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Melanterius curvistriatus sp. n. (Figs. 54���58) Description. Size: length 2.1���2.8 mm in male, 2.2���2.9 mm in female; width 0.9���1.2 mm in male, 1.0��� 1.3 mm in female. Colour and vestiture: body dark reddish-brown, pronotum darker than elytra; head, pronotum and elytra sparsely clothed with small, pale, truncate hair-scales, legs with similar hair-scales but slightly denser. Head with dense, large, shallow punctures, vertex strongly shagreened. Eyes large, slightly convex but not protruding, dorsally in middle of their length separated by slightly more than width of rostrum at base. Rostrum robust, about 1.2x longer than prothorax in both sexes; moderately downcurved, dorsally continuous in outline with head in profile; dorsally with large, confluent punctures forming irregular short grooves in proximal two-thirds in male, about one-fifth in female, distal part glabrous with sparse, much smaller, finely setiferous punctures. Antennae inserted in apical quarter of rostrum in male, just before middle in female; with funicle 1.2x longer than scape, funicle segment 1 and 2 subequal, each about as long as 2+3, club 2.0x longer than wide in middle. Prothorax trapezoidal in outline, at apex 0.6x as wide as at base, length along midline 0.75x of width at base; pronotum densely punctate, punctures moderately sized, oval, shallow, each in posterior wall carrying a pale hair-scale curved anteriad and just exceeding anterior margin of puncture. Elytra 3.25x longer than pronotum, at base as wide as pronotum but across humeri ca. 1.35x wider; striae deep, with elongate, confluent punctures; interstriae broad, convex to subcostate on disc but bluntly costate on sides and declivity, surface rugulose, all with irregular row of short fine silvery-white setae on either side of midline (costa); striae 2���4 and interstriae 3���4 distinctly curved outwards at basal one-fifth of length, interstriae 4 there with distinct elongate callus (Fig. 56). Metanepisterna with a single row of ca. 10���12 large, shallow, punctures (in some females a second, lower row indicated anteriorly and posteriorly), metanepisternal sutures ventrally fringed with minute white sclerolepidia. Mesoventrite with median process shallowly concave; surface finely rugulose and setose, setae in shallow transverse punctures. Metaventrite with disc raised laterally between meso- and metacoxae but not carinate; surface moderately densely covered with large, shallow punctures each with a stout, broad, blunt, pale seta inserted in anterior wall and directed caudad, lateral setae long, suberect, denser. Abdominal ventrites 1 and 2 laterally each about as long as 3+4; 1 medially shallowly depressed in male, flat to slightly convex in female, 3 and 4 with two irregular transverse rows of sparse, small punctures each carrying a fine pale seta. Legs. Procoxae well separated by a concave septum about as broad as half width of rostrum, meso- and metacoxae separated by slightly less than their width; femora with small ventral tooth (smallest in profemora), underside with shallow indistinct groove for reception of tibiae; tibiae with small but distinct uncus arising at inner side of apex in both sexes and continuing into large bare flange across tibial apex (forming false corbel), flange at outer angle bluntly produced (forming a broad lobe on metatibiae), setal comb transverse on protibiae, oblique on meso- and metatibiae. Genitalia. Aedeagus (Fig. 57) with body of penis 2x longer than broad at apex, parallel-sided, flat, strongly curved, apex broadly truncate with slight tip, sclerites indistinct; temones terete, twice longer than body of penis; endophallus without sclerite. Spermatheca (Fig. 58) evenly thick, straight with abruptly angled cornu with narrowed apex; gland very large, bulbous, with short, straight, sclerotised duct inserted on elongate, apically slightly inflated ramus. Material examined (34 ♂, 12 ♀). Holotype ♂: ���1645��� 25.9 S 13732��� 23.7E / NT: Pungalina, Seven / Emu Reserve, Lake / Jabiru / 29 June 2012 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // Site 13 / beating Acacia leptocarpa / with flowers // ♂ // ANIC / Image // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 67550 // HOLOTYPE / Melanterius curvistriatus / Pinz��n-Navarro, Jennings & Oberprieler, 2017��� (ANIC). Paratypes (all labelled ��� PARATYPE / Melanterius curvistriatus / Pinz��n- Navarro, Jennings & Oberprieler 2017, in ANIC): 1 ♂: 1634���38 S 13729 ���19E / NT: Mystery Shovel / Australian Wildlife / Conservancy, Pungalina / Seven Emu Reserve / 27/06/12 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // Site 7 / beating old pods on / Acacia holosericea / DNA 2605 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 64680 // ♂; 1 ♂: 1634���38 S 13729 ���19E / NT: Pungalina, Mystery / Shovel, 17.7 km NE by N / Pungalina Hmstd / 27 June 2012 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // Site 7 / beating old pods on / Acacia holosericea // ♂ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067516; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067517; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067518; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067519; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067520; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067521; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067522; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067523; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067524; 1 ♀: same data except ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067525; 1 ♀: same data except ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067526; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC / Image // ANIC Database No. / 25 067552; 1 ♀: 1639��� 35.3 S 13724��� 51.7E / NT: Pungalina, Mystery / Shovel 7 km track to / Calvert River / 27 June 2012 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // Site 8 / beating Acacia / holosericea // ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067530; 1 ♀: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067531; 1 ♀: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067532; 1 ♂: 1647��� 29.8 S 13727��� 37.1E / NT: Pungalina, Karns / Creek, 9.6 km SE by S / Pungalina Hmstd / 28 June 2012 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // Site 12 / beating Acacia dimidiata // ♂ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067527; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067528; 1 ♀: same data except ♀ // ANIC Databse No. / 25 067529; 1 ♂: 1645��� 25.9 S 13732��� 23.7E / NT: Pungalina, Seven / Emu Reserve, Lake / Jabiru / 29 June 2012 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // Site 13 / beating Acacia leptocarpa / DNA 2608 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63691 // ♂; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067539; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067540; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067541; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067542; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067543; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067544; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067545; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067546; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067547; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067548; 1 ♀: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 0 67549 // ♀; 1 ♀: same data except ANIC / Image / ANIC Database No. / 25 0 67551 // ♀; 1 ♀: 1627���52 S 13733 ���17E / NT: Australian Wildlife / Cons. Pungalina. Seven / Emu Reserve / 02/07/12 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // AWC camp near Cycad / Creek, Site 22 / Acacia hammondii / DNA 2618 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63682 // ♀; 1 ♂: 1627��� 52.3 S 13733��� 17.2E / NT: Pungalina, 32 km NE / by N Pungalina Hmstd / Camp near Cycad Creek / 0 2 July 2012 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // Site 22 / beating / Acacia leptocarpa // ♂ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067535; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067536; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067537; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067538; 1 ♀: same data except ���NT S 22 / beating Phyllodine / DNA 4519 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63531 // ANIC / Image // ♀; 1 ♂: 1622��� 03.7 S 13740��� 17.5E / NT: Big Stinking Lagoon, / Pungalina, near Calvert / River / 03/07/12 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // beating clump of flowering / beating Acacia leptocarpa (plant DNA 80) / DNA 2621 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63704 // ♂; 1 ♂: 1630���50 S 13732 ��� 08.9E / NT: Pungalina, Edge of / Calvert River, Rocky side / 04/07/12 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // old pods and flowers / beating Acacia / holosericea / Site 26 DNA 2623 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63695 // ♂; 1 ♀: same data except ��� DNA 2626 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63698 // ♀; 1 ♂: same data except ��� DNA 2627 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 64664 // ♀; 1 ♂: 1644��� 04.9 S 13729��� 22.8E / NT: Karns Creek, / Pungalina / 08/07/12 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // beating old pods / Acacia holosericea / DNA 2602 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63700 // ♂; 1 ♂: 1647���29.8��� S 13727 ���37���E / NT: Pungalina Karns / Creek near entrance of / camp rd / 8 July 2012 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // beating / Acacia holosericea / mating couple // ♂ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067533; 1 ♀: same data except ANIC Database No. / 25 0 67534 // ♀. Distribution. The species is thus far only known from a small area near the Gulf of Carpenteria in the Northern Territory (Fig. 69). Host-plants. The type series was largely collected from Acacia holosericea (22 specimens) and A. leptocarpa (18), with a few specimens from A. dimidiata (3) and A. hammondii (1) (Table 1). Remarks. This species is readily distinguishable from all others in the M. latipennis group by its elongate shape and especially the curved striae 2 to 4 with intervening interstriae, for which the species is named., Published as part of Pinz��n-Navarro, Sara V., Jennings, Debbie & Oberprieler, Rolf G., 2017, Host associations of Melanterius Erichson (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cleogonini), with a diagnosis and delimitation of the genus and description of five new species, pp. 1-77 in Zootaxa 4298 (1) on pages 33-34, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4298.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/840354

Melanterius corosus (Boisduval, 1835) (Figs. 48–49) Cryptorhynchus corosus Boisduval, 1835: 430 Melanterius piceirostris W. F. Erichson, 1842: 211; Pullen et al., 2014: 227 (syn.) Melanterius adipatus Lea, 1899: 227; Pullen et al., 2014: 227 (syn.) Boisduval gave the origin of corosus only as “ Nouvelle-Hollande ”, and Erichson that of piceirostris similarly as “Neuholland”. The type locality of adipatus is Sydney, and the types of the other two names may have been collected there as well. The species appears known only from New South Wales and the A.C.T. It is a short, broad, virtually asetose species (only minute, sparse silvery setae on the elytra and flat, broader scales on the legs) with indistinct striae (only rows of separate, large, elongate open punctures) and broad, slightly convex, shagreened interstriae. Even though its procoxae are almost contiguous, it has a flat mesoventrite. The body of the penis (Fig. 49) is short and broad, gently narrowing apicad and with a broadly rounded, weakly sclerotized apex and a large, characteristic basal sclerite. The species has been reared in the Sydney area from seeds of A. longifolia, A. suaveolens and A. ulicifolia by T. Auld in 1981/1982 (Auld, 1983, 1989) and of A. brownii by T. Auld in 1985. We collected series of specimens from A. gordonii, A. suaveolens and A. ulicifolia in the Blue Mountains National Park, and a female was taken on A. complanata in the Newfoundland State Forest (Table 1). It appears that A. suaveolens, A. ulicifolia and perhaps A. gordonii are larval hosts (Table 2), but the species is evidently not host-specific., Published as part of Pinzón-Navarro, Sara V., Jennings, Debbie & Oberprieler, Rolf G., 2017, Host associations of Melanterius Erichson (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cleogonini), with a diagnosis and delimitation of the genus and description of five new species, pp. 1-77 in Zootaxa 4298 (1) on page 29, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4298.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/840354, {"references":["Erichson, W. F. (1842) Beitrag zur Insecten-Fauna von Vandiemensland, mit besonderer Berucksichtigung der geographischen Verbreitung der Insecten. Archiv fur Naturgeschichte, 8 (1), 83 - 287.","Pullen, K. R., Jennings, D. & Oberprieler, R. G. (2014) Annotated catalogue of Australian weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea). Zootaxa, 3896 (1), 1 - 481.","Lea, A. M. (1899) Revision of the Australian Curculionidae belonging to the subfamily Cryptorhynchides. Part III. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 24, 200 - 270.","Auld, T. D. (1983) Seed predation in native legumes of south-eastern Australia. Australian Journal of Entomology, 8, 367 - 376. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1442 - 9993.1983. tb 01333. x","Auld, T. D. (1989) Larval survival in the soil and adult emergence in Melanterius Erichson and Plaesiorhinus Blackburn (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) following seed feeding on Acacia and Bossiaea (Fabaceae). Australian Journal of Entomology, 28 (4), 235 - 238."]}

Melanterius tasmaniensis (Lea, 1909) comb. et stat. n. (Figs. 40–41) Melanteriosoma costatum var. tasmaniense Lea, 1909: 186 This species was described from Hobart and New Norfolk in Tasmania as a variety of M. costatus, but it differs from the latter in having not a short carina between the meso- and metacoxae but a small, somewhat compressed peg behind each mesocoxa, a more deeply concave, bowl-shaped mesoventral receptacle, completely separate procoxae (the anterior and posterior prosternal processes meeting between them; not so in M. costatus) and only weakly costate interstriae 3 and 5. Its penis (Fig. 41) also differs, the body being laterally rounded but slightly constricted in the apical quarter and both the apical and basal pairs of endophallic sclerites being larger and thicker. The species appears to have been known only from Tasmania in the past, but we here record it also from New South Wales and the A.C. T. No hosts have been recorded for the species before. We collected it on seven Acacia species but mainly on A. dealbata (12 of 24 specimens), with A. polybotrya (6 specimens), A. decurrens (2), A. mearnsii (1), A. baileyana (1), A. deanii (1) and A. leucoclada (1) yielding far fewer (Table 1). Its true host may be A. dealbata (Table 2)., Published as part of Pinzón-Navarro, Sara V., Jennings, Debbie & Oberprieler, Rolf G., 2017, Host associations of Melanterius Erichson (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cleogonini), with a diagnosis and delimitation of the genus and description of five new species, pp. 1-77 in Zootaxa 4298 (1) on page 24, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4298.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/840354, {"references":["Lea, A. M. (1909) Descriptions of Australian Curculionidae, with notes on previously described species. Part VII. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 33, 145 - 196."]}

