Oedemera (Oedemera) svihlai, Poloni, 2023

Poloni, Riccardo, 2023, Two new species of the genus Oedemera from China (Coleoptera: Oedemeridae), Fragmenta entomologica (Basel, Switzerland) 55 (1), pp. 57-60 : 57-59

Oedemera (Oedemera) svihlai n. sp.

Figs 1-4, 10-11

Material examined

Type Material. Holotypus, ♂: China: YUNNAN prov. // pass 50 km W Judian // 11.-13.vi.2005 // O. Nakládal lgt. (NMPC). Paratypi: same locality, 4 ♂, 2 ♀ (NMPC), 2♂, 1 ♀ (RP).

Description of the male, holotype

Coloration (Fig. 1). Integuments (head, thorax, elytra, abdomen and appendices) completely black, shiny and with a distinct blue-green metallic tinge on elytra. The whole surface covered with a sparse, short, recumbent white pubescence.

External morphology. Body length: 5,5 mm. Head moderately rostrate, eyes distinctly protruding and sub-oval. Space between the scapes half of the interocular space. Surface of the head with no distinct depressions, smooth and without punctures, with sparse and short brown hairs. First and second maxillary palpomeres equal in length, last one 1.5 times longer. Antennae 11-segmented, the scape 3 times longer than the second antennomere and almost as long as the third one, the following progressively shortening. Last antennomere slightly emarginated at apex. Pronotum moderately cordiform, shiny, impunctate. The disc of pronotum glabrous, with only a few brown setae on the sides. The anterior and posterior margin of pronotum slightly emarginated. Elytra dehiscent, so that the first costae are separated in the posterior part in the median portion. Third vein and elytral suture raised, becoming fainter but still visible towards the elytral apex. Surface of elytra shiny and with a strong metallic tinge, the surface rugose. The legs surface micro-shagreened. Claws simple. Thorax with surface rugose. Abdomen smooth. The pubescence of both thorax and abdomen slightly longer than on legs. Pygidium ogival. Last ventrite simple, not emarginated at apex. Male genitalia: as in Figs 3-4, 10-11.

Variation of paratypes

Sexual dimorphism. Female differ from male in the following characters: a) bigger size (see below), b) central part of pronotum dark orange and basal and apical margins black, c) pygidium hastate and with more widely rounded apex, d) elytra more metallic (Figs 1-2). Hind femurs are very slightly thickened in males.

Length. 8,5-10,2 mm (males); 10,1-12,6 mm (females).

Variability. The type specimens show scarce variability in the extent and colour of elytral metallic tinge and in body size.

Comparative diagnosis

This species, according to male genitalia (parameres rounded distad) is more similar to O. (Oedemera) sichuana Švihla, 1999 which belongs to the O. femorata species group, as defined by Švihla (1999). The habitus, however, is more similar to O. (Oedemera) nigripes (Ganglbauer, 1890) , having similar coloration and morphology. From O. sichuana it can be distinguished by a) the pronotum in females, almost completely orange (bearing only two orange lateral spots in O. sichuana ), b) less thickened hind femurs in males and c) male genitalia: parameres more rounded distad and aedeagus straighter and not tapered. From O. nigripes it can be distinguished by a) wider parameres, with the apex converging to the center (divergent in O. nigripes ) (Figs 3, 10, 12) and the aedeagus, straight and rounded at the apex (slightly curved and more tapered in the other species) (Figs 4, 11, 13) ( Švihla 1999).

Etymology. the species is named after Vladimir Švihla (1952-2015), renowned specialist of Oedemeridae that worked at the National Museum, Prague and contributed more than any other entomologist to the knowledge of the genus Oedemera .