Amara (Zezea) davidi Tschitscherine , 1897

Kavanaugh, David H., Hieke, Fritz, Liang, Hongbin & Dong, Dazhi, 2014, Inventory of the carabid beetle fauna of the Gaoligong Mountains, western Yunnan Province, China: species of the tribe Zabrini (Coleoptera, Carabidae), ZooKeys 407, pp. 55-119 : 62

1. Amara (Zezea) davidi Tschitscherine, 1897 Figs 5a, c, e, 6b, 9, 22a, 27-30

Amara (Triaena) davidi Tschitschérine, 1897: 67. Type material: Holotype male ( “type”) and 1 paratype female in ZIN ( Hieke 1970: 143), 4 paratypes in MNHN. Type locality: China, Sichuan, "Mou-Pin (leg. David)".

Diagnosis.

Adults of this species (Fig. 9) can be distinguished from those of all other species in the region by their trifid medial protibial spurs (Fig. 5a). Amara davidi is the only member of subgenus Zezea , members of which share this feature, known from the region.

Habitat distribution.

Specimens of this species were collected from under stones in open roadside and waste areas (Fig. 22a) with scattered grasses and shrubs at elevations ranging from 2020 to 2440 m, syntopic (together in the same habitat) with adults of Amara birmana , Amara shaanxiensis , Amara sikkimensis and Amara silvestrii at one or more sites.

Geographical distribution within the Gaoligong Shan.

Fig. 9d. We examined a total of 3 specimens (all females) from the following localities: Gongshan County: Heiwadi (16.8 km W of Cikai on Dulong Valley Road, 27.79584°, 98.58443°, 2020 m, 20 April 2002, H.B. Liang, W.D. Ba, G.D. Yang & X.Q. Li collectors [2 females; CAS, IOZ]). Longyang County: Bawan-Tengchong Road Km 41 (near yakou, 24.93972°, 98.75333°, 2440 m, 15 October 2003, H.B. Liang & J.J. Yang (1 female; CAS).

Members of this species were collected in both the northern and southern parts of the study area (Core Areas 2, 6 and 7) but not in the central part. This gap in distribution is most likely an artifact of inadequate sampling and not a real disjunction.

Overall geographical distribution.

Fig. 27. This species has been recorded from Beijing, Gansu, Hubei, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces in China. Its occurrence in the study area represents the southwestern limit of its known geographical range.