Lobrathium bidigitatum, Assing, 2010

Assing, Volker, 2010, On the Lathrobiina of Taiwan (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 60 (2), pp. 301-361 : 353-354

Lobrathium bidigitatum sp. n. ( Figs 211-218 )

Type material:

Holotype ♂: " Taiwan, Kaohsiung Hsien, Peinantashan trail, 2450 m, 2.V.1995, A. Smetana [ T170 ] / Holotypus ♂ Lobrathium bidigitatum sp. n., det. V. Assing 2010" (cAss). Paratype: 1 ♀: " Taiwan, Kaohsiung Hsien, Peinantashan trail, 2500 m, 4.VII.1993, A. Smetana [ T136 ]" (cSme) .

Description:

Habitus and forebody as in Figs 211-212 . External morphology as in L. digitatum , distinguished only by the sexual characters:

♂: posterior margin of tergite VIII almost truncate in the middle; sternite VII as in L. digitatum ; sternite VIII with broad median impression, this impression with two clusters of numerous pegsetae, which are less extensive than in L. digitatum , posterior excision moderately deep and broadly U-shaped ( Fig. 213 ); aedeagus of similar morphology as in L. digitatum , but apical lobes slightly longer, more slender, and more broadly separated, and subapical portion of ventral process not projecting laterad ( Figs 214-215 ).

♀: posterior margin of tergite VIII weakly angled in the middle ( Fig. 216 ); sternite VIII broader than long, approximately as long as tergite VIII, posteriorly weakly produced, posterior margin indistinctly concave in the middle ( Fig. 217 ); segments IX-X of similar shape as in L. digitatum ( Fig. 218 ).

Comparative notes:

As can be inferred from the similar external and sexual characters, particularly the derived morphology of the aedeagus, L. bidigitatum is very closely related to L. digitatum , from which it is best distinguished based on the shape of the apical lobes of the aedeagus.

Etymology:

The specific epithet is an adjective derived from the Latin prefix bi- (two) and the noun digitus (finger) and refers to the shape of the apical lobes of the aedeagus.

Distribution and natural history:

The type specimens were collected in the Peinantashan, Kaohsiung Hsien, southern Taiwan, at altitudes of 2450-2500 m. They were sifted from wet leaf litter, moss, and other debris in a mature mixed forest and beneath bushes along an abandoned forest road.

Figures

Figs 211-218: Lobrathium bidigitatum sp. n.: habitus (211); forebody (212); male sternite VIII (213); aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view (214-215); female tergite VIII (216); female sternite VIII (217); female tergites IX-X (218). Scale bars: 211-212: 1.0 mm; 213-218: 0.5 mm.