Sindosium queenslandicum, Maté Nankervis, 2020

Maté Nankervis, Jason F., 2020, Description of two new species of Sindosium Johnson, 2007 from Australia (Coleoptera, Ptiliidae), Zootaxa 4895 (4), pp. 528-540 : 529-533

Sindosium queenslandicum sp. n.

( Fig. 1–2 )

Type material. Holotype: (³) AUSTRALIA: QUEENSLAND: ME 8km NW Mt Macartney 21 April 1979 G.B.Monteith // Q.M.Berlesate No. 53 20°49S, 148°30E Dry rainforest 690m sieved litter [both white, printed] ; “ HOLOTYPUS / Sindosium / queenslandicum / J.F.Maté, 2020 [red, printed] ( QM) .

Paratypes (36 exx.): 3 exx.(2³, 1♀), QUEENSLAND: ME 8km NW Mt Macartney 21April 1979 G.B.Monteith // Q.M.Berlesate No. 53, 20°49S, 148°30E Dry rainforest 690m Sieved litter; 2 exx., QUEENSLAND: ( MEQ) Mt Macartney , Cathu SF 22 April 1979 G.B.Monteith // Q.M.Berlesate No. 54, 20.51°S 148.33°E Rainforest 750m Stick brushing; 2 exx., QUEENSLAND: ME Mt Macartney summit 21 April 1979 G.B.Monteith // Q.M.Berlesate No. 47, 20°51S 148°33E Dry rainforest 850m Stick brushing ; 1 ex., QUEENSLAND: ME Mt Macartney Cathu SF, 21 April 1979 G.B.Monteith // Q.M.Berlesate No. 46, 20°51S, 148°33E Rainforest 700-850m Stick brushing ; 1 ex. (³), QUEENSLAND: NE: Boulder Ck via Tully 27 Oct 1983 Monteith, Yeates & Thomson // QM Berlesate No. 598, 17.50°S 145.54°E. Rainforest 650m Sieved litter ; 1 ex., QUEENSLAND: Upper Boulder Ck., 11 Km NNW of Tully, N Qld. 17-28 Nov 1984 . Davies, Monteith, Gallon, Cook & Thomson. Pitfalls 850–1000m; 2 exx. (1³, 1♀), QUEENSLAND: ME: Eungella NP Broken River 17 April 1979 G. Monteith // QM Berlesate No. 30, 21.11°S, 148.31°E Rainforest 700m Stick brushing ; 1 ex., QUEENSLAND: MEQ: Eungella N.P., Mount William , 19 April 1979 G.B. Monteith // Q.M. Berlesate No 42, 21.02°S, 148.36°E Rainforest 1100m Sieved litter ; 1 ex., QUEENSLAND: ME: Eungella NP Palms Lookout 18 April 1979 G. Monteith // QM Berlesate No. 32, 21.10°S, 148.31°E Rainforest 700m Stick brushing; 2 exx., QUEENSLAND: NE: Upper Boulder Ck via Tully 27 October 1983 Monteith, Yeates & Thompson // QM Berlesate No. 599, 17.50°S, 145.54°E Rainforest 900m Sieved litter ; 1 ex. (♀), QUEENSLAND: NE: 3.5km W of Cape Tribulation (site 7) 2 Oct 1982 Monteith, Yeates & Thompson // QM Berlesate No. 482, 16.05°S, 145.27°E Rainforest 680m Sieved litter ; 1 ex. (♀), QUEENSLAND: NE: 4.0km W of Cape Tribulation (site 8) 29–30 Sept 1982 Monteith, Yeates & Thompson // QM Berlesate No. 433, 16.05°S, 145.26°E Rainforest 720m Stick brushing ; 1 ex. (♀), QUEENSLAND: NE: 5.0km W of Cape Tribulation (site 3) Jan 1983 G.B. Monteith // QM Berlesate No. 514, 16.05°S, 145.28°E Rainforest 150m Sieved litter ; 1 ex. (♀), QUEENSLAND: NE: 3.0km W of Cape Tribulation (site 6) 20 Sept 1982 Monteith, Yeates & Thompson // QM Berlesate No. 421, 16.05°S, 145.27°E Rainforest 500m Sieved litter ; 1 ex., QUEENSLAND: NE: 6.0km SW of Cape Tribulation 25 April 1983 G.B. Monteith // QM Berlesate No. 545, 16.07°S, 145.25°E Rainforest 880m Sieved litter; 2 exx., QUEENSLAND: NE: Nth Bell Peak via Gordonvale 16 Sept 1981 G. Monteith & D. Cook // QM Berlesate No. 300, 17°05’S, 145°53’E Rainforest 900-1000m Sieved litter & moss ; 1 ex. (♀), QUEENSLAND: Kroombit Tops, 65 km SW Gladstone , QLD 22-26 Feb 1982 G. Monteith & G. Thompson // Q.M.Berlesate No. 384, Rainforest 1100m Stick brushing ; 1 ex., QUEENSLAND: NE: Clacherty Road, via Julatten 11 Oct 1980 G.B. Monteith // QM Berlesate No. 249, Rainforest Sieved litter ; 1ex., QUEENSLAND: NE: Thornton Peak, via Daintree , 20-22.ix.1981 G. Monteith & D. Cook // Q.M. Berlesate 301 Rainforest, 1000–1100m Sieved litter & moss ; 1 ex., QUEENSLAND: NE: Graham Range 9 April 1979 G. Monteith // QM Berlesate No. 7, 17.17°S, 145.57°E Rainforest 20m Stick brushing ; 1 ex., QUEENSLAND: NE: Devils Thumb area 10km NW Mossman 10 Oct 1982 Monteith, Yeates & Thompson // QM Berlesate No. 459, 16.34°S 145.17°E Rainforest 1180m Stick brushing ; 1 ex., QUEENSLAND: Robson Creek Atherton, 17°07.0S 145°37.7E Pitfall trap PF-3 21 Jan 1996 R. L. Kitching & H. Michael // GU 11897 ; 1 ex., QUEENSLAND: ME: Mt Dryender 24 April 1979 G. Monteith // QM Berlesate No 59, 20.15°S, 148.33°E Rainforest 500- 600m . Stick brushing ; 1ex., QUEENSLAND: Mossman Bluff Track 5–10km W of Mossman, N.Qld. 1–16 Jan 1989 Monteith, Thompson & Anises Site 3, 480m pitfall; 1 ex., QUEENSLAND: NE: Wallaman Falls, via Ingham 1 Oct 1980 G. Monteith // QM Berlesate No. 231, Rainforest 500m Stick brushing ; 1 ex., QUEENSLAND: Bellenden Ker Range, Cable tower 3, 1054m; 25-31 Oct 1981 ; 1 ex., QUEENSLAND: Earthwatch QLD Museum, QM Berlesate No 324, 17.16°S, 145.52° E; Rainforest sieved litter ; 1 ex., QUEENSLAND: Bellenden Ker Range, Cableway Base Stn 100m; 17 Oct–9 Nov 1981 ; 1 ex., QUEENSLAND: Earthwatch QLD Museum; Baited window trap, 17 Oct–9 Nov 1981 ; all with yellow, printed PARATYPUS labels ( QM) .

