Review of the intertidal rove beetle tribe Liparocephalini Fenyes (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae) from Japan
Author
Tasaku, Yuto
Department of Biology, School of Biological Sciences, Tokai University, Hokkaido, 005 - 8601, Japan. & Corresponding author
Author
Ono, Hiroki
Sounan, Minami-ku, Sagamihara-shi, Kanagawa, 252 - 0312, Japan.
Author
Maruyama, Munetoshi
The Kyushu University Museum, Hakozaki 6 - 10 - 1, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812 - 8581, Japan.
text
Zootaxa
2023
2023-12-12
5383
3
251
296
https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/download/zootaxa.5383.3.1/52454
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.5383.3.1
1175-5326
10361564
20988E42-C14D-4878-A716-8CEAB5E5EF92
Liparocephalus tokunagai
Sakaguti, 1944
[Japanese name: Oozu-umi-hanekakushi]
(
Figs. 2A, C
;
3B, C, F & G
;
4
)
Liparocephalus tokunagai
Sakaguti, 1944: 20
(original description);
Ahn, 1997: 89
(redescription of adult and description of larva; diagnosis); Senda, 2012: 187 (rediscovery from Shikoku; biological notes).
Material
examined.
Japan
:
Honshû
:
Kanagawa-ken
:
6 males
,
6 females
, Miura-shi, Aburatsubo,
19.
V
. 1985, Y.
Shibata
(
KUM
)
;
2 males
,
1 female
, ditto,
3.
VII
. 1985, Y.
Shibata
(
KUM
)
;
Hiroshima-ken
:
37 unsexed,
Edashima-shi
,
Nômi-shima
,
Iwane
,
19. IX. 2021
,
H. Yoshigou
(cYT)
;
Yamaguchi-ken
:
2 females
, Shimonoseki-shi, Chôfusangen’ya-kaigan,
7.
IV
. 2015, M. Matsuda (cYT).
Shikoku
:
Ehime-ken
:
1 female
, Nagahama-chô, Kushû,
21.
V
. 1978, M.
Sakai
(
KUM
)
;
1 male
,
1 female
, Matsuyama-shi, Katsuoka, Shiraishi-no-hama,
10.
V
. 2009, Y. Senda (cYT);
7 males
,
9 females
, Matsuyama-shi, Hojô-ôura,
15–16.
IV
. 2010, M.
Maruyama
et al
. (
KUM
)
.
3 males
,
5 females
, Iyo-shi, Kônogawa-kaigan,
29.
IV
. 2017, M.
Motonaga
(
KUM
)
.
Kyûshû
:
Fukuoka-ken
:
5 males
,
2 females
, Munakata-shi, Kôno minato,
22.
V
. 2016, N.
Tsuji
(
KUM
)
;
3 males
,
3 females
, Fukuoka-shi, Shika-no-shima,
17.
VI
. 2022, Y. Tasaku (cYT);
Ôita-ken
:
1 female
, Ôita-shi, Seki, Kuro-ga-hama,
20.
VII
. 2012, M.
Maruyama
(
KUM
)
.
Diagnosis.
This species can be easily distinguished from all other Japanese species of the tribe
Liparocephalini
by its large, broad and reddish body (
Figs. 3B & C
). This species, along with
L. cordicollis
LeConte, 1880
, exhibits significant sexual dimorphism in head size, whereby males possess larger head with larger mandibles compared to females.
Remarks.
It is noteworthy that this species exhibits a coiled spermatheca (
Fig. 3G
), a unique feature not observed in other species of the genus. It remains uncertain whether this species truly belongs to the same genus as
L. litoralis
and its allies, as the delimitation of the genus is currently under revision (Tasaku
et al
, in prep.).
Biology.
This species exclusively inhabits the intertidal rocky zone, particularly in areas abundant with seaweeds. In
Japan
, seaweeds are facing a serious decline on rocky coasts, and as a result, this species has been classified as an “Endangered species (EN)” in “The 4
th
Version of the Japanese Red Lists” (
Ministry of the Environment,
Japan
, 2020
). Notably, in recent years, this species has not been observed in
Kanagawa Prefecture
in the eastern Honshû, where it was previously recorded. Due to its distinctive ecological traits, its life history has been extensively studied (e.g.,
Matsuda, 2021
;
Motonaga, 2019
). These beetles exhibit activity for merely one or two hour during low tide, specifically around spring tide, from the moment the rocks are exposed until the tide starts to rise (
Motonaga, 2019
).
Distribution.
Japan
: Honshû, Shikoku, Kyûshû.