Ptomaphaginus louis Schilthuizen & Perreau

Schilthuizen, Menno, Perreau, Michel & Njunjic, Iva, 2018, A review of the Cholevinae from the island of Borneo (Coleoptera, Leiodidae), ZooKeys 777, pp. 57-108 : 73

Ptomaphaginus louis Schilthuizen & Perreau sp. n. Figure 5a, 6m, n, 9k, 10d

Material.

Holotype: Malaysia, Sarawak, Mulu National Park, TPS 7-13, 4.v.1978 (leg. P.M. Hammond & J.E. Marshall, NHMUK, B.M. 1978-49), male. Paratypes: Sarawak. Mulu National Park, TPS 7-13, 4.v.1978 (leg. P.M. Hammond & J.E. Marshall, NHMUK, B.M. 1978-49), 12 males, 14 females; Mulu National Park, Kerangas?, 7.iv.1978 (leg. P.M. Hammond & J.E. Marshall, NHMUK, B.M. 1978-49), 4 males, 2 females; Mulu National Park, mixed dipterocarp forest litter, TPS 1-2, iv–viii.1978 (leg. P.M. Hammond & J.E. Marshall, NHMUK, B.M. 1978-49), 3 males, 4 females; Mulu National Park, slope, baited traps, 7.iv.1978 (leg. P.M. Hammond & J.E. Marshall, NHMUK, B.M. 1978-49), 1 male, 1 female; Mulu National Park, mixed dipterocarp forest litter, TPS 3-4, v–viii.1978 (leg. P.M. Hammond & J.E. Marshall, NHMUK, B.M. 1978-49), 2 females; Mulu National Park, mixed dipterocarp forest litter, TPS 7-10, v–viii.1978 (leg. P.M. Hammond & J.E. Marshall, NHMUK, B.M. 1978-49), 1 female; Mulu National Park, alluvial forest 100 m, iii–v.1978 (leg. I. Hanski, NHMUK, B.M. 1978-524), 5 females; Mulu National Park, Limestone 6.4, Tp 113, 400 m, 6.iv.1978 (leg. P.M. Hammond & J.E. Marshall, NHMUK, B.M. 1978-49), 1 female; Mulu National Park, mixed dipterocarp forest litter Tp 7, 21.iv.1978 (leg. P.M. Hammond & J.E. Marshall, NHMUK, B.M. 1978-49), 1 male. Other examined material (not included in the type series): Sarawak. Mulu National Park, slope, baited traps, 7.iv.1978 (leg. P.M. Hammond & J.E. Marshall, B.M. 1978-49, NHMUK), 2 females.

Description.

Length 2.0-2.8 mm. Habitus: Light to dark reddish brown; flattened and relatively short and broad, head broad, pronotum 1.6-1.7 times as wide as long, narrower than the elytra, caudal angles almost not extended. Elytra short, gently convex, jointly ca. 1.2 times as long as wide (length measured from the caudal tip of the scutellum to the apex of the elytra). Body entirely covered in dense golden-yellow setation. Wings present. Antennae slender, 4th, 9th, and 10th antennomeres almost as long as wide. Male protarsi slightly dilated, the first four tarsomeres jointly ca. 3.5 times as long as wide. Aedeagus gently bent ventrad, flattened, apically broad and convex but subapically tapering in a rounded fashion into a broad but sharp upturned tip. Stylet long and thin, hair-like; stored in a wide loop in the basal part of the aedeagus. Spiculum gastrale elongate-ovoid, with the caudal part button-shaped, truncated. Spermatheca semicircular, thick, otherwise featureless, “sausage-shaped”. Spermiduct long, thin, consisting of ca. 4-6 360° coils.

Differential diagnosis.

Aedeagus in dorsal view very similar to that of P. tarsalis Symczakowski, 1964 from Sumatra, but in lateral view apically clearly more convex and with a shorter stylet. Moreover, the habitus and appendages of P. tarsalis are very stout and thick, whereas those in P. louis are much more slender. Also very similar to P. muluensis , but externally distinguished by the smaller size and more stocky habitus, with shorter elytra, narrower pronotum and the absence of drawn-out caudal pronotal angles. Aedeagus in dorsal view tapering abruptly towards the apex, not as gradually as in P. muluensis ; in lateral view, the apex is more convex. Spermatheca distinguished from P. muluensis by the semicircular shape without any distinctive rings.

Habitat and distribution.

Only known from Mulu National Park, Sarawak.

Remarks.

Two females from the Mulu locality “Slope” have several rings at the basis of the spermatheca. As they are externally identical to other females of this species, they have been provisionally included in this species, but excluded from the type series. Several specimens infected on the elytra and pygidium with black Laboulbeniales .

Etymology.

We name this species after our friend and colleague Dr. Louis Deharveng (MNHN), in recognition for his logistic and emotional support during the preparation of this paper. The specific epithet is given as a noun in apposition.