Amphichroum anthobioides Champion, 1925

Shavrin, Alexey V., 2021, New species and records of the genus Amphichroum Kraatz, 1857 from the Himalayan Region and Tibet (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae: Anthophagini), Zootaxa 5082 (1), pp. 1-14 : 5-8

Amphichroum anthobioides Champion, 1925

( Figs. 3 , 12–15 )

Amphichroum anthobioides Champion, 1925: 104 ; Cameron 1930: 158

Type material examined: Lectotype (here designated) of Amphichroum anthobioides Champion, 1925 , ♂ ( Fig. 3 ; left specimen glued on the rectangular card with the paralectotype; under it I put a black dot): ‘ ♂ ’ <printed>, ‘Type | H.T.’ <round label with red margin, printed>, ‘Burphu, | Gori V., 11500ft. | India. H.G.C.’ <printed>, Amphichroum | anthobioides | 1925 Ch. types’ <handwritten in black Indian ink>, ‘ Amphichroum | anthobioides, | Champ.’ <printed>, ‘E.M.M. 1925. | det. G.C.C.’ <printed>, ‘G.C.Champion. | Brit.Mus. | 1925–42.’ <printed>, ‘On umbels | (..[unreadable]...)’ <handwritten>, ‘ LECTOTYPE | Amphichroum | anthobioides Champion, 1925 | Shavrin A.V. des. 2021’ <red, printed> ( BMNH).

Paralectotypes of A. anthobioides Champion, 1925: 1 ♂ (specimen is glued on the same card with the lectotype): same labels as the lectotype ( BMNH); 4 ♂♂ (one specimen dissected): ‘ ♂ ’ <printed>, ‘SYN- | TYPE’ <round label with blue margin, printed>, ‘Burphu, | Gori V., 11500ft. | India. H.G.C.’ <printed>, ‘ Amphichroum | anthobioides, | Champ.’ <printed>, ‘H.G.Champion Coll. | B.M. 1953-156.’ <printed>, ‘ Amphichroum | anthobioides Champion, 1925 | Shavrin A.V. des. 2021’ <printed> ( BMNH).

Additional material studied: 2 ♂♂, 5 ♀♀: ‘ NEPAL Prov. Seti Distr. Bajura 19km W Simikot, Kuwadi Khola , 3500 m 29°53’14’’N, 81°38’40’’E 04- 05.07.2001. leg. A. Kopetz riverbank, coniferous-birch forest’ (1 ♂, 3 ♀♀: NME; 1 ♂, 2 ♀♀: cSh) .

Redescription. Measurements (n=13): HL: 0.30–0.33; HW: 0.47–0.50; AL (lectotype): 0.98; OL: 0.12; PL: 0.47–0.51; PW: 0.67–0.77; ESL: 0.82–1.00; EW: 0.98–1.07; AW: 0.76–0.95; MTbL (lectotype): 0.55; MTrL (lectotype): 0.44 (MTrL 1–4: 0.22; MTrL 5: 0.20); AedL: 0.50; TL: 1.96 (lectotype)–2.54.

Habitus as in Fig. 3 . Head, disc of pronotum and elytra yellow to yellow-brown; two apical maxillary palpomeres, antennomeres 4–11 and abdomen brown to reddish-brown; antennomeres 1–3, lateral and sometimes basal portion of pronotum, legs and apical segments of abdomen yellow. Frontal portion of head with fine transverse microsculpture, middle portion of head with variable, fine and very indistinct to distinct, transverse microreticulation, slightly coarser on infraorbital ridges; neck with dense and transverse meshes; pronotum without visible sculpture; scutellum without or with very fine transverse microreticulation; abdominal tergites with dense, isodiametric microsculpture. Head with sparse and irregular punctation, fine or moderately large, denser and deeper in middle portion between posterior portions of eyes; punctation of pronotum dense, moderately large and deep, finer in middle portion and sometimes missing in mediobasal third; scutellum without or with several fine punctures in middle; punctation of elytra dense, significantly larger, coarser and deeper than that on pronotum, finer in parascutellar portion and sometimes finer along suture; abdominal tergites without or with very fine and sparse punctation. Forebody with moderately dense and long setation, distinctly denser on pronotum and elytra.

Head 1.5 times as broad as long, flattened or slightly elevated in middle; anteocellar foveae deep, long and almost reaching level of apical third of eyes. Distance between ocelli distinctly longer than distance between ocellus and posterior margin of eye. Apical maxillary palpomere about as long as or slightly longer than preapical segment. Antenna reaching basal third of elytra when reflexed; antennomere 3 distinctly narrower and about as long as 2, 4 shorter and slightly broader than 3, 5–6 slightly broader and longer than 4, 7–8 slightly broader than 6, 9–10 slightly shorter and broader than 8, apical antennomere about 1.3–1.5 times as long as 10, from about middle gradually narrowed toward rounded or subacute apex.

Pronotum 1.4–1.5 times as broad as long, 1.4–1.5 times as broad as head, from widest middle evenly narrowed both anteriad and posteriad.

Male. Apical margins of abdominal tergite VIII and sternite VIII more or less straight. Median lobe moderately wide ( Fig. 12 ), sharply narrowed from preapical part toward subacute apex; parameres slightly exceeding apex of median lobe, with moderately short preapical and apical setae ( Figs. 12–13 ); internal sac long and narrow, with six moderately large sclerotized structures in basal portion. Lateral aspect of aedeagus as in Fig. 14 .

Female. Apical margins of abdominal tergite VIII and sternite VIII rounded.

Comparative notes. Regarding the general shape of the median lobe and parameres, A. anthobioides is similar to A. altivagans and A. telnovi sp. n. From A. altivagans it differs by the shape of pronotum, evenly narrowed middle both anteriad and posteriad, and from A. telnovi sp. n. by the slightly shorter elytra. From both species it can be distinguished by somewhat smaller body and details of the structure of the internal sac.

Distribution. The species is known from three locations in India (Uttarakhand) and Nepal ( Fig. 15 ).

Bionomics. Specimens were collected at elevation 3500 m a.s.l. (type specimens were collected about from the same altitude (“ 11,000 ft. ”). According to Champion (1925), type specimens were found “…in thistle heads”. The specimens from Nepal were collected along a riverbank in coniferous-birch forest.

Figures

FIGURES 1–7. Habitus of Amphichroum (males): 1—A. ahrensi (paratype), 2—A. altivagans (holotype), 3—A. anthobioides (lectotype), 4—A. monticola (holotype), 5—A. nepalicum (Nepal, Manaslu Himal), 6—A. pindarense (syntype), 7—A. telnovi (paratype). Scale bars: 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 8–14. Aedeagus of Amphichroum ahrensi (8–9: paratype), A. altivagans (10–11: Kashmir, Khelanmarg) and A. anthobioides (12, 14: syntype; 13: Nepal, Bajura): 8, 10, 12—parameral view, 9, 11, 14—lateral view, 13—apical portion of aedeagus, parameral view. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 15–17. Distribution of Amphichroum species in the Himalayan Region and Tibet: 15—A. ahrensi (circle), A. altivagans (triangle), A. anthobioides (squares), 16—A. monticola (circles), A. pindarense (triangles), A. telnovi (diamond), 17—A. nepalicum.