Nebria (Barbonebriola) rubostipes, C.Huber & J.Schmidt, 2017

Huber, Charles & Schmidt, Joachim, 2017, Notes on the Nebria subgenus Epinebriola K. DANIEL, 1904 with the description of Barbonebriola subgen. nov. and 13 new species from the Himalaya-Tibet orogen (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Nebriini), Contributions to Natural History 36, pp. 1-85 : 17-23

Nebria (Barbonebriola) rubostipes sp. nov. ( Fig. 7 )

Holotype ♂: Nepal, Prov. Karnali, Distr. Humla, 16 km W Simikot, 2 km NW Sankha La, 4250–4950 m, 29°56'39" N, 81°39'02" E, 29.VI.2001, leg. E. Grill ( NME).

Paratypes: 2 ♂ 4 ♀, same data as holotype ; 1♀, Nepal, Prov. Karnali, 8.5 km SE Chala vor Sankha La Pass, 4400–4700 m, 29°57,1' N, 81°39,3' E, 28.VI. 2001, leg. J. Weipert ; 7 ♂ 6 ♀, Nepal, Prov. Karnali, Distr. Humla, 16 km W Simikot, 3 km NW Sankha La, 4300–4800 m, 29°57'18" N, 81°39'30" E, stone debris and alpine mats, 29.–30.VI.2001, leg. A. Kopetz ; 7 ♂ 1 ♀, Nepal, Prov. Karnali, Distr. Humla, 16 km W Simikot, 3 km NW Sankha La, 4700 –4800 m, 29°56' N, 81°39' E, 30.VI.2001, leg. E. Grill ; 14 ♂ 15 ♀, Nepal, Prov. Karnali , Distr. Humla, 16 km W Simikot, 3 km NW Sankha La, 4700–4800 m, 29°56' N, 81°39'02" E, 30.VI.2001, leg. A. Weigel ; 63 ♂ 35 ♀, Nepal, Prov. Seti, Distr. Bajura, 20 km W Simikot, 500 m W Sankha La, 4800 m, 29°57' N, 81°37' E, snowfields, 2.VII.2001, leg. E. Grill ; 20 ♂ 18 ♀, Nepal, Prov. Karnali , Distr. Humla , 20 km W Simikot, 500 m W Sankha La, 4800 m, 29°57' N, 81°37' E, snow fields, 2.VII.2001, leg. A. Kopetz ; 9 ♂ 9 ♀, Nepal, Prov. Seti , Distr. Bajura , 15 km W Simikot, Dudh Lekh / Dudh Tal , 4650–4800 m, 29°56'09" N, 81°40'32" E, stone debris, glacier lakeside, 1.VII.2001, leg. A. Kopetz ; 5 ♂ 4 ♀, Nepal, Prov. Seti, Distr. Bajura, 15 km W Simikot, Dudh Lekh / Dudh Tal , 4700 m, 29°56' N, 81°40' E, snow fields and glacier lakeside, 1.VII.2001, leg. E. Grill ; 2 ♂ 1 ♀, Nepal, Prov. Seti , Distr. Bajura , 15 km W Simikot, Dudh Lekh / Dudh Tal , 5200 m, 29°56' N, 81°40' E, stone debris and alpine mats, 1.VII.2001, leg. U. Bössneck ; 13 ♂ 8 ♀, Nepal, Prov. Seti , Distr. Bajura , 15 km W Simikot, Dudh Lekh / Dudh Tal , 4600–4900 m, 29°56' N, 81°40' E, stone debris on glacier lakeside, 2.VII.2001, leg. A. Weigel (all paratypes NME, NMBE, cSCHM) .

Body length 9–11 mm. Colour brown, head dark brown to almost black, mandibulae and appendages of head piceous. Antennae brown. Femora dark brown, trochanters, tibiae, knees and tarsi lightened brown.

Head with a shallow transverse impression behind the prominent eyes. Labrum long, with anterior margin faintly convex, bearing six setae; anterior margin in the area of the four median setae bulging. The angles of the labrum strongly rounded. Apical margin of clypeus faintly concave. Supraorbital impression longitudinally wrinkled. One supraorbital seta. Frons distinctly transversally wrinkled. Vertex faintly punctate. Antennae long and slender extending to the middle of the elytra. Antennal scape elongate, subcylindrical-ovoid, basally narrowed, as long as the eye's diameter, with one dorsal seta. 2 nd antennomere with one seta ventroapically. Maxillary stipes basolaterally with a berry-like bulge with 9–10 tubercles bearing each a robust seta ( Fig. 1 , 3 ). Penultimate labial palpomere trisetose. Ligula spiny, with two lateral setae. Mentum with bifid medial tooth. Submentum with a row of 18–22 setae. Microreticulation of the head isodiametric.

