Leptusa (Aphaireleptusa) xuemontis PACE

Assing, V., 2006, Six new species and additional records of Leptusa from northern Yunnan, China (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 38 (2), pp. 1157-1174 : 1157-1174

Leptusa (Aphaireleptusa) xuemontis PACE (Figs 7-20, 31, 89)

T y p e m a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d Paratypes: 233: China, N-Yunnan, Xue Shan nr. Zhongdian, 4050 m, 24.VI.1996, 27°49N, 99°34E, C40 / collected by A. Smetana, J. FarkaÞ, and P. Kabátek / Paratypus Leptusa xuemontis m., det. R. Pace 1999 (cSme, cAss). A d d i t i o n a l m a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: 189 exs., China: N-Yunnan, Diqing Tibet.

Aut. Pref., Zhongdian Co., Xue Shan near lake 23 km S Zhongdian, 27°37.1'N, 99°38.5'E, 3850-

3895 m, degraded mixed forest, meadows, lake border, leaf litter, dead wood, sifted, 5.-15.VI.2005,

leg. M. Schülke (OÖLL, cSch, cSme, cAss).

R e s c r i p t i o n: 2.6-3.5 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 7. Coloration: body blackish brown, with the pronotum, the elytra, the anterior abdominal segments and the abdominal apex usually slightly paler, dark brown; legs reddish brown; antennae dark brown, with the basal 3-4 antennomeres reddish.

Head approximately as wide as long or weakly transverse; puncturation very dense, punctures large, but not very deep and often rather ill-defined; microsculpture present, but shallow; eyes moderately large, very weakly protruding from lateral outline of head, usually slightly shorter than postocular region in dorsal view (Fig. 8). Antenna with antennomere III slightly shorter than II, IV approximately as wide as long, V weakly transverse, VI-X of increasing width and increasingly transverse, X approximately 1.5 times as wide as long.

Pronotum moderately convex in cross-section, approximately 1.3 times as wide as head and 1.3 times as wide as long, maximal width in anterior half (Fig. 8); posterior angles obtuse; puncturation fine, shallow, and ill-defined; microsculpture distinct.

Elytra approximately as wide as pronotum and at suture about 0.60 times as long as pronotum; near posterior angles distinctly sinuate; puncturation very dense, coarse, but rather ill-defined; microsculpture indistinct (Fig. 8). Hind wings reduced. First metatarsomere longer than metatarsomere II, but shorter than the combined length of the two following tarsomeres.

Abdomen approximately 1.1 times as wide as elytra, widest at segments V/VI; puncturation fine and moderately dense, somewhat denser on anterior than on posterior tergites; tergite VII without sexual dimorphism, its posterior margin with narrow (i. e. somewhat reduced) palisade fringe.

3: posterior margin of sternite VII broadly, but not very deeply concave, densely furnished with long thin setae (Fig. 9); tergite VIII with broadly concave posterior margin (Fig. 10); posterior margin of sternite VIII obtusely angled in the middle (Fig. 11); median lobe of aedeagus as in Figs 14-18, 89, ventral process with conspicuous process in lateral view; apical lobe of paramere as in Fig. 31 .

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Figs 7-19: Leptusa xuemontis : (7) habitus; (8) forebody; (9) 3 sternite VII; (10) 3 tergite VIII; (11) 3 sternite VIII; (12) ♀ tergite VIII; (13) ♀ sternite VIII; (14-17) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view; (18) apex of median lobe of aedeagus in ventral view; (19) spermatheca. Scale bars: 7: 1.0 mm; 8: 0.5 mm; 9-19: 0.2 mm.

♀: posterior margin of tergite VIII very weakly sinuate in the middle (Fig. 12); posterior margin of sternite VIII obtusely pointed (Fig. 13); spermatheca as in Fig. 19.

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C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: From all its congeners, L. xuemontis is readily distinguished by the male sexual characters, especially the conspicuous process at the ventral process of the aedeagus. The geographically closest – and syntopic – dark-coloured, previously described representatives of the subgenus Aphaireleptusa are L. chinensis PACE and L. yunnanensis PACE. From both, the new species is additionally separated by the much finer puncturation of the pronotum, the finer puncturation of the abdomen, the less well-defined puncturation of the elytra, as well as by much shorter and narrower elytra.

R e m a r k s: The illustrations of the habitus and the male genitalia in the original description are somewhat misleading; for comparison see Figs 7-8, 14-18, 89 (paratype) of the present paper and figures 1-3 in PACE (2001).

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d b i o n o m i c s The species has become known only from the Xue Shan near Zhongdian in northern Yunnan. The record of L. xuemontis by ASSING (2004) refers to an undescribed species (see description of L. tenuicornis below). The above material was sifted from leaf litter and dead wood in degraded mixed forests at an altitude of 3850-3900 m ( Fig. 20 ). Some of the specimens are slightly teneral.

Figures

Figs 21-31: Leptusa turgida (21-30) and L. xuemontis (31): (21) habitus; (22) forebody; (23) antenna; (24) 3 tergite VIII; (25) 3 sternite VIII; (26) ♀ tergite VIII; (27) ♀ sternite VIII; (28) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; (29, 31) apical lobe of paramere; (30) spermatheca. Scale bars: 21: 1.0 mm; 22: 0.5 mm; 23-27: 0.2 mm; 28-31: 0.1 mm.

Fig. 20: Locality where numerous specimens of Leptusa xuemontis (together with L. yunnanensis and L. chinensis) were found.