Oopterus laeviventris

Oopterus laeviventris (Sharp, 1883) Fig. 34, 81, 130 Tarastethus laeviventris Sharp, 1883: 24. Holotype: male (BMNH) labeled: “ Tarastethus laeviventris [male symbol] type D.S. [BR] Greymouth Helms. (hand-written) / Type H.T. (circular red-bordered label; typed) / Greymouth New Zealand Helms. (white label with red horizontal line; typed) / Sharp Coll. 1905-313. (typed).” Molopsida laeviventris: Britton 1940: 477. Oopterus laeviventris: Johns 1980: 57. Description. Body length 4.1–5.3 mm. Head, pronotum, elytra, and abdomen mostly piceous black; apex of head reddish; lateral margins, suture, and apex of elytra reddish; abdomen reddish laterally and apically; antennae, palpi, and legs pale yellow; base of femora piceous black. Microsculpture absent. Iridescence absent. Very shiny, without metallic luster. Head. Labrum strongly transverse, slightly emarginate anteriorly. Antennae submoniliform, moderately long: segment 1 (scape) very long, about 2.5x longer than its maximum width. Frontal furrows wide, deep, convergent. Eyes moderately convex; two setiferous punctures on inner side of each eye. Tempora not inflated. Mentum: medial tooth entire, acute apically, moderately shorter than lateral lobes. Paraglossae membranous, prominent, about as long as ligula. Thorax. Pronotum strongly convex, coarsely punctate across base, unwrinkled, strongly transverse, slightly cordate, widest about middle; apex subtruncate; anterolateral angles poorly developed, obtusely rounded; anterior bead incomplete, obsolete medially; sides strongly rounded, slightly sinuate posteriorly; lateral grooves absent; a single setiferous puncture on each side (anteriorly); posterolateral angles obtuse; posterolateral carinae blunt, very long (about as long as adjoining foveae); laterobasal foveae well defined, coarsely punctate, very deep and wide, subrectangular, not prolonged forward, double; posterior bead absent; base emarginate, wider than pronotal apex, about as wide as elytral base. Legs. Moderately long. Elytra. Strongly convex, ovate, widest about middle. Basal margin incomplete, reaching about stria 4. Shoulders rounded. Sides strongly rounded. Scutellar striole present. Striae mostly replaced by rows of coarse punctures; stria 1 complete, very deep; rows 2–5 moderately deep, obsolete apically; rows 6–7 obsolete basally; interval 3 with three setiferous punctures, close to row 3. Recurrent stria long, sharp, directed apically toward row 5. Subapical seta present. Intervals slightly convex. Sutural apices obtuse. Abdomen. Last visible sternum (sternum VII): male with two apical ambulatory setae; female with four apical ambulatory setae. Aedeagus. Lateral view (Fig. 81): moderately arcuate, moderately widened in apical half; base strongly biconvex dorsally; middle slightly concave dorsally, mostly straight ventrally, with dorsal membranous area very wide and moderately long; apex subtriangular, slightly concave dorsally, straight ventrally, with extreme tip wide and long. Dorsal view: narrow, asymmetrical (ostium of membranous area deflected to right); apex straight; basal orifice narrow, closed anteriorly, moderately distant from membranous area. Parameres with five or six apical setae. Material examined. 157 specimens (AMNZ, BMNH, CMNZ, JNNZ, LUNZ, MONZ, NZAC). Geographic distribution (Fig. 130). South Island: BR, MC, NN, WD. Ecology. Lowland, montane, subalpine. Epigean-arboreal. Wet forests (beech, podocarp, broadleaf) and scrublands. Shaded ground. Nocturnal; active at night on mossy logs; hides during the day in moss and leaf litter, as well as under logs. Biology. Seasonality: September, November–June. Tenerals: February–March (BR). Predacious (based on mouthpart morphology). Dispersal power. Subapterous (incapable of flight). Moderate runner. Occasional climber on logs. Collecting techniques. Pitfall trapping; sifting moss and leaf litter; lifting logs. References. Larochelle and Larivière 2001: 74 (catalogue; biology, dispersal power, ecology, geographic distribution, references), 2016: 20 (list).Published as part of Larochelle, Larivière, Marie-Claude, Larochelle & Larivière, 2017, Synopsis of the tribe Zolini in New Zealand (Coleoptera: Carabidae), pp. 1-110 in Insecta Mundi 2017 (594) on pages 31-32, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.516957