Merizodina

Larochelle, Larivière, Marie-Claude, Larochelle & Larivière, 2017, Synopsis of the tribe Zolini in New Zealand (Coleoptera: Carabidae), Insecta Mundi 2017 (594), pp. 1-110 : 52-53

Subtribe Merizodina

Description ( New Zealand). Aedeagus with basal orifice open anteriorly; basal bulb with lateral lobes unequal in length.

References. Sloane 1920: 139 ( Merizodini , new tribe); Jeannel 1940: 93 (as Merizodini ); Roig-Juñent and Cicchino 2001: 651–670 (as Merizodina ; phylogeny, key to subtribes); Lorenz 2005: 201 (as Merizodini , a junior synonym of Zolina ).

Remarks. Three New Zealand genera ( Synteratus Broun , Pseudoopterus Csiki , Maungazolus new genus) share the genitalic characters assigned to Merizodina by Jeannel (1940) and Roig-Juñent and Cicchino (2001): aedeagus with basal orifice open anteriorly; basal bulb with lateral lobes unequal in length. The genera Synteratus and Pseudoopterus (taxon previously synonymized with Oopterus ) are transferred from subtribe Zolina to subtribe Merizodina . The presence of the latter subtribe is confirmed here for New Zealand.

Genus Synteratus Broun, 1909

Fig. 53 , 99 , 153

Synteratus Broun, 1909: 84 .

Type species. Synteratus ovalis Broun, 1909 , by monotypy.

Description. Body length 3.0– 3.5 mm; ovate, not narrowed around bases of pronotum and elytra (as opposed to other zoline genera). Color mostly dark. Metallic luster present. Dorsal surface mostly glabrous. Head. Narrow. Mandibles moderately long. Labrum slightly emarginate anteriorly. Eyes subdepressed; a single setiferous puncture on inner side of each eye (posteriorly). Antennae submoniliform. Tempora inflated. Mentum tooth entire (truncate apically). Ligula with six setae (two medial setae fused, four lateral setae free). Thorax. Pronotum transverse, trapezoidal; lateral grooves absent; setiferous punctures absent on each side; posterolateral carinae absent; base wider than apex. Scutellum invisible, concealed under pronotal base. Legs. Short. Segments 1+2 of male protarsi with a single row of ventral scales. Elytra. Oblong. Basal margin complete, reaching about scutellar striole. Shoulders well developed, angular. Scutellar setiferous pore present, inserted at junction of striae 1+2. Scutellar striole present. Striae complete, consisting of lines; two or three discal setiferous punctures in stria 3; recurrent stria directed apically toward stria 5. Subapical seta present. Apical seta present. Sutural apices obtusely rounded. Abdomen. Last visible sternum (sternum VII): male with two apical ambulatory setae; female with four apical ambulatory setae. Aedeagus. Lateral view: dorsal membranous area narrow. Dorsal view ( Fig. 18 ): moderately wide; basal orifice wide, open anteriorly, moderately distant from membranous area; lateral lobes of basal bulb widely distant (moderately distant in Maungazolus and Pseudoopterus ). Parameres with two or three apical setae. Right paramere curved, very long, narrow, untwisted medially.

References. Larochelle and Larivière 2001: 77–78 (catalogue), 2007: 45 (description, ecology, geographic distribution, references), 2016: 21 (list).

Remarks. The genus Synteratus is transferred from the subtribe Zolina to the subtribe Merizodina on the basis of the aedeagus with basal orifice open anteriorly and basal bulb with lateral lobes unequal in length. The morphological characters distinguishing this genus from Pseudoopterus and Maungazolus are: body ovate, not narrowed around bases of pronotum and elytra; eyes subdepressed; pronotum trapezoidal, without lateral setiferous punctures; scutellum invisible, concealed under pronotal base; aedeagus (in dorsal view) with basal lobes widely open behind.

Figures

Figures 51–54. Dorsal habitus. 51) Oopterus garnerae new species. 52) O. nunni new species. 53) Synteratus ovalis. 54) Pseudoopterus otiraensis new species. Scale line = 1 mm.

Figures 98–105. Aedeagi, lateral. 98) Oopterus nunni new species. 99) Synteratus ovalis. 100) Pseudoopterus otiraensis new species. 101) P. plicaticollis. 102) P. latipennis. 103) P. fiordlandensis new species. 104) Maungazolus pygmeatus. 105) M. septempunctatus new species.

Figures 148–153. Species distribution maps. 148) Oopterus trechoides new species. 149) Pseudoopterus fiordlandensis new species. 150) P. latipennis. 151) P. otiraensis new species. 152) P. plicaticollis. 153) Synteratus ovalis.

Figures 1–18. Microsculpture: 1) isodiametric; 2) moderately transverse; 3) very transverse. Ligula: 4) with two fused setae; 5) four setae (medial setae fused); 6) six setae (medial setae fused). Mentum tooth: 7) entire, acute; 8) entire, rounded; 9) entire, truncate; 10) bifid. Elytral apex: 11) subapical seta present; 12) subapical seta absent. Right paramere: 13) straight, twisted medially; 14) curved, untwisted. Aedeagus, dorsal: 15) basal orifice closed anteriorly; 16–18) basal orifice open anteriorly.