Melanterius psittacoides sp. n. (Figs. 32–35) Description. Size: length 1.8–2.4 mm in both sexes; width 0.9–1.2 mm in both sexes. Colour and vestiture: body dark reddish-brown; head, pronotum and elytra densely clothed with mixed pale and brown scales, legs moderately sparsely covered with larger pale hair-scales. Head with small, sparse, shallow, elongate punctures. Eyes large, flat, dorsally posteriorly separated by half width of rostrum at base. Rostrum about as long as pronotum in both sexes; robust, strongly downcurved and in profile at base (in front of eyes) strongly thickened, dorsal outline evenly curving into domed forehead in profile (Fig. 33); dorsally with a few large, confluent, squamiferous punctures in proximal half in male, at base only in female, distal part glabrous with sparse, much smaller finely setiferous punctures. Antennae inserted in about middle of rostrum in both sexes; with funicle 1.3x longer than scape, funicle segment 1 twice longer than 2, club 2x longer than wide in middle. Prothorax elongate-trapezoidal in outline, at apex 0.6x as wide as at base, length along midline 0.75x of width at base; pronotum densely punctate, punctures large, elongate, shallow, each in posterior wall carrying a flat pale scale directed anteriad in middle but mesad laterally. Elytra 3x longer than pronotum, at base as wide as pronotum but across humeri 1.4x wider; interstriae 2x broader than striae, slightly convex, not costate, densely covered with 3–4 irregular rows of broad, slightly curved, brown and pale scales forming an irregular variegated pattern. Metanepisterna with a single row of large, shallow punctures each carrying an appressed pale scale, metanepisternal sutures ventrally fringed with fine pale sclerolepidia. Mesoventrite with median process flat with small anterolateral flanges; surface finely rugulose but apunctate. Metaventrite with disc laterally raised between meso- and metacoxae (forming a concave, transverse disc indented in middle of broadly inverse-V-shaped posterior margin); surface sparsely covered with large, shallow punctures each with a broad, blunt, pale scale inserted in anterior wall and directed caudad. Abdominal ventrites 1 and 2 laterally each about as long as 3+4; 3 and 4 with only one major but irregular transverse row of sparse, small punctures each carrying a fine pale scale. Legs. Procoxae narrowly separated by thin septum, meso- and metacoxae separated by about their width; femora with strong ventral tooth, underside with shallow groove for reception of tibiae; tibiae with small but distinct uncus arising at inner side of apex in both sexes and continuing into large bare flange across tibial apex (forming false corbel), setal comb transverse on all tibiae but shortly bent up at outer (upper) angle. Genitalia. Aedeagus (Fig. 34) with body of penis short and strongly curved, apex broadly truncate, ostium slit-like raised; temones 2x longer than body of penis; basal endophallic sclerite omegashaped (Ω), with two curved distal arms. Spermatheca (Fig. 35) about evenly thick, bent at acute angle; gland large, elongate, with short, thick, straight, sclerotised duct inserted on short bulbous ramus. Material examined (46 ♂, 31 ♀). Northern Territory. Holotype ♂: “ 16°47'29"S 37°27'37.1"E / NT: Pungalina, Karns / Creek / 28/06/12 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // Site 12 / beating Acacia dimidiata / DNA 4521 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63475 // ♂ // ANIC / image // HOLOTYPE / Melanterius psittacoides / Pinzón-Navarro, Jennings & Oberprieler, 2017” (ANIC). Paratypes (all labelled “ PARATYPE / Melanterius psittacoides / Pinzón- Navarro, Jennings & Oberprieler 2017, in ANIC): 1 ♂: “ 16°39'35.3"S 137°24'51.7"E / NT: Pungalina, Mystery / Shovel, 7 km track to / Calvert River / 27 June 2012 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // Site 8 / beating Acacia / holosericea // ♂ // ANIC Database No. // 25 067649”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067650”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067651”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067652”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067653”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067654”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067655”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067656”; 1 ♀: same data except “ ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067657”; 1 ♀: same data except “ ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067658”; 1 ♀: same data except “ ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067659”; 1 ♀: same data except “ ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067660”; 1 ♀: same data except “ ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067583”; 1 ♀: “16°34'38"S 137°29'19"E / NT: Mystery Shovel / Australian Wildlife / Conservancy, Pungalina, / Seven Emu Reserve. / 27/06/ 12 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // Site 7 / beating old pods on / Acacia holosericea / DNA 2606 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 67385 // ♀”; 1 ♂: “16°34'38"S 137°29'19"E / NT: Pungalina, Mystery / Shovel, 17.7 km NE by N / Pungalina Hmstd / 27 Jun 2012 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // Site 7 / beating old pods on Acacia holosericea // ♂ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067584”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067585”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067586”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067587”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067588”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067589”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067590”; 1 ♀: same data except “ ♀ // ANIC / Image // ANIC Database No. / 25 067591”; 1 ♀: same data except “ ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067592”; 1 ♀: same data except “ ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067593”; 1 ♀: same data except “ ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067594”; 1 ♀: same data except “ ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067595”; 1 ♀: “16°47'29.8"S 37°27'37.1"E / NT: Pungalina, Karns / Creek / 28 June 2012 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // NT Site 12\78 / beating Acacia / holosericea / DNA 3955 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63131 // ♀”; 1 ♀: “16°47'29.8"S 37°27'37.1"E / NT: Pungalina, Karns / Creek / 9.6 km SEbyS / Pungalina Hmstd / 28 June 2012 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // beating / Acacia dimidiata / in flower // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 67596 // ♀”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ♂ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067597”; 1 ♂: “16°41'22"S 137°24'09"E / NT: Australian Wildlife / Cons. Pungalina, Seven / Emu Reserve / 30/06/12 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // Fig Tree nr creek. Site 16 / Acacia holosericea / DNA 2616 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 67265 // ♂”; 1 ♀: same data except “ DNA 2614 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63686 // ♀ ”; 1 ♂: “16°43'59"S 137°26'12"E / NT: Pungalina, Karns Creek Campsite / 1 July 2012 / S. Pinzón-Navarro / Acacia holosericea // ♂ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067599”; 1 ♀: “16°27'52"S 137°33'17"E / NT: Australian Wildlife / Cons., Pungalina, Seven / Emu Reserve / 02/07/12 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // AWC camp near Cycad / Creek. Site 22 / Acacia hammondii / DNA 2617 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63474 // ♀”; 1 ♂: “ 16°27'52.3"S 137°33'17.2"E / NT: Pungalina, 32 km NE / by N Pungalina Hmstd / Camp near Cycad Creek / 2 July 2012 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // Site 22 / beating Acacia / leptocarpa // ♂ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067600”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067601”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067602”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067603”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067604”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067605”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067606”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067607”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067608”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067609”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067610”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067611”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067612”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067613”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067614”; 1 ♀: same data except “ ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067615”; 1 ♀: same data except “ ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067616”; 1 ♀: same data except “ ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067617”; 1 ♀: same data except “ ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067618”; 1 ♀: same data except “ ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067619”; 1 ♀: same data except “ ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067620”; 1 ♀: same data except “ ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067621”; 1 ♀: same data except “ ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067505”; 1 ♀: same data except “ ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067506”; 1 ♂: “ 16°27'52"S 137°33'17"E / NT: Pungalina, near / Calvert River / 02/07/12 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // NT S 22 / beating Phyllodine / DNA 4520 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63478 // ♂ ”; 1 ♂: “16°30 ' 50"S 137°32'08"E / NT: Pungalina, Calvert / River / 04/07/12 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // NT S26 / beating Acacia dimidiata / DNA 4522 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63476 // ANIC / Image // ♂”; 1 ♀: same data except “ DNA 4524 // ANIC Database No. / 25 063477”; 1 ♂: same data except “beating Acacia dimidiata / with old pods // ♂ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067508”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067509”; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067510”; 1 ♀: same data except “ ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067511”; 1 ♀: same data except “ ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067512”; 1 ♀: same data except “ ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067513”; 1 ♀: same data except “ ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067514”; 1 ♀: same data except “old pods and flowers / beating Acacia / holosericea / Site 26 DNA 2624 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63697 // ♀ ”; 1 ♂: “ 16°29'22"S 137°33'14"E / NT: Pungalina, 5 km N of / Calvert River crossing / 28.8 km NE by N Pungalina / Hmstd 5 July 2012 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // site 29 beating / Acacia holosericea / with old pods // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 67507 // ♂ ”; 1 ♂: “16°47'30"S 137°27'37"E / NT: Pungalina, Karns / Creek campsite, 9.6 km / SE by S Pungalina Hmstd / 8 July 2012 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // beating / Acacia holosericea / old pods // ♂ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067515”; 1 ♂: “12°48'S 132°50'E NT / Kakadu NP., Buralba / Springs Walk 20 Jun. / 1992 C. Reid flowering / Acacia dimidiata // ♂”; 2 ♂: “ 10 km S Pine Ck. NT / 18 June 1992 / C. Reid / beating Acacia // ♂ ”; 1 ♀: same data except “ ♀ ”. Queensland. 1 ♂: “26°30'08"S 150°31'36"E / QLD: Barakula State / Forest / 18/ 09/12 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // beating old flowers on / Acacia triptera / DNA 2659 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63133 // ♂ // ANIC image”; 1 ♂: “26°52'39.6"S 150°30'20.5"E / QLD: Kogan-Tara Rd / 15 Sept 2013 / S. Pinzón- Navarro // QLD 2 S11 P509 / beating Acacia leiocalyx / DNA 4035 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 64698 // ♂”. Distribution. The species is known from the Northern Territory and Queensland, from Pine Creek (north-west of Katherine) and northern Kakadu National Park (near the South Alligator River) in the north to near Brisbane in southern Queensland (Figs. 69–70). Host-plants. The type series was largely collected from Acacia holosericea and A. leptocarpa, at Pungalina, with fewer specimens from A. dimidiata and A. hammondii and (in Queensland) singletons from A. leiocalyx and A. triptera (Table 1). The first two Acacia species occur throughout the known distribution of M. psittacoides, whereas A. dimidiata and A. hammondii are limited to the Northern Territory and northern Queensland and A. leiocalyx and A. triptera to southern Queensland and northern New South Wales (Table 1). Remarks. The species differs from all others in the M. costatus group by its basally thickened rostrum. Melanterius costatus and M. inconspicuus further differ from M. psittacoides by possessing a sharp, oblique carina between each meso- and metacoxa and in being larger and broader, with the forehead flatter and the femora thicker, and the former also has the odd elytral interstriae costate and the squamae arranged in patches on the elytra. Among the other squamose species, M. aberrans, M. costipennis, M. lamellatus, M. tibialis and M. vinosus further differ in their much larger size and costate odd interstriae, M. arenaceus and M. s quamipennis also in a larger size and confluent procoxal cavities, M. rufus in a more elongate shape and densely squamose interstriae 3 and 5 and M. tasmaniensis in having a compressed peg behind each mesocoxa. The specimens of M. psittacoides examined fall into three populations, two in the Northern Territory (Fig. 69) and one in southern Queensland (Fig. 70). We did not find any morphological differences between them and treat them as representing a single species. Melanterius psittacoides is named for the shape of its rostrum, whose strongly curved shape and enlarged base resemble the beak of a parrot (Latin: psittacus).

The M. ventralis group The males of this group have the posterior margin of ventrite 1 produced caudad into a gentle, short, broad lobe and the median area of ventrites 3���5 covered with longer, dens and erect setae. Besides M. ventralis Lea, 1899, also M. cardiopterus Lea, 1913 and M. parvidens Lea, 1899 appear to belong in it. Definite host records are only known for M. ventralis., Published as part of Pinz��n-Navarro, Sara V., Jennings, Debbie & Oberprieler, Rolf G., 2017, Host associations of Melanterius Erichson (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cleogonini), with a diagnosis and delimitation of the genus and description of five new species, pp. 1-77 in Zootaxa 4298 (1) on page 27, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4298.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/840354, {"references":["Lea, A. M. (1899) Revision of the Australian Curculionidae belonging to the subfamily Cryptorhynchides. Part III. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 24, 200 - 270.","Lea, A. M. (1913) Descriptions of Australian Curculionidae, with notes on previously described species. Part XI. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 37, 301 - 445"]}

Melanterius semiporcatus Erichson, 1842 (Figs. 44���45) Melanterius semiporcatus W. F. Erichson, 1842: 210 The origin of M. semiporcatus was only given as ���Neuholland��� by its author; the type was evidently not taken in Tasmania but may have been from South Australia or Victoria. The distribution of the species extends through New South Wales into northern Queensland, but some specimens from Queensland differ in their male genitalia and M. semiporcatus in the traditional sense also is a complex of cryptic species. The true M. semiporcatus (specimens from south-eastern Australia) differ from M. porcatus in having larger punctures on the prothorax and elytra, the elytral interstriae as thin to faint, strongly undulating lines, the procoxae contiguous and, in the male, a conspicuous ��-shaped field of pale, erect setae on the metaventrite. The penis (Fig. 45) is thickly, evenly subcylindrical with a truncate, medially unsclerotised and notched apex and a large, complex pair of symmetrical endophallic sclerites, consisting of distal lyre-shaped and a basal thickly H-shaped part. A similar male from Brisbane in the ANIC has the distal part of the endophallic sclerite larger, caliper-like, and the basal part shorter and broadly fused in the middle, and a male from north-western Queensland (Boodjamulla National Park) has the basal part of the sclerite longer and not medially joined to form an H. Both evidently represent different, undescribed species. Lea (1899) reported collecting specimens of M. semiporcatus at night on a newly debarked Eucalyptus tree, seemingly at Tamworth, but this record is unlikely to represent a true host association. We did not collect any specimens of this species., Published as part of Pinz��n-Navarro, Sara V., Jennings, Debbie & Oberprieler, Rolf G., 2017, Host associations of Melanterius Erichson (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cleogonini), with a diagnosis and delimitation of the genus and description of five new species, pp. 1-77 in Zootaxa 4298 (1) on pages 26-27, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4298.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/840354, {"references":["Erichson, W. F. (1842) Beitrag zur Insecten-Fauna von Vandiemensland, mit besonderer Berucksichtigung der geographischen Verbreitung der Insecten. Archiv fur Naturgeschichte, 8 (1), 83 - 287.","Lea, A. M. (1899) Revision of the Australian Curculionidae belonging to the subfamily Cryptorhynchides. Part III. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 24, 200 - 270."]}

Melanterius vinosus Pascoe, 1872 Melanterius vinosus Pascoe, 1872: 141 The identity of this species is unclear, as the specimens in the ANIC identified as M. vinosus by A. Lea and E. C. Zimmerman comprise a number of closely similar species. Careful study of Pascoe���s type, in the collection of the Natural History Museum in London, is required to establish the precise identity of M. vinosus. It was described from South Australia (probably Adelaide), and no host records are available for it., Published as part of Pinz��n-Navarro, Sara V., Jennings, Debbie & Oberprieler, Rolf G., 2017, Host associations of Melanterius Erichson (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cleogonini), with a diagnosis and delimitation of the genus and description of five new species, pp. 1-77 in Zootaxa 4298 (1) on page 24, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4298.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/840354, {"references":["Pascoe, F. P. (1872) Additions to the Australian Curculionidae. Part II. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 4, 9 (50), 132 - 142."]}

