Lucanus niu Wang, He, He et Zhou, 2023

Wang, C. - B., He, T. - L., He, L. & Zhou, C., 2023, Two new species of Lucanus Scopoli, 1763 from Yunnan, Southwest China (Coleoptera, Lucanidae, Lucaninae), Far Eastern Entomologist 470, pp. 8-22 : 10-16

Lucanus niu Wang, He, He et Zhou , sp. n.

https://zoobank.org/NomenclaturalActs/ EE5B2E96-8327-48CC-A51E-476209B24E2B

Figs 1 , 2

MATERIAL EXAMINED. Holotype – ♂, China: Yunnan, Puer City , Zhenyuan County [ 普洱市镇沅县], 12.VI 2020, 2000 m, Shao-You Huang leg. ( MAHU). Paratypes (totally 10 ♂) : the same data as holotype, 1♂ ( CCZC) and 3♂ ( CTLH); the same data as holotype except : 24. VI 2020 , 1♂ ( CTLH) and 1♂ ( CYCX), Yun-Chuan Xu leg.; the same data as holotype except: 2000 m , 5. VI 2021 , 3♂ ( CTLH) and 1♂ ( MYNU), local people leg.

DESCRIPTION. HOLOTYPE MALE. Large size, body 57.4 mm long. Lengths of body parts (mm): head (9.3), mandible (21.2), pronotum (8.3), elytra (23.0); width (mm): head (14.8), pronotum (13.6), elytra (16.6).

Habitus ( Fig. 1a–c ). Color mostly reddish brown to blackish brown; elytra reddish brown; femora with reddish stripes on ventral surfaces; tibiae with obscure reddish stripes on ventral surfaces; protibiae tinged with reddish on dorsal surfaces. Body mostly clothed with short, sparse, recumbent, yellowish pubescence, similar on metaventrite, much finer and denser on elytra.

Head 1.6 times as wide as long, widest at anterolateral angles; surfaces matt, finely punctate, intervals finely and irregularly granulose. Frons relatively long, fan-like, weakly concave, fused with clypeolabrum. Clypeal ridge strong, medially interrupted, laterally projecting as two ridges. Labrum slenderly subtriangular, rounded at apex. Anterolateral angles acute, strongly protruding laterally, more prominent than eyes. Ocular canthus protruding, shorter than half eye’s diameter. Postocular margin almost oblique, gradually narrowed posteriorly. Posterior margin widely concave. Anterior ridge distinctly and oblongly elevated, substraight at apical margin. Lateral ridges rather strongly elevated, broad, widely subrounded at apical margins. Mandible long and slender, about 2.3 times as long as head; in dorsal view, mandible curved in basal 1/4 and apical 1/5, and almost straight in between; in lateral view, mandible strongly curved in basal 3/5 and almost straight in apical 2/5; surfaces finely punctate, intervals matt and finely granulose at inner side, feebly sheen and microreticulate at outer side. Inner mandibular margin with unarmed carina at base, preceded by diastema, 7–8 small denticles, major inner tooth, and 2–3 distal small denticles. Major inner tooth situated at apical 1/3, strong, digitiform, shorter than mandibular width, tilting forwards and upwards with apex rounded and slightly higher than mandible. Apical fork with upper tooth bent upwards and inwards; lower tooth markedly shorter, conical, slightly directed downwards and inwards. Antennal club 4-segmented; antennomere VII with much thinner lamella, sharply pointing inwards, only pubescent on apical surface; antennomeres VIII–X with strong, long, pubescent lamellae. Mentum wide, inverted trapezoidal; anterior margin almost straight and with obliquely truncated corners; surface matt, finely punctate, intervals finely and irregularly granulose, and transversely depressed near anterior margin.

Pronotum 1.6 times as wide as long, widest at middle. Anterior corners weakly acute; posterior corners obtuse. Surface feebly sheen, finely punctate, intervals finely and irregularly granulose, and with median longitudinal depression rather shallow. Prosternal apophysis strong, distinctly convex ventrally in middle of posterior part, and truncated at posterior margin.

Scutellum linguiform, about 1.8 times as wide as long, rounded at apical margin. Surface feebly sheen, finely punctate, intervals microreticulate.

Elytra oval, 1.4 times as long as wide, widest around basal 4/9, 2.8 times as long as and 1.2 times as wide as pronotum. Humeri rounded. Surface sheen, finely and densely punctate, intervals microreticulate.

Legs slender. Protibia with 5 (left, basal one tiny) or 4 (right, basal one tiny) teeth along outer margin; apex bifurcate with branches narrowly rounded at tips. Except apical spurs and spines, mesotibia with 3 (right) or 4 (left, basal one tiny) small lateral spines and metatibia with 3 lateral spines (basal one tiny). Surfaces finely punctate, intervals matt and finely granulose on femora and tibiae, feebly sheen and microreticulate on tarsi.

Male genitalia. Abdominal tergite VIII ( Fig. 2a ) with subround lateral angles and with longitudinal, thin, membranous stripe in middle of basal 5/9; sternite VIII ( Fig. 2b ) with transverse, semielliptical, membranous area in middle of basal half. Abdominal sternite IX ( Fig. 2c ) with apical expansion relatively slender, and with long, membranous, median stripe in apical 5/8; basal stalk not extended laterally. Aedeagus ( Fig. 2f ) about 2.3 times as long as wide in ventral view. Basal piece ( Fig. 2f–h ) constricted in basal part, about 1.8 times as long as parameres, with a pair of sclerotized dorsal plates ( Fig. 2h ); ventral plate ( Fig. 2g ) bifurcate at apex of distal end, with relatively deep emargination. Paramere with basal process ( Fig. 2g –h ); apex strongly upturned in lateral view ( Fig. 2i ). Penis ( Fig. 2f–h ) moderately wide, weakly expanded near apex, 0.2 times shorter than parameres. Flagellum relatively short, about 2.2 times as long as parameres, apex distinctly enlarged.

