Mecyclothorax wallisi Perrault, 1986: 442

Liebherr, James K., 2013, The Mecyclothorax beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Moriomorphini) of Tahiti, Society Islands, ZooKeys 322, pp. 1-170 : 58

47. Mecyclothorax wallisi Perrault, 1986: 442

Identification.

Beetles of this species appear much like those Mecyclothorax striatopunctatus , with basally broad elytra bearing distinctly punctate striae and convex intervals, and glossy dorsal body surface (Figs 28A, B). However this species exhibits rudimentary transverse microsculpture on the head and pronotum, and distinct transverse mesh microsculpture, sculpticell breadth 2 –3× length, on the discal elytral intervals. The pronotal median base is distinctly punctate, with>25 deep, round punctures each side, and the pronotal hind angles are more rounded than in Mecyclothorax striatopunctatus . In Mecyclothorax wallisi , the basal pronotal seta is positioned anterad the rounded hind angles, and its articulatory socket causes a jag in the basal portion of the pronotal lateral margin. The eighth elytral interval is broadly convex laterad the seventh stria, with its surface bulging laterally. The male aedeagal median lobe is similar to that of male Mecyclothorax striatopunctatus (Fig. 3A), with an evenly curved gracile shaft that is elongate apicad the ostium, and a dorsoventrally expanded apex, the ventral expansion larger and more rounded ( Perrault 1986: fig. 22) than observed in the males of Mecyclothorax striatopunctatus (Fig. 3A). Setal formula 2222; standardized body length 5.9-6.2 mm.

Distribution and habitat.

Perrault (1986) collected the type series between 1000 and 1800 m elevation on Mont Aorai. One subsequent specimen was collected by beating dead and live fern fronds between 1265 and 1320 m elevation on Aorai.