Fauna of New Zealand 69 - Landcare Research

Fauna of New Zealand 69 61
anteriorly, moderately sinuate posteriorly; lateral beads
narrow; lateral depressions absent; each anterolateral setiferous
puncture situated just in front of middle and touching
lateral bead; posterolateral angles usually rectangular,
sometimes acute and projecting laterally, not denticulate;
laterobasal foveae well defined, finely punctate, shallow,
narrow, oblong; base slightly arcuate, about as wide as
apex, moderately narrower than elytral base. Prosternum
impunctate, unwrinkled. Proepisterna impunctate or barely
punctate, unwrinkled. Metepisterna impunctate or barely
punctate. Elytra. Widest in front of middle. Shoulders
moderately rounded, denticulate. Sides strongly rounded.
Scutellar striole impunctate. Striae mostly complete (stria
7 obsolete in basal half; complete in other species), shallow,
finely punctate (coarsely punctate in other species).
Intervals depressed, becoming slightly convex apically.
Sutural apices angular. Abdomen. Sterna impunctate
(punctate in other species). Last visible sternum (sternum
VII): male with four apical ambulatory setae; female with
four apical and two medial ambulatory setae. Aedeagus.
Lateral view (Fig. 76): strongly arcuate; apex moderately
wide, moderately rounded, not projecting dorsoventrally,
with a posterodorsal notch. Dorsal view: asymmetrical
(ostium deflected to the right); apex deflected to the right.
Material examined. 71 specimens (AMNZ, BMNH,
CMNZ, JNNZ, LUNZ, NZAC).
Geographic distribution (Map p. 181). South Island:
CO, DN, OL, SL.
Ecology. Lowland, montane, subalpine, alpine. Wet forests
(beech, broadleaf, podocarp), tussock grasslands, and
alpine meadows. Gregarious. Shaded (mostly) or open
ground; wet soil. Nocturnal; active at night on trees; hides
during the day under (mostly) and in logs, also in leaf litter.
Biology. Seasonality: September to March, June, August.
Tenerals: January-February. Predacious (based on mouthpart
morphology).
Dispersal power. Elytra fused basally along suture. Subapterous.
Moderate runner. Regular climber (on trees).
Vagility limited by flight incapacity.
Reference. Larochelle & Larivière, 2001: 68 (biology,
dispersal power, ecology, geographic distribution).
Remark. Examination of the holotype of Tarastethus
fovealis revealed it to be conspecific with Tarastethus
southlandicus.
Tarastethus sirvidi E new species
Figures 77, 122, 217; Map p. 181
Tarastethus sirvidi Larochelle & Larivière, new species. Holotype:
male (NZAC) labelled “NEW ZEALAND SL
Longwood SF [=State Forest], Bald Hill 700m 26.I.1999
Larivière, Larochelle (typed) / Wet subalpine cloud for.
[=forest] (beech): mossy floor. Under beech branches, in the
open (typed) / HOLOTYPE [male symbol] Tarastethus sirvidi
Larochelle & Larivière, 2013 (red label; typed).” Paratypes:
one male and one female (NZAC) from Longwood
Range, bearing blue paratype labels.
Description. Body: length 4.3–5.6 mm. Head, pronotum,
elytra, and abdomen black; margins and suture of elytra
reddish; antennae, palpi, and tarsi pale yellowish; tibiae
and femora infuscate. Head. Finely and sparsely punctate
in and between frontal furrows, unwrinkled dorsally,
slightly narrower across eyes than pronotal apex. Labrum
moderately transverse, subtruncate anteriorly. Antennae:
segment 1 (scape) moderately long, about 1.5× longer
than its maximum width. Frontal furrows wide, shallow.
Eyes smaller than in other species, moderately convex;
two supraorbital setiferous punctures on inner side of
each eye. Interocular fovea absent or almost so. Tempora
convex, moderately long (about half as long as eyes).
Mentum: medial tooth slightly shorter than lateral lobes.
Paraglossae membranous, prominent, much longer than
ligula, slightly converging anteriorly. Thorax. Pronotum
(Fig. 122) strongly convex, coarsely punctate across base,
finely punctate along lateral beads, impunctate on disc,
unwrinkled, strongly cordate; apex straight; anterolateral
angles poorly developed, obtusely rounded; sides strongly
rounded anteriorly, moderately sinuate posteriorly; lateral
beads slightly widening from apex to base; lateral depressions
absent; each anterolateral setiferous puncture
situated just in front of middle and touching lateral bead;
posterolateral angles usually rectangular, sometimes acute
and projecting laterally, not denticulate; laterobasal foveae
well defined, finely punctate, deep, wide, oblong, elongate
anteriorly; base more or less straight, about as wide as
apex, moderately narrower than elytral base. Prosternum
punctate, unwrinkled. Proepisterna punctate, unwrinkled.
Metepisterna punctate. Elytra. Widest in front of middle.
Sides strongly rounded. Shoulders moderately rounded,
denticulate. Scutellar striole absent. Striae complete,
moderately deep, coarsely punctate. Intervals slightly
convex throughout. Sutural apices angular. Abdomen.
Sterna coarsely and sparsely punctate. Last visible sternum
(sternum VII): male with four apical and two subapical
ambulatory setae; female with four apical and four medial
ambulatory setae. Aedeagus. Lateral view (Fig. 77):
strongly arcuate; apex very wide, truncate, not projecting
dorsoventrally, notched dorsally only. Dorsal view: symmetrical
(ostium expanding equally towards sides); apex
deflected to the left.