Pterostichus (Chinapterus) singularis Tschitscherine , 1889

Dorjderem, Sodnomtsog, Shi, Hongliang & Liang, Hongbin, 2020, The genus Pterostichus in China III: a brief review of subgenus Chinapterus Berlov (Coleoptera, Carabidae) with descriptions of two new species, ZooKeys 953, pp. 61-83 : 61

Pterostichus (Chinapterus) singularis Tschitscherine, 1889 Figs 1-6 , 7-23 , 58 , 64 , 65

Pterostichus singularis Tschitschérine, 1889: 188 (holotype in ZIN; type locality: Amdo); Tschitschérine, 1898: 179 ( Feroperis ); Jedlička, 1962: 304 (sg. uncertain).

Pterostichus balthasari Jedlička, 1937: 47 (lectotype in NMPC; type locality: Gansu: Liangchow; sg. Euryperis ); Jedlička, 1962: 256 (sg. Euryperis ); Berlov, 1998: 14 (sg. Chinapterus ). syn. nov.

Type locality.

Pterostichus singularis Tschitschérine, Amdo, pres du fleuve Tay-tong-che (= Qinghai, Datong River). Pterostichus balthasari Jedlička, Gansu: Liangchow (= Gansu, Wuwei City).

Type examined.

Holotype of Pterostichus singularis Tschitschérine, male (ZIN) [Figs 1 , 22 ], Amdo, 1886, G. Patani / F. singularis Typ. m. Tschitscherin det; Lectotype of Pterostichus balthasari Jedlička (designated herein), male (NMPC) [Figs 3 , 23 ], Liangchow, W. Kansu / Type [red label] / Mus. Nat. Pragae, Inv. 24641 [orange label] / baltharsari, type, sp. n., Det. Ing. Jedlička [pink label]. Paralectotypes of Pterostichus balthasari Jedlička, 2 females (NMPC), Liangchow, W. Kansu / Cotype [red label] / Mus. Nat. Pragae, Inv. 24642/24643 [orange label] / baltharsari, sp. n., det. Ing. Jedlička.

Non-type materials.