The M. maculatus group The easiest species group to delineate is the M. maculatus group, which is characterised by the females having the uncus of their pro- and mesotibiae arising from the outer (upper) angle of the tibiae (Figs. 2, 4, 6, 8) and which includes species such as M. acaciae Lea, 1899, M. antennalis Lea, 1899, M. castaneus Lea, 1899, M. ellipticus Lea, 1913, M. fasciculatus Lea, 1913, M. maculatus Lea, 1899, M. servulus Pascoe, 1872 and M. submaculatus Lea, 1928. The same condition of the uncus occurs in several Lybaeba species, e.g. L. amplipennis (Lea, 1899), L. hybrida (Lea, 1913), L. insignita (Elston, 1919) and L. squamivaria Lea, 1909, indicating that the maculatus group may only be a natural one if it includes these species. In most other species of both genera the uncus of the pro- and mesotibiae of the females arises from the inner (lower) angle, as it does in the males (Figs. 1, 3, 5, 7) and as is typical in uncinate weevils, but in some Lybaeba species it arises from more or less the middle of the apical edge of the tibiae (an intermediate condition). The shape, direction and angle of the uncus is often useful in the distinction of species. It is not currently possible to delimit the M. maculatus group on characters of the males., Published as part of Pinzón-Navarro, Sara V., Jennings, Debbie & Oberprieler, Rolf G., 2017, Host associations of Melanterius Erichson (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cleogonini), with a diagnosis and delimitation of the genus and description of five new species, pp. 1-77 in Zootaxa 4298 (1) on page 8, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4298.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/840354, {"references":["Lea, A. M. (1899) Revision of the Australian Curculionidae belonging to the subfamily Cryptorhynchides. Part III. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 24, 200 - 270.","Lea, A. M. (1913) Descriptions of Australian Curculionidae, with notes on previously described species. Part XI. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 37, 301 - 445","Pascoe, F. P. (1872) Additions to the Australian Curculionidae. Part II. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 4, 9 (50), 132 - 142.","Lea, A. M. (1928) Australian Curculionidae of the subfamilies Haplonycides and Cryptorhynchides. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 52, 95 - 164.","Lea, A. M. (1909) Descriptions of Australian Curculionidae, with notes on previously described species. Part VII. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 33, 145 - 196."]}

Melanterius costipennis Lea, 1905 (Figs. 28���29) Melanterius costipennis Lea, 1905: 223 This large species was described from Hobart in Tasmania but also occurs in Victoria and New South Wales. It can be recognised mainly by its orange pronotal and elytral setae, which on the pronotum form a loose, curved band stretching from the basal corners mesad towards the apex but not meeting there but running down the side of the anterior margin, and on the elytra forming small irregular clusters. Other salient features include the costate odd interstriae (except 3 and 5 not costate at base) and interstriae 3 having a shiny callus just behind the base. The body of the penis (Fig. 29) is distinctively broadening apicad in dorsal view but slightly constricted at the apex, which is bilobed, and has a pair of large, complex endophallic sclerites at the base. The species is usually reared from galls incited by Uromycladium rust fungus on Acacia species, such as A. dealbata, A. implexa and A. salicina, and it has also been collected on A. decurrens (specimens in ANIC). Whether its larvae only develop in rust fungus galls or also in seeds appears unknown. We collected adults mainly on A. mearnsii (Tables 1, 2), but not specifically from rust galls or seeds., Published as part of Pinz��n-Navarro, Sara V., Jennings, Debbie & Oberprieler, Rolf G., 2017, Host associations of Melanterius Erichson (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cleogonini), with a diagnosis and delimitation of the genus and description of five new species, pp. 1-77 in Zootaxa 4298 (1) on page 16, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4298.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/840354, {"references":["Lea, A. M. (1905) Descriptions of Australian Curculionidae, with notes on previously described species. Part III. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 29, 209 - 236."]}

Melanterius curvistriatus sp. n. (Figs. 54–58) Description. Size: length 2.1–2.8 mm in male, 2.2–2.9 mm in female; width 0.9–1.2 mm in male, 1.0– 1.3 mm in female. Colour and vestiture: body dark reddish-brown, pronotum darker than elytra; head, pronotum and elytra sparsely clothed with small, pale, truncate hair-scales, legs with similar hair-scales but slightly denser. Head with dense, large, shallow punctures, vertex strongly shagreened. Eyes large, slightly convex but not protruding, dorsally in middle of their length separated by slightly more than width of rostrum at base. Rostrum robust, about 1.2x longer than prothorax in both sexes; moderately downcurved, dorsally continuous in outline with head in profile; dorsally with large, confluent punctures forming irregular short grooves in proximal two-thirds in male, about one-fifth in female, distal part glabrous with sparse, much smaller, finely setiferous punctures. Antennae inserted in apical quarter of rostrum in male, just before middle in female; with funicle 1.2x longer than scape, funicle segment 1 and 2 subequal, each about as long as 2+3, club 2.0x longer than wide in middle. Prothorax trapezoidal in outline, at apex 0.6x as wide as at base, length along midline 0.75x of width at base; pronotum densely punctate, punctures moderately sized, oval, shallow, each in posterior wall carrying a pale hair-scale curved anteriad and just exceeding anterior margin of puncture. Elytra 3.25x longer than pronotum, at base as wide as pronotum but across humeri ca. 1.35x wider; striae deep, with elongate, confluent punctures; interstriae broad, convex to subcostate on disc but bluntly costate on sides and declivity, surface rugulose, all with irregular row of short fine silvery-white setae on either side of midline (costa); striae 2–4 and interstriae 3–4 distinctly curved outwards at basal one-fifth of length, interstriae 4 there with distinct elongate callus (Fig. 56). Metanepisterna with a single row of ca. 10–12 large, shallow, punctures (in some females a second, lower row indicated anteriorly and posteriorly), metanepisternal sutures ventrally fringed with minute white sclerolepidia. Mesoventrite with median process shallowly concave; surface finely rugulose and setose, setae in shallow transverse punctures. Metaventrite with disc raised laterally between meso- and metacoxae but not carinate; surface moderately densely covered with large, shallow punctures each with a stout, broad, blunt, pale seta inserted in anterior wall and directed caudad, lateral setae long, suberect, denser. Abdominal ventrites 1 and 2 laterally each about as long as 3+4; 1 medially shallowly depressed in male, flat to slightly convex in female, 3 and 4 with two irregular transverse rows of sparse, small punctures each carrying a fine pale seta. Legs. Procoxae well separated by a concave septum about as broad as half width of rostrum, meso- and metacoxae separated by slightly less than their width; femora with small ventral tooth (smallest in profemora), underside with shallow indistinct groove for reception of tibiae; tibiae with small but distinct uncus arising at inner side of apex in both sexes and continuing into large bare flange across tibial apex (forming false corbel), flange at outer angle bluntly produced (forming a broad lobe on metatibiae), setal comb transverse on protibiae, oblique on meso- and metatibiae. Genitalia. Aedeagus (Fig. 57) with body of penis 2x longer than broad at apex, parallel-sided, flat, strongly curved, apex broadly truncate with slight tip, sclerites indistinct; temones terete, twice longer than body of penis; endophallus without sclerite. Spermatheca (Fig. 58) evenly thick, straight with abruptly angled cornu with narrowed apex; gland very large, bulbous, with short, straight, sclerotised duct inserted on elongate, apically slightly inflated ramus. Material examined (34 ♂, 12 ♀). Holotype ♂: “1645’ 25.9 S 13732’ 23.7E / NT: Pungalina, Seven / Emu Reserve, Lake / Jabiru / 29 June 2012 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // Site 13 / beating Acacia leptocarpa / with flowers // ♂ // ANIC / Image // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 67550 // HOLOTYPE / Melanterius curvistriatus / Pinzón-Navarro, Jennings & Oberprieler, 2017” (ANIC). Paratypes (all labelled “ PARATYPE / Melanterius curvistriatus / Pinzón- Navarro, Jennings & Oberprieler 2017, in ANIC): 1 ♂: 1634’38 S 13729 ’19E / NT: Mystery Shovel / Australian Wildlife / Conservancy, Pungalina / Seven Emu Reserve / 27/06/12 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // Site 7 / beating old pods on / Acacia holosericea / DNA 2605 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 64680 // ♂; 1 ♂: 1634’38 S 13729 ’19E / NT: Pungalina, Mystery / Shovel, 17.7 km NE by N / Pungalina Hmstd / 27 June 2012 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // Site 7 / beating old pods on / Acacia holosericea // ♂ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067516; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067517; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067518; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067519; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067520; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067521; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067522; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067523; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067524; 1 ♀: same data except ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067525; 1 ♀: same data except ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067526; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC / Image // ANIC Database No. / 25 067552; 1 ♀: 1639’ 35.3 S 13724’ 51.7E / NT: Pungalina, Mystery / Shovel 7 km track to / Calvert River / 27 June 2012 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // Site 8 / beating Acacia / holosericea // ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067530; 1 ♀: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067531; 1 ♀: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067532; 1 ♂: 1647’ 29.8 S 13727’ 37.1E / NT: Pungalina, Karns / Creek, 9.6 km SE by S / Pungalina Hmstd / 28 June 2012 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // Site 12 / beating Acacia dimidiata // ♂ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067527; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067528; 1 ♀: same data except ♀ // ANIC Databse No. / 25 067529; 1 ♂: 1645’ 25.9 S 13732’ 23.7E / NT: Pungalina, Seven / Emu Reserve, Lake / Jabiru / 29 June 2012 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // Site 13 / beating Acacia leptocarpa / DNA 2608 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63691 // ♂; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067539; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067540; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067541; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067542; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067543; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067544; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067545; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067546; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067547; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067548; 1 ♀: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 0 67549 // ♀; 1 ♀: same data except ANIC / Image / ANIC Database No. / 25 0 67551 // ♀; 1 ♀: 1627’52 S 13733 ’17E / NT: Australian Wildlife / Cons. Pungalina. Seven / Emu Reserve / 02/07/12 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // AWC camp near Cycad / Creek, Site 22 / Acacia hammondii / DNA 2618 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63682 // ♀; 1 ♂: 1627’ 52.3 S 13733’ 17.2E / NT: Pungalina, 32 km NE / by N Pungalina Hmstd / Camp near Cycad Creek / 0 2 July 2012 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // Site 22 / beating / Acacia leptocarpa // ♂ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067535; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067536; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067537; 1 ♂: same data except “ ANIC Database No. / 25 067538; 1 ♀: same data except “NT S 22 / beating Phyllodine / DNA 4519 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63531 // ANIC / Image // ♀; 1 ♂: 1622’ 03.7 S 13740’ 17.5E / NT: Big Stinking Lagoon, / Pungalina, near Calvert / River / 03/07/12 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // beating clump of flowering / beating Acacia leptocarpa (plant DNA 80) / DNA 2621 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63704 // ♂; 1 ♂: 1630’50 S 13732 ’ 08.9E / NT: Pungalina, Edge of / Calvert River, Rocky side / 04/07/12 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // old pods and flowers / beating Acacia / holosericea / Site 26 DNA 2623 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63695 // ♂; 1 ♀: same data except “ DNA 2626 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63698 // ♀; 1 ♂: same data except “ DNA 2627 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 64664 // ♀; 1 ♂: 1644’ 04.9 S 13729’ 22.8E / NT: Karns Creek, / Pungalina / 08/07/12 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // beating old pods / Acacia holosericea / DNA 2602 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63700 // ♂; 1 ♂: 1647’29.8” S 13727 ’37”E / NT: Pungalina Karns / Creek near entrance of / camp rd / 8 July 2012 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // beating / Acacia holosericea / mating couple // ♂ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067533; 1 ♀: same data except ANIC Database No. / 25 0 67534 // ♀. Distribution. The species is thus far only known from a small area near the Gulf of Carpenteria in the Northern Territory (Fig. 69). Host-plants. The type series was largely collected from Acacia holosericea (22 specimens) and A. leptocarpa (18), with a few specimens from A. dimidiata (3) and A. hammondii (1) (Table 1). Remarks. This species is readily distinguishable from all others in the M. latipennis group by its elongate shape and especially the curved striae 2 to 4 with intervening interstriae, for which the species is named.