Description. BODY ( Fig. 1A ): Length (TL) 1.1 mm (HT), range 1.08–1.26mm (average, 1.19 mm, n=21). Body ovoid, regularly convex, colour reddish brown, densely pubescent with long and semidecumbent light yellow hairs.

HEAD: Eyes large (EyL= 60µm [HT], range 55-71µm. n=6) widely separated (IoD= 220µm [HT], range 201- 230µm, n=6), notched posteriorly. Head thinly margined, with only a few shallow, setigerous punctures on the vertex and around the disc of the frons. Antennae long (AnL= 407µm), segments 3–7 parallel-sided and elongate, 8 th elongate with sides curved; 9–10 clubbed, basally regularly moniliform; 11 th oval.

THORAX: Pronotum wide (PW= 0.49mm [HT], range 0.46–0.57mm, n=21), unicolorous, transverse (1.55- 1.82, PW:PL), widest behind middle, regularly convex, lateral margins explanate and slightly elevated, edges serrated and ciliated with backwardly arranged hairs, base sinuate and narrowly impressed throughout, hind corners laterally sinuate and projected outwards slightly. Pronotal surface shiny, microsculpture absent, without any trace of medial impression or fovea, narrowed basally, puncturation deeply impressed, punctures 5–6µm wide and spaced 2–3x their diameter, regularly distributed, setigerous, each puncture with a long, semidecumbent hair. Elytra wide (EW= 0.57mm [HT], range 0.54-0.62mm, n=21), convex, oval, base bordered, humerus not denticulate although the serrated elytral edge may give the appearance of a denticle. Surface shiny, microsculpture absent, strongly punctured throughout, punctures setigerous, with semidecumbent yellow hairs clearly longer (40–50µm, [HT]) and denser on sides than on disc, puncturation densest at base and disc, becoming gradually sparser towards the apex and sides. Lateral edge of elytra expanded from humerus and gradually becoming narrower towards apex, serrated in basal quarter. Scutellum triangular, with a few shallow setigerous punctures.

