Coelometopon blinkwater, Perkins, 2005

Perkins, Philip D., 2005, A revision of the African hygropetric genus Coelometopon Janssens, and description of Oomtelecopon new genus (Coleoptera: Hydraenidae), Zootaxa 949 (1), pp. 1-103 : 1-103

Coelometopon blinkwater new species

(Figures 27, 28, 79)

Type Material. Holotype (male): South Africa: Cape Prov., Table Mountain, Blinkwater ravine, 3/2/1954; deposited in the TMSA. Paratypes (160): South Africa: Cape Prov., Bainskloof Pass above Wellington, wet cliff face, 33° 35' S, 19° 8' E, 1–30 September 2002, D. T. Bilton — (1 DBC); Devilís Peak, in trickling water on rock­face, elev. 609.6 m, 33° 56' S, 18° 27' E, 7 March 1954, J. Balfour­Browne (stn. 20) — (11 BMNH); Mitchellís Pass below Ceres, wet cliff face, 32° 23' S, 19° 16' E, 1–30 September 2002, D. T. Bilton — (9 DBC); Prince Alfred District, Swartbergpas, Platberg, elev. 1524 m, 33° 20' S, 22° 0' E, 6 January 1951, Brinck & Rudebeck (SSAE Stn. 120) — (5 LUM); Swellendam District, Langeberge Mountains, Tradouw Pass, on damp rocks, stn. 42, elev. 426.72 m, 33° 57' S, 20° 42' E, 13 March 1954, J. Balfour­Browne — (59 BMNH); Swellendam District, Langeberge Mountains, Tradouw Pass, on waterfall and in stony stream below, elev. 457.2 m, 33° 57' S, 20° 42' E, 13 March 1954, J. Balfour­Browne (stn. 43) — (8 BMNH); Table Mountain, 33° 58' S, 18° 25' E, 22 October 1950, Brinck & Rudebeck (SSAE Stn. 13) — (1 LUM); Table Mountain, Blinkwater Falls, in running water of dry season trickle, elev. 502.92 m, 33° 58' S, 18° 25' E, 2 March 1954, J. Balfour­Browne (stn. 9) — (42 BMNH); Table Mountain, Blinkwater Falls, on algae under stones, 33° 58' S, 18° 25' E, 6– 21 November 1949, B. Malkin — (3 BMNH); Table Mountain, Blinkwater Falls, on wet mossy cliff­face, elev. 502.92 m, 33° 58' S, 18° 25' E, 2 March 1954, J. Balfour­Browne (stn. 8) — (9 BMNH); Table Mountain, Blinkwater Ravine, 33° 58' S, 18° 25' E, 4 November 1950, Brinck & Rudebeck (SSAE Stn. 23) — (1 LUM); same locality, 33° 58' S, 18° 25' E, 5 November 1951, Brinck & Rudebeck (SSAE Stn. 351) — (1 LUM); Table Mountain, Blinkwater waterfall, 33° 58' S, 18° 25' E, 2 March 1954, unknown — (4 SAMC); Table Mtn., Platteklip Gorge, 33° 58' S, 18° 25' E, 21 March 1954, H. Andreae — (1 SAMC); West Cape, 33° 38' S, 19° 10' E, January 2002, Grebennikov — (3 NMW); W. Cape, rd. R43, Mitchell's Pass, 7 km SW Ceres, wet rock surface, 24 March 2001, I.Ribera & A. Cieslak (1 BMNH). Representative specimens deposited in AMG, CMNH, FMNH, MCZ, TMSA, and USNM.

Diagnosis. Refer to the diagnosis of C. clandestinum .

Description. Size (length/width, mm x 100) holotype: body (length to elytral apices) 263/111, head 56/67, pronotum 59/94, elytra 167/111. Dorsum piceous to black. Maxillary palpus slightly shorter than width of anterior margin of clypeus, last three palpomeres subequal in length, each slightly wider than preceding. Mentum weakly produced apicomedially; depressed on each side of midline near base. Granules of head and pronotum quite similar except much sparser and finer on clypeus apically and pronotum basally. Pronotum with sides angulate at midlength, emarginate in front of and behind angulation; lateral depressions weakly convex, nearly flat.

Elytral intervals: 2nd subcostate in front of and behind weak saddle and irregularly over posterior declivity; 4th raised slightly in interrupted sections; 1st, 3rd and 5th each with unilinear row of granules, granules of a row separated by 1–3x granule diameter; 7th with non­ interrupted unilinear row of granules.

Metasternum with elongate oval depression. Male blunt nosed, labral lobes small, anterior angles of clypeus slightly raised. Female last sternite not emarginate, subapical depression rimmed posteriorly; last tergite weakly bilobate, each lobe bearing a group of strong short spines.

Aedeagus length 0.61 mm; mainpiece markedly sinuate, markedly widened in distal 1/ 2, ridged process angulate, smaller than widened part of mainpiece; gonopore process straight, comparatively wide, slightly longer than membranous process, margin between them angulate (Fig. 28).

Etymology. Named after the Blinkwater Falls of Table Mountain, and all hygropetric collectors.

Distribution. Currently known from western Cape Province (Fig. 79).