Lathrobium miaoi, Zhao & Peng, 2021

Zhao, Qing-Hao & Peng, Zhong, 2021, New species and new records of the genus Lathrobium Gravenhorst (Coleoptera Staphylinidae: Paederinae) from Zhejiang, East China, Zootaxa 4990 (1), pp. 172-181 : 177-179

Lathrobium miaoi Q.-H. Zhao and Peng, new species

( Figs 1B , 3 )

Type material. HOLOTYPE: ♂, labeled ‘ China: Zhejiang Prov., Jiangshan County, Shuangxikou town , laofoyan, 28°19'40''N 118°40'37''E, 547 m, 11.VIII.2018, Cheng & Miao leg.’ ( SNUC) . Paratypes: 3 ♂♂, 7 ♀♀, same label data as holotype ( SNUC) .

Description. Measurements (in mm) and ratios: BL 8.04–8.42, FL 4.41–4.68, HL 1.24–1.28, HW 1.33–1.37, AnL 2.35–2.47, PL 1.66–1.76, PW 1.46–1.51, EL 0.97–1.09, AL 1.47–1.53, HL/HW 0.93–0.94, HW/PW 0.90–0.91, HL/PL 0.72–0.75, PL/PW 1.13–1.17, EL/PL 0.58–0.62.

Habitus as in Fig. 1B . Body dark brown, legs brown, antennae dark brown to light brown.

Head: punctation coarse and sparse, distinctly sparser in median dorsal portion; interstices with shallow microreticulation. Eyes moderately small and composed of approximately 60 ommatidia.

Pronotum with weakly convex lateral margins in dorsal view; punctation similar to that of head; impunctate midline broad; interstices glossy and without microsculpture.

Elytral punctation dense and defined. Hind wings completely reduced. Protarsi without appreciable sexual dimorphism, distinctly dilated.

Abdomen with fine and dense punctation, that of tergite VII sparser than that of anterior tergites; interstices with shallow microsculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII without palisade fringe; tergite VIII with distinct sexual dimorphism.

Male. Posterior margin of tergite VIII ( Fig. 3D ) weakly convex; sternites III–IV unmodified; sternite V ( Fig. 3A ) with dense dark setae in very large postero-median impression and at middle of posterior margin with cluster of numerous point-like setae; sternite VI ( Fig. 3B ) similar to sternite V, but with larger postero-median impression; sternite VII ( Fig. 3C ) strongly transverse, with shallow median impression posteriorly, this impression with short blackish setae, posterior margin weakly concave in the middle; sternite VIII ( Fig. 2G ) with moderately asymmetric and extensive median impression posteriorly, this impression with numerous distinctly modified, stout blackish setae, posterior excision small and asymmetric; aedeagus as in Figs 2F–H ; ventral process asymmetric in lateral view, apically acute in ventral view; dorsal plate with long, large apical portion and with short, weakly sclerotized basal portion; internal sac with two sclerotized spines of different shapes and without ring-shaped structure.

Female. Posterior margin of tergite VIII convex; posterior margin of sternite VIII convexly produced posteriorly.

Comparative notes. The new species resembles L. yui Peng & Q.-L. Li, 2015 from Fengyangshan Natural Reserve, Zhejiang in having similar postero-median impressions on the male sternites V–VI, a weakly concave posterior margin of the male sternite VII and the similarly derived structure of the aedeagus. It is distinguished from L. yui by the chaetotaxy of the male sternite VI, the extensive median impression of the male sternite VIII, and the shape of the ventral process of the aedeagus. For illustrations of L. yui see Peng et al. (2015: figures 6B, 8).

Distribution and natural history. The type locality is situated inWangdongyang to the south of Jingning, southern Zhejiang. The specimens were sifted from leaf litter and humus in a deciduous forest at an altitude of 1305 m.

Etymology. This species is dedicated to Mr. Zheng-Yi Miao, who collected some of type specimens.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Habitus of Lathrobium spp., A—L. chengi; B—L. miaoi. Scale bars: 2.0 mm.

FIGURE 2. Lathrobium chengi. A—male sternite V; B—male sternite VI; C—male sternite VII; D—male tergite VIII; E—male sternite VIII; F—aedeagus in ventral view; G—aedeagus in lateral view; H—aedeagus in dorsal view. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 3. Lathrobium miaoi. A—male sternite V; B—male sternite VI; C—male sternite VII; D—male tergite VIII; E—male sternite VIII; F—aedeagus in ventral view; G—aedeagus in lateral view; H—aedeagus in dorsal view. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.