Nepalota tuberifera, Assing, 2015

Assing, Volker, 2015, On the Nepalota fauna of China (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae: Athetini), Linzer biologische Beiträge 47 (1), pp. 207-248 : 236-237

Nepalota tuberifera nov.sp.

( Figs 106-116 , Map 6 )

Type material: Holotype ♂: " CHINA - Yunnan [CH07-15], Baoshan Pref., Gaoligong Shan , 29 km ESE Tengchong , 24°55'37''N, 98°45'09''E, 2350 m, dev. decid. forest, litter, wood, fungi sifted, 1.VI.2007, M. Schülke / Holotypus ♂ Nepalota tuberifera sp.n. det. V. Assing 2015" ( cAss). Paratypes: 4♂♂, 2♀♀: same data as holotype (cSch, cAss); 1♂: " CHINA: Yunnan, Nujiang Lisu Pref., Gaoligong Shan, E pass 20 km NW Liuku , 25°58'49''N, 98°41'48''E, 3000 m, creek valley with devast. prim. forest, litter & moss sifted, 3.IX.2009, leg. M. Schülke [CH09-25]" (cAss); 1♂: same data, but leg. Wrase (cSch); 1♂: " CHINA - Yunnan [CH07-14A], Baoshan Pref., Gaoligong Shan, 33 km SE Tengchong, 2100-2200 m, 24°51'22''N, 98°45'36''E, decid. forest, litter, wood, fungi sifted, 4.VI.2007, M. Schülke " (cSch) .

Etymology: The specific epithet (Latin, adjective: carrying a protuberance) alludes to the pronounced median granule of the male tergite III.

Description: Body length 3.8-4.8 mm; length of forebody 1.7-2.1 mm. Coloration: head and pronotum blackish-brown to blackish; elytra dark-yellowish to brown, with the scutellar region and the postero-lateral angles diffusely and more or less extensively darker; abdomen dark-brown to blackish-brown, with the posterior margins of the segments reddish; legs dark-yellowish; antennae blackish-brown to blackish, with antennomere I yellowish-brown.

Head ( Fig. 106 ) transverse, approximately 1.1 times as broad as long; dorsal surface with distinct microreticulation; punctation moderately dense and fine. Eyes large, much longer than postocular region in dorsal view. Antenna ( Fig. 107 ) slender, 1.4-1.5 mm long; antennomere IV oblong; preapical antennomeres very weakly transverse or as long as broad; antennomere XI apically acute, longer than the combined length of IX and X.

Pronotum ( Fig. 106 ) approximately 1.2 times as broad as long and 1.3 times as broad as head, without sexual dimorphism; disc with distinct microreticulation; punctation dense and moderately fine, more distinct than that of head.

Elytra ( Fig. 106 ) slightly longer than pronotum; punctation very dense and fine; interstices with microreticulation. Hind wings fully developed.

Abdomen with very shallow transverse microsculpture; punctation sparse and fine; tergites III and VII with sexual dimorphism.

♂: tergite III with pronounced median protuberance at posterior margin ( Fig. 108 ); tergite VII with weakly pronounced median elevation, this elevation with denser punctation and more distinct microreticulation; tergite VIII ( Figs 109, 111 ) with truncate and crenulate posterior margin; sternite VIII ( Fig. 110 ) slightly longer than tergite VIII and strongly convex posteriorly; median lobe of aedeagus ( Figs 112-113 ) approximately 0.55 mm long; ventral process and internal structures of distinctive shapes; paramere longer than median lobe and with moderately slender apical lobe.

♀: tergite VIII ( Fig. 114 ) with moderately convex posterior margin; sternite VIII ( Fig. 115 ) broadly convex posteriorly; spermatheca ( Fig. 116 ) approximately 0.3 mm long.

Comparative notes: This species is characterized particularly by the pronounced protuberance of the male tergite III and the shape of the aedeagus. The similar modifications of the male tergites III and VII, as well as the similar general morphology of the aedeagus suggest that N. tuberifera is closely allied to N. martensi . For characters distinguishing this species from the highly similar N. prominula see the comparative notes in the following section.

Distribution and natural history: The specimens were collected in three localities in the southern Gaoligong Shan, western Yunnan ( Map 6 ), by sifting leaf litter in deciduous and degraded primary forests at altitudes of 2100-3000 m.

Figures

Map 6: Distributions of Nepalota globifera PACE (filled circles: examined records; open circle: literature record), N. tuberifera nov.sp. (open stars), N. prominula nov.sp. (open diamond), and N. daweiana nov.sp. (filled triangle) in China.

Figs 106-116: Nepalota tuberifera nov.sp.: (106) forebody; (107) antenna; (108) anterior portion of male abdomen; (109) male tergite VIII; (110) male sternite VIII; (111) posterior margin of male tergite VIII; (112-113) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view; (114) female tergite VIII; (115) female sternite VIII; (116) spermatheca. Scale bars: 106-110, 114-115: 0.5 mm; 112- 113, 116: 0.2 mm; 111: 0.1 mm.