. Upton leg. ( ANIC).

Description (holotype, male). Body length 2.1 mm. Body reddish brown, elytra with dark transverse paired spot in posterior half; legs and antennae reddish.

Antero-lateral margins of frons simple. Gular rugules minute and scattered. Clypeal granules indistinct, Setation of head vertex mostly short and fine, appressed, with few longer, raised setae near base, coarser along eyes, especially ventro-laterally. Antennae moderately long; antennomeres III–V twice, X 1.2 times as long as wide; setation mostly rather short and fine, distinctly coarser to scaly on basal 3–4 antennomeres.

Pronotum 1.6 times as long as wide, its lateral margins somewhat unevenly convex, slightly angled at widest point; posterior collar narrow but distinct. Pronotal horn robust, moderately wide, its posterior angles slightly indicated in dorsal view ( Fig. 150 ); horn margins armed with 4 narrow lobules on each side, apical lobule widely rounded and slightly emarginate medially; horn crest distinct, clearly raised, with rather small, separate rugules on margins; submarginal rugules minute, distinctly spaced; 9 median rugules, mostly-well spaced. Setation whitish, scaly, much finer but conspicuous (dense) on dorsal surface of pronotal horn; scales on pronotal disc of two sizes, smaller and appressed or longer and subdecumbent, truncate to obtusely rounded apically; antebasal paired setae well-developed both laterally and medially (much longer and conspicuous laterally, all articulated near small, pointed granules), another tactile setae absent.

Elytra 1.6 times as long as wide; omoplates and postbasal impression absent. Setation scaly, whitish and brownish, forming dark markings ( Fig. 194 ), evenly developed and ordered; scales distinctly elongate, uniform, appressed and rounded to subtruncate apically, very densely spaced (surface hardly visible); erect tactile setae absent.

Male characters. Sternum VII simple. Tergum VIII and aedeagus as in Figs 51, 52 .

Variation. Body length (♂ ♀) 1.7–2.1 mm; pronotal horn with 3–5 lobules on each side, apical lobule simply rounded to distinctly bilobed; 6–9 median rugules; elytra sometimes with two additional pairs of dark smaller spots (subapically and near base) and somewhat darkened medially along suture.

Differential diagnosis. Mecynotarsus festivus sp. nov. may resemble M. weiri sp. nov. by body coloration (largely whitish to greyish, with rather conspicuous dark markings on elytra), but differs clearly by setal characters (scales generally longer, finer on head, most antennomeres, and legs, dorsal surface of pronotal horn finely setose), by much wider and shorter pronotal horn and its crest (cf. Fig. 150 versus 167), as well as by the male characters.

Etymology. The species name is the Latin adjective festivus , -a, -um (= lively, festive, merry); named in reference to the conspicuous color pattern of specimens with well-developed dark markings on the elytra.

Distribution. Australia: Northern Territory.

Remarks. A single additional specimen from Drysdale River shares all important external characters of M. festivus sp. nov., but differs by the conspicuously longer antennae (antennomeres III–V 2.5–2.8 times, X 1.6 times as long as wide). It displays also a slightly different, more rounded apex of the parameres, and its identifications is therefore tentative.

Figures

Figs 47–52. 47–48 – Mecynotarsus exophthalmus sp. nov.: 47 – tergum VIII, 48 – aedeagus in dorsal view. 49–50 – M. fallax sp. nov.: 49 – tergum VIII, 50 – aedeagus in dorsal view. 51–52 – M. festivus sp. nov.: 51 – tergum VIII, 52 – aedeagus in dorsal view. Scale (0.1 mm): A – Fig. 50; (0.5 mm): B – Fig. 51; C – Figs 47–49, 52.

Figs 150–158. Pronotal horn in dorsal view: 150 – Mecynotarsus festivus sp. nov., 151 – M. grandior sp. nov., 152 – M. granulatus sp. nov., 153 – M. hortensis Lea, 1922 (syntype, SAMA), 154 – M. kingii MacLeay, 1872, 155 – M. leai Pic, 1942 (Richmond), 156 – M. magelae sp. nov., 157 – the same (paratype, Carson Escarpment), 158 – the same (paratype, Charnley River).

Figs 194–201. Habitus: 194 – Mecynotarsus festivus sp. nov., 195 – M. grandior sp. nov., 196 – M. granulatus sp. nov., 197 – M. hortensis Lea, 1922 (Fowlers Gap), 198 – M. kingii MacLeay, 1872, 199 – M. kreusleri King, 1869 (Mount Tozer), 200 – M. leai Pic, 1942 (Richmond), 201 – M. magelae sp. nov.