Anthobium nivale, Shavrin & Smetana, 2017

Shavrin, Alexey V. & Smetana, Aleš, 2017, A revision of Eastern Palaearctic Anthobium Leach, 1819 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae: Anthophagini). I. Gracilipalpe, morchella and nigrum groups, Zootaxa 4365 (1), pp. 1-39 : 10-11

3.1.2.3. Anthobium nivale sp. n.

( Figs. 2 , 33–34 , 38 )

Type material examined: Holotype ♂ [plastic plate with aedeagus, abdominal tergite VIII, sternite VIII and genital segment in Canadian balsam was pinned under the card with beetle]: ‘ CHINA: N-Yunnan [ C2005-16 ] | Nujiang Lisu Aut. Pref., Gongshan Co., | Gaoligong Shan, sidevalley , | 3000-3050 m, 27°47.90'N, 98°30.19'E’ <rectangular label, printed>, ‘conif[erous]. forest with Rhododendron , broad | leaved bushes, litter, moss, dead wood | sifted along creek and snowfields, | 21.VI.2005, M. Schülke [C 2005-16]’, ‘HOLOTYPE | Anthobium | nivale sp.n. | Shavrin A. & Smetana A. 2017’ <red rectangular label, printed> ( CSC) .

Description. Measurements of the holotype: HW: 0.70, HL: 0.48; AL: 1.16; OL: 0.20; PL: 0.65; PW: 1.15; ESL: 1.50; EW: 1.44; AW: 1.36; MTbL: 0.71, MTrL: 0.33 (MTrL 1–4: 0.20; MTrL 5: 0.13); AedL: 0.69; TL: 3.50.

Body elongate, slightly convex. Body and antennomeres 6–11 brown; mandibles, lateral and posterior margins of elytra reddish-brown; mouthparts, antennomeres 1–5, lateral portions of pronotum, legs, apical margin of abdominal tergite VII, tergite VIII and apical segment yellow-brown. Body shiny, without microsculpture except for rugose sculpture on posterior portions of head and neck, transverse elongated wrinkles laterad of ocelli, and abdominal tergites with fine isodiametric microsculpture, more distinct on lateral portions of tergites and paratergites. Middle part of head without punctation except for several punctures between antennal insertions in middle and several setose small punctures in anterior part of clypeus, infraorbital ridges with irregular coarse punctation deeper on level of anterior margin of eyes and coalescent on posterio-lateral portions; neck without distinct punctures; disc of pronotum with irregular, moderately large and coarse punctation denser in medio-apical portion, sparser and smaller in latero-apical and latero-basal portions, with small impunctate area in posterior basal third of middle elevation; scutellum without visible punctures; punctation of elytra as that on pronotum, denser and deeper in prescutellar portions, elytra with nine indistinct tangled longitudinal rows of serial punctures, each of the three median rows of punctures separated from each other by longitudinal impunctated elevations, lateral punctures not serially arranged, more or less regularly scattered; abdominal tergites with very small sparse punctures. Body glabrous, without setation except of clypeus with several long and abdominal tergites with short accumbent setae. Habitus as in Fig. 2 .

Head 1.4 times as wide as long, with middle portion and infraorbital ridges slightly elevated; latero-apical portions of head posteriad of supra-antennal prominences with small transverse impressions; posterior part of middle elevation with semioval, moderately deep impression and small impunctated oval elevated area behind it, bordering with short grooves reaching posterior margin of eyes; head abruptly narrowed toward neck behind obtuse postocular ridges; very wide orbital margin, beginning from middle length of eye, gradually widened posteriad, distance between postocular ridge and posterior margin of eye moderately large, as long as three nearest facets; anterior portion between antennal insertion and anterior margin of eye with wide indistinctly concaved notch. Eyes moderately large, convex. Ocelli large, very convex, situated at level of postocular ridges; distance between ocelli about as long as distance between ocellus and posterior margin of eye. Apical segment of maxillary palp elongated, about three times as long as preceeding segment. Antenna short, reaching anterior margin of elytra when reclined, with shortened antennomeres 4–10; measurements of antennomeres: 1: 0.17 × 0.08; 2: 0.12 × 0.05; 3: 0.13 × 0.05; 4: 0.08 × 0.06; 5: 0.10 × 0.06; 6: 0.09 × 0.06; 7: 0.10 × 0.06; 8: 0.09 × 0.06; 9: 0.09 × 0.07; 10: 0.07 × 0.07; 11: 0.12 × 0.07.

