Paroster peelensis sp. nov.: a new stygobitic water beetle from alluvial gravels in northern New South Wales (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae)

Abstract  A second stygobitic carnivorous water beetle is reported from eastern Australia. Unlike the recently discovered Carabhydrus stephanieae (Watts et al.) from the same general region, the new species is from the inland draining Peel River, part of the Murray-Darling basin. Its morphology and mitochondrial DNA sequences, place it in the Hydroporine genus Paroster Sharp. Phylogenetic analysis shows that the new species is more closely related to the Western Australian species of Paroster than to the geographical less distant Paroster species of the Northern Territory.