Parena Motschulsky, 1860

Shi, Hongliang & Liang, Hongbin, 2023, Taxonomic revision of the genus Parena Motschulsky, 1860 (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Lebiini, Metallicina), Zootaxa 5286 (1), pp. 1-144 : 120

Key to African species in subgenus Parena Motschulsky

1. Postgenae with a pair of long suborbital setae (12. P. stigmatica group)........................................... 2

- Postgenae without suborbital setae........................................................................ 4

2. Dorsum dark brown; antennae reddish brown, apical antennomeres of similar color to basal ones; elytra with deep and wide depressions on anterior third of intervals 3–6, another small depression present on the base of interval 6; Madagascar................................................................................... [37] P. stigmatica (Fairmaire)

- Dorsum yellowish brown; basal three or four antennomeres yellow, remaining antennomeres much darker; elytra without or with very shallow depressions on anterior third of intervals 3–6; African mainland.................................. 3

3. Antennomere 4 entirely yellow; lateral margins of pronotum strongly sinuate before posterior angles; elytra disc slightly darker than lateral areas; elytral striae clearly incised, finely punctate inside; interval with dense fine punctures; Angola......................................................................................... [38] P. doriae Basilewsky

- Antennomere 4 with yellow basal half and dark apical half; lateral margins of pronotum almost straight before posterior angles; elytra evenly yellowish brown; elytral striae faintly incised, formed by rows of punctures; interval with very sparse fine punctures; Tanzania, Zimbabwe................................................................ [39] P. fulva sp. n.

4. Elytral apices truncate, apical margin nearly straight, sutural angles more or less pointed, forming short spines or denticles, although very faint in some species ( Figs 5B, 5C, 5D ); elytra without microsculpture (except in P. madagascariensis ); antennomere 1 with the ventroapical seta much more than half length of the dorsal-apical one ( Fig. 1D ); LL greater than LW (13. P. scutata group)........................................................................................ 5

- Elytral apices subtruncate, apical margin evenly curved, sutural angles not pointed ( Fig. 5A ); elytra with shallow isodiametric microsculpture; antennomere 1 with the ventroapical seta less than half length of the dorsal-apical one ( Fig. 1C ); LL less than LW (14. P. plagiata group).............................................................................. 8

5. Elytra brown, or brown with very narrow black lateral stripes.................................................. 6

- Elytra largely black, reddish brown near apices.............................................................. 7

6. Elytra reddish brown; elytral apices very strongly truncate, outer apical angles prominent ( Fig. 5D ); Madagascar................................................................................. [40] P. madagascariensis (Alluaud)

- Elytra with black lateral stripes from humeri to middle; elytral apices moderately truncate, outer apical angles rounded ( Fig. 5C ); Zambia...................................................................... [41] P. valeriae Facchini

7. Elytral disc with well-defined reddish brown patch inside black area, extended over medial four or five intervals at middle; antennomeres 5–11 black, distinctly darker than basal antennomeres.......................... [42] P. scutata (Alluaud)

- Elytra disc black except for paler apices, without a central paler patch; antennae uniformly reddish brown................................................................................................. [43] P. ruficornis sp. n.

8. Elytra entirely brown.................................................................................. 9

- Elytra largely black, reddish brown near apices............................................................. 10

9. Elytra striae very shallow, completely smooth on posterior half; lateral margins of pronotum slightly sinuate before posterior angles; tarsi dark brown, much darker than tibiae..................................... [44] P. ferruginea (Chaudoir)

- Elytra striae slightly deeper, shallowly incised even on posterior half; lateral margins of pronotum strongly sinuate before posterior angles; tarsi yellow, same color as tibiae................................ [46] P. africana (Alluaud) (pale form)

10. Apical red band of elytra very narrow, length less than 1/20 of elytra length; inner intervals slightly reddish, forming vague central patch; elytra discal depressions elongate; lateral margins of pronotum less sinuate before posterior angles; median lobe of aedeagus stouter, AL/AW about 4.0; South Africa.................................... [45] P. plagiata Motschulsky

- Apical red band of elytra wider, length about 1/10 of elytra length; inner intervals black, without central patch; elytral discal depressions sub-triangular; lateral margins of pronotum strongly sinuate before posterior angles; median lobe of aedeagus slenderer, AL/AW more than 4.5.............................................. [46] P. africana (Alluaud) (dark form)

Figures

FIGURE 1. Antennae and mouthparts of Parena spp. A–D Line drawings of basal three antennomeres, view of lateral surface: A P. (Crossoglossa) cavipennis (Bates). B P. (Bothynoptera) malaisei (Andrewes). C P. (Parena) africana (Alluaud). D P. (Parena) ruficornis sp. n. E Antennomeres 7–11 of P. (Parena) nigrolineata (Chaudoir), showing the sensory pits on dorsal surface. F–G Labrum of P. (Crossoglossa) cavipennis (Bates), Beijing: F dorsal surface. G ventral surface. H Maxilla of P. (Crossoglossa) cavipennis (Bates), Beijing. Scale bars = 0.2mm.

FIGURE 5. Elytral apex (left) of Parena spp. A P. (Parena) africana (Alluaud), Cameroon. B P. (Parena) ruficornis sp. n., Central Africa, paratype. C P. (Parena) valeriae Facchini, holotype. D P. (Parena) madagascariensis (Alluaud), Madagascar. E P. (Bothynoptera) tesari (Jedlička), Taiwan. F P. (Bothynoptera) heteronycha sp. n., Laos, paratype. G P. (Bothynoptera) kurosai Habu, Japan. H P. (Bothynoptera) dorsigera (Schaum), Yunnan. I P. (Bothynoptera) dorsigera (Schaum), Beijing. J P. (Bothynoptera) dorsigera (Schaum), Japan. Scale bars = 0.5mm