Pronotum 1.7 times as wide as long, 1.6 times as wide as head, widest about middle, more or less evenly narrowed posteriad and anteriad; apical margin widely rounded, about as wide as posterior margin; anterior angles rounded, strongly protruded anteriad; posterior angles moderately obtuse; lateral portions slightly concave near apical and basal angles, with irregular crenulation, more flattened in apical and basal parts; disc of pronotum with wide, irregular middle elevation, with very wide impression in apical portion and with a pair semioval impressions in medio-basal third; lateral portions explanate, each with very deep pit at about middle.

Elytra slightly widened apicad, reaching apical margin of abdominal tergite IV, markedly longer than wide, more than twice as long as pronotum, with rounded, indistinctly protruded shoulders, with widely rounded apical margins; lateral portions moderately wide and slightly explanate, latero-apical margins with small sharp crenulation, more flattened apicad and reduced from middle; each elytron with three very distinct median longitudinal elevations beginning from basal parts of elytra, exceeding apical third of length of elytra, basal part of lateral elevation behind shoulders distinctly more convex than median elevations.

Metatarsus about twice as long as metatibia.

Abdomen distinctly narrower than elytra, with a pair of indistinct small oval tomentose spots in middle of tergite V; intersegmental membranes between tergites IV–VII narrow.

Male. Front tibia slightly narrowed in apical third; first four protarsomeres dilated. Apical margins of abdominal tergite VIII and sternite VIII slightly sinuate. Aedeagus ( Fig. 33 ) oval, with widely rounded apical part of median lobe; parameres moderately narrow, significantly exceeding apex of median lobe, with two short apical setae; internal sac very complicated and long, with two fields of acute small thorns in apical half and basal field of large squamose structures. Aedeagus laterally as in Fig. 34 .

Female unknown.

Comparative notes. Anthobium nivale sp.n. differs from remaining species of the gracilipalpe group by the smaller body size, by the anterior angles of the pronotum strongly protruded anteriad, by the parameres significantly exceeding apex of median lobe of aedeagus, and by the more complicated internal structure of the aedeagus.

Distribution. The new species is at present known only from the type locality ( Fig. 38 ) in the Gaoligong Shan range in Yunnan, China.

Bionomics. The specimen was taken by sifting of litter, moss and dead wood along creek and snowfields in coniferous forest with Rhodendron and broad leaved bushes at elevations from 3000 to 3050 m a.s.l. (locality: C 2005-16, Fig. 36 ).

Etymology. The specific epithet is the Latin adjective nivalis, -e (snowy). It refers to the fact that the holotype was collected close to the snowfields.

Figures

FIGURE 38. Distribution of Anthobium gracilipalpe group: A. gracilipalpe (black circles), A. daliense (black triangle), A. nivale (black square).

FIGURES1–3. Habitusof Anthobium gracilipalpe group:1—A.gracilipalpe (INDIA:Garhwal),2—A.nivale (holotype), 3— A. daliense (holotype). Scale bars:1.0 mm.

FIGURES31–34.Aedeagus of Anthobium gracilipalpe (31–32: paratype)and A. nivale (33–34:holotype):31, 33—parameral view, 32, 34—lateral view.Scale bars: 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 35–36. Aedeagusof Anthobium daliense (holotype):35—parameral view, 36—lateral view. Scale bar:0.1 mm.