Hemipeplus joerebeccae KC & Pollock, 2025

Hemipeplus joerebeccae KC & Pollock , sp. nov.

http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:15306425-9086-4D84-AC48-B6ED52C09370

(Figs 44, 65)

Type Material. Holotype, male, labeled: ‘ Philippinen Mindanao, Surigao leg. Böttcher [underside of label] 5.8.1916 / Zool. Mus. Berlin / [green label] ♂ / [red label] HOLOTYPE ♂ Hemipeplus joerebeccae KC & Pollock’, in ZMHB. Thirty-six paratypes: 16 specimens, sex unknown, labeled same as holotype, in ZMHB; 4 specimens, sex unknown, labeled: ‘ Philippinen Mindanao, Surigao leg. Böttcher [underside of label] 28.8.1916 ’, in ZMHB; 1 specimen, sex unknown, labeled: ‘ Davao Mindanao Baker / 7/1/15’, in NMNH; 5 specimens, sex unknown, labeled: ‘ Philippinen Mindanao , Surigao leg. Böttcher [underside of label] 30.8.1916 ’, in ZMHB; 2 specimens, sex unknown, labeled: ‘ Philippinen Mindanao , Surigao leg. Böttcher [underside of label] 9.9.1916 ’, in ZMHB; 1 specimen, sex unknown, labeled: ‘ Philippinen Mindanao , Surigao leg. Böttcher [underside of label] 10.8.1916 ’, in ZMHB; 1 specimen, male, labeled: ‘ Philippinen, Dapa , Siargao / Dapa Siargao / F. Nevermann Staudinger vend. 11.X.1930 / Nevermann Collection 1940 / Hemipeplus klematanicus [followed by something illegible]’, in NMNH; 1 specimen, sex unknown, labeled: ‘ Philippinen, N-Luzon, Bangui. Jan. 1918, leg. Böttcher’, in ZMHB; 1 specimen, female, labeled: ‘ Philippinen, Mangarin. XI.1917 leg. Böttcher’, in ZMHB; 1 specimen, sex unknown, labeled: ‘P.I., NEGROS OR., Damaguete , 390m, 26.VI.1958 / Light Trap H.E. Milliron’, in BPBM; 3 specimens, female, labeled: ‘ Philippinen N. Luzon [something illegible] [underside of label] [something illegible] I.1918 ’, in ZMHB .

FIGURE 44. Hemipeplus joerebeccae 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 without spiculum gastrale; E. Tegmen dorsal view (with scale bar); F. Tegmen lateral view with one paramere removed.

Derivation of Specific Epithet. The specific name (plural noun in the genitive case) is given in allusion to the first author’s friends Joe Schelling and Mary Rebecca Gracey from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Diagnosis. Hemipeplus joerebeccae sp. nov. can be distinguished by its large eyes, short temples, pronotum narrower and color deeper than in H. luzonensis sp. nov. (Fig. 45). Hemipeplus joerebeccae sp. nov. has the following diagnostic features: temples extremely short, indistinguishable in some specimens, angulate to roundish; scape moniliform; eyes large (as long as scape + pedicel + antennomere III), wide and convex; pronotum subcordiform; anterior emargination distinct; anterior half wider than posterior half; pronotal pad distinct; pronotal angles rounded; pronotal lobe truncate without median notch; body long; elytra slightly convex; color dull, rufous to rufotestaceous, head and pronotum slightly darker; distribution: Philippines (Luzon, Mindanao (Surigao), Mindoro, Negros).

Description. Measurements (in mm)—GHW: 0.48–0.64; HL: 0.43–0.57; AL: 0.75–0.92; GPW: 0.50–0.72; PL: 0.45–0.60, GEW: 0.58–0.83; EL: 2.10–3.10; TL: 2.98–4.27.

Head (Fig. 44B) wide (GHW/HL: 1.12); eyes large (as long as scape + pedicel + antennomere III), wide and convex; temples extremely short, indistinguishable in some specimens, angulate to roundish; occiput with raised areas; antennae shorter than head and pronotum length combined; antennal scape moniliform, apically dilated; pedicel small moniliform; antennomere III more elongate and apically dilated; IV shorter and moniliform, apically dilated; V larger, moniliform; VI–X subtriangular or bowl shaped, each wider than the next; XI subpyriform with apex narrowed after the notch; lateral mandibular tooth absent to very small. Pronotum (Fig. 44B) wide (GPW/PL: 1.11–1.20); anterior margin with distinct emargination; anterolateral angles rounded, produced; lateral margins sinuate on anterior half; posterior half contracted; posterolateral margins subparallel; posterolateral angles obtuse, rounded, not produced; pronotal lobe indistinct/truncate without median notch; pronotal pad (Fig. 44C) distinct but narrow; pronotal pits moderately deep with moderate grooves. Scutellar shield subhexagonal, not twice as wide as long. Elytra (Fig. 44A) long (EL/GEW: 3.62–3.73), slightly convex; vestiture very short but dense; apical patch long and only slightly darker than elytra. Ventral surface. Prosternal process short, not extending posterior of procoxae; hypomeral edges very close together to fused; mesosternal process narrow and linear. Color dull, rufous to rufotestaceous, head and pronotum slightly darker.

Male Genitalia (Figs 44D–F). (Tegmen length = 0.35 mm (n = 1)) This species has one of the most unique male genitalia structures among all Austro-Oriental Hemipeplinae species; lobe of basale very long (longest among all Austro-Oriental congeners), longer than rest of the tegmen combined, very thin, and apically rounded; shoulders acutely pointed upward; parameres broad with apical half arcuate, tips sharp and narrowed, triangular followed by notch in inner margins; penis very long, longer than tegmen.

Variation. Some specimens of H. joerebeccae sp. nov. have very small temples, creating confusion with H. harkoneni sp. nov. which does not possess temples.

Geographical Distribution (Fig. 65). Philippines (Luzon, Mindanao (Surigao), Mindoro, Negros).

Natural History. According to specimen label data, adults of H. joerebeccae sp. nov. have been collected from light traps.