On the Orphnebius fauna of the East Palaearctic region. VI. Six new species from China and Taiwan, and additional records (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae: Lomechusini)
Author
Assing, Volker
text
Linzer biologische Beiträge
2015
2015-07-31
47
1
101
125
journal article
55534
10.5281/zenodo.5413940
7efc5233-fc92-4a45-b647-ca79436ae20c
0253-116X
5413940
Orphnebius formosanus
nov.sp.
(
Figs 16-21
,
26-27
)
Orphnebius hauseri
:
PACE (2010: 23)
.
Type material:
Holotype
♂
: "
Taiwan
,
Nantou Hsien
,
Meifeng
,
2130 m
,
4.V.1998
,
A. Smetana
[T197]
/
Orphnebius hauseri
Epp.
, det. R. Pace 2005 / Holotypus ♂
Orphnebius formosanus
sp. n.
, det.
V. Assing
2013" (
cAss
).
Paratypes
[all dissected prior to present study and labelled "
Orphnebius hauseri
Epp.
, det.
R. Pace
2005"]:
1♂
: "
Taiwan
,
Taichung
Hsien, Anmashan,
2150 m
,
13.V.92
,
A. Smetana
[T129]" (
cSme
)
;
1♀
: "
Taiwan
,
Taichung
Hsien
,
Anmashan
,
2230 m
,
12.V.92
,
A. Smetana
[T127]" (
cSme
)
;
1♂
: "
Taiwan
,
Kaohsiung
Hsien
,
Peinantashan
trail,
2500 m
,
4.VII.93
,
A. Smetana
[T136]" (
cSme
)
;
1♂
: "
Taiwan
,
Kaohsuing
[sic]
Hsien
,
Kuanshan Trail
at
Kaunshanchi Riv.
,
2400 m
,
20.VII.93
,
A. Smetana
[T158]" (
cAss
)
;
2♀♀
: "
Taiwan
,
Kaohsiung Hsien
,
Kuanshan trail
at
Kaunshanchi Riv.
,
2400 m
20.IV.1992
,
A. Smetana
[T94]" (
MHNG
)
;
1♂
: "
Taiwan
,
Pingtung Hsien
,
Peitawushan
trail at
1500 m
,
1.V.1992
,
A. Smetana
[T110]" (
cAss
)
.
Etymology: The specific epithet (adjective) is derived from Formosa, the ancient name of
Taiwan
.
Description: Body length 4.6-5.0 mm; length of forebody
1.9-2.1 mm
. Coloration: forebody blackish; abdomen bright reddish, strongly contrasting with the forebody; legs with dark-brown to blackish-brown femora, brown tibiae, and reddish tarsi; antennae with antennomeres V-XI blackish and antennomeres I-IV of variable coloration (reddish to blackish).
Head (
Fig. 16
) approximately 1.25 times as broad as long; punctation fine and of somewhat variable density, moderately dense to rather dense. Eyes large and bulging, distinctly longer than distance from posterior margin of eye to posterior constriction in dorsal view. Antenna (
Fig. 17
)
1.3-1.4 mm
long, slightly asymmetric; antennomeres V-X increasingly transverse and of increasing width; X more than 1.5, but less than 2.0 times as broad as long; XI distinctly elongated, at least as long as VIII-X combined.
Figs 16-21
:
Orphnebius formosanus
nov.sp.
: forebody (
16
); antenna (
17
); abdomen (
18
); median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view (
19
); median lobe of aedeagus in ventral view (
20
); paramere (
21
). Scale bars: 16-18: 0.5 mm; 19-21: 0.2 mm.
Pronotum (
Fig. 16
) moderately transverse, 1.17-1.23 times as broad as long; weakly dilated posteriad at most; lateral margins weakly convex in dorsal view; posterior angles weakly marked, rounded; disc with very sparse, minute punctures with long greyish setae; microsculpture absent; lateral margins each with 4-5 setae (often broken off) of moderate length. Elytra (
Fig. 16
) approximately 0.85 times as long as, and at posterior margin distinctly broader than pronotum; punctation fine and sparse. Hind wings present.
Abdomen (
Fig. 17
) wedge-shaped, widest at base; tergites III-VI with sharp and pronounced paratergites gradually decreasing in height; tergites III-VI impunctate except for some minute punctures at posterior margins; tergite VII (
Fig. 26
) with rather coarse non-setiferous punctures in posterior half, but without striate sculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII with pronounced palisade fringe.
♂: tergite VIII posteriorly with two transverse rows of black setae, a submarginal row composed of 6 long setae and a marginal row composed of more numerous and shorter setae; sclerites of segments IX and X modified, with dense and moderately long pubescence; median lobe of aedeagus (
Figs 19-20
) approximately
0.7 mm
long; ventral process rather short; paramere (
Fig. 21
)
0.60-0.65 mm
long; paramerite distinctly longer than condylite and with four long setae at base of velum.
♀
: sclerites of segments IX and X with very long and dense dark pubescence; spermatheca as in
Fig. 27.
Comment: This species was erroneously recorded from
Taiwan
as
O. hauseri
by
PACE (2010)
. The distribution of
O. hauseri
is confined to North
India
and
Nepal
(
ASSING 2006a
). The records from mainland
China
(
Sichuan
,
Yunnan
) by
PACE (2012)
are most likely based on misidentified material, too.
The female from Anmashan is distinguished from the remaining material by extremely sparse punctation of the head and by a distinctly shorter antennomere XI. A clarification of whether these differences are an expression intra- or of interspecific variation is currently not possible. The paramere of the male from Peinantawushan has the apex of the condylite nearly reaching that of the paramerite. Since no additional distinguishing characters were found, this difference is attributed to intraspecific variation.
Comparative notes: Based on the external (coloration, body proportions, punctation, chaetotaxy) and the sexual characters (morphology of the aedeagus and the spermatheca),
O. formosanus
undoubtedly belongs to the
O. hauseri
group (see
ASSING 2006a
,
2006b
). The male sexual characters are most similar to those of
O. mutabilis
from
Nepal
, from which
O. formosanus
is distinguished by the much more elongated apical antennomere (
O. mutabilis
: only approximately as long as antennomeres IX and X combined), longer antennae (
O. mutabilis
:
1.1-1.2 mm
), more transverse antennomeres VI-X, the denser punctation and pubescence of the head, the less sparse punctation of the elytra, the less extensive and sparser punctation of the abdominal tergite VII, the different shape of the crista apicalis of the median lobe of the aedeagus, the distinctly larger and differently shaped paramere (
O. mutabilis
: approximately
0.35 mm
long), and the slightly different shape of the spermatheca. For illustrations of
O. mutabilis
see
ASSING (2006a)
.
Distribution and natural history: The species is known only from
Taiwan
, where it was found in several localities in
Nantou
,
Taichung
,
Pingtung
, and
Kaohsiung
provinces and where it is currently the sole representative of the genus. The specimens were sifted from wet moss and debris along a river, from leaf litter under broadleaved bushes, and from leaf litter in primary broadleaved evergreen and in primary mixed forests at altitudes of
1500-2500 m
(SMETANA pers. comm.).