Maechidius kainantu Telnov, 2025

Telnov, Dmitry, 2025, New and poorly known Papuan species of Maechidius W. S. MacLeay, 1819 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae: Maechidiini), Zootaxa 5665 (1), pp. 58-66 : 59-62

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5665.1.3
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:FDF8461C-A293-4B19-9B0A-6D66CA4F2502
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16608390
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03B2CA79-FFCA-FFB4-8FCB-21FCFAB08B09
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Maechidius kainantu Telnov
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Maechidius kainantu Telnov , sp. nov.

http://zoobank.org/ D165C326-DA70-4FB5-AC3E-DDA23B2BC554

( Figures 1–2 View FIGURE 1 View FIGURE 2 )

Type material. Holotype ♂ ( MHNG): 8 II 79 [handwritten] PNG / EHProv. Umg.Kainantu Onerunka [printed].

Measurements. Holotype ♂, total body length 9.0 mm; head 1.6 mm long, across eyes 2.1 mm wide; pronotum 1.9 mm long, maximum width 3.1 mm; elytral length 5.6 mm, maximum width of elytra 4.4 mm.

Description of the holotype ♂. Dorsum and venter uniformly black to black-brown, edges of labroclypeus and pronotum, legs and antennae rufous brown. Head transverse, glossy dorsally and ventrally, frons moderately convex in dorsal aspect. Maximum head width is across compound eyes. Male labroclypeus ( Fig. 1B View FIGURE 1 ) broadly and rather shallowly emarginate at anterior margin in dorsal view, its lateral margins sinuous both in dorsal and lateral view. Anterolateral angles of labroclypeus nearly right-angled in dorsal view, produced anteriorly. Canthus nearly straight in dorsal, slightly arched in lateral view. Compound eye large, divided by canthus to approximately one third of length.Dorsal punctures of head elliptical, deep and dense, variable in size, sometimes with membranous background. Intervening spaces glossy and smooth, nearly as wide as puncture diameters on labroclypeus and anterior portion of frons, distinctly narrower than puncture diameters and in part wrinkle-like raised on posterior head. Labroclypeus laterally and canthus covered with microscopic velvety setae. Head setae whitish, minute and thickened (subclavate); anterior portion of each puncture with seta, not or slightly surpassing length of corresponding puncture. Antenna 9-segmented, club 3-lamellate. Pronotum strongly transverse, glossy dorsally and laterally, broadly emarginate at anterior margin, anteromesal portion barely produced anteriorly, significantly less strongly so than anterolateral angles of pronotum. Basal margin of pronotum obtuse angulate produced posteriorly at median portion. Lateral margin of pronotum in dorsal view sinuous, broadly emarginate in basal third, broadly rounded in median third, distinctly constricted anteriorly, flattened and somewhat deflected. Pronotal lateral margin lobulate all along ( Fig. 1A, B View FIGURE 1 ). Inconspicuous thickened seta present between each two lobulae. Lateral margin of pronotum slightly sinuous in lateral view. Hypomeron slightly emarginate and moderately long setose at anterolateral extent which is flange-like produced. Antennal pocket deep. Median anterior process of proventrite flange-like produced anteroventrally, with extraordinary long dirty yellowish brush like setae. Dorsal pronotal punctures irregularly elliptical, deep, dense, subconfluent and arranged in sinuous, irregular rows. Punctures are smaller on narrow area along lateral and basal margins. Intervening spaces glossy and smooth, raised, wrinkle-like, narrower than punctures. Lateral and basal margins, antero- and posterolateral angles covered with microscopic velvety setae. Pronotal setae similar to those on dorsal head but generally sparser and shorter. Scutellar shield lanceolate, apically narrowly rounded, covered with microscopic velvety setae and with several circular (shorter setose) areas each with single short, thickened yellowish seta ( Fig. 1B View FIGURE 1 ). Elytra subrectangular, slightly widened in posterior two thirds, moderately glossy. Elytral apical area slightly humped posterolaterally, depressed between hump and apical sutural angle. Elytral punctures irregularly elliptical, deep and dense, slightly smaller than those on pronotal disc, subconfluent and arranged in sinuous rows directed longitudinally or (rarely) obliquely laterally, building “dactyloscopic” pattern ( Fig. 1A View FIGURE 1 ). Intervening spaces glossy and smooth, raised and wrinkle-like, approximately as wide as puncture diameters. Elytral setae generally minute; seta arises from anterior or central portions of most punctures, not surpassing half-length of corresponding punctures. Some punctures contain longer and thickened (subclavate) seta approximately of length of corresponding puncture. Lateral margin, epipleuron and inclined apical area of elytron with microscopic velvety setae. Male abdominal sternites with short to very short, sparse, subclavate setae, without long setae. Pygidium ( Fig. 1E View FIGURE 1 ) regularly, moderately densely punctate, each puncture with yellowish thickened subclavate seta; setae closer to posterior margin of pygidium much longer than those on its anterior portion. Most of pygidium except for small subcircular anteromedial area covered with dense microscopic velvety setae. External margin of male protibia arched, with one rounded predistal and one acute distal tooth ( Fig. 1C View FIGURE 1 ). Male terminal protibial spur nearly straight, short and pointed apically. Male upper mesotibial terminal spur short, apically pointed; lower spur significantly longer and strongly bent down ( Fig. 1D View FIGURE 1 ). Male upper metatibial terminal spur much shorter and more slender than lower, apically subacutely pointed; lower spur longer and thicker, somewhat sinuous, apically slightly curved and rounded. Aedeagus as in Fig. 2 View FIGURE 2 .

Sexual dimorphism. Female is unknown.

Derivatio nominis. Named after the Kainantu-Goroka language group distributed in the area where the new species occurs. Noun in apposition.

Differential diagnosis. The new species belongs to the informal sturnus species-group as proposed by Telnov (2020). In M. caperatus Telnov, 2020 (western part of the Central Cordillera of New Guinea) the male protibia is unidentate distally (an inconspicuous trace of a predistal tooth is present, but significantly less developed than in M. kainantu sp. nov.), the pronotum is comparatively shorter and wider, basally subtruncate, the anterolateral angles approximately as slightly produced anteriorly as the anteromedial area of pronotum, the elytral punctures in part arranged in transverse to subtransverse subconfluent rows (in part only obliquely laterally arranged in M. kainantu sp. nov.), and the pygidium got the narrow median longitudinal stripe of whitish microscopic velvety setae. In M. sturnus Arrow, 1941 (Yapen Island, Cenderawasih Bay) the elytral punctures bearing longer setae are encircled by microscopic velvety setae, the lateral pronotal margin is not emarginate in basal third, the male protibia is unidentate distally, the elytral disc is somewhat uneven in dorsal aspect, the pygidium with the narrow median longitudinal stripe of whitish microscopic velvety setae, and the apex of the paramere is more strongly flattened and widened compared to that of M. kainantu sp. nov.

Distribution. Hitherto known from Aiyura Valley in Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea.