Stomis vignai ssp. taibashanensis Lassalle, 2003

Sciaky, Riccardo, 2024, Review of the Chinese Stomis, with description of nine new taxa and a new key (Carabidae: Pterostichini), Zootaxa 5523 (1), pp. 1-34 : 3-4

Stomis vignai ssp. taibashanensis Lassalle, 2003 stat. nov.

Loc. typ.: Shaanxi, 2460 m, Mts Taibashan, N.O. Haozhenji.

= Stomis fallettii Facchini, 2003 syn. nov.

Loc. typ.: Shaanxi, Zhangliang, Fengxian.

Lassalle (2003) described S. taibashanensis from Shaanxi, but almost at the same time Facchini (2003) described S. fallettii , also from Shaanxi. Examining the holotypes of S. taibashanensis and S. fallettii and more material collected later, I realized that the two are synonyms, sharing all their main features; S. fallettii was collected in a locality slightly different from that of S. taibashanensis , but it is certainly a synonym. The small tooth visible in dorsal view on the aedeagal apex is not represented in Lassalle’s drawing, but can be clearly observed on the specimens examined by me, among which a topotypical paratype.

Lassalle’s work is dated June 2003, while Facchini’s paper was published in December of the same year. Therefore I can state the new state:

Stomis taibashanensis Lassalle, 2003 = S. vignai ssp. taibashanensis Lassalle, 2003 stat. nov.

and the new synonymy:

Stomis fallettii Facchini, 2003 = S. vignai ssp. taibashanensis Lassalle, 2003 syn. nov.

Description. The combination of characters allowing to distinguish this subspecies are: length rather short (8.1–8.7 mm.), pronotal margins not sinuate towards base and less constricted than in the other subspecies ( Fig. 2 ), in most of the specimens with multiple anterolateral setae; elytra short and markedly oval; aedeagus long and slender, in lateral view feebly sinuate before apex ( Fig. 30 ). Ratios: El/Pl = 2.12; Ew/Pw = 1.25; El/Ew = 1.57.

Material examined: Shaanxi, 2460 m, Mts Taibashan, N.O. Haozhenji: 1 Paratype ♂ ( CF); Shaanxi, Zhangliang, Fengxian , 19.VII.2002, leg. L. Falletti: Holotype ♂ of S. fallettii (CF) ; Shanxi, Tschingling Mts. , Taibeichan Nat. res. (= Shaanxi, Qin Ling Shan , Taibaishan Nat. res.), 33° 53’ N 107° 49’ E, 2000 m, 10.VIII.2005, V. Patrikeev leg.: 1 ♂ ( CS); Shaanxi, Taibai Shan Mts. , Houzhenzi vil., 33° 52’ N 107° 44’ E, 1500–2700 m, A. Plutenko leg.: 2 ♂ ( CW).

Distribution. This subspecies seems limited to the central part of Qin Ling Shan, a mountain chain that goes from west to east from the eastern borders of Gansu, through all the province of Shaanxi to the western borders of Henan. The highest peak of this chain is the Taibai Shan, that reaches 3767 m a.s.l. The Qin Ling Shan also represents the watershed between the Huang He and the Yangtze Kiang river basins.

Figures

FIGURES 1–4. Habitus of: (1) S. vignai ssp. vignai from 20 km NW Maowen (9.5 mm); (2) S. vignai ssp. taibashanensis from Shaanxi, Houzhenzhi (9.3 mm); (3) S. vignai ssp. maior HT (11.3 mm); (4) S. vignai ssp. megacephalus HT (11.2 mm).

FIGURES 29–31. Aedeagus in lateral and dorsal view of: (29) S. vignai ssp. vignai from from 20 km NW Maowen; (30) S. vignai ssp. taibashanensis from Shaanxi, Houzhenzhi; (31) S. vignai ssp. maior HT.