Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Type: Article
Published: 2021-08-18
Page range: 207-222
Abstract views: 587
PDF downloaded: 52

Undarobius, a new genus of cavernicolous weevils (Curculionidae: Entiminae: Leptopiini) from the Undara Lava Caves in north-eastern Australia, with an overview of anophthalmic and microphthalmic Australian Curculionidae

Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO, G.P.O. Box 1700, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO, G.P.O. Box 1700, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
Coleoptera Curculionidae Entiminae Leptopiini

Abstract

Undarobius gen. n., a new genus of cavernicolous weevils with two new species, U. howarthi sp. n. and U. irvini sp. n., is described from the Undara Lava Cave system in north-eastern Queensland, Australia. These are the first cavernicolous weevils to be described from Australia, and U. howarthi is a new addition to the rich arthropod fauna of Bayliss Cave. Undarobius weevils are relatively large in size (4.0–5.5 mm long), anophthalmic and apterous with a robust, flattened body and long legs. The genus has affinities with Leptopiini, but its placement in the tribe is uncertain. We also provide a list of the known anophthalmic and microphthalmic weevils in Australia, spanning 65 species classified in 20 genera, eight tribes and about seven subfamilies and found in diverse hypogean habitats, mainly leaf litter but also soil, beach sand, subterranean aquifers and mosses.

 