Melanterius acaciae Lea, 1899 (Figs. 1–2, 14–16) Melanterius acaciae Lea, 1899: 221; Lea, 1915: 464 Melanterius caledonicus Lea, 1928: 129; Pullen et al., 2014: 227 (syn.) This species was described from Forest Reefs in New South Wales and occurs widely in south-eastern Australia. It is also present in New Caledonia, from where it was described as M. caledonicus. It is shiny black with only a faint vestiture of fine setae, which is diagnostic on ventrites 3 and 4 but also (particularly in comparison with M. servulus and M. maculatus, which share the character of contiguous procoxae with M. acaciae) on the pronotum and elytra. The penis of M. acaciae (Figs. 15–16) is also distinctive, the body being narrower and with an attenuate, narrowly truncate apex and a pair of small, indistinct apical endophallic sclerites and a larger, caliper-like sclerite at the base. Lea (1899) originally recorded Acacia decurrens as a host of M. acaciae, but his type material of acaciae includes specimens of both M. acaciae and M. maculatus (E. C. Zimmerman, in litt.) and it is evident that this host record applies to M. maculatus instead. New (1979) reported collecting M. acaciae from A. dealbata and New (1983) rearing it from seeds of A. baileyana, but re-examination of the specimens showed them to be M. maculatus too, and host specificity tests confirmed that M. acaciae does not oviposit on A. baileyana and A. dealbata (Donnelly, 1992). It was first reared from its true main host, A. melanoxylon, in 1976 by M. van den Berg (van den Berg, 1982), and in 1980 T. Auld reared it from seeds of A. elongata (Auld, 1983, 1989). In New Caledonia it was collected (and appears to develop) on A. simplex (recorded on the labels as A. laurifolia), a perennial climber native to the western Pacific region. The species was released against A. melanoxylon in 1986 in South Africa (Donnelly, 1992; Dennill et al., 1999), where it established slowly but now controls A. melanoxylon very successfully (Dennill et al. 1999; Impson et al., 2011). In our study we collected M. acaciae from A. glaucocarpa as well, possibly an additional host (Tables 1, 2). The single specimen found on A. baileyana at Kyeamba (Table 1) is regarded as a concincidental association (Table 2). A series of five specimens in the ANIC, collected in 1986 by C. Reid at Kioloa in New South Wales on A. longifolia, and seemingly together with a similar series of M. ventralis, is not regarded as representing a host record., Published as part of Pinzón-Navarro, Sara V., Jennings, Debbie & Oberprieler, Rolf G., 2017, Host associations of Melanterius Erichson (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cleogonini), with a diagnosis and delimitation of the genus and description of five new species, pp. 1-77 in Zootaxa 4298 (1) on page 9, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4298.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/840354, {"references":["Lea, A. M. (1899) Revision of the Australian Curculionidae belonging to the subfamily Cryptorhynchides. Part III. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 24, 200 - 270.","Lea, A. M. (1915) On some Australian Malacodermidae and Curculionidae collected by Mr. G. E. Bryant. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 8, 15, 452 - 481.","Lea, A. M. (1928) Australian Curculionidae of the subfamilies Haplonycides and Cryptorhynchides. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 52, 95 - 164.","Pullen, K. R., Jennings, D. & Oberprieler, R. G. (2014) Annotated catalogue of Australian weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea). Zootaxa, 3896 (1), 1 - 481.","New, T. R. (1979) Phenology and relative abundance of Coleoptera on some Australian acacias. Australian Journal of Zoology, 27, 9 - 16.","New, T. R. (1983) Seed predation of some Australian acacias by weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Australian Journal of Zoology, 31, 345 - 352.","Donnelly, D. (1992) The potential host range of three seed-feeding Melanterius spp. (Curculionidae), candidates for the biological control of Australian Acacia spp. and Paraserianthes (Albizia) lophantha in South Africa. Phytophylactica, 24, 163 - 167.","Auld, T. D. (1983) Seed predation in native legumes of south-eastern Australia. Australian Journal of Entomology, 8, 367 - 376. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1442 - 9993.1983. tb 01333. x","Auld, T. D. (1989) Larval survival in the soil and adult emergence in Melanterius Erichson and Plaesiorhinus Blackburn (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) following seed feeding on Acacia and Bossiaea (Fabaceae). Australian Journal of Entomology, 28 (4), 235 - 238.","Dennill, G. B., Donelly, D., Stewart, K. & Impson, F. A. C. (1999) Insect agents used for the biological control of Australian Acacia species and Paraserianthes lopantha (Willd.) Nielsen (Fabaceae) in South Africa. African Entomology Memoir, 1, 45 - 54.","Impson, F. A. C., Kleinjan, C. A., Hoffmann, J. H., Post, J. A. & Wood, A. R. (2011) Biological control of Australian Acacia species and Paraserianthes lophanta (Willd.) Nielsen (Mimosaceae) in South Africa. African Entomology, 19 (2), 1867 - 207."]}

Melanterius Erichson, 1842 Melanterius W. F. Erichson, 1842: 209 (type species, by subsequent designation (Lea, 1899: 206): Melanterius porcatus Erichson, 1842) Chaleponotus Casey, 1892: 444 (type species, by monotypy: Chaleponotus elusus Casey, 1892); Anderson, 2008: 42 (syn.) Melanteriosoma Lea, 1899: 267 (type species, by subsequent designation (Pullen et al., 1914: 226): Melanteriosoma costatum Lea, 1899); Zimmerman, 1994: 644 (syn.) Redescription. Shape small, compact; colour brown to black, integument usually mostly bare but on pronotum and elytra with sparse small fine setae or rows or clusters of larger, ferruginous scales, rarely densely squamose; underside and legs somewhat more densely setose or squamose. Rostrum stout, subcylindrical, downcurved, retractable onto venter and there reaching metaventrite, longer and slenderer in female. Head with eyes slightly convex but not protuberant; ventrally not contiguous, there separated by width of rostrum at base. Antennae inserted in about apical third of rostrum in males, in middle in females; with scape folding into sharply delineated scrobe and not quite reaching eye in repose. Pronotum finely regularly punctate; prothorax laterally extended anteriad into ocular lobes covering eyes in repose. Prosternum excavate for receiving rostrum in repose; channel formed anteriorly by precoxal flanges (sometimes with ���peep-hole���), medially by usually separate, mesally flattened and ventrally edged procoxae and posteriorly by flattened to concave or saddle-shaped median process of mesoventrite with small to large lateral flanges or butts, open posteriorly (not forming closed receptacle). Elytra with 9 complete striae and abbreviated 10 th (terminating before apex of metanepisternum), dorsal striae usually deep with large, narrow, confluent or subconfluent punctures, occasionally with very large, round and open punctures; interstriae usually costate to carinate to some degree, sometimes only odd ones, rarely flat. Metanepisternal sutures with row of fine sclerolepidia. Metaventrite with flattened to concave disc, laterally (between meso- and metacoxae) delimitated by blunt edge to sharp carina. Abdominal ventrites (Fig. 9) 1 and 2 enlarged, each often as long as 3+4, suture between them fused but distinct and complete; 1 usually slightly concave in male but convex in female; 5 usually with large, transverse, shallow median fovea in both sexes. Legs. Femora slightly flattened and medially inflated, with ventral tooth at about apical third and often with slight shallow groove on underside for reception of tibiae; tibiae narrowly subcylindrical, uncinate, uncus usually extending into apical flange (false corbel) with flat outer (upper) lobe, uncus in females of some species arising from outer (upper) angle of tibial apex (Figs. 2, 4, 6, 8); setal comb usually long and oblique; tarsal claws fine, simple, divergent. Genitalia. Aedeagus with penis short and broad to elongate and narrow, flat, more or less downcurved; temones long and slender; endophallus usually with apical and basal pairs of small sclerites, sometimes without sclerites; tegmen narrow, with long slender parameres and short broad manubrium; gonocoxites usually elongate, narrow, with large, sometimes broad and flat, apical styli, but membranous without styli in M. maculatus group; spermatheca weakly sclerotised, of subequal width throughout, often with ramus differentiated and large gland with short, sclerotised duct., Published as part of Pinz��n-Navarro, Sara V., Jennings, Debbie & Oberprieler, Rolf G., 2017, Host associations of Melanterius Erichson (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cleogonini), with a diagnosis and delimitation of the genus and description of five new species, pp. 1-77 in Zootaxa 4298 (1) on page 6, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4298.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/840354, {"references":["Erichson, W. F. (1842) Beitrag zur Insecten-Fauna von Vandiemensland, mit besonderer Berucksichtigung der geographischen Verbreitung der Insecten. Archiv fur Naturgeschichte, 8 (1), 83 - 287.","Lea, A. M. (1899) Revision of the Australian Curculionidae belonging to the subfamily Cryptorhynchides. Part III. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 24, 200 - 270.","Casey, T. L. (1892) Coleopterological notices. IV. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 6, 359 - 712. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1749 - 6632.1892. tb 55408. x","Anderson, R. S. (2008) The identity of Chaleponotus elusus Casey 1892 (Curculionidae: Molytinae: Conotrachelini). The Coleopterists Bulletin, 62 (1), 42 - 44.","Zimmerman, E. C. (1994) Australian Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea). Fol. 1. Orthoceri. Anthribidae to Attelabidae. The Primitive Weevils. CSIRO Australia, Melbourne, xxxii + 741 pp."]}

Melanterius pungalinae sp. n. (Figs. 36���39) Description. Size: Length 2.8���3.3 mm in male, 2.9���3.4 mm in female; width 1.3���1.6 mm in male, 1.5���2.0 mm in female. Colour and vestiture: body dark reddish-brown; head, pronotum and elytra sparsely clothed with pale to testaceous, narrow, subspatulate scales, legs sparsely covered with slightly longer whitish hair-scales. Head with large, dense, shallow punctures, vertex shagreened. Eyes large, slightly convex but not protruding, dorsally separated by ca. three-quarters of width of rostrum at base. Rostrum about 1.2x longer than prothorax (slightly longer in female); robust, evenly subcylindrical (slightly flattened), downcurved, dorsal outline slightly set off from head in profile; dorsally with large, confluent (almost groove-like) punctures in proximal two-thirds in male, half in female, distal part glabrous with sparse, much smaller, finely setiferous punctures. Antennae inserted in apical third of rostrum in male, in middle in female; with funicle as long as scape, funicle segments 1 and 2 subequal, each as long as 3+4, club 1.5x longer than wide in middle. Prothorax roundly trapezoidal in outline, at apex 0.6x as wide as at base, length along midline 0.7x of width at base; pronotum densely punctate, punctures large, oval, distinctly rimmed, shallow, each in posterior wall carrying a small, pale seta curved anteriad and exceeding anterior margin of puncture. Elytra 2.75x longer than pronotum, at base as wide as pronotum but across humeri ca. 1.3x wider; striae deep, with elongate, confluent punctures; interstriae ca. 2x broader, slightly convex on disc but costate on sides and declivity, surface rugulose, with irregular row of moderately large, suberect, testaceous setae on either side of midline (costa), interstriae 1 with only a single row of setae. Metanepisterna with a single row of large, shallow, sparse punctures (about a dozen), metanepisternal sutures ventrally fringed with fine white sclerolepidia. Mesoventrite with median process short and broad (transverse), shallowly concave; surface finely rugulose and setose but apunctate. Metaventrite with disc flat, laterally bluntly broadly carinate between meso- and metacoxae; surface sparsely covered with large, shallow punctures each with a longish, erect, whitish hair-scale inserted in anterior wall and curved caudad. Abdominal ventrites 1 and 2 laterally each about as long as 3+4; 1 anteriorly slightly concave in middle in male, convex in female, 3 and 4 with one transverse row of sparse, small punctures each carrying a pale hair-scale. Legs. Sparsely covered with suberect pale hair-scales. Procoxae narrowly separated by a complete septum, meso- and metacoxae separated by their width; femora with small ventral tooth, underside without groove for reception of tibiae; tibiae with stout uncus arising at inner side of apex in both sexes and continuing into large bare flange across tibial apex (forming false corbel), flange at outer angle bluntly produced (forming a broad lobe on metatibiae), setal comb oblique on all tibiae. Genitalia. Aedeagus (Fig. 38) with body of penis elongate (3x longer than broad), sides subparallel, converging towards apex, apex truncate, base ventrally extended anteriad into broad, flat, shortly and bluntly bifurcate process; temones terete, 1.3x longer than body of penis; endophallus with elongate complex of sclerites at base of penis body. Spermatheca (Fig. 39) crescentic, subequal in thickness (thickest in middle); gland large, bulbous, with short, straight, sclerotised duct inserted on elongate, apically slightly inflated ramus. Material examined (17 ♂, 24 ♀). Holotype ♂: 16��39'35.3"S 137��24'51.7"E / NT: Pungalina, Mystery / Shovel, 7 km track to / Calvert River / 27 June 2012 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // Site 8 / beating Acacia / holosericea // ♂ // ANIC / image // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 67206 // HOLOTYPE / Melanterius pungalinae / Pinz��n-Navarro, Jennings & Oberprieler, 2017��� (ANIC). Paratypes (all labelled ��� PARATYPE / Melanterius pungalinae / Pinz��n- Navarro, Jennings & Oberprieler 2017, in ANIC): 1 ♀: 16��39'35.3"S 137��24'51.7"E / NT: Pungalina, Mystery / Shovel, 7 km track to / Calvert River / 27 June 2012 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // Site 8 / beating Acacia / holosericea // ♀ // ANIC / image // ANIC Database No. / 25 067207; 1 ♀: same data except ��� ANIC database no. / 25 067622; 1 ♂: 16��34'38"S 137��29'19"E / NT: Pungalina, Mystery / Shovel, 17.7 km NE by N / Pungalina Hmstd / 27 Jun 2012 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // Site 7 / beating old pods on / Acacia holosericea // ♂ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067623; 1 ♀: same data except ♀ // ANIC Database No. // 25 0 67624 //; 1 ♀: same data except ��� ♀ // ANIC Database No. // 25 067625���; 1 ♂: 1632'39" S 13730 '39"E / NT: Australian Wildlife / Conservancy, Pungalina, / Seven Emu Reserve / 28/06/12 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // beating>10 flowering / shrubs plant 77 Site 11 / Acacia producta / DNA 2607 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 67334 // ♂ ���; 1 ♂: ��� 16��47'29.8"S 137��27'37.1"E / NT: Pungalina, Karns / Creek, 9.6 km SE by S / Pungalina Hmstd / 28 June 2012 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // Site 12 / beating / Acacia dimidiata // ♂ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067626���; same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067627; 1 ♀: ��� 16��45'25.9"S 137��32'23.7"E / NT: Australian Wildlife / Conservancy, Pungalina, / Seven Emu Reserve, / Lake Jabiru. 29/06/12 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // site 13 ��� flowering / Phyllodine / Acacia leptocarpa / DNA 2609 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63684 // ♀ ���; 1 ♂: ���16��45'25.9"S 137��32'23.7"E / NT: Pungalina, Seven / Emu Reserve, Lake / Jabiru / 29 Jun 2012 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // site 13 / beating Acacia leptocarpa / with flowers // ♂ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067628���; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067629���; 1 ♀: same data except ��� ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067630���; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ♂ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067631���; 1 ♀: same data except ��� ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067632���; 1 ♀: 16��41'22"S 137��24'09"E / NT: Australian Wildlife / Cons. Pungalina, Seven / Emu Reserve / 30.06.2012 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // Fig Tree nr creek. Site 16 / Acacia holosericea / DNA 2613 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63470 // ♀; 1 ♂: ���16��27'52.3"S 137��33'17.2"E / NT: Pungalina, 32 km NE / by N Pungalina Hmstd / AWC camp near Cycad / Creek 2 July 2012 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // Site 22 / beating Acacia leptocarpa / with old pods // ♂ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067634���; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067635���; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 067636���; 1 ♀: same data except ��� ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067638���; 1 ♀: same data except ��� ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067639���; 1 ♀: same data except ��� ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067640���; 1 ♀: same data except ��� ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067641���; 1 ♀: same data except ��� ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067642���; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ♂ // ANIC / Image // ANIC Database No. / 25 067633���; 1 ♂: same data except ��� ♂ // ANIC / Image // ANIC Database No. / 25 067637���; 1 ♂: 16��30'50"S 137��32'08"E / NT, Pungalina, Calvert / River / 04/07/12 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // NT S26 / beating Acacia dimidiata / DNA 4523 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63472 // ♂; 1 ♂: same data except ��� DNA 4525 // ANIC Database No. 25 063473; 1 ♀: 1630'50" S 13732 '08.9"E / NT: Pungalina, Edge of / Calvert River, Rocky side / 0 4 July 2012 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // Site 28 / beating Acacia dimidiata / with old pods // ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067643//; 1 ♀: same data except ��� DNA 2628 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63471 // ANIC / Image // ♀; 1 ♀: ��� 16��29'22"S 137��33'14"E / NT: Pungalina, 5 km N of / Calvert River crossing / 28.8 km NE by N Pungalina / Hmstd 5 July 2012 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // site 29 beating / Acacia holosericea / with old pods // ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067644���; 1 ♀: 16��44'04.9"S 137��29'22.8"E / NT: Pungalina, Karns / Creek / July 2012 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067645; 1 ♂: ���16��47'30"S 137��27'37"E / NT: Pungalina, Karns Ck / 8 July 2012 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro beating / Acacia holosericea // ♂ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067646���; 1 ♀: ���16��47'30"S 137��27'37"E / NT: Pungalina, Karns / Creek, 9.6 km SE by S / Pungalina Hmstd / 8 July 2012 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // beating / Acacia holosericea // ♀ // ANIC Database No. / 25 067647���; 1 ♀: same data except ��� ANIC Database No. / 25 0 67648. Queensland. 1 ♀: ���26��32'42.1"S / 150��26���38.6"E / QLD: ca. 13 km SSW of / Barakula / 18/09/ 12 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // Beating green and old / pods Acacia conferta / DNA 2654 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63466 // ANIC / Image // ♀���; 1 ♀: ���26��52'39.6"S 150��30���20.5"E / QLD: Kogan-Tara Rd / 15 Sept 2013 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // QLD 2 S11 P509 / beating Acacia leiocalyx / DNA 4038 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63467 // ♀���; 1 ♀: same data except ��� DNA 4039 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63465 // ANIC / Image // ♂ ���; 1 ♂: ���27��04'05"S 150��50'25"E / QLD: Kogan-Condamine / Road / 21 Sept 2013 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro & D. Jennings // QLD 2 S104 P605 / beating Acacia leiocalyx / DNA 4188 // ANIC Database No. / 25 067320���; 1 ♀: same data except ��� DNA 4186 // ANIC Database No. / 25 063469���. New South Wales. 1 ♀: ��� 29��01'37"S / 151��29���55"E / NSW: Bruxner Highway / above Dumaresq River / 18 Sept 2013 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // NSW S84 P584 / beating Acacia leiocalyx / DNA 4153 // ANIC Database No. / 25 063468���. Distribution. The species is known from the Gulf of Carpenteria in the Northern Territory to northern New South Wales (Figs. 69���70). Host-plants. The type series was largely collected from Acacia holosericea and A. leptocarpa, with fewer specimens from A. conferta, A. dimidiata, A. leiocalyx and A. producta (Table 1). Remarks. Of the other species in the M. costatus group, M. costatus, M. costipennis, M. inconspicuus, M. tasmaniensis, M. vinosus and M. tibialis differ readily from M. pungalinae in having the elytral scales arranged in irregular clusters, not in regular rows on the interstriae, and M. costipennis, M. vinosus and M. tibialis further differ in their much larger size and M. costatus, M. inconspicuus and M. tasmaniensis in their shorter, squatter shape and a prominent carina or process behind the mesocoxae. Melanterius aberrans and M. lamellatus are much larger and have the odd interstriae strongly costate, whereas M. arenaceus and M. squamipennis are much more densely squamose and have confluent procoxal cavities, and M. rufus is more elongate, reddish in colour and with interstriae 3 and 5 conspicuously more densely squamose than the others. Melanterius psittacoides differs mainly in its basally inflated, parrot-beak-like rostrum. The specimens of M. pungalinae studied segregate into two geographically separate populations, one in the Northern Territory (Fig. 69) and one in southern Queensland (Fig. 70), with a single specimen also recorded from New South Wales. The specimens of the northern, Pungalina population are slightly larger but not otherwise distinguishable morphologically (including in their male and female genitalia) from the southern ones in Queensland, and we therefore treat both series as conspecific. The species may be distributed more widely between these known populations. Melanterius pungalinae is named after the type locality, the Pungalina-Seven-Emu Wildlife Sanctuary along the southern coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Northern Territory, where in 2012 the first author participated in a scientific expedition organised by the Royal Geographic Society of Queensland. The name is a Latin genitive of the noun Pungalina., Published as part of Pinz��n-Navarro, Sara V., Jennings, Debbie & Oberprieler, Rolf G., 2017, Host associations of Melanterius Erichson (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cleogonini), with a diagnosis and delimitation of the genus and description of five new species, pp. 1-77 in Zootaxa 4298 (1) on pages 21-24, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4298.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/840354

