Tetrabothrus chinensis, Assing, 2015

Assing, Volker, 2015, On the Tetrabothrus fauna of China (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae: Lomechusini), Linzer biologische Beiträge 47 (1), pp. 127-143 : 140-142

Tetrabothrus chinensis PACE, 2012 ( Figs 29-32 , Map 1 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: Holotype Ƌ: " CHINA: border Shaanxi-Sichuan Daba Shan pass, 20 km SSE Zhenping / 1700-1800 m, 31°44'N, 109°35'E 12.VII.2001, A. Smetana [C101] / Holotypus Tetrabothrus chinensis n. sp., det. R. Pace 2005 / Tetrabothrus chinensis n. sp., det. R. Pace 2005" ( SDEI).

C o m m e n t: The original description is based on a unique male holotype from " China: border Shaanxi [sic], Daba Shan pass, 20 km SSE Zhenping" ( PACE 2012). Since the original description is extremely short (little more than four lines) and contains only very general information, a redescription is provided.

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 6.0 mm; length of forebody 2.6 mm. Coloration: forebody forebody dark-brown; abdomen reddish brown with the posterior margins of segments III-VI yellowish-red; legs dark-brown, with the basal half to two-thirds of the femora yellowish; antenna dark-brown, with antennomeres I-II reddish-brown.

Head ( Figs 29-30 ) approximately 1.3 times as broad as long; posterior portion of trapezoid shape in dorsal view, with obtusely marked posterior angles; punctation extremely fine and sparse; median dorsal portion impunctate; pubescence very long, whitish, and suberect; microsculpture absent. Eyes large and bulging, but shorter than distance from posterior margin of eye to posterior constriction in dorsal view. Antenna relatively long and massive, 1.7 mm long, shaped as in Fig. 31 .

Pronotum ( Fig. 29 ) transverse, 1.1 times as broad as long and 1.07 times as broad as head, broadest in posterior half, narrowly margined; lateral margins very weakly convex in dorsal view; posterior angles rounded, but noticeable; anterior angles both visible in dorsal view; punctation sparse and very fine; midline broadly impuncate; pubescence long, withish, and suberect; microsculpture absent.

Elytra ( Fig. 29 ) approximately as long as pronotum; punctation moderately and fine; pubescence long and suberect, much denser than that of pronotum; interstices without microsculpture. Hind wings present. Metatibia 1.0 mm long; metatarsus 0.66 times as long as metatibia; metatarsomere I nearly as long as the combined length of II and III.

Abdomen ( Fig. 32 ) narrower than elytra, broadest at tergites IV-V; tergites III-VI with moderately deep anterior impressions, the impression of tergite VI as deep as that of tergite V; tergites III-VII without microsculpture and impunctate except for few punctures bearing long dark setae at the posterior margins; tergite VII with palisade fringe; tergite VIII posteriorly with thin and moderately long yellowish setae, posterior margin weakly convex.

Ƌ: sternite VIII with strongly convex posterior margin; median lobe of aedeagus 0.57 mm long and shaped as in PACE (2012: figures 20-21); paramere 0.63 mm long and with moderately long and slender apical lobe.

♀: unknown.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: Tetrabothrus chinensis is characterized particularly by the coloration of the legs, the shape of the head, the rather long and massive antennae, and by the male sexual characters. It additionally differs from the similar T. inflexus and T. cavus by the longer legs, from the latter also by the shape of the pronotum (both anterior angles visible in dorsal view).

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d n a t u r a l h i s t o r y: The type locality is situated in the Daba Shan, in the border region between Shaanxi, Chongqing, and Hubei. The holotype was collected at an altitude of 1700-1800 m.

Figures

Map 1: Distributions of Tetrabothrus species in China: T. puetzi (open triangle); T. inflexus (open circles); T. brevalatus (open star); T. cavus (filled circles); T. rubricollis (open diamond); T. chinensis (filled triangle).

Figs 29-32: Tetrabothrus chinensis PACE (holotype): forebody (29); head (30); antenna (31); abdomen (32). Scale bars: 29-30, 32: 1.0 mm; 31: 0.5 mm.