References

  1. Atkinson, A. & Atkinson, V.G. (1995) Undara Volcano and Its Lava Tubes. A Geological Wonder of Australia in Undara Volcanic National Park, North Queensland. Anne and Vernon Atkinson, Brisbane, 85 pp.
    Bello, C., Colonnelli, E., Forbicioni, L., Osella, G. & Ruzzier, E. (2021) A new genus and species of anophthalmous Otiorhynchini from Greece, with a new synonymy and new combinations (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Entiminae). Zootaxa, 4938 (1), 69–84. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4938.1.3
    Clarke, A. (2010) An overview of invertebrate fauna collections from the Undara Lava Tube System. In: Middleton, G.J. (Ed.), Proceedings of the 14th International Symposium on Vulcanospeleology. Organising Group, 14th International Symposium on Vulcanospeleology, 2010, pp. 59–64.
    Culver, D.C. & Sket, B. (2000) Hotspots of subterranean biodiversity in caves and wells. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies, 62 (1), 11–17.
    Gillett, C.P.D.T., Lyal, C.H.[C.], Vogler, A.P. & Emerson, B.C. (2018) Statistical evaluation of monophyly in the ‘broad-nosed weevils’ through molecular phylogenetic analysis combining mitochondrial genome and single-locus sequences (Curculionidae: Entiminae, Cyclominae, and Hyperinae). Diversity, 10 (2), 21, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.3390/d10020021
    Guzik, M.T., Austin, A.D., Cooper, S.J.B., Harvey, M.S., Humphreys, W.F., Bradford, T., Eberhard, S.M., King, R.A., Leys, R., Muirhead, A.A. & Tomlinson, M. (2010) Is the Australian subterranean fauna uniquely diverse? Invertebrate Systematics, 24, 407–418. https://doi.org/10.1071/IS10038
    Hamilton‐Smith, E. (1967) The Arthropoda of Australian caves. Australian Journal of Entomology, 6 (2), 103–118. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-6055.1967.tb02123.x
    Hlaváč, P. (2011) Endogean and cavernicolous Coleoptera of the Balkans. XI. Revision of the subgenus Troglorhynchus Reitter of the genus Otiorhynchus Germar (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae). Natura Croatica, 20 (1), 189–200.
    Hlaváč, P. & Skuhrovec, J. (2016) Endogean and cavernicolous Coleoptera of the Balkans. XV. A new species of the genus Ioniorhynchus Magrini, Meoli & Abbazzi, 2005 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae) from Greece. Zootaxa, 4092 (2), 129–138. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4092.1.8
    Hoch, H. & Howarth, F.G. (1989) Reductive evolutionary trends in two new cavernicolous species of a new Australian cixiid genus (Homoptera: Fulgroidea). Systematic Entomology, 4 (2), 179–196. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3113.1989.tb00276.x
    Howarth, F.G. & Stone, F.D. (1990) Elevated carbon dioxide levels in Bayliss Cave, Australia: implications for the evolution of obligate cave species. Pacific Science, 44 (3), 207–218.
    Howarth, F.G. (1988) Environmental ecology of North Queensland caves: or why there are so many troglobites in Australia. In: Pearson, L. (Ed.), Proceedings of the 17th Biennial (Tropicon) Conference. Australian Speleological Federation, Cairns, pp. 76–84.
    Humphreys, W.F. (2001) Groundwater calcrete aquifers in the Australian arid zone: the context to an unfolding plethora of stygal biodiversity. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 64, 63–83. https://doi.org/10.18195/issn.0313-122x.64.2001.063-083
    Kuschel, G. (2014) The blind weevils of Myrtonymina in New Caledonia and Australia (Curculionidae: Curculioninae: Erirhinini: Myrtonymina). In: Guilbert, Eì., Robillard, T., Jourdan, H. & Grandcolas, P. (Eds.), Zoologia Neocaledonica 8. Biodiversity Studies in New Caledonia. Mémoires du Museìum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 206, pp. 165–180.
    Lawrence, J.F. & Ślipiński, A. (2013) Australian Beetles. Vol. 1. Morphology, Classification and Keys. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria, 576 pp. https://doi.org/10.1071/9780643097292
    Lea, A.M. (1900) Descriptions of two new blind weevils from Western Australia and Tasmania. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 25, 391–393. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.part.12160
    Lea, A.M. (1906) The blind Coleoptera of Australia and Tasmania. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London, Part IV, 365–368. [1905]
    Lea, A.M. (1926a) Notes on some miscellaneous Coleoptera, with descriptions of new species. Part VI. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 50, 45–84.
    Lea, A.M. (1926b) On the genus Mandalotus (Coleoptera, Curculionidae). Records of the South Australian Museum, 3 (2), 147–193.
    Lea, A.M. (1927) The clawless and apparently clawless Curculionidae of Australia. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 51, 144–168.
    Machado, A. (2011a) Nuevos taxones de Laparocerus Schoenherr, 1834 de El Hierro y La Gomera, islas Canarias (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Entiminiae). Graellsia, 67 (1), 57–90. https://doi.org/10.3989/graellsia.2011.v67.043
    Machado, A. (2011b) Los Laparocerus Schoenherr, 1834 de las Canarias orientales, islas Salvajes y Marruecos (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Entiminae). Graellsia, 67 (2), 205–241. https://doi.org/10.3989/graellsia.2011.v67.050
    Machado, A., Rodríguez-Expósito, E., López, M. & Hernández, M. (2017) Phylogenetic analysis of the genus Laparocerus, with comments on colonisation and diversification in Macaronesia (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Entiminae). ZooKeys, 651, 1–77. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.651.10097
    Marvaldi, A.E., Lanteri, A.A., del Río, M.G. & Oberprieler, R.G. (2014) 3.7.5 Entiminae Schoenherr, 1823. In: Leschen, R.A.B. & Beutel, R.G. (Eds.), Handbook of Zoology. Arthropoda: Insecta. Coleoptera, Beetles. Vol. 3. Morphology and Systematics (Phytophaga). Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/Boston, pp. 503–522.
    Moore, B.P. (1964) Present-day cave beetle fauna in Australia, a pointer to past climatic change. Helictite, 3 (1), 3–9.
    Morrone, J.J. & Hlaváč, P. (2017) Checklist of the micro-and anophthalmic soil-dwelling weevils of the world (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Zootaxa, 4239 (1), 1–102. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4239.1.1
    Moulds, T. & Bannink, P. (2012) Preliminary notes on the cavernicolous arthropod fauna of Judbarra/Gregory Karst Area, northern Australia. Helictite, 41, 75–85.
    Oberprieler, R.G. (2010) A reclassification of the weevil subfamily Cyclominae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Zootaxa, 2515 (1), 1–35. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.2515.1.1
    Oberprieler, R.G. (2014) 3.7.4 Cyclominae Schoenherr, 1826. In: Leschen, R.A.B. & Beutel, R.G. (Eds.), Handbook of Zoology. Arthropoda: Insecta. Coleoptera, Beetles. Vol. 3. Morphology and Systematics (Phytophaga). Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/Boston, pp. 483–502.
    Oberprieler, R.G. & Zimmerman, E.C. (2020) Australian Weevils. Vol. IV. Obituary: Elwood Curtin Zimmerman, 1912–2004; Curculionidae: Entiminae. Part I. Literature Consulted II. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, xiv + 664 pp.
    Oke, C. (1931) On some Australian Curculionoidea. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, 43 (2), 177–201.
    Osella, G. & Zuppa, A. M. (1998) Coleoptera Curculionoidea. In: Juberthie, C. & Decu, V. (Eds.), Encyclopaedia Biospeleologica. Tome II. Socieìteì de Biospeìologie, Moulis-Bucharest, pp. 1123–1130.
    Pullen, K.R., Jennings, D.L. & Oberprieler, R.G. (2014) Annotated catalogue of Australian weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea). Zootaxa, 3896, 1–481. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3896.1.1
    Stephenson, P.J., Burch-Johnston, A.T., Stanton, D. & Whitehead, P.W. (1998) Three long lava flows in north Queensland. Journal of Geophysical Research, 103, 27359–27370. https://doi.org/10.1029/98JB01670
    Stone, F.D. (2010) Bayliss Lava Tube and the discovery of a rich cave fauna in tropical Australia. In: Middleton, G.J. (Ed.), Proceedings of the 14th International Symposium on Vulcanospeleology. Organising Group, 14th International Symposium on Vulcanospeleology, 2010, pp. 47–58.
    Stone, F.D., Howarth, F.G., Hoch, H. & Ashe, M. (2012) Root communities in lava tubes. In: White, W.B. & Culver, D.C. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Caves. 2nd Edition. Academic Press, San Diego, pp. 658–664. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-383832-2.00097-9
    Trajano, E. & de Carvalho, M.R. (2017) Towards a biologically meaningful classification of subterranean organisms: a critical analysis of the Schiner-Racovitza system from a historical perspective, difficulties of its application and implications for conservation. Subterranean Biology, 22, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.22.9759
    Webb, J.A., Joyce, E.B. & Stevens, N.C. (1982) Lava caves of Australia. In: Halliday, W.R. (Chairman), Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Vulcanospeleology. International Speleological Foundation, Seattle, Washington, pp. 74–85.
    Whitehead, P.W. (2010) The regional context of the McBride Basalt Province and the formation of the Undara Lava flows, tubes, rises and depressions. In: Middleton, G.J. (Ed.), Proceedings of the 14th International Symposium on Vulcanospeleology. Organising Group, 14th International Symposium on Vulcanospeleology, 2010, pp. 9–18
    Zimmerman, E.C. (1993) Australian Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea). Vol. III. Nanophyidae, Rhynchophoridae, Erirhinidae, Curculionidae: Amycterinae, Literature Consulted. CSIRO Australia, Melbourne, x + 854 pp. https://doi.org/10.1071/9780643104921

  2.  

  3.  

  4.