MALE PARATYPES. Body 43.5–58.0 mm long. All male paratypes consistent with holotype except for usual allometric differences ( Fig. 1d–i ). Large-sized male like holotype with more pronounced morphological characters, while in small-sized male, mandible strongly shorter, apical fork of mandible less opened to vestigial, number of inner teeth fewer, major inner tooth ill-developed, clypeolabrum shorter, anterior and lateral ridges of head weaker.

FEMALE. Unkown.

DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS. This new species should be assigned to the Lucanus laminifer group (sensu Huang & Chen, 2010). It most resembles Lucanus vitalisi Pouillaude, 1913 ( Figs 3 , 4 ), but can be distinguished by the combination of characters shown in Table 1 .

DISTRIBUTION. China (Yunnan).

ETYMOLOGY. The specific epithet is from the Chinese Pinyin “niú [牛]”, which means ox, indicating this species was identified as new in 2021, the year of the ox. The name is a noun in apposition.

Figures

Fig. 1. Lucanus niu sp. n., male habitus. a–c – large size, holotype; d–f – moderate size, paratype; g–i – small size, paratype; (a, d, g – dorsal view; b, e, h – ventral view; c, f, i – lateral view). Scale bar = 1.0 cm.

Fig. 2. Lucanus niu sp. n., male genitalia of holotype. a – abdominal tergite VIII; b – abdominal sternite VIII; c–e – abdominal segment IX; f–i – aedeagus (penis removed in g); (a, d, h: – dorsal view; b, c, f, g: – ventral view; e, i: l– ateral view). Scale bar = 1.0 mm.

Fig. 3. Male habitus of Lucanus vitalisi Pouillaude, 1913 from Yunnan, China. a–c – large size; d–f – moderate size; g–i – small size; (a, d, g – dorsal view; b, e, h – ventral view; c, f, I – lateral view). Scale bar = 1.0 cm.

Fig. 4. Male genitalia of Lucanus vitalisi Pouillaude, 1913 from Yunnan, China. a – abdominal tergite VIII; b – abdominal sternite VIII; c–e – abdominal segment IX; f–i – aedeagus (penis removed in g); (a, d, h – dorsal view; b, c, f, g – ventral view; e, I – lateral view). Scale bar = 1.0 mm.

Tables

Table 1. Selected important morphological differences between males of Lucanus niu sp. n. and L. vitalisi Pouillaude, 1913

Characters	Lucanus niu sp. n.	Lucanus vitalisi
Body length	large-sized male shorter than 60	large-sized male generally longer
	mm (Fig. 1a–c)	than 70 mm (Fig. 3a–c)
Color of femora	reddish stripes distinct on ventral	reddish stripes distinct on ventral
	surfaces in large-sized male (Fig.	surfaces from large-sized to small-
	1b), but obscure in moderate-sized	sized males (Fig. 3b, e, h)
	and small-sized males (Fig. 1e, h)
Color of tibiae	reddish stripes obscure on ventral	reddish stripes distinct on ventral
	surfaces (Fig. 1b, e, h), and absent	surfaces (Fig. 3b, e, h), and obscure
	on dorsal surfaces (protibiae tinged	on dorsal surfaces (Fig. 3a, d, j)
with reddish) (Fig. 1a, d, j)
Mandibles	about 2.3 times as long as head in	about 3.0 times as long as head in
	large-sized male (Fig. 1a–c); inner	large-sized male (Fig. 3a–c); inner
	mandibular margin with unarmed	mandibular margin with unarmed
	carina at base, preceded by diastema,	carina at base, preceded by diaste-
	7–8 small denticles, major inner	ma, 17–18 small denticles, major
	tooth, and 2–3 distal small denticles	inner tooth, and 7–8 distal small
	in large-sized male (Fig. 1a, b);	denticles in large-sized male (Fig.
	major inner tooth relatively more	3a, b); major inner tooth relatively
	prominent in large-sized male (Fig.	less prominent in large-sized male
	1a, b); apical part thick and strong	(Fig. 3a, b); apical part much more
	in moderate-sized and small-sized	slender in moderate-sized and
	males (Fig. 1d, e, g, h)	small-sized males (Fig. 3d, e, g, h)
Head: anterior	narrower; substraight at apical	broader; rounded at apical margin
ridge	margin
Abdominal	membranous area semielliptical	membranous area trapezoidal
sternite VIII	(Fig. 2b)	(Fig. 4b)
Abdominal	apical expansion relatively slender,	apical expansion relatively broad,
sternite IX	and with long, membranous,	memedian stripe in apical 5/8 (Fig. 2c)	and with short, membranous, memedian stripe in apical 5/8 (Fig. 2c) dian stripe in apical 1/3 (Fig. 4c)	dian stripe in apical 1/3 (Fig. 4c)
	memedian stripe in apical 5/8 (Fig. 2c)	dian stripe in apical 1/3 (Fig. 4c)
Basal piece	apex of distal end with relatively	apex of distal end with relatively
	deep emargination (Fig. 2g)	shallow emargination (Fig. 4g)
Parameres	apex strongly upturned in lateral	with apex less strongly upturned
	view (Fig. 2i)	in lateral view (Fig. 4i)
Penis	moderately wide, weakly expanded	rather wide, strongly expanded
	near apex (Fig. 2f)	near apex (Fig. 4f)