Undarobius howarthi Escalona & Oberprieler, 2021

Escalona, Hermes E. & Oberprieler, Rolf G., 2021, Undarobius, a new genus of cavernicolous weevils (Curculionidae: Entiminae Leptopiini) from the Undara Lava Caves in north-eastern Australia, with an overview of anophthalmic and microphthalmic Australian Curculionidae, Zootaxa 5023 (2), pp. 207-222 : 211

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.5023.2.2

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:32EA32BC-0E25-4BF9-86CB-A5C881CB5BCD

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03FB878C-D671-FFD7-7EF0-FF17FAEF0CA6

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Undarobius howarthi Escalona & Oberprieler
status

sp. nov.

Undarobius howarthi Escalona & Oberprieler View in CoL sp. n.

( Figs. 9–10, 12, 14–35 View FIGURES 9–16 View FIGURES 17–25 View FIGURES 26–36 ) http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:E53C4BEB-FA92-4141-AD93-CB3405870D4A

Diagnosis. Body length 4.0– 5.5 mm. Elytral setae short, apically widened and truncate. Punctures on pronotum and elytra fine, sparse, distance between punctures greater than puncture sizes. Body 1.5 × longer than wide, rostrum 2.1 × longer than wide. Prothorax and elytra 1 × and 1.1 × as long as wide, respectively. Spermatheca as in Fig. 35 View FIGURES 26–36 .

Description. General appearance. Body length 4.0– 5.5 mm, 1.5 × longer than wide. Squamae sparse on pronotal and elytral discs but denser laterally, easily abraded ( Figs. 9–10 View FIGURES 9–16 ); pronotal and elytral setae short, apically widened and truncate. Head. Rostrum 2.1 × longer than wide and 1.6 × longer than head in lateral view ( Fig. 19 View FIGURES 17–25 ), oval in cross-section. Prementum as in Fig. 20 View FIGURES 17–25 . Position of eyes indicated by small glabrous area ( Fig. 19 View FIGURES 17–25 ) and in cleared specimens by small mark (probably remnant of an ommatidium). Antennae. Scapes 0.8 × shorter than funicle and club. Funicles with segment 1 longer than 3. Thorax. Pronotum as long as wide, with sparse fine punctures, distance between them larger than puncture size. Hypomera behind procoxae 1.5 × longer than coxal width. Elytra 1.1 × as long as wide, disc barely convex, setae short, apically widened and truncate. Legs. Femora ( Figs. 28–30 View FIGURES 26–36 ) inflated in distal third. Metatibial apex with reduced or well developed mucro. Tarsi with segment 1 shorter than 3–5. Abdomen as in Fig. 27 View FIGURES 26–36 . Male genitalia. Penis as in Figs. 31–32 View FIGURES 26–36 . Female genitalia. Spermatheca as in Fig. 35 View FIGURES 26–36 .

Material examined (14 ex.). HOLOTYPE, ♂: QLD Undara NP / Bayliss Cave / 700m 15 Jun 1985 / F.G. Howarth, F.D. Stone / J. Bresnan BY66 // On cornflakes bait / Cave sections The Wall & / Duckunder // HOLOTYPE / Undarobius howarthi / Escalona & Oberprieler 2021 ( ANIC ). PARATYPES: 2 ex. (1 ♀), same data as holotype ( ANIC ); 6 ex. (2 ♂♂) “QLD 18º 13’S x 144º 36’E / Bayliss Cave Undara NP / 12 Jun 1986 / F. Howarth & S. Robson” ( QM); 5 ex. (1 ♂, 1 ♀) “QLD 18º 13’S x 144º 36’E / Bayliss Cave Undara NP / 31 May 1986 / F. Howarth & D. Irwin” ( QM); 1 ♂, “QLD Undara NP / Bayliss Cave / 22 May 1985 / F.D. Stone, F.G. Howarth / D. Irwin BY8B / [dissected]” ( ANIC ); all labelled “ PARATYPE / Undarobius howarthi / Escalona & Oberprieler 2021”.

Derivation of name. The species is named for the biospeleologist Francis G. Howarth (Hawaii Biological Survey, Hawaii, U.S.A.), one of the discoverers of this exceptional cave inhabitant as well as of other animals of the Undara Lava Cave system .

Comments. All specimens were collected in a deep section of Bayliss Cave known as The Wall, which is about 650 m from the entrance and part of the “stagnant-air” or “bad-air” zone as it has a high concentration of carbon dioxide ( Howarth 1988). The weevils were collected at bait put out on the cave floor, the holotype and one paratype at cornflakes and the others at pieces of sweet potato tuber ( Ipomoea batatas ) (see Fig. 2D View FIGURES 1–8 in Howarth & Stone 1990 and Fig. 11 View FIGURES 9–16 in Stone 2010). Bayliss Cave contains abundant organic material, mainly bat guano and root tresses ( Howarth & Stone 1990). Stone et al. (2012) considered these weevils to be part of the cave tree-root community, functioning as primary consumers of the roots penetrating into the cave from above (identified as Brachychiton , Eucalyptus and Ficus ). As entimine larvae generally feed on roots in the soil, it is possible that those of U. howarthi do so as well, although they may also live among the root tresses above the cave floor or even in the roof of the caves.

QM

Queensland Museum

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Coleoptera

Family

Curculionidae

Genus

Undarobius

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