Apecholinus imitator, Smetana & Hu, 2019

Smetana, Aleš & Hu, Fang-Shuo, 2019, The genera Agelosus Sharp, 1889 and Apecholinus Bernhauer, 1933 in Taiwan (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylinini: Staphylinina), Zootaxa 4638 (3), pp. 379-388 : 383-384

Apecholinus imitator sp. nov.

( Figs 11–14 , 21 , 25 )

Type locality. TAIWAN: Pingtung Co., Dahanshan .

Type material. Holotype, male: “ TAIWAN: Pingtung co. Dahanshan , 23-III-2012 Uika Ong leg.” (in NMNS) . Paratypes: “ V – 2015 ♂ TAIWAN: Nantou County, Sun Link Sea Forest Recreation Area [in Chinese], (23.6365088, 120.7907667) C.R. Chen leg.”, 1 ♂ ( FSHC) ; “ VI-VII.2017 ♂ TAIWAN: Pingtung County, Majia Township R.H. Liu leg.”, 1 ♂ ( FSHC) ; “ TAIWAN: Taitung Co. Lijia , 14-VI-2011. Uika Ong leg.”, 1 ♂ ( CNC) ; “order Coleoptera Nantou, Huisun Forest Area [in Chinese] Pitfall Trap A 2 1998 (y). 4.24 4872 “, 1 ♂ ( NCHU) ; “ 26.VI.2013 Dahan- shan, Pingtung, Taiwan , R.H. Liu leg.”, 1 ♂ ( FSHC) .

Diagnosis. Species different from all remaining congeners by body with the spots of golden-yellow tomentose pubescence.

Description. Black, body pubescence black, but each elytron with more or less triangular patch of golden-yellow pubescence below humerus; and abdominal tergites 6 and 7 each with a basal spot of golden- yellow pubescence; maxillary and labial palpi dark brown; antennae with three basal segments piceous-black to black, following segments gradually becoming paler, outer segments more or less testaceous; legs piceous to piceous black, with front tarsi usually paler; Head of rounded quadrangular shape with rounded posterior angles, wider than long (ratio 1.20), eyes small, moderately convex, slightly shifted dorsad, tempora much longer than length of eyes seen from above (ratio 1.69); disc of head finely and densely punctate, punctation becoming gradually finer and denser posteriad and posteriolaterad and sparser toward clypeus; linear impunctate midline not apparent. interspaces between punctures without microsculpture. Antennae moderately long, hardly thickened toward apex, segment 3 longer than segment 2 (ratio 1.25, segments 4–9 longer than wide, gradually becoming shorter, segment 10 about as long as wide, last segment small, asymmetrically emarginated, along lateral margin shorter than penultimate segment. Pronotum about as long as wide, moderately convex, narrow marginal groove disappearing downwards at about anterior third of pronotal length; punctation on disc about the same as that on disc of head, interspaces between punctures without microsculpture; quite fine impunctate line present. Prescutum densely punctate-setose, interspaces with distinct microsculpture of transverse and oblique striae. Scutellum densely punctate-setose, with granulose microsculpture. Elytra moderately long, hardly dilated posteriad, at suture shorter than pronotum at midline (ratio 0.75), at sides as long as pronotum at midline; punctation very fine and very dense, interspaces between punctures with fine microscopic irregularities, elytra therefore appearing slightly dull. Wings folded under the elytra, functional. Abdomen with fifth visible tergite without pale apical seam of palisade setae; tergite 2 (in front of first fully visible tergite) moderately densely punctate-setose, surface with extremely fine, superficial microsculpture of mostly oblique striae; punctation of all tergites finer and denser than that on elytra, punctation becoming gradually somewhat sparser toward apex of abdomen, interspaces with extremely fine, granulose microsculpture.

Male. Sternite 8 with shallow, obtuse medioapical emargination. Genital segment with tergite 10 narrow, markedly, evenly narrowed toward narrowly arcuate apex, apical portion with moderately long setae at apex, rest of tergite moderately densely setose, as in Fig.11 ; sternite 9 with minute, narrow basal portion, apical portion with moderately deep and wide medioapical emargination, with one differentiated seta at each edge of emargination ( Fig.12 ). Aedoeagus (Figs 13,14) rather small and narrow, median lobe parallel-sided, with widely arcuate apex; paramere narrow, situated on median lobe quite asymmetrically toward left margin of median lobe, with obliquely subtrunctate apex markedly not reaching apex of median lobe; with three long and two minute apical setae; underside with numerous, closely set sensory peg setae forming a dense field ( Fig. 14 ).

Female. Unknown.

Length 17.0–22.0 mm.

Geographical distribution. Apecholinus imitator is at present known from the Nantou, Pingtung and Taitung counties of Taiwan.

Bionomics. Little is known about the collecting circumstances of the specimens, except that one of them was taken from a pitfall trap, but nothing is known about the habitat the pitfall was set up in. The specimen from Dahanshan, collected by R. H. Liu was attracted to LED flashlight in the evening. The specimen from Sun Link Sea, collected by C. R. Chen was taken from under a rock near a creek, just like one specimens of A. fraternus (see there).

Etymology. The specific epithet is the Latin noun imitator , - oris, m (an imitator, copyist). It refers to the fact that the species is imitating some species of the genus Agelosus .

Figures

FIGURES 8–15. 8–10. Apecholinus fraternus: 8, aedoeagus, parameral view; 9, apical portion of underside of paramere with sensory peg setae; 10, tergite 10 of female genital segment. Apecholinus imitator: 11, tergite 10 of male genital segment; 12, sternite 9 of male genital segment; 13, aedoeagus, parameral view; 14, apical portion of underside of paramere with sensory peg setae. Apecholinus canifer: 15, tergite 10 of male genital segment.

FIGURES 19–24. 19: Agelosus auricomus: holotype, length 21 mm. 20: Apecholinus fraternus, length 20.0 mm. 21: Apecholinus imitator, holotype, length 22.0 mm. 22: Apecholinus canifer: paratype, length 20.0 mm. 23: Agelosus auricomus, right mandible. 24: Apecholinus fraternus, left mandible.

FIGURES 25, 26.: Live specimen of Apecholinus imitator (photo by R.-H. Liu). 26: habitat of Agelosus auricomus (photo by Hu).