Copelatus bezdeki, Sheth & Ghate & Hájek, 2018

Sheth, Sayali D., Ghate, Hemant V. & Hájek, Jiří, 2018, Copelatus Erichson, 1832 from Maharashtra, India, with description of three new species and notes on other taxa of the genus (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae: Copelatinae), Zootaxa 4459 (2), pp. 235-260 : 245-247

Copelatus bezdeki sp. nov.

( Figs 5–6 , 23–24 )

Type locality. India, Maharashtra, Pune district, ca. 4 km SSW of Lonavala village, Bhushi dam, 18°43.2-4′N, 73°23.7-24.0′E, ca. 640 m a.s.l.

Type material. Holotype ♂ (NMPC), labelled: "INDIA W, 24.–28.ix.2005, / Maharashtra state, 4 km S of / Lonavala, Bushi dam env., / 500 m, J. Bezděk leg. [printed] // HOLOTYPE / COPELATUS / bezdeki sp. nov. / S. Sheth et al. det. 2016 [red label, printed]". Paratypes: 3♂, 8♀ same data as holotype (NMPC); 3♂, labelled: "INDIA, Maharashtra / Pune Distr., Lonavla / Bhushi Dam, 26 IX 0 5 / at light, leg. L. Borowiec [printed] // INDIA Expedition 2005 / Dept. of Biodiversity / and Evol. Taxonomy / Wroclaw University [printed]" (NMPC, UWPC); 35♂, 25♀, labelled: "INDIA W, 7.–11.x.2005 / Maharashtra state, / 40 km W of Pune, / Mulshi env. / J. Bezděk leg. [printed]" (BMNH, JSCL, NHMW, NMPC, ZSMG); 8♂, 3♀, labelled: "INDIA occ., 7–11.x.2005 / Maharashtra state / MULSHI env.F.Kantner leg. / 40 W of Pune [printed]" (SMNS); 16♂, 9♀, labelled: "INDIA, Maharashtra /

Pune Distr., Mulshi at / Mulshi Lake , 7– 8 X 0 5 / at light, leg. L. Borowiec [printed] // INDIA Expedition 2005 / Dept. of Biodiversity / and Evol. Taxonomy / Wroclaw University [printed]" ( UWPC) ; 1♂, labelled: " INDIA W, 2– 7.x.2005, / Maharashtra state, / 70 km S of Pune , / Wai env., J. Bezdĕk leg. [printed]" ( NMPC) ; 1♂, 1♀, labelled: " India / Maharashtra st., / Rohida fort 18°6′10.00″N, 73°49′16.00″E 1087m / 16.XI.2014 / coll. S. D. Sheth [printed]" ( HVGC). Each paratype is provided with the respective red printed label.

Description of male holotype. Habitus ( Fig. 5 ) oblong oval with continuous outline, broadest in 1/3 of elytral length, slightly convex. Dorsal surface shiny.

Coloration. Head rufous; lighter on clypeus and anterior to eyes; blackish medially on vertex and posterior to eyes. Pronotum rufous; infuscate on disc; paler laterally. Elytra testaceous with sutural large dark (blackish) spot extending laterally up to stria II in middle third of elytral length; small dark spot present subbasally between striae II–IV, indistinct infuscation subbasally also between striae V–VI; elytra darker along striae. Ventral part dark brown. Appendages testaceous.

Head. Moderately broad, ca. 0.6× width of pronotum, transversely elliptical. Labrum emarginate medially. Anterior margin of clypeus slightly concave. Antennae with antennomeres slender, club-shaped, antennomere I longest. Eyes emarginate anterolaterally. Reticulation consisting of well impressed polygonal meshes; strioles absent on head. Punctation double; several large setigerous punctures present in fronto-clypeal depressions, frontal depressions at level of anterior margin of eyes, and in depressions along inner margin of eyes; very fine and sparsely distributed punctures placed among meshes of microreticulation.

Pronotum. Transverse, broadest in posterior angles. Anterior angles acute, posterior angles rectangular. Sides evenly curved, with lateral beading very thin and indistinct. Anterior margin straight, posterior margin nearly straight with only indistinct sinuation medially. Reticulation similar to that of head, but slightly less impressed. Indistinct median longitudinal impression present on disc. Punctation double; row of coarse setigerous punctures presents along anterior margin, basal margin (except medially), and laterally close to sides; fine punctures placed among meshes of microreticulation, denser than on head, coarser and denser towards sides. Scutellar shield broadly triangular.

Elytra. Elytral striation consisting of six dorsal striae and one submarginal stria: stria 1 beginning more posteriorly than other striae, running all length to apex; striae 2, 3 and 5 terminate shortly before apex; stria 6 ending in posterior fourth of elytral length; submarginal stria starts at elytral midlength and terminating shortly before apex, similarly to dorsal striae 2, 3, 5. Surface reticulation consisting of fine, shallowly impressed isodiametric polygonal meshes, similar to those on head and pronotum. Punctation double; few large setigerous punctures present along elytral striae and along lateral margin of elytra; very fine, sparsely distributed punctures placed among meshes of microreticulation, similarly to those on pronotum.

