Micropodabrus fissiformis, Švihla, 2005

Švihla, Vladimír, 2005, New taxa of the subfamily Cantharinae (Coleoptera: Cantharidae) from south-eastern Asia with notes on other species II, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 45, pp. 71-110 : 75

Micropodabrus fissiformis sp. nov.

( Fig. 5 )

Type locality. China, Sichuan Province, Maoxian env., 1500 m a.s.l.

Type material. HOLOTYPE: J, ‘ China: Sichuan, Maoxian env., 1500 m, 29.vi.2003, S. Murzin lgt.’ ( NMPC) . PARATYPE: same data, 1 J ( NMPC).

Description. Coloration. Head honey yellow with large black spot between and behind eyes, antennae rusty, first two antennomeres with more or less largely honey yellow bases. Prothorax egg-yolk to honey yellow, middle parts of both anterior and posterior portions of pronotum with not sharply delimited sienna spots, not connected to each other. Meso- and metasternum and abdomen sooty, legs honey yellow, tarsi and sometimes also apical parts of tibiae darkened. Elytra honey yellow and moderately transparent, apices appearing darker.

Male. Eyes protruding, head across eyes moderately wider than pronotum, temples arcuate and convergent posteriorly. Antennae reaching three fourth of elytral length, filiform. Surface of head very finely and sparsely puncticulate, sparsely and finely yellow pubescent, semilustrous. Pronotum almost 1.25 times as wide as long, its anterior margin widely rounded, anterior corners rounded, lateral margins nearly straight, diverging posteriorly, very slightly sinuate before posterior corners, the latter almost sharp, posterior margin widely rounded, very slightly bisinuate. Surface of pronotum sculptured and pubescent like that of head, semilustrous. Elytra moderately dilating posteriorly, elytral nervation not developed, surface of elytra finely rugulose-lacunose, sparsely and finely yellow pubescent, semilustrous. Aedeagus as in Fig. 5 . Female unknown.

Length J: 6.0- 6.2 mm.

Differential diagnosis. Micropodabrus fissiformis sp. nov. belongs to a species group further including M. semifumatus , M. semifumatoides sp. nov. and M. fissus Wittmer, 1997 . This group is habitually very similar to most Rhagonycha species occurring in southwestern China; they perhaps form a complex of numeric mimicry, because they often occur at the same localities. Micropodabrus fissiformis sp. nov. differs from the other three species in the shape of the dorsal part of the aedeagus, with lateral emarginations deeper than the median one (cf. WITTMER 1997 and Fig. 5 ). By its body size and coloration, the new species is closest to M. fissus .

Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the close resemblance of the new species to M. fissus .

Distribution. China: Sichuan.

Figures

Figs. 1-5. 1-3 – Rhagonycha bimucronata sp. nov. 1 – aedeagus, ventral view; 2 – dorsal part of aedeagus; 3 – aedeagus, lateral view. 4 – Micropodabrus semifumatoides sp. nov., dorsal part of aedeagus. 5 – M. fissiformis sp. nov., dorsal part of aedeagus.