Tiporus queenslandicus, Hendrich, Lars, Balke, Michael & Watts, Chris H. S., 2016

Hendrich, Lars, Balke, Michael & Watts, Chris H. S., 2016, Description of a new Tiporus Watts, 1985 from northern Queensland, Australia (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae, Hydroporinae), Zootaxa 4189 (1), pp. 174-182 : 175-180

Tiporus queenslandicus sp. n.

( Figs 1–2 , 5 , 8 , 11 )

Type locality. Australia, Northern Queensland, Silver Valley , 17°34'S 145°18'E.

Type material. Holotype, male: “ Australia: No. Qld. Silver Valley Dec 8, 1997 G.Challet ” [17°34'S 145°18'E, 700 m], “ Holotype Tiporus queenslandicus sp. n. Hendrich, Watts & Balke des. 2016” [printed red label] ( SAMA) . Paratypes. 6 exs., with same data as holotype ( CGC, CLH, NHM) ; 18 exs., “Qld. Watson [Watsonville] 14 km W Herberton 31/3/96 C. Watts ”, “ SAMA Database No 25-001341” ( SAMA) ; 5 exs., 12k N. Laura Qld 2/8/74 C. Watts, “SAMA Database No 25-001344” (SAMA); 16 exs., “Lakeland Downs Qld. 10/83 C.Watts”, “SAMA Database No 25-001342” (SAMA); 2 exs., “Qld. Irvine Bank 17.2524S 145 12 53E 2/8/03 CHSWatts”, “SAMA Database No 25-009342”, one specimen “DNA VOUCHER”, “SAMA Database No 25-009325”, (SAMA); 1 ex., “McIlwraith Rng. Weather Stn. N Qld. 23/7/82 C. Watts”, “SAMA Database No 25-001350” (SAMA); 1 ex., Qld. Herberton 10 km W 31/3/96 C.Watts”, “SAMA Database No 25-001349” (SAMA); 2 exs., “Cairns Qld.”, “SAMA Database No 25-001347” (SAMA); 1 ex., “Qld. Petford 20 km W 28/3/96 C.Watts”, “SAMA Database No 25- 001348” (SAMA); 1 ex., “25k. N. Coen Qld. 29/9/84 ”, 1 ex., Qld. Herberton 10 km W 31/3/96 C.Watts”, “SAMA Database No 25-001346” (SAMA); 1 ex., “Helenvale Qld. 29/7/82 C.Watts”, “SAMA Database No 25-001345” (SAMA); 2 exs., “ 10 km W Herberton Qld CHS Watts 31/3/96 ”, “ DNA VOUCHER ”, “2476” and “2479”, “ SAMA Database No 25 - 013137 ” (SAMA); 8 exs., “ Ewan Road , 10 miles west of Paluma N.Q. 5.I.66 J.G. Brooks Q.243”, “ SAMA Database No 25-001351” ( SAMA) ; 4 exs., “ AUSTRALIA Qld Luster Cr 15 km se Mt Carbine Nov 15/90 D. Larson ” ( ANIC) ; 3 exs., “ AUSTRALIA Qld.Watsonville 10 kmW Herberton Dec 9/90 Larson ” ( ANIC) ; 2 exs., “ AUSTRALIA Qld Luster Cr 15 km se Mt Carbine Nov 15/90 D. Larson ” ( ANIC) ; 6 exs., “ Mt. Spec. NQ 5.1.1966 J.G.Brooks ” ( ANIC) ; 6 exs., “ Australia QLD. 15 km W Petford pool dry stream Nov. 3/90 Larson” ( ANIC) ; 8 exs., “ Australia QLD. Silver Vlly 15 km s Herberton Dec 17/90 Larson ” ( ANIC) ; 36 exs., “ AUSTRALIA Qld. Emu Cr 5 km E Petford , Nov 3 1990 D. Larson ( ANIC, CLH, ZSM) ; 4 exs., “ AUSTRALIA Qld. Catherine Cr nr Collins [Collinsville] Weir Nov. 20.1990” ( ANIC, ZSM) ; 1 ex., “ AUSTRALIA Qld. 10 km N Ravenshoe Dec 9/90 Larson & Storey ” ( ANIC) ; 4 exs., “1306 S 142.56 E QLD Wenlock River Xing 26 Oct.1992 T.Weir, P.Zborowski still stagnant pools in dry river bed” ( ANIC) ; 3 exs., “ Australia: No. Qld. Emu Creek near Petford Dec 4, 1997 G.L. Challet ( CGC, CLH, NHM) ; 2 exs., “ Australia: No. Qld. pond @ Mcleod River Dec 4, 1997 GChallet” ( CGC, NHM) ; 2 exs., “ Australia: No. Qld. Pond on Development Rd 2km S Cookshire Dec9, 1997 GChallet” ( CGC, CLH) ; 1 ex., “ Australia: No. Qld. Silver Valley 14.4 km from Hwy 1 Dec 7, 1997 G.Challet ” ( CGC) ; 1 ex., “ Australia: No. Qld. pond @ Mcleod River No. of Mt. Carbine Dec 3, 1997 G.Challet ” ( CGC, NHM) ; 1 ex., “ Australia: No. Qld. Chilagoe Creek Dec 8, 1997 G.L. Challet ” ( CGC). Each paratype was provided with a printed red paratype label.

Remarks: Most of the specimens deposited in SAMA and ANIC were published under T. undecimmaculatus in Watts (2000) before.

Description. A large, blackish and broadly-elongate species, widest in middle, with reddish markings on elytra and pronotum ( Figs 1, 2 ).

Measurements. TL: 4.6–4.7 mm (holotype 4.7 mm); TL–H: 4.1–4.2 mm (holotype 4.2 mm); MW: 2.4–2.5 mm (holotype 2.5 mm); TL/MW: 1.88–1.91.