Legs. Protibia modified, angled near base, distinctly broadened anteriorly – club shaped. Pro- and mesotarsomeres 1–3 distinctly broadened, with adhesive setae on their ventral side. Longer spur on metatibia sinuate in posterior third.

Ventral side. Prosternum sinuate anteriorly, obtusely keeled medially. Prosternal process shortly lanceolate, in cross-section convex, apex obtuse; process distinctly bordered laterally; reticulation absent; surface sparsely punctured. Metaventrite with microsculpture consisting of polygonal meshes; lateral parts of metaventrite ('metasternal wings') tongue-shaped, slender, with irregular strioles. Metacoxal lines well impressed, incompleteabsent in basal 1/5. Metacoxal plates covered with long, deep longitudinal strioles; reticulation consisting of elongate, oblique polygonal meshes; sparsely punctured. Metacoxal processes rounded and incised at posterior margin. Abdominal ventrites I–II with longitudinal strioles; ventrites III–IV with oblique strioles laterally, absent medially; ventrite V with transverse strioles laterally. Abdominal reticulation consisting of elongate polygonal meshes, longitudinal on ventrites I–II, oblique on ventrite III and transverse on ventrites IV–VI. All ventrites sparsely and finely punctured.

Male genitalia. Median lobe in lateral aspect broad in basal 2/3, then obtusely angled, apical third narrow, sinuous ventrally, almost straight dorsally until distinctly dorsally bent pointed apex; in 2/3 of its length with two distinct 'teeth' on ventral side—broad rectangular lower one, and narrower acute upper one ( Fig. 23 ). Parameres more or less 'D'-shaped; apex short and broad; apical lobe long, club-shaped ( Fig. 24 ).

Female. Females do not differ in external morphology from male except for nearly straight, apically less broadened protibia, slender pro- and mesotarsi without adhesive setae, and straight longer spur of metatibia. Short irregular strioles present in middle third of elytra laterally from striae 3–4 ( Fig. 6 ).

Variability. The specimens of type series vary in coloration, especially infuscation of head, pronotum and elytra. In one extreme, dark area on elytra is reduced to single narrow oval spot along suture; in the other extreme, the blackish sutural spot is extended laterally and connected with subbasal spot, usually confluent to subbasal dark transverse band. Females vary in extent of elytral striolation.

Measurements (N=19). TL: 5.3–6.4 mm (holotype: 5.5 mm); Tl-h: 4.8–5.9 mm (holotype: 5.1 mm); MW: 2.7–3.3 mm (holotype: 3.0 mm).

Differential diagnosis. Based on the presence of six dorsal striae and a submarginal elytral stria, the new species can be classified within Copelatus irinus group sensu Guignot (1961). This largely heterogeneous group contains 106 species altogether, occurring in all zoogeographical regions ( Nilsson & Hájek 2018).

The characteristic shape of the median lobe with two 'teeth' on the ventral side ( Fig. 23 ) places the new species close to Copelatus brivioi Rocchi, 1976 from Bangladesh, C. schereri Wewalka, 1981 , from southern India, and Malayan C. latipes Sharp, 1882 . Although Copelatus bezdeki sp. nov. differs from C. brivioi and C. latipes by the extended yellow coloration of elytra, and from the latter species also by the complete elytral stria 1 (stria 1 present only in apical fourth of elytra in C. latipes ), certain identification of the new species is only possible based on the shape of male genitalia: in C. bezdeki sp. nov., the apical third of median lobe is almost straight on the dorsal side with the apex distinctly dorsally bent, while the apical third is almost regularly sinuous throughout in all other species mentioned above.

Etymology. The new species is dedicated to Jan Bezděk (Mendel University, Brno, Czech Republic), a specialist on Chrysomelidae , who collected part of the type material. The name is a noun in the genitive case.

Collecting circumstances. The species was found in temporary water bodies with algal growth, and rock and mud substrate. The physicochemical parameters of the water body were as follows: pH 8, temperature 30 0C and salinity 522 ppm.

Distribution. The species was found only in Pune district of Maharashtra, within the altitudinal range 500– 1,087 m a.s.l. ( Fig. 45 ).

Figures

FIGURE 45. Distributional map of Copelatus species in Maharashtra.

FIGURES 5–8. Habitus of Copelatus. 5–6. C. bezdeki sp. nov.: 5. male holotype; 6. female paratype (Lonavala); 7–8. C. indicus: 7. male (Lonavala); 8. female (Mahabaleshwar).

FIGURES 23–30. Male genitalia of Copelatus. 23–24. C. bezdeki sp. nov.; 25–26. C. indicus; 27–28. C. neelumae; 29–30. C. schereri. 23, 25, 27, 29. median lobe in lateral view (27a. redrawn from original description of C. neelumae); 24, 26, 28, 30. paramere. Scale bar 0.5 mm.