Melanterius latipennis Lea, 1928 (Figs. 61���62) Melanterius latipennis Lea, 1928: 128 This species was described from Geraldton and appears to occur largely in south-western Western Australia, but we here record it from South Australia as well. It is recognisable most readily by its interstriae, which on the elytral disc are flat, shiny, with two conspicuous rows of setiferous punctures, but on the declivity subcostate with indistinct punctures. The pronotum has dense, shallow setiferous punctures becoming partly confluent and curving outwards from the base, and the rostrum is evenly curved and continuous in dorsal outline with the head. The body of the penis (Fig. 62) is widening apicad and the apex broadly truncate, with a pair of broad apical internal sclerites. The South Australian specimens are slightly larger but identical in external and in male genital characters. The true host(s) of M. latipennis remain(s) unknown. Specimens in the ANIC were reared from seeds of Acacia cyclops and A. saligna by M. van den Berg, and specimens were also collected on A. cyclops at other localities in Western Australia, but these two species are typically the hosts of M. servulus and M. castaneus, respectively. We took a few specimens on A. cyclops and A. saligna too, as well as on Acacia decurrens, A. longifolia sophorae, A. mearnsii, A. microbotrya and A. pulchella, but most on A. myrtifolia and A. pentadenia in Western Australia and on A. iteaphylla and A. uncifolia in South Australia (Table 1). The last four species are thus more likely to constitute proper hosts of M. latipennis (Table 2), but it is evident that the species is not narrowly host-specific., Published as part of Pinz��n-Navarro, Sara V., Jennings, Debbie & Oberprieler, Rolf G., 2017, Host associations of Melanterius Erichson (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cleogonini), with a diagnosis and delimitation of the genus and description of five new species, pp. 1-77 in Zootaxa 4298 (1) on page 36, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4298.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/840354, {"references":["Lea, A. M. (1928) Australian Curculionidae of the subfamilies Haplonycides and Cryptorhynchides. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 52, 95 - 164."]}

Melanterius tesseymani sp. n. (Figs. 65���68) Description. Size: length 2.8 mm in male, 3.1 mm in female; width 1.4 mm in male, 1.6 mm in female. Colour and vestiture: body black to blackish-brown; head, pronotum and elytra sparsely clothed with minute short silvery-white setae, legs sparsely covered with larger, whitish hair-scales. Head with small, dense, shallow punctures. Eyes large, slightly convex but not protruding, dorsally separated by two-thirds of width of rostrum at base. Rostrum about 1.2x longer than prothorax (slightly longer in female); robust, slightly downcurved, dorsally continuous in outline with head in profile; dorsally with large, confluent punctures in proximal two-thirds in male, one-third in female, distal part glabrous with sparse, much smaller finely setiferous punctures. Antennae inserted in apical third of rostrum in male, just before middle in female; with funicle 1.2x longer than scape, funicle segment 1 slightly longer than 2+3, club 2x longer than wide in middle. Prothorax trapezoidal in outline, at apex 0.6x as wide as at base, length along midline 0.7x of width at base; pronotum densely punctate, punctures moderately sized, oval, shallow, each in posterior wall carrying a small, pale seta curved anteriad but not reaching anterior margin of puncture. Elytra 2.8x longer than pronotum, at base as wide as pronotum but across humeri ca. 1.25x wider; striae deep, with elongate, subconfluent punctures; interstriae broad, slightly convex on disc but subcostate on sides and declivity, surface rugulose, with irregular row of short fine silvery-white setae on either side of midline (costa). Metanepisterna with a single row of large, shallow, subcontiguous punctures (in some females a second, lower row indicated anteriorly and posteriorly), metanepisternal sutures ventrally fringed with fine white sclerolepidia. Mesoventrite with median process shallowly saddle-shaped; surface finely rugulose and setose but apunctate. Metaventrite with disc laterally bluntly carinate between meso- and metacoxae (forming a broad transverse disc indented in middle of broadly V-shaped posterior margin); surface densely covered with large, shallow punctures each with a stout, broad, blunt, pale seta inserted in anterior wall and directed caudad. Abdominal ventrites 1 and 2 laterally each about as long as 3+4; 3 and 4 with only one major but irregular transverse row of sparse, small punctures each carrying a fine pale seta. Legs. Procoxae narrowly separated by a complete septum, meso- and metacoxae separated by slightly less than their width; femora with strong ventral tooth (especially on meso- and metafemora), underside with shallow groove for reception of tibiae; tibiae with small but distinct uncus arising at inner side of apex in both sexes and continuing into large bare flange across tibial apex (forming false corbel), setal comb oblique on pro- and mesotibiae but more transverse on metatibiae. Genitalia. Aedeagus (Fig. 67) with body of penis flat, about 2x longer than broad at apex, broadening towards apex, apex truncate with short blunt tip; temones terete, slightly longer than body of penis; endophallus with V-shaped pair of stout linear sclerites, a finer single sclerite between them and fine asperities in adjacent walls. Spermatheca (Fig. 68) evenly crescentic with attenuate apex of cornu; gland large, with very short, broad, unsclerotised duct inserted on short, slightly bulbous ramus. Material examined (6 ♂, 13 ♀). Holotype ♂: 2652��� 59.3 S 15031��� 20.3E / QLD: Road Kogan-Dalby / Condamine / 15 Sept 2013 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro & D. Jennings // QLD 2 S14 P512 / green pods and flowers / beating Acacia spectabilis / DNA 4047 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63481 // ♂ // ANIC / Image // HOLOTYPE / Melanterius tesseymani / Pinz��n-Navarro, Jennings & Oberprieler 2017 (ANIC). Paratypes (all labelled ��� PARATYPE / Melanterius tesseymani / Pinz��n-Navarro, Jennings & Oberprieler 2017, in ANIC): 1 ♀: 2855���276 S 15111 ��� 59.9E / NSW: Bruxner Highway / 19 Sept 2013 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro & D. Jennings // NSW S90 P590 same as / 587 / beating Acacia polybotrya / DNA 4209 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63485 // ANIC / Image // ♀; 1 ♀: 2854��� 47.7 S 15110��� 31.6E / NSW: Bruxner Highway / 19 Sept 2013 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro & D. Jennings // NSW S89 P589 / beating Acacia polybotrya / DNA 4163 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 64669 // ♀; 1 ♀: same data except ��� DNA 4167 // ANIC Database No. / 25 064668; 1 ♀: 2853���45 S 15108 ���58E / NSW: Bruxner Highway, / Texas / 19 Sept 2013 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro & D. Jennings // NSW S87 P587 / beating Acacia polybotrya / DNA 4212 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 64674 // ♀; 1 ♀: same data except ��� DNA 4213 // ANIC Database No. / 25 064675; 1 ♀: same data except ��� DNA 4214 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63486 // ANIC / Image; 1 ♀: same data except ��� DNA 4215 // ANIC Database No. / 25 067303; 1 ♀: 2640���15 S 15011 ���14E / QLD: Miles, Leichhardt / Highway / 14 Sept 2013 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro & D. Jennings // QLD: 2 S8 same as P504 / Tree 2, beating Acacia / spectabilis / DNA 4017 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63479 // ANIC / Image // ♀; 1 ♂: same data except ��� DNA 4019 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63480 // ANIC / Image // ♂; 1 ♀: same data except ��� DNA 4020 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63646 // ANIC / Image // ♀; 1 ♂: same data except ��� DNA 4024 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63649 // ♂; 1 ♀: same data except ��� DNA 4025 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 64663 // ♀; 1 ♂: same data except ���QLD 2 S8 P505/ beating Acacia ixiophylla / DNA 4031 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63648 // ♂; 1 ♂: 2824���23.8��� S 15113 ��� 22.9E / QLD: Cunningham Highway to Warwick / 15 Sept 2013 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro & D. Jennings // QLD 2 S32 P531 / beating Acacia semilunata / DNA 4084 // ANIC Database no. / 25 0 63483 // ANIC / Image // ♂; 1 ♀: 2710���13 S 15033 ��� 51.8E / QLD: Road to Tara / 15 Sep 2013 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro & D. Jennings // QLD2 S25 P524 / beating Acacia ixiophylla / DNA 4065 // ANIC database No. / 25 063482; 1 ♀: 2702���43 S 15046 ���14E / QLD: Dalby-Kogan Road / 21 Sept 2013 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro & D. Jennings // QLD S108 P609 / beating Acacia spectabilis / DNA 4171 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63136 // ♀; 1 ♀: same data except ��� DNA 4173 // ANIC Database No. / 25 063484; 1 ♂: same data except ��� DNA 4174 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 64670 // ♂. Distribution. The species is thus far known from south-eastern Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales (Fig. 70). Host-plants. The type series was collected in series from Acacia polybotrya and A. spectabilis and as singletons from A. ixiophylla and A. semilunata (Table 1), suggesting that the former two may be larval hosts for it (Table 2). Remarks. In the M. latipennis group, M. tesseymani differs from species such as M. aratus, M. atronitens, M. elusus, M. legitimus, M. semiporosus and M. solitus in its smaller size, being most similar to M. baridioides, M. interstitialis, M. maestus and M. oleosus. The first of the latter four is distinguishable by a more compact and even shape, finer pronotal punctation and smooth, shallowly punctate interstriae on the elytral disc; M. interstitialis by a longer and thinner rostrum, subcostate interstriae on the elytral disc and more strongly dentate femora; M. maestus by a slightly larger and more elongate shape, more reddish colour and a longer rostrum; and M. oleosus by its pronotal punctures being elongate and sometimes confluent into longitudinal rows, longer legs and thinner femora with a smaller tooth. Melanterius tesseymani is named for Frank Tesseyman, a volunteer at the ANIC who contributed significantly to the painstaking labelling and databasing of the numerous Melanterius specimens collected during this study., Published as part of Pinz��n-Navarro, Sara V., Jennings, Debbie & Oberprieler, Rolf G., 2017, Host associations of Melanterius Erichson (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cleogonini), with a diagnosis and delimitation of the genus and description of five new species, pp. 1-77 in Zootaxa 4298 (1) on pages 36-41, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4298.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/840354

