Pterostichus barri Bousquet

Bousquet, Yves, 2006, Description Of A New Species Of Pterostichus Bonelli, P. barri, From The Appalachian Mountains (Coleoptera: Carabidae), The Coleopterists Bulletin 60 (2), pp. 158-162 : 158

Pterostichus barri Bousquet , new species

Etymology. This species is named after Thomas C. Barr who first recognized the presence of an undescribed species in the subgenus Feronina (Barr 1969:80) .

Type Material. Holotype (#) labelled: ‘‘ 4 mi. w. Pennington Gap , U.S. 421, Lee Co., VA, June 21, 1965, R. Freitag-D. Larson / holotype Pterostichus barri Bousquet CNC No 23463.’’ The specimen is deposited in the Canadian National Collection of Insects.

Paratypes from the following localities in the United States of America. VIRGINIA. 4 miles west Pennington Gap , Lee Co., 21. VI.1965, R. Freitag-D. Larson (1 $, CNC) . Birchleaf [Dickenson Co.], 9. VII.1980, A. Larochelle (2#, 3$, CNC) . WEST VIRGINIA. Cranberry Glades , 10 km west Mill Point, Pocahontas Co., 20. IV.1992, Acciavatti & Davidson (7#, 1$, CMNH) . Cranberry Glades Botanical Area , southwestern corner, Pocahontas Co., 24.V.1981, 18.VII.1981, 1-2.V.1982, 8.V.1982, R. Davidson (9#, 2$, CMNH) [small streambanks]. 7.8 km east Elkins (780 m), Cheat District , Randolph Co., 4. V.1995, D. Koenig & M. Klingler (1#, CMNH) [oak forest]. 8.2 km northeast Richwood , Nicholas Co., 12. V.-6. VI.1986, A. Smetana (1$, CNC) .

Description. Habitus ( Fig. 1 ). COLORATION. Body uniformly reddish-brown dorsally, though head slightly darker than pronotum and elytra in most specimens seen. Antennomeres 1–4 or 1–5 reddish-brown, remaining antennomeres paler, more or less reddish. Palpi pale reddish. Legs reddish-brown with tarsi somewhat paler. MICROSCULPTURE. Vertex with isodiametric meshes, meshes moderately impressed, less so near centre. Pronotum with slightly transverse meshes, meshes moderately impressed, less so in some specimens on disc; sculpticells flat. Elytra with linear microsculpture. HEAD. Frontal furrows superficial. Eye rather small, only slightly more prominent than temple. Temple long. Labial pits on mentum distinct. PRONOTUM. Side reflexed, particularly near posterior angle, and moderately sinuate in posterior half. Posterior angle right; anterior angle slightly projected anteriad. Lateral bead distinct, except near anterior angle, not widening posteriorly; basal bead distinct only between posterior setigerous puncture and impression. Lateral depression shallow, narrow over entire length. Base without punctures, with only one impression on each side; impression linear, long; area between impression and lateral depression slightly convex, not cariniform. ELYTRA. Striae well impressed up to apex, impunctate; parascutellar stria absent in most specimens, superficial and very short, more or less broken in some specimens. Parascutellar seta present. Intervals slightly convex. Interval 3 with three, exceptionally four, discal setae; anterior seta adjoining stria 3, median and posterior setae close to or adjoining stria 2. Humeral tooth not protruding. THORAX (VENTRAL SCLERITES). Prosternum smooth. Proepisternum with few, relatively small punctures anteromedially. Metasternum with few, relatively small punctures laterally. Metepisternum with anterior and medial edges subequal in length. ABDOMEN. Sterna without punctures laterally. Last visible sternum of male with small, median protuberance. LEGS. Protibia with two clip setae. Mesofemur with two posterior setae on ventral side. Metatrochanter with seta. Tarsomere 5 of each leg without setae on ventral side. GENITALIA. Median lobe of aedeagus and right paramere as illustrated ( Fig. 2 ).

Apparent body length: 9.2–10.9 mm.

Geographical Distribution. This species lives in the Appalachian Mountains and is currently known from northeastern Kentucky (Barr 1969:80), eastern and central West Virginia and southwestern Virginia.

Habitat. Barr (1969:80) wrote that adults of this species are found in caves, ravines, and mountains. André Larochelle (pers. comm.) caught several specimens under deep rocks along mountain brooks, on steep, well-drained ground.

Dispersal Power. The hindwings are reduced to stubs and not functional.

Remarks. Adults of Pterostichus barri can be distinguished from those of all other Pterostichus (sensu Bousquet 1999) living in eastern North America, except P. (Paraferonia) lubricus LeConte , by the combination of the following character states: side of pronotum sinuate in posterior half; elytral interval 3 with three discal setae; metatrochanter with seta; metepisternum subquadrate; tarsomere 5 without setae 160 ventrally. Members of P. barri differ from those of P. lubricus in having the elytral striae more impressed, particularly the lateral ones, the last visible sternum of the male with a small, median protuberance, the median lobe rounded between the basal bulb and the shaft, and the right paramere elongate apically. In P. lubricus , the last visible abdominal sternum has a much more prominent protuberance medially, the median lobe is angulate between the basal bulb and the shaft ( Fig. 4a ), and the right paramere is short apically ( Fig. 4b ).

Pterostichus palmi Schaeffer , the second species of the subgenus Feronina , differs from P. barri in having the sides of the pronotum less deeply sinuate in basal half on average and not reflexed or almost so, only two discal setae on the elytral interval 3, no median protuberance on the last visible sternum of the male, and the median lobe of the aedeagus is more slender ( Fig. 3a ), with the apical lamella clearly longer ( Fig. 3c ). The body is also slightly more convex than in P. barri .

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Figures

Fig. 1. Pterostichus barri, new species, habitus (dorsal view). Scale bar ¼ 1 mm.

Figs. 2–4. Median lobe of aedeagus (a, lateral view), right paramere (b) and apical lamella (c). 2) Pterostichus (Feronina) barri; 3) P. (Feronina) palmi; 4) P. (Paraferonia) lubricus. Scale bar ¼ 0.5 mm.