Alae of usual Sindosium type ( Fig. 2F ).

Proventrum ( Fig. 2A ) narrowed longitudinally in front of procoxae, with single deep, c-shaped fovea on either side of each coxa, almost as long as the coxal length and strongly impressed throughout. Combined coxal width 3/5 the width of the anterior prothoracic aperture. Anterior and posterior margins of the proventrite with a row of distinctly impressed, elongate foveae.

Mesoventrum, with strongly impressed collar which does not clearly slope backwards but ends sharply on to the lateral margins. Latter without distinct humeri, collar with a posterior, triangular projection. Disc of mesoventrum with a non-carinate projection (keel) that rises abruptly and almost touches the much smaller posterior projection of the collar, latter with a pair of deep and densely pubescent depressions posteriorly. Mesocoxae close, separated by 1/4–1/5 of their width,

Metaventrum with scattered, long pubescence, dense laterally and absent on disc, anterior edge raised and projected between mesocoxae, posterior edge with sinuate, regularly acuminate bifid projection between metacoxae ( Fig. 2B ). Metaepisternal posterior suture widely divergent from anterior suture, never subparallel or convergent ( Fig. 1B ).

ABDOMEN ( Fig. 2C ): Each ventrite with a basal row of setae on disc, each seta emerging from a strong pore that is granular on ventrites 4–5. Row of setae on 5 th ventrite much denser than on the other abdominal segments.

Aedaegus ( Fig. 2E ) typical of Sindosium , with well developed parameres, quite narrowed in the middle and sporting a pair of pores, their apices slightly spatulate, at apex with three elongate and isometric setae, apical seta pointing forward, proximal setae closely set, pointing medially. Median lobe wider than in S. lamingtoni n.sp., with apex regularly acuminate, the endophallic pore situated almost midway along its length and with a larger and more developed internal structure that is M-shaped and located well below the paramere apices. Spermatheca ( Fig. 2D ) bulbous, non-symmetrical, with neck narrower than base, the latter obviously bent and completely not aligned with neck.

Etymology: named after the Australian state of Queensland, to which it is restricted.

Diagnosis: morphologically it is closest to S. lamingtoni n.sp., from which it can be distinguished by the shape of the 8 th antennal segment (parallel in S. queenslandicum n.sp. and basally ovoid in S. lamingtoni n.sp.), the shape of the hind corners of the thorax, width and relative shape of the of the metaepisternum ( Fig. 2A & Fig. 4A ), shape of the bifid tooth between the metacoxae ( Fig. 2B & Fig. 4B ) and genitalia. Both species closely resemble S. foveatum Johnson, 2007 and S. collinsi Darby, 2019 . From the former they can easily be distinguished by the lack of impressions on the thorax and the shape of the aedaegi. From the latter by the much longer pubescence, the structure of the mesoventrum (collar more acutely developed, sulci on either side of projection smaller) and narrower separation of the mesocoxae.

Distribution: restricted to areas within Mid-East and North-East Queensland, probably limited to vine thickets or rainforest patches ( Fig. 5 ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. A. Dorsal habitus of holotype of Sindosium queenslandicum sp. nov.; B Metaventral metepisternum showing the divergent posterior suture (Mt Macartney paratype). Scale bar: 0.1mm.

FIGURE 2. A. Ventral view of transparent preparation of Sindosium queenslandicum sp. nov.; B. Posterior end of metaventrite showing bifid projection; C. Abdomen showing wing folding patches in segment 2–6: D. Spermatheca; E. Aedaegus; F. Extended wing showing the structure of the peduncle and the complex venation of the wing relative to other ptiliids. All material from the Mt Macartney type locality.

FIGURE 4. A. Ventral view of transparent preparation of Sindosium lamingtoni sp. nov.; B. Posterior end of metaventrite showing bifid projection; C. Abdomen; D. Spermatheca; E. Aedaegus. All material from the Lamington National Park type locality.

FIGURE 5. Distribution map for all known locations of Sindosium in Australia: S. queenslandicum (●): S. lamingtoni (∆). Scale in kilometers.