Melanterius porcatus Erichson, 1842 (Figs. 42���43) Melanterius porcatus W. F. Erichson, 1842: 210 This species was described from Tasmania (no precise locality given) and may be restricted to that state, as males from New South Wales / A.C. T. and Queensland differ significantly in their genitalia. It is a large, black species with large, medially constricted to irregular elytral punctures and thin, wavy interstriae, and a shiny, finely punctate pronotum. Like M. bidentatus and M. semiporcatus, it has two ventral femoral teeth. It is most similar to M. bidentatus, which also has separate procoxae and a similar pronotal sculpture but differs in having narrower, more regular elytral punctures and straight, costate interstriae. The penis (Fig. 43) is elongate but broad, with a broadly rounded, sclerotised apex and a large trident-like basal endophallic sclerite (a pair of narrow, elongate, connected median sclerites, each with a broad, flat, rounded arm). In externally indistinguishable specimens from New South Wales / A.C. T. the penis has a peculiarly malleate (hammer-shaped) apex and a more complex set of basal endophallic sclerites, and in a similar specimen from Fraser Island, Queensland, the penis has an attenuate but rounded apex and a smaller but also trident-like basal endophallic sclerite. It is thus evident that M. porcatus in the traditional sense comprises a complex of cryptic species. Lea (1899) reported collecting M. porcatus from Acacia decurrens at Forest Reefs in New South Wales, but this evidently does not refer to the true M. porcatus, and whether it represents a larval host association is also unclear. We did not collect any specimens of M. porcatus or similar species., Published as part of Pinz��n-Navarro, Sara V., Jennings, Debbie & Oberprieler, Rolf G., 2017, Host associations of Melanterius Erichson (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cleogonini), with a diagnosis and delimitation of the genus and description of five new species, pp. 1-77 in Zootaxa 4298 (1) on page 26, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4298.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/840354, {"references":["Erichson, W. F. (1842) Beitrag zur Insecten-Fauna von Vandiemensland, mit besonderer Berucksichtigung der geographischen Verbreitung der Insecten. Archiv fur Naturgeschichte, 8 (1), 83 - 287.","Lea, A. M. (1899) Revision of the Australian Curculionidae belonging to the subfamily Cryptorhynchides. Part III. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 24, 200 - 270."]}

Melanterius abbreviatus sp. n. (Figs. 50���53) Description (female only). Size: length 2.35���3.0 mm; width 1.1���1.5 mm. Colour and vestiture: body blackish; head, pronotum and elytra sparsely clothed with minute short white setae, legs sparsely covered with larger, pale hair-scales. Head with large, dense, relatively deep and closely spaced punctures becoming confluent on forehead. Eyes large, flat, dorsally separated by slightly more than width of rostrum at base. Rostrum about 1.25x longer than prothorax, very slender and strongly downcurved; dorsally at base with a few large, setiferous punctures and short grooves (confluent punctures), rest glabrous with sparse, minute punctures. Antennae inserted in middle of rostrum; with funicle 1.36x longer than scape, funicle segments 1 and 2 subequal, each slightly shorter than 3+4, club 2x longer than wide in middle. Prothorax trapezoidal in outline, at apex 0.6x as wide as at base, length along midline 0.7x of width at base; pronotum densely covered with large, oval, moderately deep, closely set punctures, each in posterior wall carrying a stiff, spatulate, pale seta as long as a puncture and curving anteriad. Elytra 3.4x longer than pronotum, at base nearly as wide as pronotum but across humeri 1.25x wider; interstriae broad, all except 1 (sutural) subcostate on disc, all costate on declivity, 4 with costa not extending to base of elytra (Fig. 52), surface rugulose, with a row of sparse subspatulate pale setae on either side of midline (costa). Metanepisterna with a single row of large, shallow, subcontiguous punctures, metanepisternal sutures ventrally fringed with row of indistinct sclerolepidia (more distinct only at anterior and posterior ends). Prosternum ventrally deeply excavate, forming short, narrow canal with strongly raised edges (flanges) anteriorly of procoxae but laterally open behind procoxae, flanges with deep anterior cavity but not peep-hole, each extended posteriorly into stout acute process abutting anterior surface of procoxa. Mesoventrite with median process deeply broadly foveate, with short prominent flanges in front of mesocoxae; surface of fovea finely shagreened. Metaventrite with disc laterally produced into carina extending between meso- and metacoxae but sometimes not reaching the latter; surface densely covered with large, shallow punctures each with a stout, broad, blunt, pale seta inserted in anterior wall and directed caudad. Abdominal ventrites 1 and 2 laterally only ca. 0.3x longer than 3 and 4; 3 and 4 each with two transverse rows of large punctures with fine pale setae. Legs. Procoxae separated by slightly less than half width of rostrum at base, meso- and metacoxae separated by about their width; femora with strong ventral tooth, on inside of tooth with shallow groove for reception of tibiae; tibiae with small but distinct uncus arising at inner side of apex and continuing into bare flange across tibial apex (forming false corbel, particularly on metatibiae), flange at outer angle bluntly produced (forming a broad lobe on metatibiae), setal comb slightly oblique on all tibiae. Genitalia. Spermatheca (Fig. 53) evenly thick, straight with abruptly angled, slightly inflated cornu with narrowed, kinked apex; gland large, bulbous, with short, straight, sclerotized duct inserted on elongate, apically slightly inflated ramus. Material examined (8 ♀). New South Wales. Holotype ♀: 2901���37 S 15129 ���55E / NSW: Bruxner Highway / above Dumaresq River / 18 Sept 2013 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // NSW S84 P584 / beating Acacia leiocalyx / DNA 4151 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63528 // ♀ // HOLOTYPE / Melanterius abbreviatus / Pinz��n-Navarro, Jennings & Oberprieler, 2017��� (ANIC). Paratypes (all labelled ��� PARATYPE / Melanterius abbreviatus / Pinz��n-Navarro, Jennings & Oberprieler 2017, in ANIC): 1 ♀: same data as holotype except ��� DNA 4149 // ANIC Database No. / 25 063527; 1 ♀: same data as holotype except ��� DNA 4150 // ANIC Database No. / 25 067266; 1 ♀: same data as holotype except ��� DNA 4152 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 64662 // ANIC / Image; 1 ♀: 3528���12 S 15020 ���51E / NSW: 1375 Princes Highway, / Meroo N. P. / 0 5 October 2013 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // Jervis S 9 P640 / beating Acacia sp. / DNA 4251 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63530. Queensland. 1 ♀: 2642���41 S 15137 ���49E / QLD: Road from Kumbia / 5 Mar 2012 483m / S. Pinz��n-Navarro / Beating Acacia loroloba / DNA 2413 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63524 // ANIC / Image; 1 ♀: 2652���40 S 15030 ���21E / QLD: Kogan-Tara Rd / 15 Sept 2013 / S. Pinz��n- Navarro // QLD 2 S11 P509 / beating Acacia leiocalyx / DNA 4040 // ANIC Database No. / 25 063526; 1 ♀: 2704���05 S 15050 ���25E / QLD: Kogan-Condamine / Road / 21 Sept 2013 / S. Pinz��n-Navarro // QLD 2 S104 P605 / beating Acacia leiocalyx / DNA 4187 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63529. Distribution. The species is thus far only known from northern New South Wales and southern Queensland (Fig. 70). Host-plants. The type series was collected mainly from Acacia leiocalyx, though a single specimen was collected on A. loroloba (Table 1). Remarks. The species is characterised foremost by the abbreviated costa of interstriae 4 (not reaching the base of the elytra), a condition not occurring in any other species as studied. It is otherwise most similar to: M. baridioides, which differs also by its more compact shape, finer pronotal punctation and smooth, shallowly punctate interstriae on the elytral disc; M. interstitialis, which differs by having only convex, not costate, interstriae on the elytral disc, a slightly different pronotal punctation and longer ventrites 1 and 2; M. legitimus, which has a sparser pronotal punctation (larger interstices between the punctures), broader and distinctly punctate interstriae and the strial punctures more strongly confluent; M. maestus, which is reddish in colour and has the interstriae acostate on the elytral disc; M. tesseymani, which has a finer pronotal punctation, the interstriae acostate on the elytral disc and a shorter rostrum and femora; M. oleosus, which is distinctive in its elongate, sometimes partially confluent pronotal punctures. All these species also do not have as sharp and high a carina between the meso- and metacoxae. The male of M. abbreviatus is as yet unknown. Melanterius abbreviatus is named for the abbreviated costa of the 4 th elytral interstriae, which does not reach the base of the elytron as the costae of the other interstriae do. The name is an adjective., Published as part of Pinz��n-Navarro, Sara V., Jennings, Debbie & Oberprieler, Rolf G., 2017, Host associations of Melanterius Erichson (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cleogonini), with a diagnosis and delimitation of the genus and description of five new species, pp. 1-77 in Zootaxa 4298 (1) on pages 29-32, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4298.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/840354, {"references":["Mapondera, T., Burgess, T., Matsuki, M. & Oberprieler, R. G. (2012) Identification and molecular phylogenetics of the cryptic species of the Gonipterus scutellatus complex (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Gonipterini). Australian Journal of Entomology, 51 (3), 175 - 188."]}

Melanterius maculatus Lea, 1899 (Figs. 5–6, 12, 22–23) Melanterius maculatus Lea, 1899: 222 This species was described from Benalla in north-eastern Victoria but occurs widely in South Australia, Tasmania, New South Wales and southern Queensland. It is similar to M. servulus but distinguishable from the latter by its smaller size and more slender shape, by having its elytral interstriae 2 and 4 flat, not costate as the adjacent ones (especially on the declivity, 3 not costate at base) (Fig. 12), by the elytral setae forming irregular clusters (maculae) and by the depression of the apical abdominal ventrite being much narrower. The female also differs from that of M. servulus in that its tibial uncus is parallel to the tibial edge (Fig. 6), and the short, broad penis of the male (Fig. 23) is diagnostic in its apex having a conspicuous pale “lip” and the base of the body a pair of long, thick, complex endophallic sclerites together with a single median one. Melanterius maculatus is somewhat variable, mostly with respect to the degree of impression of its abdominal ventrites, but no distinct and species-diagnostic differences are detectable among populations from different hosts; in particular the penis with its characteristic apical “lip” and basal sclerites is identical in all males (Oberprieler & Zimmerman, 2001). Clarke (2002) also found no genetic differences between samples from different host plants. Melanterius maculatus has quite a wide range of host plants. It was collected on Acacia decurrens over a century ago (Lea, 1899)—the specimens though included in the type series of M. acaciae (see above) —, and in 1930 L. F. Graham collected it on Acacia baileyana in Canberra. In 1976 M. van den Berg, looking for potential biocontrol agents for importation to South Africa, reared the species from seeds of A. baileyana, A. dealbata, A. decurrens, A. elata, A. mearnsii and A. pycnantha in New South Wales. The specimens reared by T. New from seeds of A. baileyana in 1978 and recorded as M. acaciae (New, 1983) belong to M. maculatus as well (see M. acaciae above). The species was also reared from seeds of A. linifolia and A. terminalis by T. Auld in 1981 (Auld, 1983, 1989) and from seeds of A. rubida by R. Adair in 1998. Host specificity tests in South Africa have confirmed a wide range of host species for M. maculatus (Dennill & Donnelly, 1991). The species was released in South Africa only in 1993 because of the protracted conflict of interest between biological control of invasive weeds and commercial benefit of particularly A. mearnsii, one of its hosts (Dennill & Donnelly, 1991; Impson & Moran, 2004). Several initial attempts to establish it on A. mearnsii failed, and also later releases of stocks from different localities in Australia yielded poor results (Table 1 in Dennill et al., 1999), but it finally established at low to moderate levels in some locations (Impson et al., 2011). The possibility of having released unsuitable or incompatible strains or biotypes of M. maculatus is one of the explanations suggested as reason for this failure (Dennill et al. 1999). The species was also released in South Africa in 1998 against A. dealbata and in 2001 against A. decurrens, on which its impact by 2011 was considered moderate (Impson et al., 2011), and in 2003, 2006 and 2008 against respectively A. pycnantha, A. baileyana and A. podalyriifolia, on which its impact was not yet ascertained by 2011 (Impson et al., 2011). We collected a total of 339 specimens of Melanterius maculatus from the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria, on 33 species of Acacia (Table 1). Although many of these records probably represent just coincidental associations, it is evident that M. maculatus has a very wide host range. Ten species (A. baileyana, A. dealbata, A. deanei, A. decurrens, A. elata, A. mearnsii, A. podalyrifolia, A. pycnantha, A. rubida, A. terminalis) have been recorded as true hosts, and several others may belong in this category as well (Table 2)., Published as part of Pinzón-Navarro, Sara V., Jennings, Debbie & Oberprieler, Rolf G., 2017, Host associations of Melanterius Erichson (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cleogonini), with a diagnosis and delimitation of the genus and description of five new species, pp. 1-77 in Zootaxa 4298 (1) on page 11, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4298.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/840354, {"references":["Lea, A. M. (1899) Revision of the Australian Curculionidae belonging to the subfamily Cryptorhynchides. Part III. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 24, 200 - 270.","Oberprieler, R. G. & Zimmerman, E. C. (2001) Identification and Host Ranges of the Melanterius Weevils Used as Biocontrol Agents of Invasive Australian Acacias in South Africa. A Study and Report for ARC-Plant Protection Research Institute, South Africa. CSIRO Entomology, Canberra, 25 pp.","Clarke, G. M. (2002) Molecular phylogenetics and host ranges of the Melanterius weevils used as biocontrol agents of Australian acacias in South Africa. A report prepared for ARC - Plant Protection Research Institute, South Africa. Unpublished report, CSIRO Entomology, Canberra, 22 pp.","New, T. R. (1983) Seed predation of some Australian acacias by weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Australian Journal of Zoology, 31, 345 - 352.","Auld, T. D. (1983) Seed predation in native legumes of south-eastern Australia. Australian Journal of Entomology, 8, 367 - 376. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1442 - 9993.1983. tb 01333. x","Auld, T. D. (1989) Larval survival in the soil and adult emergence in Melanterius Erichson and Plaesiorhinus Blackburn (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) following seed feeding on Acacia and Bossiaea (Fabaceae). Australian Journal of Entomology, 28 (4), 235 - 238.","Dennill, G. B. & Donnelly, D. (1991) Biological control of Acacia longifolia and related weed species (Fabaceae) in South Africa. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 37, 115 - 135.","Impson, F. A. C. & Moran, V. C. (2004) Thirty years of exploration for and selection of a succession of Melanterius weevil species for biological control of invasive Australian acacias in South Africa: should we have done anything differently? In: Cullen, J. M., Briese, D. T., Kriticos, D. J., Lonsdale, W. M., Morin, L. & Scott, J. K. (Eds.), Proceedings of the XI. International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds. CSIRO Entomology, Canberra, pp. 127 - 134.","Dennill, G. B., Donelly, D., Stewart, K. & Impson, F. A. C. (1999) Insect agents used for the biological control of Australian Acacia species and Paraserianthes lopantha (Willd.) Nielsen (Fabaceae) in South Africa. African Entomology Memoir, 1, 45 - 54.","Impson, F. A. C., Kleinjan, C. A., Hoffmann, J. H., Post, J. A. & Wood, A. R. (2011) Biological control of Australian Acacia species and Paraserianthes lophanta (Willd.) Nielsen (Mimosaceae) in South Africa. African Entomology, 19 (2), 1867 - 207."]}