1 female (MNHN) [Fig. 2 ], Thibet., alpes de Sinin [handwritten] / F. singularis , typ. m., Tschitscherin det [handwritten] / Museum Paris, coll. R. Oberthur. 1 male (MSNM), N slope of Xining mountains near Liandzha-sian, before 19-VI-1890, Gr.-Grzhimajlo leg. [in Russian] / F. singularis , typ. m. Tschitscherin det. / Paralectotypus , Pterostichus , Singularis Tschitsch. Vejeschagina 1983 [red label]. 1 female (NMPC), N slope Xining, Liandzha-sian vill., before 19-VI-1890, Grum leg. [in Russian] / F. singularis , typ., m., Tschitscherin det / Type [red label] / singularis , typ. Tsch., Det. Tschitscherin [pink label]. 5 males and 2 females (IZAS) [Figs 10 , 11 , 21 ], Gansu, Tianzhu county, G312 Wushaoling pass; alpine shrub, 37.2057N, 102.8799E, 3307 m, under rock; 2017.VII.12, Shi HL, Lu ZB & Zhu PZ lgt. 1 male and 1 female (IZAS) [Figs 5 , 20 ], Gansu Prov. Lenglong Ling, 80 km NNW Honggu, 3392-3900 m, 37°03'50.3"N, 102°39'57.2"E, alpine pasture with Rhododendron, under stones, 2011.VI.30-31, D.W. Wrase.1 male and 1 female (IZAS) [Figs 4 , 13 ], China, Qinghai Prov. Laji Shan pass, 34 km SSE Huangyuan, 36°23'01"-50"N, 101°19'31"-20'06"E, 3850-3880 m, wet plateau with depression, under stones/ clods, 8.VII.2011, D.W.Wrase. 1 female (IZAS), 2006.7.1-10, Qinghai Prov., Laji Shan. 2 males and 2 females (IZAS) [Figs 7-9 , 14 , 58 , 64 , 65 ], Qinghai, Qilian Shan, 3800m, pass Xi-ning-Guide, 9-11.08.10. M. Murzin. 7 males and 8 females (IZAS) [Figs 12 , 16 ], Qinghai, Guide county, Lajishan pass, alpine meadow, N36.3573 E101.4463, 3829 m, under rock, 2017.VII.20, Shi HL, Lu ZB & Zhu PZ lgt. 2 males and 7 females (IZAS), Qinghai, Guide county, N. Slope of Guoshize Mt.; screes; 4007 m; 36.2914, 101.6005, 2017.VII.21, under stone, SHI HL & LU ZB leg. 1 male and 1 female (IZAS), Qinghai, Guide county, 3 km W of Lajishan pass, alpine meadow, 36.3622N, 101.4117E, 3686 m, pitfall trap; 2017.VII.21; Shi HL, Lu ZB & Zhu PZ lgt. 2 males and 1 female (IZAS) [Fig. 15 ], Qinghai, Guide county, Guoshizeshan pass, Salix shrubs, N36.3082 E101.5973, 3487 m, pitfall trap, 2017.VII.21; Shi HL, Lu ZB & Zhu PZ lgt. 1 male and 2 females (IZAS), Qinghai, Qilian, Datong Shan, 38.020364N, 100.134777E / 3770 m, 2012.V.31, Huang Xinlei leg. 6 males and 1 female (IZAS) [Figs 6 , 18 , 19 ], Qinghai, Qilian county, 8 km N of Dadongshu pass, alpine meadow, 38.0531N, 100.2273E, 3541 m, pitfall trap; 2017.VII.18, Shi HL, Lu ZB & Zhu PZ lgt. 1 male (IZAS) [Fig. 17 ], Qinghai, E. Qilian Shan, 4200 m, 1.8.1992, J.Kalab leg. / Compared with type, SHI HL 2011 / Pterostichus balthasari Jedlička, 1937 / ex coll. Sciaky 2011. 1 male and 1 females (IZAS), Qinghai, Menyuan county, Xianmi, Ningchan pass, alpine meadow, 37.5374N, 101.8704E, 3900 m, under rock, 2017.VII.14, Shi HL, Lu ZB & Zhu PZ lgt. 1 female (IZAS), Qinghai, Menyuan county, Xianmi xiang, Taola, Picea forest, 37.2309N, 102.0134E, 2636 m, under rock; 2017.VII.15, Shi HL, Lu ZB & Zhu PZ lgt. 1 female (IZAS), Qinghai, Menyuan county, Xianmi xiang, Bangusi, Picea forest, 37.2908N, 101.9438E, 2707 m, pitfall trap; 2017.VII.15, Shi HL, Lu ZB & Zhu PZ lgt. 1 male and 4 females (IZAS), Qinghai, Qilian county, Zhamashi, Zhamashixigou; alpine meadow; 3014 m, 38.1590N, 99.9921E, under rock; 2019.VIII.19; YAN Weifeng lgt. 4 males and 2 females (IZAS), Qinghai, Qilian county, Babao town, Lujiaogou; alpine meadow; 3461 m, 38.0991N, 100.4838E, under rock; 2019.VIII.17; YAN Weifeng lgt. 3 females (IZAS), Qinghai, Menyuan county, Xianmi, Qihankaigou; mixed forest; 2683 m, 37.1568N, 102.0278E, under rock; 2019.VIII.12; YAN Weifeng lgt. 2 males (IZAS), Qinghai, Qilian county, Epu town, Jingyangling pass; alpine meadow; 3716 m 37.8387N, 101.1117E, under rock; 2019.VIII.15; YAN Weifeng lgt. 2 females (IZAS), Qinghai, Qilian county, Babao township, Binggou; alpine meadow; 3826 m 38.1171N, 100.1716E, under rock; 2019.VIII.18; YAN Weifeng lgt. 1 male (NMPC), China: Qinghai province, Gangca Dasi [lamasery]., 37°32.4'-33.0'N, 100°05.3'-06.0'E, 3505-3840 m, 11-12.VII.2005, J. Hajek, D.Kral & J.Ruzicka leg; individually under stones, in excrements and on vegetation; spring; alpine meadows and pastures around the lamasery and in the nearby valley. 1 female (NMPC), China: Qinghai province, Yuning Si [lamasery], 2890 m, 36°45.6'N, 102°10.6'E, 16.VII.2005, J. Hajek, D. Kral & J. Ruzicka leg, individually under stones and logs, in excrements, and on vegetation in coniferous forest, on the pastures, and along the path to a village; pool.

Diagnosis.

Femora black. Pronotum quadrate; lateral margins slightly rounded before middle, nearly straight before basal angles; basal angles rounded, or slightly rectangular with an indistinct denticle; basal fovea depressed between outer and inner grooves; elytral basal pore usually absent, third interval usually with two setigerous pores; fifth tarsomere with one or two pairs of fine setae ventrally; right paramere falciform, apex acicular or triangular.

