Austrocyphon doctus ( Lea, 1910 ) Lea, 1910

Zwick, Peter, 2013, Australian Marsh Beetles (Coleoptera: Scirtidae) 4. Two new genera, Austrocyphon and Tasmanocyphon, Zootaxa 3706 (1), pp. 1-74 : 19-21

Austrocyphon doctus ( Lea, 1910) , comb. nov.

(Figs. 38–44)

Cyphon doctus Lea 1910: 57 .

Type material. TAS: Lectotype ♂, here designated, plus 3 unidentified female paralectotypes, and 2 isolated elytra: " doctus Lea TYPE Ida Bay Caves/ 14126 Cyphon doctus Lea Ida Bay Caves TYPE " (Fig. 38). Specimens now singly on cards, genitalia on transparent plastic slide on the same pin ( SAMA).

Additional material studied (all from TAS, only males are listed): 25♂, TAS, Tasman Penins., Fortescue Bay, wet scler., Malaise, D.Bickel 7– 9.11.1989 [in ethanol]; 1♂, 41.58S 145.28E Ewart Ck, TAS 16Jan–2Feb. 1983 I. D.Naumann, J.C.Cardale; 3♂, 42.06S 145.44E Nelson R. TAS, 22.Jan.1983, I.D.Naumann, J.C.Cardale; 9♂, 42.41S 146.35E TAS Lake Dobson, Mt Field NP 1020m 7 Feb.1992 C.Reid on Bedonia flowers; 1♂, 42.40S 146.46E TAS, Mt.Field NP, Robert Tarn 1220m, 7 Feb 1992 C.Reid on flowers; 1♂, 42.54S 147.13E TAS, Mt. Wellington summit 1240m, 5 Feb.1992 C.Reid under stones or on flowers; 1♂, L. Margaret Tasmania J.Armstrong; 1♂, 41.50S 148.03E TAS Pelion Hut 3 km S Mt.Oakleigh, 860m, 5–10.Feb.1991, I.D.D.Naumann Malaise 2 rainforest; 1♂, 42.49S 142.46E 7 km NEbyE of Mt. Wedge 550m TAS 3 Feb.1980 Lawrence & Weir; 1♂, SW TAS, Lower Gordon R., 42.42S, 145.53E, Howard, Hill / M.E.C. Survey 4.o Helipad 16.Feb.1978; 1♂, Frankford TAS Lea; 22♂, Franklin R. Tasmania J.Armstrong; 19♂, Henty R. Tasmania J.Armstrong (patterned individuals from both sites were labelled "Armstrong det. " C. doctus Lea comp. with type ". Uniformly brown individuals were among the paratypes of an intended new species of his) (all in ANIC).— 3♂, 15 km NE Miena 23/1/00, C.H.S.Watts; 3♂, Cradle Mtn Tasmania Carter & Lea; 2♂, Frankford Tas. Lea; 3♂, Hobart Tas. Lea; 1♂, Mt. Wellington, Tas. (illegible) Griffith; 1♂, Dove Lake Cradle Mtn - Lake St. Clair N. Pk. 19/1/00, C.H.S.Watts (all in SAMA).— 1♂, Arthur Plains, 4.2.65, A.Neboiss; 1♂, Condominion Cr. SW TAS, 15.2.71, A.Neboiss; 1♂, Junction Cr. SW TAS, 7.2.64, A.Neboiss (all MV).— 7♂, 2♀ (one pair in copula): TAS Cradle Mt., Dove Lake, 8.12.1972, P.Zwick; 4♂, TAS, Ewart Ck 12 mls N Queenstown, 3.12.1972, P.Zwick; 1♂, Alma R. ca 50 km E of Queenstown, 4.12.1972, P.Zwick; 1♂, Mackintosh R. N of Rosebery, 4.12.1972, P.Zwick; 2♂, Wedge R. on Gordon R. road, 5.12.1972, P.Zwick; 1♂, Hartz Mts., Arve R., 7.12.1972, P.Zwick (all PZ).

Habitus. BL 2.3–3.0 mm. Elongate oval, BL/BW ca. 1.8. Light to dark brown, pronotum with narrow brighter margin. Pale (teneral?) specimens light brown to yellowish with approximately anchor-shaped dark central mark on pronotum. Elytra with two dark transverse zig-zag fasciae connected by an oblique longitudinal line (Fig. 43). In dark specimens the pattern is less distinct, some individuals are all dark brown.

Male. T9 bare, caudo-lateral hooks strongly curved, plate barely longer than sides of segment. Caudal edge of plate entire or notched, surface smooth. S9 widens caudally from narrow base, sides parallel and a bit pigmented, median strip colourless. Distal margin with some long hairs, shallowly excised.

FIGURES 32–44. Austrocyphon charon sp. n. (32–36, male; 37, female) and A. doctus (Lea) (38–44). 32, T8 and S8; 33, T9; 34, S9; 35, penis; 36, enlarged tip of penis; 37, part of female genitalia showing caudal edge of T8, struts of the ovipositor, and the vague sclerotization between them. 38, the Cyphon doctus type labels; 39, protracted intact male genitalia, dorsal view, specimen from Arthur plains; variants of central portion of male T9: 40, Dove Lake; 41, Alma R.; 42, Mackintosh R.. 43, the patterned right elytron; 44, doubtful structure from inside female gonoduct. Not to scale.

Penis: pala as long as distal part. Parameroids with wide flanges along sides that extend forward beyond the transverse bridge, onto the pala. Frame distally behind the trigonium narrow. Trigonium conical, slender, the clawshaped centema occupies the entire tip, no surrounding spinules.

Parameres are sharply pointed long struts originating from a small U-shaped capulus.

Female (from a mating pair). Not distinctive, no sclerotized structures, no ornament on accessory gland.

Notes. The type series was in poor shape. It consisted of several specimens mounted on two cards, on the same pin. Two male and three female individuals plus two separate elytra were recovered. The males belonged to two externally similar but different species, see A. perdoctus , sp. n. A lectotype is designated to ensure the consistent use of the name. Presumably, the females of the sibling species cannot be distinguished. The female paralectotypes are therefore regarded as unidentified and potentially misassociated.

Except the one taken in copula, females in the list of studied materials are only presumed to be A. doctus . In one of them, a compact body was observed inside the distal portion of the oviduct. However, during manipulation of the cleared specimen the structure shifted inside the oviduct and eventually exited through the gonopore. It may have been some mating plug or a spermatophore.