Stenichnaphes peloriensis Franz

Stenichnaphes peloriensis Franz, removed from synonymy with Stenichnaphes urbanus Franz

(Figs. 2, 5, 16–17, 25)

Stenichnaphes peloriensis Franz, 1986: 198. Placed as a junior synonym of Stenichnaphes urbanus by Kuschel (1990).

Type material. Holotype: NEW ZEALAND: ♂, five labels (Fig. 5): " NEW ZEALAND: MB / Pelorus Bridge / Scenic reserve, 60 m / 15.xii.1984 - 4.i.1985 / hdwd.-podocarp forest / A.Newton/M.Thayer 711" [white, printed], "window / trap" [white, printed], " Stenichnaphes / peloriensis m. / det.H.Franz" [white, handwritten and printed], " Holotypus " [red, handwritten], and white printed NZAC catalogue number (04070211) and QR code (NZAC).

Revised diagnosis. Aedeagus without long asymmetrical median sclerite, with two short pointed asymmetrical sclerites in submedian region.

Redescription. Body of male (Fig. 2) convex, light brown, covered with light brown vestiture; BL 1.04 mm.

Head (Fig. 2) broadest at large, strongly convex and moderately coarsely faceted eyes, HL 0.15 mm, HW 0.24 mm; tempora in dorsal view barely discernible; vertex weakly convex; frons posteriorly confluent with vertex, flattened and with anteromedian group of several diffused large punctures; supraantennal tubercles feebly marked, anterior margin of frons subtriangular. Frons outside anteromedian impression and vertex with fine, sparse and inconspicuous punctures; setae short, sparse and suberect. Antennae slender, AnL 0.50 mm; antennomeres I–II distinctly elongate, III–VI slightly elongate, VII about as long as broad, VIII–X transverse, XI about 1.3× as long as broad, with rounded apex.

Pronotum (Fig. 2) indistinctly elongate, broadest at base; PL 0.26 mm, PW 0.24 mm. Anterior margin and lateral margins in anterior third rounded; sides slightly concave behind middle; posterior margin arcuate; ante-basal transverse groove distinct and arcuate, at each side connected to shallow lateral pit. Punctures on pronotal disc small and sparse but distinct; setae sparse, long and suberect.

Elytra (Fig. 2) distinctly more convex than pronotum, oval, broadest distinctly anterior to middle; EL 0.63 mm, EW 0.45 mm, EI 1.39; humeral calli distinct and elongate, basal impression on each elytron short but distinct; apices separately rounded. Punctures on elytra as fine as those on pronotum but distinctly denser and with diffused margins; setae sparse, much longer than those on pronotum, suberect. Hind wings well developed.

Legs (Fig. 2) long and slender; all tibiae straight.

Aedeagus (Figs. 16–17) relatively stout and with lightly sclerotized, thin walls; AeL 0.18 mm; apical projections short; endophallus with two curved submedian sclerites with pointed apices. Parameres slender, each with two long apical setae.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution. Northern part of South Island of New Zealand (Fig. 25).

Remarks. Stenichnaphes peloriensis was placed as a junior synonym of St. urbanus by Kuschel (1990), who, however, did not give any arguments for his action, and apparently not even properly studied the type material. The holotype of St. peloriensis, in spite of what Franz (1985) stated in his description, is not a female, but male, and its aedeagus clearly differs from that of St. urbanus; the specimen remained undissected until the present study. In the same paper, Kuschel (1990) made several other synonymizations, and it seems that all of them were made on similarly weak grounds, without proper comparative studies.

The only known male of St. peloriensis has the head distinctly shorter than in most specimens of St. urbanus and more distinctly punctate pronotum. These characters may be useful to preliminarily distinguish males if series of specimens are available for comparisons, but examination of aedeagus is necessary to confirm identification.