Howeotranes insularis (Pascoe, 1874:387)
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Tranes insularis Pascoe, 1874:387 (basionym)
Transferred to the newly erected genus Howeotranes by (Zimmerman, 1994:696). Museomics has allowed the clarification of its phylogenetic relationships, and places the genus as the sister-group to Paratranes (Hsiao et al., 2023a,b).
Conservation Status
Last record: pre-1918 (Friends of Lord Howe Island); 1920's (DECC NSW, 2007:23)
Rediscovered in: February 2024 (specimen); later in 2024 (confirmation) (both Friends of Lord Howe Island)
The holotype was collected sometime prior to 1875, and the species was already reported as uncommon by 1889 (Olliff, 1889:91). The second (and last) specimen was collected in the 1920's (DECC NSW, 2007:23). However, Hsiao et al. (2023b:S1) give the date of collection of a specimen in the South Australian Museum as "probably 1889", so there may be three historical specimens (or even more). It was listed as officially presumed extinct in 2007 by the NSW government (DECC NSW, 2007:23).
Only one species of weevil (Isacantha inculta) was collected on the island during a 2017 expedition (Reid et al., 2018), providing further evidence that the species may be extinct (Oberprieler & Zimmerman, 2020:594). It was rediscovered in February 2024 on Mt. Gower by Ian Hutton, Andrew Denham and John Porter, having been later confirmed by Dr. Chris Reid at the Australian Museum (Friends of Lord Howe Island). This follows an extensive rodent eradication program (Ibid.).
Distribution
Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Australia
Olliff (1889:91) states: "Summit of Mount Ledgbird (2,500 feet) ; also found on the low-lying lands". Also inhabited the summit of Mt Gower by (DECC NSW, 2007:23).
Biology & Ecology
"the biology and hosts of Howeotranes are unknown"
(Oberprieler & Caldara, 2012:57)
Hypodigm
Known from two historical specimens (DECC NSW, 2007:23). One specimen resides in the South Australian Museum (Hsiao et al., 2023b). As well as the rediscovery specimen collected in February 2024.
Media
One of the two preserved specimens can be seen on the CSIRO's Australian Weevils online website: https://weevils.csiro.au/howeotranes-insularis-pascoe-1874/
References
Original scientific description:
Pascoe, Francis P. (1874). Additions to the Australian Curculionidæ. Part VI. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History; Zoology, Botany, and Geology 4(13): 383-389.
Other references:
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. (2022). Conservation Advice for Macrozamia johnsonii (Johnson’s cycad). Canberra. ["suspected of being extinct (CSIRO 2022. pers comm. 23 January)"]
Department of Environment and Climate Change (NSW). (2007). Lord Howe Island Biodiversity Management Plan Appendices. Department of Environment and Climate Change (NSW), Sydney. vii + 267 pp. [p. 23]
Hsiao, Yun, Oberprieler, Rolf G., Zwick, Andreas, Zhou, Yu-Lingzi and Ślipiński, Adam (2023a). Museomics unveil systematics, diversity and evolution of Australian cycad-pollinating weevils. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 290: 20231385. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.1385
Hsiao, Yun, Oberprieler, Rolf G., Zwick, Andreas, Zhou, Yu-Lingzi and Ślipiński, Adam (2023b). Supplementary material from "Museomics unveil systematics, diversity and evolution of Australian cycad-pollinating weevils". The Royal Society. Collection. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.6845626.v2
Oberprieler, Rolf G. and Caldara, Roberto. (2012). Siraton devillei Hustache (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), the mysterious weevil from the Isle of Elba: exiled no longer. Zootaxa 3573: 55-58.
Oberprieler, Rolf G. and Zimmerman, E. C. (2020). Australian Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea). Volume IV. Melbourne: CSIRO Publishing.
Olliff, Arthur Sidney. (1889). The insect fauna of Lord Howe Island. Australian Museum Memoir 2(4): 77-98, plate vi.
Reid, Chris A. M., Shaw, Josh Jenkins and Jensen, Arn R. (2018). The Australian Museum Lord Howe Island Expedition 2017—Coleoptera. Technical Reports of the Australian Museum, Online 26: 53-67. https://doi.org/10.3853/j.1835-4211.26.2018.1706
Zimmerman, E. C. (1994). Australian Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea). Volume 1. Orthoceri Anthribidae to Attelabidae: The Primitive Weevils. Melbourne: CSIRO Publishing.
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