Uenoaphaenops, Tian & He, 2020

Tian, Mingyi & He, Li, 2020, A contribution to the knowledge of cavernicolous ground beetles from Sichuan Province, southwestern China (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Trechini, Platynini), ZooKeys 1008, pp. 61-91 : 61

Uenoaphaenops gen. nov. Chinese name: 上野穴步甲属 Figs 2 , 3 , 4A, C , 5A, B

Type species.

Qianotrechus fani Uéno, 2003 from the cave Hua’er Dong, Gulin, southeastern Sichuan).

Generic characteristics.

Medium-sized, aphaenopsian and depigmented; body moderately elongate, wholly pubescent. Head strongly elongate, much longer than wide, nearly parallel-sided; neck weakly-marked, ring-shaped; two pairs of supraorbital setiferous pores present; frontal furrows incomplete, parallel-sided in most part though briefly divergent posteriorly; frons and vertex convex; right mandibular tooth bidentate; mentum and submentum completely fused; mentum bisetose, and covered with short setae on basal area of mental tooth, and along the site of labial suture; base largely concave, uni-foveate, tooth short and simple at tip; submentum with a row of 12 setae; labial palpomere 2 much longer than 3 (1.3 times), bisetose on inner margin, without additional setae; maxillary palpomere 3 much longer than 4 (1.4 times) (Fig. 4A ); antennae long and thin, extending to about 1/4 of elytra from apex; one pair of suborbital pores present. Prothorax distinctly expanded, propleura visible from above; pronotum elongate, as long as head excluding mandibles, wider than head, widest at about 1/3 from front, lateral margins sinuate before hind angles which is nearly rectangular, base slightly narrower than front; two pairs of latero-marginal setae present, disc moderately convex. Elytra ovate, shoulders obtuse, almost rounded, distinctly serrate at prehumeral part, while ciliate on other parts; disc extraordinarily convex though depressed near base; striae reduced though traceable; presence of two dorsal pores along the 3rd striae and the preapical; prehumeral set of the marginal umbilicate pores not aggregated, the 5th pore much closer to 4th than to 6th. Protarsi not modified in male; tibiae without longitudinal sulci. Ventrites IV-VI each with pair of paramedian setae; ventrite VII quadrisetose in both sexes.

Male genitalia (Fig. 5A, B ). Aedeagus very short and small, but thick, weakly sclerotized. The median lobe slightly arcuate at median portion, but strongly sinuate before apex which is obtuse, with a large round opening; base quite large, without a sagittal aileron; inner sac provided with a thick and long copulatory piece, which is about 2/5 as long as aedeagus; in dorsal view, apical lobe gradually contracted towards apex which is broadly rounded; parameres well-developed, but much shorter than the median lobe, truncate at apical margin, each armed with four long setae at apex.

Remarks.

This peculiar species was put into the genus Qianotrechus Uéno, 2000 due to the lack of a male at that time. However, Uéno (2003) pointed out the following characteristics of this species which are not present in the congeners of Qianotrechus : body wholly pubescent; humeral margins of elytra strongly serrated; and the 5th pore of marginal umbilicate series forwardly and inwardly shifted, widely distant from the 6th pore. Hence, he mentioned that the above peculiarities may suggest a generic separation of this species from the Guizhou genus. Our examination of male individuals provided further evidence to support his opinion. First, protarsi are not modified in the male of Qianotrechus fani , while the 1st and 2nd protarsomeres are spurred inwards at the apices in all other Qianotrechus . Second, ventrite VII is quadrisetose in both sexes in Qianotrechus fani , vs. bisetose in males of other Qianotrechus . Third, the aedeagus of Qianotrechus fani is very small and stout, not the same type as in other Qianotrechus species, which are always large and elongate ( Uéno 2000, 2003).

Etymology.

" Ueno "+ "- aphaenops ". Dedicated to the late Dr Shun-Ichi Uéno who made a great contribution to the knowledge of Chinese subterranean ground beetles. Gender masculine.

Generic range.

China (Sichuan) (Fig. 2 ). A monospecific genus only recorded from the cave Hua’er Dong, Gulin County, southeastern Sichuan.

Figures

Figure 2. Map of Sichuan Province showing the locations of the related caves.

Figure 3. Habitus of Uenoaphaenops fani (Ueno, 2003), comb. nov., female.

Figure 4. Cave trechine beetles A ventral head of Uenoaphaenops fani (Ueno, 2003), comb. nov., female B ventral head of Chu pheggomisetoides gen. nov. & sp. nov., female C-E elytral chaetotaxy of Uenoaphaenops fani (Ueno, 2003), comb. nov., female, Chu pheggomisetoides gen. nov. & sp. nov., female paratype, and Boreaphaenops liyuani sp. nov., female holotype. Scale bars: 1.0 mm.

Figure 5. Male genitalia of cave trechine species, lateral and dorsal views A, B Uenoaphaenops fani (Ueno, 2003), comb. nov. C, D Chu pheggomisetoides gen. nov. & sp. nov.