Limbodessus aipo, Balke & Villastrigo & Hájek & Surbakti & Panjaitan & Hendrich, 2025

Balke, Michael, Villastrigo, Adrián, Hájek, Jiří, Surbakti, Suriani, Panjaitan, Rawati & Hendrich, Lars, 2025, A review of Limbodessus Guignot, 1939 from New Guinea, with description of eight new tropical-alpine species (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae, Bidessini), Alpine Entomology 9, pp. 5-28 : 5-28

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.3897/alpento.9.147831
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:15F39A4A-E56E-41F1-860B-90B05ABF06E8
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15602637
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/933F3CFD-C4A0-5E7D-B689-5071F4E849CD
treatment provided by	Alpine Entomology by Pensoft
scientific name	Limbodessus aipo
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Limbodessus aipo sp. nov.

Figs 1 A View Figure 1 , 7 A View Figure 7 , 11 A View Figure 11 , 13 A View Figure 13 , 14 View Figure 14 , 17 F, G View Figure 17

Type locality.

Small peatland pool, along track from Aipomek to Langda, 3,550 –3,600 m [140°05'E, 04°27'S], Papua, Indonesia.

Type material.

Holotype, male. “ IRIAN JAYA: Aipomek Area [N Pass] Aipomek-Langda , 140°05'E 04°27'S, 22. - 24. 8. 1992, 3550–3600 m, leg. M. Balke (20–22) ” [IR 92 # 20-22], “ Holotype Limbodessus aipo sp. nov. Balke et al. 2025 ” [red printed label] ( NHMW). GoogleMaps

Paratypes (96): 46 exs., same label data as holotype ( NHMW, KSP, ZSM) GoogleMaps ; 37 exs., “ Irian Jaya: Aipomek area, 140°06'E 04°27'S, 27. 8. 1992, 3500 m [S pass] Aipomek-Langda , leg. Balke (23) ” GoogleMaps ; 13 exs., “ Irian Jaya, ca. 139°47'E 04°19'S [Valley below Mt. Orom, trek Kono-Angguruk , 2800 m], 5–6.10. 1993, leg. Balke (29 / 30) ” [IR 93 # 29-30] ( NHMW, KSP, ZSM) GoogleMaps . All paratypes are provided with a red printed paratype label.

Measurements.

Holotype: TL = 1.55 mm; TL-H = 1.50 mm; MW = 0.70 mm. Paratypes: TL = 1.60–1.70 mm; TL-H = 1.50–1.60 mm; MW = 0.65–0.70 mm.

Description.

Smaller species, body elongate, appearing somewhat parallel-sided, with slight discontinuity in lateral outline between pronotum and elytron. Cervical or sutural line absent. Pronotal and elytral stria present and distinct, long (Fig. 1 A View Figure 1 ).

Color. Body dark brown to blackish. Clypeus and pronotum anteriorly, medially and laterally slightly paler: dark ferruginous to castaneous brown. Antennomeres 1–5 / 6 dark ferruginous, 6–11 darker, blackish; in a few specimens paler however, completely ferruginous. Legs dark ferruginous (Fig. 1 A View Figure 1 ). Ventral side chiefly black. Prosternum, epipleura and sternite 7 ferruginous.

Sculpture. Head moderately densely punctate; punctation on clypeus and vertex sparse; with distinct microreticulation of small polygonal meshes. Size of punctures equals diameter of meshes. Pronotum with moderately dense punctation along fore-margin; other parts with sparse punctation. Size of punctures as on head. Elytron with moderately dense and evenly distributed punctation; between punctures with almost invisible larger polygonal meshes. Ventral side with few punctures, shiny; only sternite 7 with distinct microreticulation. Epipleura narrow posteriorly, disappeared at level of sternite 6, sternite 7 with border.

Structures. Metacoxal lines anteriorly diverging and not reaching posterior margin of metaventrite.

Male. Pronotum with microreticulation of small polygonal meshes being confined to a medial portion, expanded laterally as far as level of striae. Elytron shiny, no microreticulation visible between punctures but a network of large polygonal meshes. Antenna moniliform due to globular form of antennomeres (Fig. 13 A View Figure 13 ). Median lobe as in Fig. 7 A View Figure 7 , parameres as in Fig. 11 A View Figure 11 .

Female. Pronotum shagreened, dull. Elytron dull, distinctly shagreened between the punctures. Antenna moniliform due to globular form of antennomeres.

Etymology.

Dedicated to the people inhabiting parts of the type area, i. e. the Aipo people. The name is a noun in the nominative standing in apposition.

Distribution.

Aipomek-Langda and valley below Mt. Orom, trek Kono-Angguruk, in the Central Highlands of Papua (Fig. 14 View Figure 14 ).

Differential diagnosis.

Limbodessus aipo sp. nov. belongs to a group of smaller (TL = 1.55–1.90 mm) and almost blackish high alpine species. The new species is close to L. aldente sp. nov., L. elit sp. nov. and L. wilhelmina sp. nov. but can be separated from them by the form of the female antennae, which is moniliform due to globular form of antennomeres (Fig. 13 A View Figure 13 ), the form of the median lobe (Fig. 7 A, B, C View Figure 7 ), and the form of the parameres (Fig. 11 A View Figure 11 ).

Habitat.

Small puddles in alpine meadows (Fig. 17 F, G View Figure 17 ).