Oopterus clivinoides Guerin-Meneville 1841

Oopterus clivinoides Guérin-Méneville, 1841

Fig. 40, 86, 122

Oopterus clivinoïdes Guérin-Méneville, 1841: 123. Type locality: Auckland Islands [AU].

Oopterus guerini Kirsch, in Kiesenwetter and Kirsch 1877: 158. Type locality: Auckland Islands [AU]. Synonymized by Gourlay 1950: 181.

Oopterus tripunctatus Broun, 1909: 87. Type locality: Carnley Harbour, Auckland Islands [AU]. Synonymized by Gourlay 1950: 181.

Oopterus tarsalis Broun, 1909: 89. Type locality: Campbell Island [CA]. Synonymized by Johns 1974: 297.

Pseudoopterus guerini: Csiki 1928: 225.

Pseudoopterus tripunctatus: Csiki 1928: 226.

Pseudoopterus tarsalis: Csiki 1928: 226.

Description. Body length 4.5–5.6 mm. Head, pronotum, elytra, and abdomen mostly piceous black; lateral margins and suture of elytra reddish; abdomen yellowish laterally and apically; antennae and legs reddish; palpi yellowish; femora yellowish, reddish basally. Microsculpture strong and isodiametric on head, moderately transverse, strong on pronotum, feeble on elytra. Iridescence absent. Very shiny, with metallic luster (aeneous) on head, pronotum, and elytra. Head. Labrum moderately transverse, slightly emarginate anteriorly. Antennae submoniliform, short: segment 1 (scape) moderately long, about 2x longer than its maximum width. Frontal furrows wide, deep, convergent. Eyes moderately convex; two setiferous punctures on inner side of each eye. Tempora strongly inflated (about two-thirds as long as eyes). Mentum: medial tooth entire, acute apically, moderately shorter than lateral lobes. Paraglossae membranous, prominent, about as long as ligula. Thorax. Pronotum strongly convex, finely punctate across base, wrinkled between laterobasal foveae, slightly transverse and cordate, widest before middle; apex subtruncate; anterolateral angles poorly developed, obtusely rounded; anterior bead incomplete, obsolete medially; sides strongly rounded, slightly sinuate posteriorly; lateral grooves absent; two setiferous punctures on each side; posterolateral angles obtuse; posterolateral carinae absent; laterobasal foveae well defined, finely punctate, very deep and wide, oblong, prolonged forward, simple; posterior bead absent; base emarginate, much narrower than pronotal apex, about as wide as elytral base. Legs. Short. Elytra. Strongly convex, ovate, widest about middle. Basal margin incomplete, reaching about stria 4. Shoulders rounded. Sides strongly rounded. Scutellar striole obsolete. Striae incomplete; stria 1 deep; striae 2–7 finely punctate, obsolete (striae 2–5 shallow medially); stria 3 with three setiferous punctures. Recurrent stria long, sharp, directed apically toward stria 7. Subapical seta absent (present in other Oopterus species). Intervals depressed. Sutural apices rounded. Abdomen. Last visible sternum (sternum VII): male with two apical and two medial ambulatory setae; female with four apical and two medial ambulatory setae. Aedeagus. Lateral view (Fig. 86): strongly arcuate, not widened in apical half; base slightly convex dorsally; middle subparallel, dorsally angulate, moderately concave anteriorly and straight posteriorly, moderately concave ventrally, with dorsal membranous area narrow and short; apex subtriangular, straight dorsally, slightly concave ventrally, with extreme tip wide and long. Dorsal view: narrow, symmetrical (ostium of membranous area dorsal); apex straight; basal orifice narrow, closed anteriorly, moderately distant from membranous area. Parameres with three or four apical setae.

Material examined. 653 specimens (AMNZ, CMNZ, LUNZ, MONZ, NZAC).

Geographic distribution (Fig. 122). Stewart Island: Port William. Subantarctic Islands: AN, AU, CA, SN.

Ecology. Lowland, montane, subalpine, alpine. Epigean. Wet forests (broadleaf); peaty scrublands; tussock areas; pastures; fellfields, supralittoral zone; sea beaches; penguin, shag, and seal colonies. Shaded or open ground. Nocturnal; hides during the day under logs, stones, in leaf litter, moss and mat plants, also under cow dung, in turf, among tussock roots, in logs, and under algae. Gregarious.

Biology. Seasonality: October–February, April–May, July. Tenerals: December–April (AU). Predacious: amphipods, caterpillars. Occasionally infested with fungi (Laboulbeniales).

Dispersal power. Subapterous (incapable of flight). Slow runner.

Collecting techniques. Lifting logs and stones; sifting leaf litter, moss, and mat plants.

References. Larochelle and Larivière 2001: 73 (catalogue; biology, dispersal power, ecology, geographic distribution, references), 2016: 20 (list).

Remarks. Oopterus clivinoides is the only Oopterus species without an elytral subapical seta. This taxon, common in the Subantarctic Islands, is recorded for the first time from Stewart Island (Port William; CMNZ).