Colour. Head black. Pronotum sides, base and portions of middle dark red-brown; with two reddish spots basally. Elytron with six vague red patches dorsally and laterally. Ventral surface dark reddish-brown. Epipleuron, prosternum and legs mainly rufo-piceous; metatibia and -tarsus dark brown. Appendages rufo-piceous, apical segments of male protarsus almost black.

Sculpture. Dorsal surface reticulate, strongly and densely rugose-punctate throughout, but punctures on dorsal surface shallow. Pronotum with a distinct raised ridge parallel to and a little distant from each side, area just inside ridge depressed, ridge and depression strongest anteriorly, weak posteriorly. Elytron weakly margined, strongly convex, rounded and slightly broadened behind middle. Prothoracic process narrow, strongly convex, roundly pointed at apex, little constricted between procoxae. Metacoxal lines raised, slightly to moderately diverging anteriorly.

Male. Protarsus 3-segmented. Protarsomeres broadened and proximally expanded, those on mesotarsomeres little expanded. Single claw on protarsus (there is only one claw in males of Tiporus ) weakly curved, slightly thickened and with a small tooth on underside near base. Male protibia with small tooth just beyond middle ( Fig. 1 ). Tip of last abdominal ventrite weakly to strongly tuberculate in middle and with short carina. Metatibia normal, not expanded. Median lobe of aedeagus broad in centre but narrow at tip ( Figs 5 a, b); right paramere as in Fig. 5 c.

Female. Protarsus 5-segmented, robust somewhat expanded on inside, with two simple claws. Protibia on posterior side without tooth ( Fig. 2 ). Tip of last abdominal ventrite flattened. Lateral extension of elytron near tip weak but visible.

Etymology. Named after the Queensland State in Australia where all the type material has been collected. The species name is an adjective in the nominative singular.

Distribution. North-eastern Queensland, Australia, from the Wenlock River in the north to Collinsville in the south ( Fig. 11 ).

Habitat. A lotic species. At Watsonville T. queenslandicus sp. n. was collected in deeper rest pools of a broad, shallow and sandy creek. The associated fauna comprised Copelatus irregularis W.J. Macleay, 1871 , Laccophilus clarki Sharp, 1882 , Necterosoma regulare Sharp, 1882 , Sternopriscus hansardii ( Clark, 1862) , Hydroglyphus mastersii (W.J. Macleay, 1871) , Hydroglyphus daemeli (Sharp, 1882) and Limbodessus rivulus (Larson, 1994) . Near Herberton it was collected in a still flowing but temporary stream, forming pools together with Laccophilus walkeri Balfour-Browne, 1939 and the hydrophilid Berosus trishae Watts, 1987 .

Affinities. In habitus T. queenslandicus sp. n. is similar to T. giuliani ( Fig. 3 ) and T. undecimmaculatus ( Fig. 4 ). From the darker T. undecimmaculatus it can be separated by its well-developed dorsal colour pattern, the spine on the male protibia which is close to the centre ( Fig. 8 ), not toward the apex ( Fig. 10 ), and the broader central lobe of the aedeagus ( Figs 7 a, b). From T. giuliani it can be distinguished by the form of the median lobe and parameres ( Figs 6 a, b, c), and the almost black legs and tarsi. Furthermore, in T. giuliani the margin in lateral view of the elytron curves forward for a short distance immediately before it meets the edge of the pronotum, whereas it is straight or almost so in T. queenslandicus sp. n. Tiporus undecimmaculatus and T. giuliani are also distinctly smaller (TL of T. undecimmaculatus : 3.6–3.7 mm and T. giuliani : 4.0– 4.1 mm) than Tiporus queenslandicus sp. n. (TL: 4.6–4.7 mm). The new species is restricted to north-eastern Queensland whereas T. giuliani and T. undecimmaculatus are only known from the Northern Territory and north-western Australia ( Fig. 11 ).

Genetically, all Tiporus species are comparably strongly differentiated from each other based on mitochondrial cox1 gene divergences. This has been shown by Hendrich et al. (2010, fig. 2 D), where clustering specimens using uncorrected p-distances even at 10% threshold will retrieve the same clusters corresponding to morphologically delineated species. Accordingly, when we compared a cox1 sequence for Tiporus queenslandicus sp. n. available from Genbank ( EU617001 , from R. Leys and under the name T. undecimmaculatus ) with one of our true T. undecimmaculatus (Genbank FR733053 ) we find divergence of about 14% which is very high for Coleoptera and strong indicator for presence of different species. Comparison with T. giuliani ( FR733049 ) revealed the same magnitude of divergence.

Figures

FIGURE 11. Distribution of T. queenslandicus sp. n. (red dots), T. giuliani (blue squares) and T. undecimmaculatus (black squares) in northern Australia, based on literature records (Watts 2000) and the material studied and listed herein.

FIGURES 1 – 4. Tiporus queenslandicus sp. n., holotype, male (4.6 mm) (1) and paratype, female (4.7 mm) (2), T. giuliani, male (3), and T. undecimmaculatus, male (4). Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURES 5 – 7. Tiporus queenslandicus sp. n.: Median lobe, ventral view (5 a), lateral view (5 b), paramere, lateral view (5 c); T. giuliani: Median lobe, ventral view (6 a), lateral view (6 b), paramere, lateral view (6 c); T. undecimmaculatus: Median lobe, ventral view (7 a), lateral view (7 b), paramere, lateral view (7 c). Scale bar = 0.5 mm.

FIGURES 8 – 10. Left protibia in dorsal view of T. queenslandicus sp. n. (8), of T. giuliani (9) and of T. undecimmaculatus (10). Scale bar = 0.3 mm.