Abstract
Austromonticola gen. n. is proposed for a group of eight New Zealand alpine broad-nosed weevil species, all of which are here described: A. atriarius sp. n. (type locality: Umbrella Mountains, Central Otago), A. caelibatus sp. n. (type locality: Ohau Range, Mackenzie), A. furcatus sp. n. (type locality: Old Man Range, Central Otago), A. inflatus sp. n. (type locality: Hawkdun Range, Central Otago), A. planulatus sp. n. (type locality: St Marys Range, Central Otago), A. postinventus sp. n. (type locality: Kirkliston Range, South Canterbury), A. mataura sp. n. (type locality: Mt Dick, Otago Lakes) and A. rotundus sp. n. (type locality: Old Man Range, Central Otago). All species occur exclusively above 1000 m elevation in the mountains of Central Otago and South Canterbury in the South Island. A phylogeny of the genus, including six outgroups, was inferred from 33 morphological characters. It resolved the genus as monophyletic, and revealed two strongly supported clades within Austromonticola. DNA sequences of four gene regions were obtained from five species. Of these, the 3' end of COI proved to be the most suitable for the identification of specimens. Females of all species have diagnostic secondary sexual structures on the elytra and ventrites. These structures are hypothesised to have evolved to assist with oviposition in and beside cushion plants or by selection for structures to mitigate the costs to females of prolonged mating.
Highlights
The indigenous entimine weevil fauna of New Zealand currently consists of 28 described genera, containing 247 species
Few additional species have been described (Marshall 1926, 1931, 1937; Barratt and Kuschel 1996), and—with the exception of several generic synonyms proposed by Kuschel (1964, 1969, 1972, 1982)—the composition of most New Zealand entimine weevil genera has remained largely unmodified since Broun's (1921) last work on the group
Indicates that understanding of the genus diversity of broad-nosed weevils in New Zealand has been obscured by imprecise and polyphyletic generic concepts (Brown 2017), and many species and genera remain undescribed
Summary
The indigenous entimine weevil fauna of New Zealand currently consists of 28 described genera, containing 247 species. Geological evidence reveals that these landscapes have been formed relatively recently, with most ranges only appearing in the past five million years (Youngson et al 1998; Craw et al 2012) Despite this youth, these alpine regions harbour a rich flora and fauna, which are both endemic to New Zealand and restricted to alpine areas (Mark 2012). Resolving this paradox of distinctive and highly endemic biota in a recent landscape has been a research priority in recent decades (Heenan and McGlone 2013; Buckley and Simon 2007; Winkworth et al 2005)
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