Agonotrechus wuyipeng Deuve, 1992

Deuve, Thierry, Kavanaugh, David H. & Liang, Hongbin, 2016, Inventory of the Carabid Beetle Fauna of the Gaoligong Mountains, Western Yunnan Province, China: Species of the Tribe Trechini (Coleoptera: Caraboidea), with Descriptions of Four New Genera, One New Subgenus and 19 New Species., Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 63 (12), pp. 341-455 : 356-357

Agonotrechus wuyipeng Deuve, 1992

( Figs. 8 , 36b , 45–48 )

Agonotrechus wuyipeng Deuve, 1992b:172 . Holotype, a male, in IOZ. Type locality: China, Sichuan, Wolong, Wuyipeng , 2500 m.

DIAGNOSIS.— Adults of this species ( Fig. 8a ) can be distinguished from those of all other species in the region by the following combination of character states: size large (BL = 6.5 to 6.7 mm), fully-winged, dorsum piceous to reddish brown and distinctly iridescent; head slender, eyes markedly projected; clypeus with four or six setae; mentum and submentum incompletely fused, submentum with six or eight setae; mandibles with four to six small setae along the dorsolateral margin of the scrobe; pronotum transverse (ratio PW/PL = 1.30), with lateral explanation broader, especially basally, basal angles rectangular and sharp with a small apical tooth projected laterally; elytra broad, with all discal striae evident and finely punctate, striae 1 to 5 moderately impressed, striae 6 to 8 more faintly impressed, parascutellar striole rather long, recurrent stria continuous anteriorly with stria 5, intervals only faintly convex, two discal setae (anterior and middle setae) present, the anterior seta inserted within basal one-sixth of elytra in stria 3, the middle seta near elytral middle in stria 3; median lobe of aedeagus of male ( Fig. 8b ) long and slender, with apex short, recurved dorsally and bluntly pointed, endophallus with a spoon-shaped sclerite.

COMMENTS.— The polymorphism we observed in the number of setae on both the clypeus (four or six) and submentum (six or eight) among specimens from the Gaoligong Shan populations was surprising. Belousov & Kabak (2003) described Agonotrechus dubius , based on a single female from Gansu Province, and noted similarities with A. wuyipeng . We have examined a male specimen from Shaanxi Province (Ningshan County, Huoditang Township, 1549 m, collected by Matt Brantley on 9 July 2005) which shares features described for the holotype of A. dubius , including six setae on the submentum, which Belousov & Kabak (2003) contrasted with the eight setae reported for A. wuyipeng members ( Deuve 1992b). Together with other similarities, the polymorphism in this feature found among Gaoligong Shan specimens suggests that these two species may be better treated as conspecific, with A. dubius as a distinct subspecies, members of which have smaller size, relatively wider pronota, and more coarsely punctate elytral discal striae but are otherwise similar to members of the nominate form.

HABITAT DISTRIBUTION.— Specimens of this species were collected in daytime from under stones in shaded roadside and trailside areas with scattered grasses at elevations ranging from 2687 to 2770 m ( Fig. 36b ). Members of no other Agonotrechus or other trechine species have been found syntopic with those of A. wuyipeng .

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION WITHIN THE GAOLIGONG SHAN.— Fig. 8c . We examined a total of 10 specimens (7 males and 3 females) from the following localities: Fugong County: Shiyueliang Township (1 km above Shibali on Yaping Road, 2687 m, 1 May 2004, H.B. Liang collector [1 female; MNHN]. Gongshan County : Qiqi Trail at No 12 Bridge, N27.71500° / E98.50222°, 2770 m, 2 May 2002, H.B. Liang & W.D. Ba collectors [7 males and 2 females; CAS, IOZ, MNHN].

Specimens of this species were collected only in the northern half of the study area (Core Areas 2 and 3) and only on the eastern side of the mountain range. This distribution pattern may be an artifact of inadequate sampling on the western slope of the mountain range in the north, much of which is in Myanmar. The geographical range of this species overlaps that of A. fugongensis , but members of the latter species appear to occupy slightly lower elevations in the same general areas.

OVERALL GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.— Fig. 45 . This species currently is known only from the type locality in northcentral Sichuan and the northern half of the Gaoligong Shan in western Yunnan, but it probably occurs in the intervening region as well .

Figures

FIGURE 8. Agonotrechus wuyipeng Deuve; a. Dorsal habitus (CASENT1010854). b. Median lobe of aedeagus of male (CASENT1010854), left lateral aspect. c. Map of locality records (red circles) for A. wuyipeng in the Gaoligong Shan region. Scale lines a, b = 0.5 mm, c = 100 km.

FIGURE 36. Photographs of habitats for trechine species in the Gaoligong Shan region. a. Fugong County, Shiyueliang Township, 1 km E of Shibali on Shibali Road, elevation 2400 m; habitat in which specimens of Agonotrechus fugongensis sp. nov. were collected. b. Gongshan County, Cikai Township, Qiqi Trail at No. 12 Bridge Camp, elevation 2770 m; habitat in which specimens of Agonotrechus wuyipeng Deuve were collected. Photos by David H. Kavanaugh.

FIGURE 45. Map showing approximate overall known geographical distributions of species occurring in the Gaoligong Shan region as well as outside the region. 1 = Peripleptus imaicus Jeannel. 2 = Agonotrechus wuyipeng Deuve. 3 = Eoc- nides fragilis Uéno. 4 = Trechus indicus Putzeys. Scale line = 500 km.

FIGURE 46. Chart showing the representation of trechine species in project-designated Core Areas (see Fig. 3) in the Gaoligong Shan region.

FIGURE 47. Chart illustrating the altitudinal ranges of trechine species represented in the Gaoligong Shan region.

FIGURE. 48. Chart illustrating the co-occurence (syntopy) of trechine species in samples from the same habitats and at the same sites in the Gaoligong Shan region.