Quedius kambaitensis Scheerpeltz, 1965

Brunke, Adam James, 2023, Review of Quedius (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae) described from the 1934 expedition by R. Malaise to Myanmar, European Journal of Taxonomy 864, pp. 117-145 : 140-141

Quedius kambaitensis Scheerpeltz, 1965 syn. nov.

Type material

Holotype

MYANMAR – Kachin State • ♀; “ N.E. Burma , Kambaiti; 2000 m; 4/6.1934; Malaise [printed label] / HOLOTYPUS [red handwritten label] / TYPUS Quedius kambaitiensis, O. Scheerpeltz [dark red-pink label] / Quedius (Raphirus) kambaitiensis nov. spec., det. Scheerpeltz 1944 [printed label] / 6599 E91 / [printed blue label] / NHRS-JLKB 000073668 ”; NHRS.

Paratype

MYANMAR – Kachin State • 1 ♂; “[male symbol on card] / N.E. Burma , Kambaiti; 2000 m; 4/6.1934; Malaise [printed label] / Schwedisch Indian-Burma Expedition 1934 [printed label] / ex. coll. Scheerpeltz [printed blue label] / COTYPUS Quedius kambaitiensis O. Scheerpeltz [pink label] / kambaitiensis [orange card] / Quedius muscicola Cam. , det. A. Smetana 2018”; NHW .

Non-type material

CHINA – Yunnan Province • 1 ♂; Nukiang Lisu, Autonomous Prefecture , Gongshan County, Gaoligong Shan , above ranger station; 27°47.65′ N, 98°35.41′ E; alt. 2000 m; 19 Jun. 2005; A. Smetana leg.; ASC.

NEPAL – Province Number 1 • 1 ♂; East Nepal, Kosi, Chinchilla , “s/Ahale”; alt. 2200 m; 4 Apr. 1984; Löbl & Smetana leg.; ASC • 1 ♂; Khandbari District, forest northeast of Kuwapani ; alt. 2400 m; 5 Apr. 1984; Smetana & Löbl leg.; ASC.

Redescription

Quedius muscicola has been redescribed and diagnosed by Smetana (2017a). This redescription is only supplemented by the above diagnosis and illustration of the dorsal habitus ( Fig. 3B ).

Distribution

This widespread species is known from India (West Bengal: Darjeeling Distr., Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh), Nepal, Myanmar, and China (Gansu, Guizhou, Hubei, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan).

Bionomics

Quedius muscicola has been collected from forests, field edges and other anthropogenic habitats in moist leaf litter, moss and grassy vegetation, rotting wood and bark, compost and flood debris ( Smetana 2017a).

Remarks

The male paratype of Q. kambaitiensis was dissected to reveal an aedeagus entirely consistent with that of widespread and variable species Q. muscicola . Therefore Q. kambaitiensis syn. nov., becomes a synonym of Q. muscicola . The determination was originally made by A. Smetana in 2018 but it is here confirmed after a comparison with similar species of the group occurring in both the Himalayan region and mainland China. Both the holotype and paratype are externally consistent with Q. muscicola and can be recognized as such by the features given in the diagnosis above.

Quedius muscicola is a rather variable species, especially outside of mainland China ( Smetana 2017a), so it is not unexpected that Scheerpeltz (1965) also reported Q. muscicola from Kambaiti, while describing Q. kambaitiensis in the same paper.

Figures

Fig. 3. Dorsal habitus. A. Quedius (Raphirus) semilaeviventris Scheerpeltz, 1965, holotype, ♂ (NHRS). B. Q. (R.) kambaitiensis Scheerpeltz, 1965 syn. nov. (= Q. (R.) muscicola Cameron, 1932), ♀, holotype (NHRS). Scale bars = 1 mm.