Pronotum transverse, ratio width/length of the pronotum = 1.39. Lateral margin convex, narrowed basally, widely rounded to the anterior angles, evenly and convexly narrowed to the posterior angle; somewhat more strongly narrowed just in front of the basal angles ( Fig. 15C ). Posterior angles distinctly narrower than the anterior ones. Lateral explanation wide with a conspicuous groove, broadened basally. Lateral margin basally blade-like, obliquely or vertically upturned. Posterior angles acute. Anterior angles wide, broadly rounded, distinctly protruding. Basal margin bisinuate, near the posterior angle a deep incision towards the basal fovea, giving the impression of an acute, strongly protruding posterior angle. Pronotal disc convex. Basal fovea deep, anterior and posterior transverse sulci deep, median line shallow. Basal fovea, anterior and posterior transverse sulci sparsely and faintly punctate, the lateral groove basally even transversally wrinkled. Apical margination of the pronotum restricted to lateral one-third, merges with the apex of the anterior angle. Base of the pronotum not margined. One midlateral seta in the apical half of the pronotum. Basolateral seta absent. Microreticulation of the pronotum isodiametric, impunctate on disc. Proepisternum smooth. Prosternal process elongate, flattened or with a longitudinal bulge, faintly margined laterally and unmargined at apex.

Elytral silhouette regularly ovoid, widest in or slightly behind the middle; subapically faintly sinuated. Elytra arched, not depressed. Elytral apex acuminate, but rounded. Basal margination straight, smoothly merged with the lateral margination. Humeral carina faintly developed. Striae deep, distinct on disc, coarsely and tightly punctate. Striae obliterate towards the apex and towards the lateral margin, striae 7 and 8 visible as distinct rows of pores. Intervals rather convex, more convex on disc and towards the basal margin. Apical carina evanescent. Intervals 3, 5 and 7 asetose. Scutellar seta absent. Microreticulation oblong. Mesepisterna smooth. Metepisterna 1.6 times as long as wide, smooth or faintly wrinkled. Metacoxa with 2(–3) basal and one apical setae. Hindwings present as a strap-like vestige of one fourth of the elytral length.

Sternum 2 laterally rough, coarsely punctate. Sternum 3 with a row of 2–6 medial setae. Sterna 4–6 each with 3–5 posterior paramedial setae; Anal sternum with 2–3 paramedial setae in the male and in the female. All sterna with faint impressions laterally.

Legs long and slender. Tarsi dorsally glabrous. Protarsus of the male with tarsomeres 1–3 distinctly broadened, ventrally with pads of adhesive setae. Ventroapical tooth of the metatarsomere 4 small. Meso- and metatarsomeres 2–4 ventroapically with long setae. All tarsomeres 5 ventrally with two rows of 3–4 short setae. Metatarsomere 5 as long as the metatarsomeres 3+4.

Male genitalia: Edeagus ( Fig. 8A ): Basal part of the median lobe wide, with triangular basolateral lobes which are separated from the median lobe by a suture-like line. Mid-shaft thick, regulary curved, progressively narrowed to the apex. Tip of the apex short, trianglular in dorsal view. Apex faintly deflected to the left. Mid-shaft of the everted endophallus densely and extensively covered with long setae.

Female genitalia: Gonocoxa ( Fig. 9C ): Gonocoxite 2 slender and long, longer than half the length of gonocoxite 1, relatively slender at base, slightly narrowing near base, subparallel sided in median part, narrowing towards apex which is faintly deflected. Apex rounded, distinctly arcuate dorsally, but dorsally not grooved. Ventral preapical insertion furrow short-oval, with two nematiforme setae. Gonocoxites ventrally unjointed and continuously sclerotized, dorsally separated by a membranous area.

Body ratios: hea.w/fro.w = 1.43±0.024 (1.40–1.48); prm.w/hea.w = 1.29± 0.022 (1.25–1.32); prm.w/prp.w = 1.74±0.035 (1.68–1.79); pra.w/prp.w = 1.23± 0.032 (1.19–1.31); ely.w/prm.w = 1.60±0.060 (1.51–1.72); prm.w/prm.l = 1.39 ± 0.034 (1.33–1.45; ely.l/ely.w = 1.57±0.028 (1.52–1.61).

