Hemipeplus palawanensis KC & Pollock, 2025

Kc, Sajan & Pollock, Darren A., 2025, Review of the Hemipeplinae (Coleoptera: Mycteridae) fauna of the world with descriptions of twenty-nine new species, Zootaxa 5574 (1), pp. 1-140 : 115-116

Hemipeplus palawanensis KC & Pollock , sp. nov.

http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:9C428E18-6C45-407E-9FE2-A24E63234BE8

(Figs 53, 65)

Type Material. Holotype, male, labeled: ‘P.I., PALAWAN, Eran Pt., 8 km SW Tarumpitao Pt. 31.XII. ‘59 - 4.I.’60 / L.W. Quate Collector / [light green label] BPBM / [green label] ♂ / [red label] HOLOTYPE ♂ Hemipeplus palawanensis KC & Pollock’, in BPBM. One paratype, male, same label as in holotype, in BPBM .

Derivation of Specific Epithet. The specific name (adjective in the nominative case, in gender agreement with substantive) is given in allusion to the type locality of this species, i.e., Palawan, Philippines .

Diagnosis. Hemipeplus palawanensis sp. nov. can be distinguished from the similar-appearing H. philippinensis sp. nov. (Fig. 49) by its relatively smaller eyes and rounded, instead of angulate, temples. Hemipeplus palawanensis sp. nov. has the following diagnostic features: temples short and rounded; scape submoniliform; eyes moderately large (as long as scape + pedicel), moderately wide and moderately convex; pronotum subquadriform; anterior emargination distinct, moderately deep in the center; anterior half only slightly wider than posterior half; pronotal pad narrow but distinct; anterior pronotal angles rounded, not much produced; posterior angles rectangular, rounded; pronotal lobe short with median notch; body long, flat; color dull, uniformly rufotestaceous; distribution: Philippines (Palawan).

Description. Measurements (in mm)—GHW: 0.57–0.61; HL: 0.47–0.53; AL: 0.77–0.92; GPW: 0.60–0.67; PL: 0.48–0.53; GEW: 0.77–0.80; EL: 2.42–2.78; TL: 3.37–3.84.

Head (Fig. 53B) wide (GHW/HL: 1.15–1.21); eyes moderately large (as long as scape + pedicel), shallow, and less convex; temples short and rounded; occiput with strongly raised areas; antennae shorter than head and pronotum length combined; antennal scape submoniliform, apically dilated; pedicel small moniliform; antennomere III more elongate and apically dilated; IV small, moniliform; V moniliform, larger; VI larger, moniliform, apically dilated; VII–X subtriangular or bowl shaped, each wider than the next; XI subpyriform with apex narrowed after the notch; lateral mandibular tooth absent. Pronotum (Fig. 53B) wide (GPW/PL: 1.25–1.26), subquadriform with flat disc; anterior margin with distinct emargination in the center; anterolateral angles rounded, slightly produced; lateral margins weakly sinuate; posterior half slightly more contracted than anterior half; posterolateral angles rectangular, rounded; pronotal lobe short with median notch; pronotal pad (Fig. 53C) narrow, but distinct; pronotal pits shallow without prominent grooves. Scutellar shield elliptical, transverse, not twice as wide as long. Elytra (Fig. 53A) long (EL/GEW: 3.14–3.48) with flat disc; vestiture short and dense; apical patch long but faint. Ventral surface. Prosternal process short, not extending posterior of procoxae; hypomeral edges narrowly separated but slightly wider than in sympatric H. philippinensis sp. nov.; mesosternal process narrow and linear. Color dull, uniformly rufotestaceous.

Male Genitalia (Figs 53D–F). (Tegmen length = 0.28 mm (n = 1)) Lobe of basale short and blunt, apically bulged; shoulders obtusely angled with moderate slant; apicale and basale with distinct suture; parameres arcuate at the apices; penis slightly longer than tegmen.

Geographical Distribution (Fig. 65). Philippines (Palawan).

FIGURE 53. Hemipeplus palawanensis sp. nov. (Holotype). A. Dorsal habitus (with scale bar); B. Dorsal head and prothorax; C. Lateral view of head and prothorax; D. Male genitalia dorsal view with spiculum gastrale; E. Tegmen dorsal view (with scale bar); F. Tegmen lateral view with one paramere removed.