Eurymorphopus cunctatus ( Bolívar, 1887 )

Damien, Niko Kasalo, Laure, Damien Brouste, Christophe, Laure Desutter-Grandcolas, Domagoj, Christophe Hervé, Josip, Domagoj Bogić & Skejo, Josip, 2025, Atlas of New Caledonian Tetrigidae with preliminary suprageneric classification of Batrachideinae, Zoosystema 47 (18), pp. 327-397 : 373-376

Eurymorphopus cunctatus ( Bolívar, 1887)

( Fig. 39)

Amorphopus cunctatus Bolívar, 1887: 250 (original description of the species).

Eurymorphopus cunctatus – Hancock 1907: 36 (included in the newly described genus). — Kirby 1910: 21 (included in a catalog). — Steinmann 1970: 159 (included in a catalog). — Günther 1972: 270 (notes on the morphology). — Vanschuytbroeck 1980: 10 (included in a catalog). — Blackith 1992: 69 (included in a catalog). — Paris 1993: 236 (included in a catalog). — Tumbrinck 2014a: 361 (taxonomic notes). — Storozhenko 2023b: 62 (included in a catalog).

TYPE MATERIAL. — Lectotype. New Caledonia • 1 ♂; ISNB; OSF SpecimenID=117361. This specimen is here designated as the lectotype. The paralectotype male at NMW is in fact a specimen of E. bolivariensis .

TYPE LOCALITY. — New Caledonia (without precision).

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — New Caledonia • 1 ♂; Pic du Grand Kaori; 22°16’58”S, 166°52’58”E; 250 m a.s.l.; 22.XII.2004 - 12.I.2005; Burwell, Wright leg.; QM • 3 ♂, 1 N; Mandjelia ; 20°23’59”S, 164°31’58”E; 750 m a.s.l.; 11-13.V.1984; Monteith, Cook leg; QM • 1 ♀; Pic du Pin; 22°13’58”S, 166°49’58”E; 280 m a.s.l.; 25.XI.2004 - 12.I.2005; Monteith, Grimbacher leg; QM • 4♀; Table Unio road; 21°33’57”S, 165°45’57”E; 600 m a.s.l.; 14.XI.2000; Bouchard, Burwell, Monteith leg; QM • 1♂; Pic d’Amoa , north slopes; 20°57’25”S, 165°17’27”E; 26.XI.2003; Monteith leg.; pyrethrum – logs and trees; QM . • 1 ♀; Col d’Amieu ; 21°36’25”S, 165°48’36”E; 400 m a.s.l.; 25.XI.2003 - 27.I.2004; Monteith leg.; flight intercept; QM • 1 N; Mt Panié , Dawenia; 20°32’14”S, 164°40’53”E; 640 m a.s.l.; 11-15.XI.2010; F. Legendre leg.; MNHN-EO-CAELIF10854 • 1 ♀; Mt Panié , Roches de la Wayem; 20°38’18”S, 164°51’59”E; 715 m a.s.l.; 1-6.XI.2010; F. Legendre leg.; MNHN-EO-CAELIF10858 • 1 ♀; Mt Panié , Dawenia, cascade; 20°32’24”S, 164°40’43”E; 620 m a.s.l.; 11-15. XI.2010; F. Legendre leg.; MNHN-EO-CAELIF10869 • 1 ♀; Mt Panié , Roches de la Wayem; 20°38’21”S, 164°51’52”E; 750 m a.s.l.; 1-6.XI.2010; F. Legendre leg.; MNHN-EO-CAELIF10882 .

DISTRIBUTION. — Sparsely distributed across the entirety of New Caledonia.

HABITAT. — Found at night in humid forests, generally on living trees with smooth bark, 10 cm to 1.5 m high.

DIAGNOSIS. — Low vertex. Median carina forming low triangular hump in anterior part of pronotum.

REMARKS

Tumbrinck (2014a) pointed out that the syntypes of this species differ according to Günther (1972), but he did not have a chance to examine the entire type material. Now that we have access to both the syntype from IRSNB and the one from NMW, recently made available by Josef Tumbrinck himself, it is clear that one of the specimens represents E. cunctatus , while the other is in fact E. bolivariensis . We conduct lectotypization to resolve this issue.

Similarly to the species of Hyperyboella and Dystopia Kasalo & Skejo , n. gen., E. cunctatus specimens examined here exhibit an unusual amount of variability – most notably in the height of the pronotal crest (ranging from very low to moderately high), tuberculation of middle femora, and the shape of the lateral pronotal carinae. The populations that differ the most from the holotype morphology are those found at Table Unio road and Mt Panié, while the populations that are most similar to the holotype occur at the extreme north and south of the island. There is no apparent geographic pattern to these morphologies and it is unclear what the phylogeny of these populations might look like. Since multiple cryptic species are possible, we report all the specimens as E. cunctatus until more data allows the issue to be resolved.