Saprinus (Saprinus) artensis Marseul, 1862

Lackner, Tomas & Leschen, Richard A. B., 2017, A monograph of the Australopacific Saprininae (Coleoptera, Histeridae), ZooKeys 689, pp. 1-263 : 79-83

Saprinus (Saprinus) artensis Marseul, 1862 Figs 320, 321-329, 330-336, 760

Saprinus artensis Marseul, 1862: 445.

Type locality.

New Caledonia.

Type material examined.

Saprinus artensis Marseul, 1862: Lectotype, present designation: ♂, side mounted on a triangular card, with terminalia glued on the same triangular card as specimen, right protarsus and left mesotarsus missing, both metatarsal claws broken off, with the following labels: "13 / Saprinus / artensis m. / illegible text" (round pink label, written); followed by: " artensis / type" (pencil-written label added probably by G. Dahlgren); followed by: “TYPE” (red-typed label); followed by: "MUSEUM PARIS / artensis / COLL / DE MARSEUL 1890" (pink label, typed-written); followed by: “09-052” (yellow, pencil-written label, added by the senior author); followed by: " Saprinus / artensis / Marseul, 1862 / LECTOTYPE / Des. T. Lackner ’11” (red label, written) (MNHN). This species was described from an unknown number of specimens and the lectotype designation fixes the identity of species.

Additional material examined.

1 ♂, New Caledonia (MNHN). Apparently this specimen is also from Marseul’s collection, but does not originate from the same sampling as the lectotype. There is no “Type” label on it and therefore it is not designated as the paralectotype; 5 ♂♂, "New Caledonia", all from Schmidt’s collection, one male has a small label: “Type” - it is not clear whether it forms a part of the syntype series or not (ZMHUB); 1 ♀, New Caledonia, A. Deyr[olle] (NCB). 1 ♂ & 1 ♀, N. Caledonia, Fauvel (BMNH).

Biology.

Unknown, presumably similar to congeners.

Distribution.

Endemic to New Caledonia, rarely collected (Fig. 760).

Re-description.

Body length: PEL: 3.35 mm; EL: 2.00 mm; APW: 1.25 mm; PPW: 2.50 mm; EW: 2.80 mm (only the type specimen was measured).

Body (Fig. 320), convex, cuticle dark brown, almost black, shining, without metallic luster; legs, mouthparts and antennal scape dark brown; antennal club black.

Antennal scape (Fig. 321) black, slightly thickened, finely punctuate, with two setae; antennal club (Fig. 322) covered with dense short sensilla intermingled with sparse longer erect setae; sensory structures of antennal club not examined.

Mandibles dorso-laterally densely punctuate, rounded; labrum finely and sparsely punctuate, convex, with shallow median depression; labral pits present, each with a single labral seta; mentum (Fig. 323) almost quadrate, furnished with sporadic seate, anterior margin with deep triangular notch furnished with several longer setae; other mouthparts not examined.

Clypeus (Fig. 321) broad, flattened, sloping down laterally, its punctation denser and coarser than that of labrum; frontal and supra-orbital striae complete, slightly carinate; frontal disc (Fig. 321) finely punctuate, punctures separated by about several times their diameter; eyes convex, well visible from above.

Pronotal sides (Fig. 320) moderately narrowing anteriorly, apical angles obtuse, pronotal depressions shallow but present, anterior incision for head shallow; marginal pronotal stria complete, slightly carinate, visible along its entire length from dorsal view, weakened anteriorly; pronotal disc laterally with a band of deep dense elongate punctures originating approximately in pronotal depressions, but not reaching basal angles of pronotum, between it and pronotal margin a narrow smooth band present; rest of the pronotal disc almost smooth, with only scattered microscopic punctation; double row of fine ovoid punctures present along pronotal base not reaching ante-scutellar area; pronotal hypomeron glabrous; scutellum small, visible.

Elytral epipleura with a double row of fine punctures; marginal epipleural stria complete; marginal elytral stria well impressed and slightly carinate, continued as complete apical elytral stria. Humeral elytral stria well impressed on basal fourth, faintly connected to rather long inner subhumeral stria; four dorsal elytral striae 1-4 well impressed, all about the same length (third elytral stria slightly shorter than others), not reaching elytral half apically; first and second dorsal elytral striae in fine punctures, first elytral interval with elongate strioles; third and fourth striae in large sparsely set punctures, surface of second and third elytral intervals almost smooth, only with microscopic punctation; fourth dorsal elytral stria curved towards sutural elytral stria but not connected with it; sutural elytral stria well-impressed, in fine punctures, abbreviated on basal fourth, apically connected with apical elytral stria; elytral disc on apical 4/7 in dense large punctures; punctures separated by about their own diameter, laterally and especially apically punctures aciculate; elytral flanks almost impunctate.

Propygidium (Fig. 324) very densely punctuate, punctures separated by less than their diameter; pygidium (Fig. 324) with similar, if somewhat sparser punctation, interspaces in both cases imbricate.

Anterior margin of median portion of prosternum (Fig. 325) almost straight, rounded laterally; marginal prosternal stria present laterally and also as apical fragment; prosternal process between carinal prosternal striae flat, punctuate; carinal prosternal striae carinate, parallel on basal three-fourths, on apical fourth slightly divergent, united in front (Fig. 325); lateral prosternal striae carinate, rather short, apically attaining carinal prosternal striae at about three-fourths of their length.

Anterior margin of mesoventrite (Fig. 326) distinctly inwardly arcuate; discal marginal mesoventral stria well impressed, carinate; disc with sparse fine punctation, punctures becoming larger near meso-metaventral suture; meso-metaventral sutural stria indicated by a row of large punctures; intercoxal disc of metaventrite flattened, with slight longitudinal median depression; disc of metaventrite for the most part almost smooth, along posterior margin several rows of punctation appears; lateral metaventral stria (Fig. 327) well impressed, carinate, almost straight, shortened; lateral disc of metaventrite (Fig. 327) slightly concave, with dense shallow large setigerous punctures; metepisternum (Fig. 327) similar, but with deeper and larger punctures without setae, on fused metepimeron punctures becoming much sparser; metepisternal stria present along fused metepimeron, along metepisternum present as short intermittent fragments.

Intercoxal disc of first abdominal ventrite almost completely striate laterally; disc along basal and lateral margins with shallow punctures of various sizes; rest of sternite with scattered microscopic punctation.

Protibia (Fig. 328) slightly dilated, outer margin with five low teeth topped by large denticle, denticles diminishing in size proximally, followed by three minute denticles; setae of outer, median rows, anterior protibial stria and protarsal groove not examined; protibial spur large, bent, growing out from apical margin of protibia; outer part of posterior surface (Fig. 328) slightly obscurely variolate, separated from finely punctuate and narrow median part of posterior surface by a definite stria bearing a row of setae; posterior protibial stria complete, bearing almost along its entire length dense row of setae becoming stiffer and longer apically; apical margin of protibia ventrally with three short denticles; inner row of setae single, setae leaf-like, short, diminishing in size basally.

Mesotibia (Fig. 329) slender, outer margin with a row of sparse long denticles growing in size apically, another row of much shorter sparser denticles situated on anterior surface of mesotibia; setae of outer row regular, thick, almost as long as denticles themselves; setae of median row shorter and finer; posterior mesotibial stria almost complete; anterior surface of mesotibia sparsely punctuate, interspaces imbricate; anterior mesotibial stria complete; mesotibial spur stout, short; apical margin of mesotibia anteriorly with two short denticles; inner margin of mesotibia with sparse row of short setae; claws of apical tarsomere bent, longer than half its length; metatibia slenderer and longer than mesotibia, in all aspects similar to it, but denticles on outer margin much shorter and sparser.

Male genitalia. Eighth sternite (Figs 330-331) with pseudo-pores, fused medially, apex with large velum mesally adorned with dense rows of microscopic setae; laterally apex of eighth sternite with rows of longer dense setae; eighth tergite and eighth sternite not fused laterally (Fig. 332). Ninth tergite (Figs 333-334) typical for the subfamily; tenth tergite inwardly arcuate, apical angles strongly sclerotized, bent; spiculum gastrale (Fig. 333) gradually dilated on most of its apical half; basal end heart-shaped, inwardly arcuate. Aedeagus (Figs 335-336) parallel-sided, with parameres fused along their basal half (roughly), basal piece of aedeagus short, ratio of its length: length of parameres 1: 4; aedeagus slightly curved from lateral view (Fig. 336).