Thortus tioripatea, Leschen & Chen & Harmer, 2024

Leschen, Richard A. B., Chen, Yandong & Harmer, Aaron M. T., 2024, Revision of flightless New Zealand Picrotini (Coleoptera: Cryptophagidae): phylogeny of Thortus, eye reduction, and rarity, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 64 (2), pp. 455-500 : 489-491

Thortus tioripatea sp. nov.

( Figs 19A, C )

Type material. HOLOTYPE: ♁ ( NZAC), labelled: ‘ NEW ZEALAND, WD, Mt Aspiring NP, Haast Hwy, Cameron Ck Tk K. Marske 15 Jan 2019 nr lookout // Mixed beech, broadleaf forest Sifted leaf and woody litter. 44.15698, 169.30682. 390mm KM359 // Entomology Div. D.S.I.R. New Zealand // NZ Arthropod Collection Private Bag 92170 Auckland New Zealand NZAC04254613 .’

Diagnosis. Thortus tioripatea sp. nov. is recognized by having an incomplete parasutural stria and the eye composed of about 30 facets. It can be distinguished from T. sulcatus sp. nov. by the lack of a median pronotal impression, from T. lobatus sp. nov. by its narrower clypeal constriction, and from T. amoenus by having more eye facets and acute posterior pronotal angles.

Description. Length 1.60 mm. Colour of body light reddish-brown, mouthparts, legs, and antennal club lighter, prothorax lighter, the central disc of pronotum darker. Body surface glabrous, microsculpture absent. Dorsal setae silvery-gold, sparse, dual, consisting of short decumbent and scattered suberect setae of about equal lengths. Ventral surfaces with suberect setae of equal lengths to dorsal setae; mesoventrite foveolate, central disc of metaventrite with punctures larger and more impressed than those of prosternum, punctation of abdominal ventrites 1 to 4 weak and indistinct, punctation on ventrite 5 denser with a well-defined patch of posteriorly-directed setae. Head not lengthened with relatively short gena that is equal in length to antennomere 1; frons narrowed between antennae, width narrowed about half the length of antennomere 1; supra-antennal ridge with well-developed rim, bead absent; vertex delimited anteriorly by a transverse crenulate line, anterior and posterior surfaces glabrous; gular punctation deep and ovate, diameters equal to those on sides of head. Eye consisting of about 32 facets. Antennomere 2 cylindrical, slightly wider than long, antennomere 3 subconical, longer and as wide as 2 and longer and wider than 4, proportions of antennomeres 4–8 more or less similar, antennomere 9 wider than 8 and narrower than 10 and 11, antennomere 10 transverse and as wide as 11, antennomere 11 longer than 10, shorter than 9 and 10 combined. Pronotum subquadrate, pronotal length/width ratio ~0.82, widest at middle; anterior margin straight; anterior angles right and not protruding; lateral edges more or less parallel and not gradually converging anteriorly, very weakly curved posteriorly; pronotal disc with punctures subregular and not uniform, separated by a distance of up to 1–5 times their diameter, median glabrous strip present; median impression absent; transversely depressed at base; basomedial macropuncture absent; posterolateral angles obtuse and acute, not projecting posteriorly; posterior margin sinuate with a well-developed scutellar lobe. Prosternal process with well-developed lateral marginal beads, without deep longitudinal depression medially, process nearly parallel-sided not widened posteriorly behind procoxae, apex nearly straight, width less than width of procoxa and 0.36 times shorter than length of prosternum; procoxal cavity without anterolateral notch. Scutellary shield trapezoidal, 1.68 times as wide as long. Elytra about 1.48 times as long as combined widths, about 1.15 times greatest width of pronotum, about 2.06 times length of pronotum; setation dual of equal sizes, consisting of moderately short decumbent setae and very few scattered suberect setae; humeral plica present but reduced; parasutural stria present and short, present at apical 1/3, interspace with few setae; punctation similar to pronotum only at base, otherwise smaller and less dense, separated by a distance of up to 1–7 times their diameter. Metaventrital process with anterior margin straight, marginal bead present at sides, absent at middle. Tarsi moderately slender, female unknown, 5-5- 4 in male, male protarsomeres 1–3 with tenent setae; mesotarsomeres 1–3 of subequal lengths, mesotarsomere 5 equal to combined lengths of tarsomeres 1–4. First abdominal ventrite with postcoxal lines divergent extending just beyond mid-length of sclerite; intercoxal process rounded at apex.

Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from tiori-patea, meaning in te reo Māori ‘the way ahead is clear’, for Haast Pass which was used as a traditional trade route through the Southern Alps.

Distribution. South Island: WD ( Fig. 21 ).

Remarks. Thortus tioripatea sp. nov. is known by a single male from Haast Pass. It was not dissected.

Figures

Fig. 19. Thortus and Picrotus species. A – Thortus tioripatea sp. nov., dorsal habitus (length = 1.60 mm); B – T. michauxi sp. nov., lateral view of head and prothorax; C – T. tioripatea sp. nov., same; D – T. helmorei sp. nov., same; E – T. ovalis Broun, 1893, same; F – P. wairarapa sp. nov., same.

Fig. 21. Distribution maps of flightless New Zealand Picrotini.