Melanterius ventralis Lea, 1899 (Figs. 9–10, 46–47) Melanterius ventralis Lea, 1899: 214 This species was described from Sydney and occurs mainly in coastal regions of New South Wales and southern Queensland. The male is distinctive in its medially densely setose apical three ventrites (Fig. 9), its ventrally strongly flattened antennal clubs (Fig. 10) and its apically broadly truncate penis with a small pair of square apical sclerites and a larger complex basal one (Fig. 47). The principal host of M. ventralis is Acacia longifolia (including the subspecies sophorae), from whose seeds it was first reared in 1976 by M. van den Berg (van den Berg, 1982). It is the first Melanterius species to be released in South Africa (Dennill & Donnelly, 1991), in 1985 against A. longifolia (Donnelly, 1992), and it is well established there and successfully controlling its host, in combination with the galling pteromalid wasp Trichilogaster acaciaelongifoliae (Froggatt) (Dennill et al., 1999; Impson et al., 2011). Specimens in the ANIC have also been reared from seeds of A. longissima and A. oxycedrus and collected on A. ulicifolia, A. floribunda and A. mabellae (Table 1), but the last two records are unlikely to represent true host associations (Table 2). We collected several specimens from A. obtusifolia, A. spectabilis and A. ulicifolia, which appear to be additional hosts for the species (Tables 1, 2)., Published as part of Pinzón-Navarro, Sara V., Jennings, Debbie & Oberprieler, Rolf G., 2017, Host associations of Melanterius Erichson (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cleogonini), with a diagnosis and delimitation of the genus and description of five new species, pp. 1-77 in Zootaxa 4298 (1) on page 27, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4298.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/840354, {"references":["Lea, A. M. (1899) Revision of the Australian Curculionidae belonging to the subfamily Cryptorhynchides. Part III. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 24, 200 - 270.","Dennill, G. B. & Donnelly, D. (1991) Biological control of Acacia longifolia and related weed species (Fabaceae) in South Africa. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 37, 115 - 135.","Donnelly, D. (1992) The potential host range of three seed-feeding Melanterius spp. (Curculionidae), candidates for the biological control of Australian Acacia spp. and Paraserianthes (Albizia) lophantha in South Africa. Phytophylactica, 24, 163 - 167.","Dennill, G. B., Donelly, D., Stewart, K. & Impson, F. A. C. (1999) Insect agents used for the biological control of Australian Acacia species and Paraserianthes lopantha (Willd.) Nielsen (Fabaceae) in South Africa. African Entomology Memoir, 1, 45 - 54.","Impson, F. A. C., Kleinjan, C. A., Hoffmann, J. H., Post, J. A. & Wood, A. R. (2011) Biological control of Australian Acacia species and Paraserianthes lophanta (Willd.) Nielsen (Mimosaceae) in South Africa. African Entomology, 19 (2), 1867 - 207."]}

Melanterius tesseymani sp. n. (Figs. 65–68) Description. Size: length 2.8 mm in male, 3.1 mm in female; width 1.4 mm in male, 1.6 mm in female. Colour and vestiture: body black to blackish-brown; head, pronotum and elytra sparsely clothed with minute short silvery-white setae, legs sparsely covered with larger, whitish hair-scales. Head with small, dense, shallow punctures. Eyes large, slightly convex but not protruding, dorsally separated by two-thirds of width of rostrum at base. Rostrum about 1.2x longer than prothorax (slightly longer in female); robust, slightly downcurved, dorsally continuous in outline with head in profile; dorsally with large, confluent punctures in proximal two-thirds in male, one-third in female, distal part glabrous with sparse, much smaller finely setiferous punctures. Antennae inserted in apical third of rostrum in male, just before middle in female; with funicle 1.2x longer than scape, funicle segment 1 slightly longer than 2+3, club 2x longer than wide in middle. Prothorax trapezoidal in outline, at apex 0.6x as wide as at base, length along midline 0.7x of width at base; pronotum densely punctate, punctures moderately sized, oval, shallow, each in posterior wall carrying a small, pale seta curved anteriad but not reaching anterior margin of puncture. Elytra 2.8x longer than pronotum, at base as wide as pronotum but across humeri ca. 1.25x wider; striae deep, with elongate, subconfluent punctures; interstriae broad, slightly convex on disc but subcostate on sides and declivity, surface rugulose, with irregular row of short fine silvery-white setae on either side of midline (costa). Metanepisterna with a single row of large, shallow, subcontiguous punctures (in some females a second, lower row indicated anteriorly and posteriorly), metanepisternal sutures ventrally fringed with fine white sclerolepidia. Mesoventrite with median process shallowly saddle-shaped; surface finely rugulose and setose but apunctate. Metaventrite with disc laterally bluntly carinate between meso- and metacoxae (forming a broad transverse disc indented in middle of broadly V-shaped posterior margin); surface densely covered with large, shallow punctures each with a stout, broad, blunt, pale seta inserted in anterior wall and directed caudad. Abdominal ventrites 1 and 2 laterally each about as long as 3+4; 3 and 4 with only one major but irregular transverse row of sparse, small punctures each carrying a fine pale seta. Legs. Procoxae narrowly separated by a complete septum, meso- and metacoxae separated by slightly less than their width; femora with strong ventral tooth (especially on meso- and metafemora), underside with shallow groove for reception of tibiae; tibiae with small but distinct uncus arising at inner side of apex in both sexes and continuing into large bare flange across tibial apex (forming false corbel), setal comb oblique on pro- and mesotibiae but more transverse on metatibiae. Genitalia. Aedeagus (Fig. 67) with body of penis flat, about 2x longer than broad at apex, broadening towards apex, apex truncate with short blunt tip; temones terete, slightly longer than body of penis; endophallus with V-shaped pair of stout linear sclerites, a finer single sclerite between them and fine asperities in adjacent walls. Spermatheca (Fig. 68) evenly crescentic with attenuate apex of cornu; gland large, with very short, broad, unsclerotised duct inserted on short, slightly bulbous ramus. Material examined (6 ♂, 13 ♀). Holotype ♂: 2652’ 59.3 S 15031’ 20.3E / QLD: Road Kogan-Dalby / Condamine / 15 Sept 2013 / S. Pinzón-Navarro & D. Jennings // QLD 2 S14 P512 / green pods and flowers / beating Acacia spectabilis / DNA 4047 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63481 // ♂ // ANIC / Image // HOLOTYPE / Melanterius tesseymani / Pinzón-Navarro, Jennings & Oberprieler 2017 (ANIC). Paratypes (all labelled “ PARATYPE / Melanterius tesseymani / Pinzón-Navarro, Jennings & Oberprieler 2017, in ANIC): 1 ♀: 2855’276 S 15111 ’ 59.9E / NSW: Bruxner Highway / 19 Sept 2013 / S. Pinzón-Navarro & D. Jennings // NSW S90 P590 same as / 587 / beating Acacia polybotrya / DNA 4209 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63485 // ANIC / Image // ♀; 1 ♀: 2854’ 47.7 S 15110’ 31.6E / NSW: Bruxner Highway / 19 Sept 2013 / S. Pinzón-Navarro & D. Jennings // NSW S89 P589 / beating Acacia polybotrya / DNA 4163 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 64669 // ♀; 1 ♀: same data except “ DNA 4167 // ANIC Database No. / 25 064668; 1 ♀: 2853’45 S 15108 ’58E / NSW: Bruxner Highway, / Texas / 19 Sept 2013 / S. Pinzón-Navarro & D. Jennings // NSW S87 P587 / beating Acacia polybotrya / DNA 4212 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 64674 // ♀; 1 ♀: same data except “ DNA 4213 // ANIC Database No. / 25 064675; 1 ♀: same data except “ DNA 4214 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63486 // ANIC / Image; 1 ♀: same data except “ DNA 4215 // ANIC Database No. / 25 067303; 1 ♀: 2640’15 S 15011 ’14E / QLD: Miles, Leichhardt / Highway / 14 Sept 2013 / S. Pinzón-Navarro & D. Jennings // QLD: 2 S8 same as P504 / Tree 2, beating Acacia / spectabilis / DNA 4017 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63479 // ANIC / Image // ♀; 1 ♂: same data except “ DNA 4019 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63480 // ANIC / Image // ♂; 1 ♀: same data except “ DNA 4020 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63646 // ANIC / Image // ♀; 1 ♂: same data except “ DNA 4024 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63649 // ♂; 1 ♀: same data except “ DNA 4025 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 64663 // ♀; 1 ♂: same data except “QLD 2 S8 P505/ beating Acacia ixiophylla / DNA 4031 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63648 // ♂; 1 ♂: 2824’23.8” S 15113 ’ 22.9E / QLD: Cunningham Highway to Warwick / 15 Sept 2013 / S. Pinzón-Navarro & D. Jennings // QLD 2 S32 P531 / beating Acacia semilunata / DNA 4084 // ANIC Database no. / 25 0 63483 // ANIC / Image // ♂; 1 ♀: 2710’13 S 15033 ’ 51.8E / QLD: Road to Tara / 15 Sep 2013 / S. Pinzón-Navarro & D. Jennings // QLD2 S25 P524 / beating Acacia ixiophylla / DNA 4065 // ANIC database No. / 25 063482; 1 ♀: 2702’43 S 15046 ’14E / QLD: Dalby-Kogan Road / 21 Sept 2013 / S. Pinzón-Navarro & D. Jennings // QLD S108 P609 / beating Acacia spectabilis / DNA 4171 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63136 // ♀; 1 ♀: same data except “ DNA 4173 // ANIC Database No. / 25 063484; 1 ♂: same data except “ DNA 4174 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 64670 // ♂. Distribution. The species is thus far known from south-eastern Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales (Fig. 70). Host-plants. The type series was collected in series from Acacia polybotrya and A. spectabilis and as singletons from A. ixiophylla and A. semilunata (Table 1), suggesting that the former two may be larval hosts for it (Table 2). Remarks. In the M. latipennis group, M. tesseymani differs from species such as M. aratus, M. atronitens, M. elusus, M. legitimus, M. semiporosus and M. solitus in its smaller size, being most similar to M. baridioides, M. interstitialis, M. maestus and M. oleosus. The first of the latter four is distinguishable by a more compact and even shape, finer pronotal punctation and smooth, shallowly punctate interstriae on the elytral disc; M. interstitialis by a longer and thinner rostrum, subcostate interstriae on the elytral disc and more strongly dentate femora; M. maestus by a slightly larger and more elongate shape, more reddish colour and a longer rostrum; and M. oleosus by its pronotal punctures being elongate and sometimes confluent into longitudinal rows, longer legs and thinner femora with a smaller tooth. Melanterius tesseymani is named for Frank Tesseyman, a volunteer at the ANIC who contributed significantly to the painstaking labelling and databasing of the numerous Melanterius specimens collected during this study.

