Ptomaphaginus grandis Schilthuizen & Perreau

Schilthuizen, Menno, Perreau, Michel & Njunjic, Iva, 2018, A review of the Cholevinae from the island of Borneo (Coleoptera, Leiodidae), ZooKeys 777, pp. 57-108 : 68

Ptomaphaginus grandis Schilthuizen & Perreau sp. n. Figures 4d, 6k, l, 9d, 10b

Material.

Holotype: Malaysia, Sarawak, Mulu National Park, Slope, TPS 7-9, 29.iv.1978 (P.M. Hammond & J.E. Marshall leg., NHMUK, B.M. 1978-49), male. Paratypes: Sarawak. Mulu National Park, Slope, TPS 7-9, 29.iv.1978 (leg. P.M. Hammond & J.E. Marshall, B.M. 1978-49, NHMUK), 5 males, 7 females; Mulu National Park, Slope, TPS 10-12, v–viii.1978 (leg. P.M. Hammond & J.E. Marshall, B.M. 1978-49, NHMUK), 1 male, 5 females.

Description.

Habitus: very large (3.4-4.0 mm), dark reddish brown, the elytra deeper red than the pronotum, basis and tip of the antenna pale, antennomeres 5-10 much darker; relatively parallel-sided and somewhat convex, head relatively narrow, pronotum 1.67 times as wide as long, slightly wider than the elytra, caudal angles clearly extended. Elytra of moderate length, convex, broadest at the shoulders, in the caudal one-third gently rounded towards the apex, jointly ca. 1.5 times as long as wide (length measured from the caudal tip of the scutellum to the apex of the elytra). Body entirely covered in dense pale yellow setation. Wings present. Antennae slender, 4th antennomere longer than wide, 9th and 10th antennomere square. Male protarsi only slightly dilated, the first four tarsomeres jointly ca. 4 times as long as wide. Aedeagus short and broad, in lateral view only very slightly bent ventrad with a barely perceptible upturned tip at the end, in dorsal view narrowing (in rounded fashion) towards the blunt apex. Stylet short and straight. Spiculum gastrale long, narrow-triangular, with the caudal part rounded. Spermatheca U-shaped, with ca. 6 distinct narrow rings on the proximate leg of the “U”, and ca. 6 additional, indistinct, broader rings on the remainder. Spermiduct long, thin, consisting of 5-6 360° coils.

Differential diagnosis.

Externally distinctive by its large size and the colour pattern of the antennae. From equally large P. bryantioides , it may be distinguished by the narrower male protarsi and the longer elytra. Aedeagus cannot be confused with that of any other known Bornean species, but is similar in shape to the one of P. nitens Jeannel, 1936 from Sri Lanka (which, however, is smaller and has much more condensed antennae) and of several species described from China and Taiwan (especially P. pingtungensis Perreau, 1996, P. guangxiensis Wang & Zhou, 2015, P. perreaui Wang & Zhou, 2015, and P. yui Wang & Zhou, 2015), from which P. grandis is distinguished by the unique combination of body size, antennomere proportions, and details of the spiculum gastrale, spermatheca, and aedeagus shape.

Habitat and distribution.

Only known from Mulu National Park in Sarawak.

Etymology.

Named grandis for its large size.