Mecyclothorax marau Perrault, 1978b: 133; 1986: 450

Liebherr, James K., 2013, The Mecyclothorax beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Moriomorphini) of Tahiti, Society Islands, ZooKeys 322, pp. 1-170 : 54

42. Mecyclothorax marau Perrault, 1978b: 133; 1986: 450

Identification.

Of the five Mecyclothorax dannieae group species that exhibit setal formula 2222 (Figs 25C, 26), this species is characterized by a little transverse pronotum - MPW/PL = 1.18-1.26 (n = 5) - with basal margins anteriorly rounded just behind the basal pronotal setae (Fig. 26A). The subquadrate elytra are broad relative to the small pronotum; MEW/MPW = 1.55-1.62. The male aedeagus is perhaps the most distinctive among Tahitian Mecyclothorax (Fig. 27C), with a broadly expanded right side to the median lobe laterad the ostium, and a sharply downturned apex. The ostial canal runs along the dorsal surface of the median lobe indicating that the right face of the lobe has been distortedly expanded to produce this configuration. The internal sac bears a stout spicule. The head is glossy in part, with transverse mesh microsculpture in the frontal grooves and associated wrinkles, and an isodiametric mesh on the neck. The pronotal disc is covered with an evident transverse mesh, sculpticell breadth 2 –4× length. The discal elytral intervals are lined with transverse lines, only occasionally joined into a mesh with elongate transverse sculpticells. Standardized body length 5.5-5.9 mm.

Distribution and habitat.

This species is known from Mont Marau at 1000-1400 m elevations. Associated ecological data are restricted to arboreal situations; in banks of living Dicranopteris ferns, in dense banks of dead ferns, and on moss-covered trunks of Weinmannia trees with associated epiphytic Astelia plants.