Etymology: The specific epithet (noun in apposition; rubus, latin = blackberry) refers to the berry-like lateral bulge of the maxillary stipes.

Diagnosis: The new species is characterized within Barbonebriola subgen. nov. by the presence of a midlateral seta of the pronotum (absent in N. tenuisulcata sp. nov.), by the strongly and densely punctate striae of the elytra (faintly punctate or impunctate in N. kagmara sp. nov.), by the long and subcylindrical basal antennomere (short and ovoid in N. ganeshi ), and by the ovoid elytra (elliptic to subovoid elytra with the lateral margin subparallel in N. barbata and N. restricta ).

Distribution ( Fig. 16 , Nr. 8): Known only from the type locality Sankha La pass on the eastern slopes of the Saipal Himal on the border of the Humla and Bajura districts.

Habitat ( Fig. 11 ): Flat alpine mats with flowers, mix of stone debris and little remains of snowfields.

Figures

Fig. 7: Nebria (Barbonebriola) rubostipes sp. nov. Holotype. Scale bar = 5 mm.

Fig. 1: Right maxilla of N. (Barbonebriola) rubosti- pes sp. nov. A: ventral. B: dorsal. bpm: basal palpomere; ca: cardo; ga: galea; la: lacinia; mp: maxillar palpus; st: stipes. Scale bar = 1 mm.

Fig. 3: SEM micrograph of the stipes of the right maxilla of N. (Barbonebriola) rubostipes sp. nov. A: Detail of the right maxillary stipes (lateral part, ventral view). B: Truncate tip with a terminal pore (tP) of a chemosensitive seta. cS = campaniform sensillum; P = pores; Sc = chemosensitive seta; SS = membrane of seta socket; Tu = bulging chaetiphorous tubercle.

Fig. 15: Left part of the pronotum of species of Barbonebriola subgen. nov. A: Nebria (Barbonebriola) barbata ANDREWES, 1929; B: N. (B.) ganeshi LEDOUx, 1984; C: N. (B.) rubostipes sp. nov.; D: N. (B.) tenuisulcata sp. nov.; E: N. (B.) kagmara sp. nov. Scale bar = 1 mm.

Fig. 8: Edeagi of species of Barbonebriola subgen. nov. A: Nebria (Barbonebriola) rubostipes sp. nov. B: N. (B.) kagmara sp. nov. C: N. (B.) barbata ANDREWES, 1929. D: Everted endophal- lus of N. (B.) barbata ANDREWES, 1929 with the mid-shaft densely and extensively covered with long setae. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.

Fig. 9: Right gonocoxae of species of Barbonebriola subgen. nov. in ventral view. A: Nebria (Barbonebriola) barbata ANDREWES, 1929; B: N. (B.) ganeshi LEDOUx, 1984; C: N. (B.) rubostipes sp. nov.; D: N. (B.) tenuisulcata sp. nov.; E: N. (B.) kagmara sp. nov.; gc1 = gonocoxite 1, gc2 = gonocoxite 2, ra = ramus. Scale bar = 0.5 mm.

Fig. 16: Locations with occurrences of Nebria (Barbonebriola sp. nov.) species. 1: Lac de Gangabal, Kashmir Himalaya of India (N. barbata ANDREWES, 1929). 2: Lac de Gadsar, Kashmir Himalaya of India (N. barbata ANDREWES, 1929). 3: Sonamarg, Kashmir Himalaya of India (N. barbata ANDREWES, 1929). 4: Babussar Pass, Kashmir Himalaya of Pakistan (N. barbata ANDREWES, 1929). 5: Rama Lake, Kashmir Himalaya of Pakistan (N. barbata ANDREWES, 1929). 6: Rohtang Pass, Himachal Pradesh, India (N. ganeshi LEDOUx, 1984). 7: Badrinath, Uttarakhand, India (N. restricta LEDOUx & ROUx, 2005). 8: South slope of Api Himal, Ghusa, Nepal (N. tenuisulcata sp. nov.). 9: East slope of Saipal Himal, Sankha La, Nepal (N. rubostipes sp. nov.). 10: South slope of Kanjiroba Himal, Kagmara La, Nepal (N. kagmara sp. nov.).

Fig. 11: Type locality of Nebria (Barbonebriola) rubostipes sp. nov.: Far Western Nepal, Saipal Himal: E-slope of the pass Sankha La. Photo: Henryk Baumbach.