Lamiogethes nyingchiensis, Chen, Ying, Lin, Xiaoli, Huang, Min & Yang, Xing Ke, 2015

Chen, Ying, Lin, Xiaoli, Huang, Min & Yang, Xing Ke, 2015, A new species of Lamiogethes and a new species of Meligethes from China (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae: Meligethinae), Zootaxa 3999 (3), pp. 413-420 : 414-416

Lamiogethes nyingchiensis sp. nov.

( Figs. 1 , 2 )

Description. Length 1.8 mm, width 1.2 mm, height 0.7 mm.

Body reddish-brown and rather shining with clear red lustre; pronotum with narrow translucent lateral margins; head and pronotum with fine and inconspicuous silvery pubescence somewhat longer than distances between their insertions ( Fig. 1 a, b).

Head with punctures equal to eye facets in diameter, interspaces between them more or less narrower than a puncture diameter and microreticulated. Pronotum with finer punctures, interspaces on disk almost smooth. Scutellar shield semicircular and rugose with very fine, dense punctation. Elytra with punctures similar to pronotum, interspaces smooth and distances between them markedly broader than a puncture diameter. Prosternal process with dense punctures slightly smaller than eye facets in diameter. Metaventrite and abdominal ventrite 1 with more or less distinct punctures much smaller than eye facets in diameter, and with interspaces completely smooth and distances between them larger than a puncture diameter.

Head subflattened and about as long as the distance between moderately large eyes (consisting of rather fine facets), clypeus anterior edge with weak marginal bead, emarginate at middle and with lateral angles rounded ( Fig. 2 a). Antennal grooves subparallel. Antennal club composing about 2/7 of total length of antenna, about 1.5 times as long as wide. Pronotum with anterior edge more arcuate than trapezoidally excised; its posterior edge slightly sinuate. Elytra sharply narrowing distad to round apices.

Last labial palpomere about 2.1 times as long as wide, clearly narrowed apically. Mentum subpentagonal, 3 times as wide as long, with sides arcuate. Antennal furrows nearly parallel-sided. Prosternum gently convex along the middle. Prosternal antennal furrows on anterior margin of prosternum strongly raised. Prosternal process elongated and gradually widened with apex broadly rounded, its broadened part distinctly narrower than antennal club ( Fig. 2 c). Distance between metacoxae about 1.5 times as great as that between mesocoxae, about 2.5 times as great as that between procoxae. Metaventrite convex without a median depression.

Femora almost 1.5 times as wide as corresponding tibiae. Protibia subtriangular and moderately crenulated along outer edge, obviously wider than antennal club ( Fig. 2 b). Mesotibiae and metatibiae obviously wider than protibia and with rows of short and dense hairs along outer edge, spurs comparatively small. Protarsus about 4/5 as wide as protibia. Claws not dentate at base.

Tegmen and median lobe (penis trunk) slightly sclerotised, protruded at apex of median lobe ( Figs. 2 d, e).

Material examined. Holotype. 1♂ China: Tibet, Nyingchi, 2950–3050m a.s.l., 07-VIII-1983, Zai LIN; ( IZAS). Paratypes (2♂, 1♀). 1♂, China: Tibet, Nyingchi, 3050m a.s.l., 07-VIII-1983, Yinheng HAN; ( IZAS). 1♂ 1♀, China: Tibet, Nyingchi, 2950–3050m a.s.l., 07-VIII-1983, Zai LIN; ( IZAS).

Etymology. The new species epithet is derived from its collection location: Nyingchi.

Distribution. China: Tibet.

Diagnosis. This new species is very distinct due to dorsum surface smooth and tegmen ending with V-shaped excision and both sides are auricular. This combination of characters makes it different from all other described species in this genus. Lamiogethes nyingchiensis sp. nov. exhibits a dorsal habitus similar to L. merkli (Kirejtshuk, 2001) from Kenya (and to some species of the L. politus group from Indian Subcontinent; see Audisio 2012), but can be recognized by the inconspicuous silvery pubescence and the shape of tegmen, medial distal excision of tegmen relatively narrow and deep, narrowly V-shaped, the apex of the parameres not protruded.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Lamiogethes nyingchiensis sp. nov. ♂. a. Habitus, dorsal view; b. Same, ventral view. Scale bar = 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 2. Lamiogethes nyingchiensis sp. nov. ♂. a. Head; b. Front tibia; c. Prosternal process; d. Tegmen, ventral view; e. Median lobe of aedeagus, ventral. Scale bar = 0.05 mm.