Melanterius elusus (Casey, 1892) (Figs. 59–60) Chaleponotus elusus Casey, 1892 Melanterius pectoralis Lea, 1899: 239; Anderson, 2008: 42 (syn.) Melanterius rufimanus Lea, 1915: 464; Pullen et al., 2014: 227 (syn.) The oldest (valid) name of this species is based on a single specimen described by Thomas Casey, supposedly from Indiana in the U. S.A., but no further specimens were ever found in North America and the identity and relationships of the species remained obscure until Anderson (2008) discovered that it belongs in Melanterius. Its name proved to be a senior subjective synonym of pectoralis Lea (Anderson, 2008) and also of rufimanus Lea (Pullen et al., 2014), the former name based on specimens from South Australia without a specific locality, the latter on a single female from Baan Baa in New South Wales. The species occurs from South Australia east- and northwards through New South Wales into southern Queensland. It is easily recognised by the male having the disc of the metaventrite laterally expanded and densely covered with elongate, flattened and apically plumose setae; in the female the disc is only flattened and laterally carries much sparser though similar setae. In both sexes the ventral tooth of the profemora is hook-like enlarged and curved distad to overhang a large round indentation in the ventral side of the femur (Fig. 59). The body of the penis (Fig. 60) is parallel-sided but gently narrowing apicad, without distinct internal sclerites but with a characteristic elongate field of spinosities. No host information is available for the species in the literature and the ANIC. We collected it mainly on A. conferta (9 specimens) and A. deanei (6), sporadically also on A. leucocalyx, A. muelleriana and A. spectabilis (Table 1)., Published as part of Pinzón-Navarro, Sara V., Jennings, Debbie & Oberprieler, Rolf G., 2017, Host associations of Melanterius Erichson (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cleogonini), with a diagnosis and delimitation of the genus and description of five new species, pp. 1-77 in Zootaxa 4298 (1) on pages 34-36, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4298.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/840354, {"references":["Casey, T. L. (1892) Coleopterological notices. IV. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 6, 359 - 712. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1749 - 6632.1892. tb 55408. x","Lea, A. M. (1899) Revision of the Australian Curculionidae belonging to the subfamily Cryptorhynchides. Part III. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 24, 200 - 270.","Anderson, R. S. (2008) The identity of Chaleponotus elusus Casey 1892 (Curculionidae: Molytinae: Conotrachelini). The Coleopterists Bulletin, 62 (1), 42 - 44.","Lea, A. M. (1915) On some Australian Malacodermidae and Curculionidae collected by Mr. G. E. Bryant. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 8, 15, 452 - 481.","Pullen, K. R., Jennings, D. & Oberprieler, R. G. (2014) Annotated catalogue of Australian weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea). Zootaxa, 3896 (1), 1 - 481."]}

Melanterius servulus Pascoe, 1872 (Figs. 7���8, 13, 24���25) Melanterius servulus Pascoe, 1872: 142 This species was described from King George���s Sound (Albany) and is seemingly restricted to south-western Western Australia. It is similar to M. maculatus in being reddish-brown and carrying broad setae, but it is a larger and broader species. It also differs from M. maculatus in that the elytral interstriae 2 and 4 are elevated and costate on the declivity like the adjacent odd-numbered ones (Fig. 13) and in that the depression of the apical abdominal ventrite is very broad and transverse and flanked on either side by a large seta (a much smaller seta in M. maculatus). The female may further be distinguished from that of M. maculatus by its tibial uncus forming an angle with the tibial edge (Fig. 8), and the male has a diagnostic penis (Fig. 25) with broadly truncate apex and a pair of large, flat, caliper-like apical sclerites. Melanterius servulus was first reared from the seeds of Acacia saligna (as A. cyanophylla) in 1970 at Borden by S. Neser and subsequently from seeds of Acacia cyclops in 1975 in the Esperance area by M. van den Berg (van den Berg, 1980) and from seeds of Paraserianthes lophanta in 1984 and 1985 in the Albany area by M. Morris and G. Dennill. It was released in South Africa in 1989 against P. lophanta and in 1991 and 1994 against A. cyclops, but both ��� types ��� (referred to as B and A, respectively) established only slowly (Donnelly, 1992; Dennill et al. 1999, Schmidt et al., 1999; Impson et al., 2011). The two types are reported to display behavioural differences on their respective hosts (Dennill et al., 1999), but a detailed morphological study (Oberprieler & Zimmerman, 2001) and a molecular analysis (Clarke, 2002) could detect no taxonomic or genetic differences between them. Although definite host records for M. servulus from Australia are limited to A. cyclops and P. lophanta, Donnelly���s (1992) host specificity tests in South Africa showed that M. servulus can successfully develop on all other introduced Australian acacias. In spite of this indicated lack of host specificity, the weevil has seemingly not established on any of these plants in South Africa, and it is only moderately established even on its proper hosts, A. cyclops and P. lophanta (Dennill et al., 1999; Schmidt et al., 1999; Impson et al., 2011). We collected the species on ten other Acacia species as well (Table 1), but of the native Western Australian ones (A. chamaeleon, A. microbotrya, A. pentadenia, A. subcaerulea, A. trulliformis) only on A. microbotrya and A. trulliformis in series to suggest these as possibly being additional breeding hosts (Table 2)., Published as part of Pinz��n-Navarro, Sara V., Jennings, Debbie & Oberprieler, Rolf G., 2017, Host associations of Melanterius Erichson (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cleogonini), with a diagnosis and delimitation of the genus and description of five new species, pp. 1-77 in Zootaxa 4298 (1) on page 14, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4298.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/840354, {"references":["Pascoe, F. P. (1872) Additions to the Australian Curculionidae. Part II. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 4, 9 (50), 132 - 142.","Donnelly, D. (1992) The potential host range of three seed-feeding Melanterius spp. (Curculionidae), candidates for the biological control of Australian Acacia spp. and Paraserianthes (Albizia) lophantha in South Africa. Phytophylactica, 24, 163 - 167.","Dennill, G. B., Donelly, D., Stewart, K. & Impson, F. A. C. (1999) Insect agents used for the biological control of Australian Acacia species and Paraserianthes lopantha (Willd.) Nielsen (Fabaceae) in South Africa. African Entomology Memoir, 1, 45 - 54.","Schmidt, F., Hoffmann, J. H. & Donnelly, D. (1999) Levels of damage caused by Melanterius servulus Pascoe (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), a seed-feeding weevil introduced into South Africa for biological control of Paraserianthes lophantha (Fabaceae). African Entomology, 7, 107 - 112.","Impson, F. A. C., Kleinjan, C. A., Hoffmann, J. H., Post, J. A. & Wood, A. R. (2011) Biological control of Australian Acacia species and Paraserianthes lophanta (Willd.) Nielsen (Mimosaceae) in South Africa. African Entomology, 19 (2), 1867 - 207.","Oberprieler, R. G. & Zimmerman, E. C. (2001) Identification and Host Ranges of the Melanterius Weevils Used as Biocontrol Agents of Invasive Australian Acacias in South Africa. A Study and Report for ARC-Plant Protection Research Institute, South Africa. CSIRO Entomology, Canberra, 25 pp.","Clarke, G. M. (2002) Molecular phylogenetics and host ranges of the Melanterius weevils used as biocontrol agents of Australian acacias in South Africa. A report prepared for ARC - Plant Protection Research Institute, South Africa. Unpublished report, CSIRO Entomology, Canberra, 22 pp."]}

Melanterius oleosus Lea, 1928 (Figs. 63���64) Melanterius oleosus Lea, 1928: 121 This species was described from Sea Lake in northern Victoria and is also recorded from South Australia (Lea, 1928). In the ANIC there is a specimen from Gol Gol in New South Wales (near Mildura), and we collected a single female in southern Queensland. The species is recognisable mainly by its elongate, sometimes partially confluent pronotal punctures. The body of the penis (Fig. 64) is long and narrow, with a broadly rounded apex, a pair of small apical internal sclerites and a pair of long ones at the base. No hosts have been recorded for it, but the fact that we collected it on an Acacia conferta shrub with green pods (Table 1) suggests that its larvae may develop on the seeds of this plant species (Table 2)., Published as part of Pinz��n-Navarro, Sara V., Jennings, Debbie & Oberprieler, Rolf G., 2017, Host associations of Melanterius Erichson (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cleogonini), with a diagnosis and delimitation of the genus and description of five new species, pp. 1-77 in Zootaxa 4298 (1) on page 36, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4298.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/840354, {"references":["Lea, A. M. (1928) Australian Curculionidae of the subfamilies Haplonycides and Cryptorhynchides. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 52, 95 - 164."]}

Melanterius abbreviatus sp. n. (Figs. 50–53) Description (female only). Size: length 2.35–3.0 mm; width 1.1–1.5 mm. Colour and vestiture: body blackish; head, pronotum and elytra sparsely clothed with minute short white setae, legs sparsely covered with larger, pale hair-scales. Head with large, dense, relatively deep and closely spaced punctures becoming confluent on forehead. Eyes large, flat, dorsally separated by slightly more than width of rostrum at base. Rostrum about 1.25x longer than prothorax, very slender and strongly downcurved; dorsally at base with a few large, setiferous punctures and short grooves (confluent punctures), rest glabrous with sparse, minute punctures. Antennae inserted in middle of rostrum; with funicle 1.36x longer than scape, funicle segments 1 and 2 subequal, each slightly shorter than 3+4, club 2x longer than wide in middle. Prothorax trapezoidal in outline, at apex 0.6x as wide as at base, length along midline 0.7x of width at base; pronotum densely covered with large, oval, moderately deep, closely set punctures, each in posterior wall carrying a stiff, spatulate, pale seta as long as a puncture and curving anteriad. Elytra 3.4x longer than pronotum, at base nearly as wide as pronotum but across humeri 1.25x wider; interstriae broad, all except 1 (sutural) subcostate on disc, all costate on declivity, 4 with costa not extending to base of elytra (Fig. 52), surface rugulose, with a row of sparse subspatulate pale setae on either side of midline (costa). Metanepisterna with a single row of large, shallow, subcontiguous punctures, metanepisternal sutures ventrally fringed with row of indistinct sclerolepidia (more distinct only at anterior and posterior ends). Prosternum ventrally deeply excavate, forming short, narrow canal with strongly raised edges (flanges) anteriorly of procoxae but laterally open behind procoxae, flanges with deep anterior cavity but not peep-hole, each extended posteriorly into stout acute process abutting anterior surface of procoxa. Mesoventrite with median process deeply broadly foveate, with short prominent flanges in front of mesocoxae; surface of fovea finely shagreened. Metaventrite with disc laterally produced into carina extending between meso- and metacoxae but sometimes not reaching the latter; surface densely covered with large, shallow punctures each with a stout, broad, blunt, pale seta inserted in anterior wall and directed caudad. Abdominal ventrites 1 and 2 laterally only ca. 0.3x longer than 3 and 4; 3 and 4 each with two transverse rows of large punctures with fine pale setae. Legs. Procoxae separated by slightly less than half width of rostrum at base, meso- and metacoxae separated by about their width; femora with strong ventral tooth, on inside of tooth with shallow groove for reception of tibiae; tibiae with small but distinct uncus arising at inner side of apex and continuing into bare flange across tibial apex (forming false corbel, particularly on metatibiae), flange at outer angle bluntly produced (forming a broad lobe on metatibiae), setal comb slightly oblique on all tibiae. Genitalia. Spermatheca (Fig. 53) evenly thick, straight with abruptly angled, slightly inflated cornu with narrowed, kinked apex; gland large, bulbous, with short, straight, sclerotized duct inserted on elongate, apically slightly inflated ramus. Material examined (8 ♀). New South Wales. Holotype ♀: 2901’37 S 15129 ’55E / NSW: Bruxner Highway / above Dumaresq River / 18 Sept 2013 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // NSW S84 P584 / beating Acacia leiocalyx / DNA 4151 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63528 // ♀ // HOLOTYPE / Melanterius abbreviatus / Pinzón-Navarro, Jennings & Oberprieler, 2017” (ANIC). Paratypes (all labelled “ PARATYPE / Melanterius abbreviatus / Pinzón-Navarro, Jennings & Oberprieler 2017, in ANIC): 1 ♀: same data as holotype except “ DNA 4149 // ANIC Database No. / 25 063527; 1 ♀: same data as holotype except “ DNA 4150 // ANIC Database No. / 25 067266; 1 ♀: same data as holotype except “ DNA 4152 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 64662 // ANIC / Image; 1 ♀: 3528’12 S 15020 ’51E / NSW: 1375 Princes Highway, / Meroo N. P. / 0 5 October 2013 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // Jervis S 9 P640 / beating Acacia sp. / DNA 4251 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63530. Queensland. 1 ♀: 2642’41 S 15137 ’49E / QLD: Road from Kumbia / 5 Mar 2012 483m / S. Pinzón-Navarro / Beating Acacia loroloba / DNA 2413 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63524 // ANIC / Image; 1 ♀: 2652’40 S 15030 ’21E / QLD: Kogan-Tara Rd / 15 Sept 2013 / S. Pinzón- Navarro // QLD 2 S11 P509 / beating Acacia leiocalyx / DNA 4040 // ANIC Database No. / 25 063526; 1 ♀: 2704’05 S 15050 ’25E / QLD: Kogan-Condamine / Road / 21 Sept 2013 / S. Pinzón-Navarro // QLD 2 S104 P605 / beating Acacia leiocalyx / DNA 4187 // ANIC Database No. / 25 0 63529. Distribution. The species is thus far only known from northern New South Wales and southern Queensland (Fig. 70). Host-plants. The type series was collected mainly from Acacia leiocalyx, though a single specimen was collected on A. loroloba (Table 1). Remarks. The species is characterised foremost by the abbreviated costa of interstriae 4 (not reaching the base of the elytra), a condition not occurring in any other species as studied. It is otherwise most similar to: M. baridioides, which differs also by its more compact shape, finer pronotal punctation and smooth, shallowly punctate interstriae on the elytral disc; M. interstitialis, which differs by having only convex, not costate, interstriae on the elytral disc, a slightly different pronotal punctation and longer ventrites 1 and 2; M. legitimus, which has a sparser pronotal punctation (larger interstices between the punctures), broader and distinctly punctate interstriae and the strial punctures more strongly confluent; M. maestus, which is reddish in colour and has the interstriae acostate on the elytral disc; M. tesseymani, which has a finer pronotal punctation, the interstriae acostate on the elytral disc and a shorter rostrum and femora; M. oleosus, which is distinctive in its elongate, sometimes partially confluent pronotal punctures. All these species also do not have as sharp and high a carina between the meso- and metacoxae. The male of M. abbreviatus is as yet unknown. Melanterius abbreviatus is named for the abbreviated costa of the 4 th elytral interstriae, which does not reach the base of the elytron as the costae of the other interstriae do. The name is an adjective.