Apatetica confusa, Assing, 2018

Assing, Volker, 2018, On some species of Apatetica WESTWOOD (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Apateticinae), Beiträge zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 68 (2), pp. 347-359 : 351-353

Apatetica confusa spec. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:03A55D46-5010-43D8-BFEF-9D02E3BE2D1A

( Figs 11–14 )

Type material: Holotype ♂: “N. E. BURMA, Kambaiti, 7000 ft., 12/5 1934, R. Malaise / 6382, E91 / Apatetica ? viridipennis Fauv., A. Jansson det. / NHRS–JLKB 000027544 / Holotypus ♂ Apatetica confusa sp. n. det. V. Assing 2018” ( SMNH). Paratypes: 1 ♀: “N. E. BURMA, Kambaiti, 2000 m, 17/5.1934, Malaise / 6381, E91 / NHRS–JLKB 000027543” ( SMNH); 1 ♀:“N. E. BURMA, Kambaiti, 2000 m, 17/5.1934, Malaise / Brit. Mus. 1948–480 / Apatetica ? viridipennis Fauv. ” ( BMNH); 1 ♀: “N. E. BURMA, Kambaiti, 2000 m, 1/6.1934, Malaise / 6380, E91 / NHRS–JLKB 000027542” (cAss); 3 ♀♀: “Doherty / Birmah, Ruby Mes ” ( BMNH, cAss).

Etymology: The specific epithet is the past participle of the Latin verb confundere and alludes to the fact that the above specimens were previously confounded with A. viridipennis .

Description: Rather large species; body length 8.8–9.3 mm; length of forebody 8.2–9.0 mm. Other measurements: head width 1.8–1.9 mm; length of antenna 4.7–5.0 mm; width of pronotum: 3.6–3.9 mm; length of pronotum 2.2–2.4 mm; length of elytra 3.9–4.5 mm; length of metatibia 2.9–3.0 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 11 . Coloration: body black; elytra withmore or less pronounced metallic hue of usually greenish-coppery, rarely blue or violet colour; legs: femora black; tibiae usually basally black and apically slightly paler, rarely completely black; tarsi usually reddish, rarely darker; antennae reddish with antennomere I infuscate.

Head ( Fig. 12 ) strongly transverse; vertex glossy, with micropunctation, and in postero-median portion usually with few larger punctures; frons glossy and with micropunctation; lateral portion behind eye and area near dorsal margin of eye with dense and coarse punctation. Antenna very long and slender; antennomeres IV and V more than three times as long as broad; antennomere X approximately twice as long as broad.

Pronotum ( Fig. 12 ) approximately 1.6 times as broad as long and twice as broad as head, broadest at posterior third; disc moderately convex in cross-section; lateral margins broadly explanate, withshallow microsculpture predominantly composed of longitudinal striae, each with approximately 15–20 punctures; punctation of disc coarse, dense antero-laterally, sparser postero-laterally; midline more or less broadly impunctate.

Very shallow traces of microsculpture visible only at high magnification.

Elytra approximately 1.7 times as long as pronotum; each elytron with eight finely punctate striae; intervals flat and with sparse micropunctation. Scutellum transverse. Legs very long and slender.

Abdomen with microsculpture composed of dense microgranules on tergite V, of transverse meshes on tergites VI, and of a mix of transverse and isodiametric meshes on tergites VII–VIII; tergites VIand VIIwith fineand sparse, tergite VIII with denser and more distinct punctation; tergite VIII with pronounced sexual dimorphism.

♂: protarsomeres I–IV strongly dilated and flat; tergite VIII wedge-shaped, apically pointed; aedeagus ( Figs 13–14 ) 2 mm long; ventral process long, slender, tapering apicad, apically nearly truncate in ventral view, distinctly bent dorsad in lateral view; parameres rather stout and straight, apically flattenedand truncate, approximally extending to apex of ventral process.

♀: protarsomeres I–IV dilated, but somewhatless so than in male; tergite VIII apically bisinuate.

Comparative notes: In size, habitus, punctation, and other external characters, A. confusa is most similar to A. glaucipennis , from which it is distinguished by the coloration of the antennae, the tarsi, and the elytra, by more slender preapical antennomeres, the punctation of the head and the disc of the pronotum, much more numerous punctures on the explanate margins of the pronotum, and by a much smaller aedeagus with a ventral process and parameres of different shapes. It is readily distinguished from A. viridipennis by the different pronotal punctation and especially the medially much less elevated pronotal disc alone.

Distributionandnatural history: At present, the speciesis reliably known only from two localities in Myanmar. The specimens from the type locality were collected between 2000 and approximately 2100 m in May and June.

Figures

Figs 11–22: Apatetica confusa (11–14) and A. aspera (15–22): habitus (11, 15); head and pronotum (12, 16); aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view (13–14, 20–21); antenna (17); anterior portion of left elytron (18); male tergites VII–VIII (19); female tergites VII– VIII (22). Scale bars: 11, 15: 5.0 mm; 12–14, 16–22: 1.0 mm.