Exocelina pseudoastrophallus Shaverdo & Balke

Shaverdo, Helena, Sagata, Katayo, Panjaitan, Rawati, Menufandu, Herlina & Balke, Michael, 2014, Description of 23 new species of the Exocelinaekari-group from New Guinea, with a key to all representatives of the species group (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae, Copelatinae), ZooKeys 468, pp. 1-83 : 19-20

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Dytiscidae

13. Exocelina pseudoastrophallus Shaverdo & Balke sp. n. Figs 3 A–D, 30

Type locality.

Papua New Guinea: East Sepik Province, Lembena, 04°57.51'S; 143°57.03'E.

Type material.

Holotype: male "Papua New Guinea: East Sepik, Lembena, 117m, 8.ix.2009, 04 57.513S 143 57.296E, Ibalim & Pius (PNG248)" (ZSM). Paratypes: 2 females with the same label as the holotype (NHMW, ZSM). 1 male "Papua New Guinea: East Sepik, Lembena, 297m, 8.ix.2009, 04 57.329S 143 57.297E, Ibalim & Pius (PNG247)", "DNA M.Balke 6184" (ZSM).

Diagnosis.

Beetle middle-sized, piceous, with paler pronotum (especially on margins) and head, dorsally with evident punctation, submatt; pronotum with distinct lateral bead; male antennomeres simple; male protarsomere 4 with large, thick, strongly curved anterolateral hook-like seta; median lobe short and with extremely strongly discontinuous (broken and curved) outline; paramere with shallow notch on dorsal side and subdistal part elongate, with dense, long, thin setae. The species is very similar to Exocelina astrophallus (Balke, 1998), except for media lobe without notch on left side and larger and more strongly curved anterolateral hook-like seta.

Description.

Size and shape: Beetle middle-sized (TL-H 3.65-3.7 mm, TL 3.95-4.1 mm, MW 2.0-2.05 mm), with oblong-oval habitus, broadest at elytral middle, with elytral apex slightly rounded. Coloration: as in Exocelina astrophallus (Fig. 30).

Surface sculpture: as in Exocelina astrophallus .

Structures: Pronotum with distinct lateral bead. Base of prosternum and neck of prosternal process with distinct ridge, without anterolateral extensions. Blade of prosternal process lanceolate, rather narrow, strongly convex, with distinct bead and few setae; neck and blade of prosternal process evenly jointed.

Male: Antenna simple (Fig. 30). Protarsomere 4 with large, thick, strongly curved anterolateral hook-like seta. Protarsomere 5 ventrally with anterior row of 31 setae and posterior row of 8 relatively long setae (Fig. 3A). Abdominal ventrite 6 with 13-19 long lateral striae on each side. Median lobe short and with extremely strongly discontinuous (curved, plicate) outline, without notch on left side (Fig. 3B, D). Paramere with shallow notch on dorsal side and subdistal part elongate, with dense, long, thin setae (Fig. 3C).

Holotype: TL-H 3.7 mm, TL 4.1 mm, MW 2.05 mm.

Female: Without evident differences in external morphology from male, except for abdominal ventrite 6 without striae.

Distribution.

Papua New Guinea: East Sepik Province. This species is known only from localities near Lembena (Fig. 53).

Etymology.

This species was mistaken for Exocelina astrophallus due to their external similarity. The name is a noun in the nominative singular standing in apposition.