Exocelina heidiae (Balke, 1998)

Shaverdo, Helena, Sagata, Katayo & Balke, Michael, 2018, Introduction of the Exocelinacasuarina-group, with a key to its representatives and descriptions of 19 new species from New Guinea (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae, Copelatinae), ZooKeys 803, pp. 7-70 : 19-21

8. Exocelina heidiae (Balke, 1998) Figs 16, 40

Copelatus (Papuadytes) heidiae Balke, 1998: 331; Nilsson 2001: 76 (catalogue).

Papuadytes heidiae (Balke, 1998): Nilsson and Fery 2006: 56 (comb.n.).

Exocelina heidiae (Balke, 1998): Nilsson 2007: 33 (comb. n.); Nilsson and Hájek 2018: 66 (catalogue).

Type locality.

Papua New Guinea: Morobe Province, Herzog Range, Wagau (Vagau), ca 06°48'S, 146°48'E, ca 1300 m a.s.l.

Type material studied.

Paratypes: 3 males "Stn. No. 150", "New Guinea: Morobe Dist., Herzog Mts., Vagau, C.4,000ft. 4 –17.i.1965”, "M. E. Bacchus. B. M. 1965 –120”, "Paratypus Copelatus heidiae sp.n. Balke des. 1997" [red] (NHMW). 1 female "Stn. No. 140A", "New Guinea: Morobe Dist., Herzog Mts., Vagau, C.4,000ft. 4 –17.i.1965”, "M. E. Bacchus. B. M. 1965 –120”, "Paratypus Copelatus heidiae sp.n. Balke des. 1997" [red] (NHMW).

Diagnosis.

For complete description, see Balke (1998: 331). Beetle medium-sized: TL-H 4.35-4.9 mm; broader, oblong-oval; dark brown, with reddish brown pronotal sides and head anteriorly, in some specimens, disc of pronotum and elytron almost piceous; submatt, with very fine, on elytra often almost invisible punctation and strongly impressed microreticulation; pronotum with lateral bead; male antennae simple (Fig. 16); male protarsomere 4 with anterior angle very slightly expanded, with large, thick, strongly curved anterolateral hook-like seta; male protarsomere 5 long and narrow, slightly concave ventrally, with anterior band of ca 70 and posterior band of ca 30 relatively long setae (Fig. 40D); median lobe in lateral view evenly broad, with rounded, not curved downwards, only slightly thickened apex, in ventral view, with subparallel sides and roundly truncate apex; paramere slightly concave on dorsal side and with long, dense, thin setae, situated along dorsal margin distinctly divided to dense and strong subdistal setae and sparser proximal ones, setae in middle short and fine (Fig. 40 A–C).

Affinities.

In the Herzog Range area, E. heidiae co-occurs with Exocelina jasminae (Balke, 1998), two species of the ekari -group, and four species of the danae -group. From all of them, the species differs in larger size and the shape of the median lobe. Additional characters for the species separations are presence of the pronotal bead, simple male antennae, and dorsal punctation and microreticulation.

Within the casuarina -group, the species is more similar to E. simbaijimi sp. n. (see its “Affinities” and the “Key”).

Distribution.

Papua New Guinea: Morobe Province. The species is known only from the type locality, Wagau in Herzog Range (Fig. 50).