Lycocerus laterophysus Y. Yang, Wang & Liu, 2023

Wang, Younan, Liu, Haoyu, Yang, Xingke & Yang, Yuxia, 2023, Review of the Lycocerus pallidulus group (Coleoptera, Cantharidae), with descriptions of six new species from China, ZooKeys 1176, pp. 243-285 : 243

publication ID	https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1176.107858
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:0EC46873-0B9C-484C-8803-71C49D89925F
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D433A884-731B-41D2-ABA2-3F813CF640C1
taxon LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:act:D433A884-731B-41D2-ABA2-3F813CF640C1
treatment provided by	ZooKeys by Pensoft
scientific name	Lycocerus laterophysus Y. Yang, Wang & Liu
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Lycocerus laterophysus Y. Yang, Wang & Liu sp. nov.

Figs 8A-C View Figure 8 , 14D View Figure 14 , 16H View Figure 16 , 18A, B View Figure 18

Type material.

Holotype: ♂ (MHBU), China, Guangxi, Wuming, Damingshan, 1230-1423 m, 20.V.2011, leg. H. Y. Liu. Paratypes: China: 4♀1♂ (MHBU), same data as holotype; 2♀ (MHBU), same locality as holotype, 1100 m, 27.V.2011, leg. H. Y. Liu; 1♀ (MHBU), same locality as holotype, 600-900 m, 25.V.2011, leg. H. Y. Liu.

Diagnosis.

The new species can be easily distinguished from all others by its body coloration, head and pronotum bicolored, with vertex black and clypeus yellow, pronotum with a black wide longitudinal median band (Fig. 18A, B View Figure 18 ). Also, its aedeagus is unique and differs from all others in the ventral process of each paramere expanded near base in lateral view (Fig. 8C View Figure 8 ), and broad laterophyse in ventral view (Fig. 8A View Figure 8 ).

Description.

Male (Fig. 18A View Figure 18 ). Head, prothorax and legs orange, vertex black, mandibles dark brown, antennomeres III-XI black, pronotum with a wide black longitudinal median band extending from posterior to anterior margins, scutellum black, elytra pale yellow, tarsi darkened, meso- and metasterna and abdomen black. Body densely covered with yellow recumbent pubescence.

Head feebly narrowed behind eyes, surface densely and finely punctate; eyes moderately large and protruding, head width across eyes feebly wider than anterior margin of pronotum; antennae filiform, extending to elytral mid-length when reclined, antennomere II shortest, ~ 2.5 × longer than wide at apex, III-V feebly widened apically, IV-X each with a short smooth impression near apical part of outer margin, V longest, VI-XI nearly parallel-sided, XI acute at apex.

Pronotum distinctly longer than wide, anterior margin feebly arcuate, lateral margins subparallel, posterior margin nearly straight, anterior angles rounded, posterior angles right-angled, disc convex on posterolateral parts, surface finely and feebly sparsely punctate than that on head.

Elytra ~ 4.5 × longer than pronotum, 5.4 × longer than width across humeri, outer margins nearly parallel, disc semi-lustrous, coarsely and densely punctate.

Legs slender, all tarsal claws simple.

Aedeagus: basal piece nearly as long as dorsal plate of each paramere (Fig. 8A-C View Figure 8 ); ventral process of each paramere slender, feebly bent inwards and approaching each other in ventral view (Fig. 8A View Figure 8 ), slightly expanded near base and bent ventrally in lateral view (Fig. 8C View Figure 8 ); dorsal plates of parameres obviously longer than ventral process (Fig. 8A, C View Figure 8 ), with apical margins arcuate and descending inwards in dorsal view (Fig. 8B View Figure 8 ); laterophyse nearly as long as ventral process and broad in ventral view, with apices acute and directing dorso-outwards (Fig. 8A, C View Figure 8 ).

Female (Fig. 18B View Figure 18 ). Similar to the males, but eyes less protruding, antennae thinner and shorter, extending to basal one-third length of elytra when reclined, middle antennomeres without impressions, fore and middle legs with a digitiform tooth on each anterior claw, pronotum feebly longer than wide.

Internal organ of reproductive system (Fig. 14D View Figure 14 ): spermatheca feebly shorter than diverticulum; accessory gland ~ 2.5 × longer than spermatheca.

Abdominal sternite VIII (Fig. 16H View Figure 16 ): hardly emarginate in middle and subtriangular emarginations on both sides of posterior margin, lateral emarginations obviously deeper than the middle one, the portion between lateral and middle emarginations wide and rounded at apices, obviously extending over apices of latero-apical angles, which are subrounded.

Body length: 9.3-9.7 mm (9.3 mm in holotype); width: 1.8-2.0 mm (1.8 mm in holotype).

Distribution.

China (Guangxi).

Etymology.

The new species is named after the quite wide laterophyse of its aedeagus.