Description.

BL 9.2-10.8 mm, BW 3.9-4.4 mm. Robust, black, elytra shiny. Head large; frons smooth or very sparsely punctate; genae short, less than one-third length of eyes; eyes small, slightly prominent. Pronotum quadrate; widest before middle, PW/HW = 1.26-1.43, PW/PL = 1.37-1.50; lateral margins slightly rounded from apical angles to the middle, nearly straight before basal angles, mid-lateral seta present at apical third; basal margin slightly wider than apical margin, PBW/PAW = 1.07-1.20; basal angles rounded or slightly rectangular with an indistinct denticle, not protruding outward; basal fovea with inner and outer grooves faintly defined and partly fused, forming deep depression between them, outer groove slightly shorter than inner one; basal foveal area coarsely punctate; middle area between two basal foveae smooth or very sparsely punctate; area between outer groove and lateral margin slightly convex, forming a weak carina; disc convex, smooth, transversely rugose in some specimens. Elytra oblong, EL/EW = 1.33-1.47; basal ridge slightly oblique; shoulder rounded, basal ridge and lateral margin forming an obtuse angle, humeral tooth absent; apical plica absent; basal setigerous pores usually absent, occasionally present in one elytron or both elytra; scutellar striae short, apex free or connected to first stria; intervals feebly convex; microsculpture similar in both sexes, finely isodiametric; third interval often with two setigerous pores on posterior half, adjacent to second stria, sometimes one or two additional pores present; umbilical series on ninth interval sparse in middle, composed of 14-17 pores; striae moderately deep, distinctly punctate. Ventral side. Proepisternum sparsely punctate near inner margin, rugose throughout; mesepisternum very sparsely punctate; metepisternum nearly smooth; terminal or penultimate ventrite of males not modified. Tarsomere 5 with one or two pairs of setae ventrally; metatarsomeres without distinct outer furrow. Male genitalia. Ventral margin of median lobe near straight at middle, slightly bent downwards near apex; apical orifice opened left-dorsally (Figs 10 , 11 ); apical lamella narrowed in dorsal view, length near two folds of basal width, apex rounded. Right paramere falciform, strongly curved, the obtuse angle between basal portion and apical portion 105-110°; apex acicular or narrow triangular, narrow, sharp (Figs 12-21 ). Endophallus bent to the ventral left side, major portion of endophallus located at left side of median lobe apex; gp opened to basal-left; gpl large and coniform; gpp large and cap-like, on the ventral side of gp; three groups of lobes recognized: dl on dorsal surface of endophallus, gradually swollen; rl on ventral-right surface of endophallus, divided into two conjoint rounded sub-lobs; lbl on the ventral-left surface of endophallus, smaller than rl; lal absent (Figs 7-9 ). Female genitalia. Gonocoxite II of ovipositor stout, length ca. 1.5 times maximum width; inner and outer margins arched, each with one ensiform setae near middle, apex rounded, with two very short nematiform setae in a groove (Figs 64 , 65 ). Spermatheca short and tubiform, length ca. four times maximum width (Fig. 58 ).

Distribution.

Only known from the eastern section of the Qilian mountains on the border of Qinghai and Gansu provinces (Map 1 ).

Habitat.

This species prefers living in open habitat like the alpine meadows of the Qilian mountains between 3000 m and 4000 m, but a few specimens were also found on the edge of Picea forest at ca. 2600 m.

Remarks.

Pterostichus singularis Tschitschérine was described based on a single male from "Amdo, pres du fleuve Tay-tong-che", referring to what is now the valley of the Datong River in Menyuan County. Thus, the three specimens we examined from different collections are not type specimens but only subsequently determined by Tschitschérine (1898: 181) although labeled as types by the author. The true holotype was deposited in the collection of ZIN.

Pterostichus balthasari Jedlička was described based on five specimens from “Liangchow” without an original fixation for holotype. In the collection of NMPC, we examined three specimens in accordance with the original literature. We designate the male bearing a “type” label as the lectotype herein, for the taxonomic purpose of fixing the species name to a single specimen and preventing further confusion. The type locality “Liangchow” refers to what is now Wuwei City in Gansu Province. The exact type locality could be the north slope of Mt. Qilian Shan in Wuwei territory.

Comparing with specimens of P. singularis determined by Tschitschérine, the types of P. balthasari are nearly identical but the basal angles of the pronotum are more rounded and the type locality is further north. We studied specimens from several localities of the Qilian mountains and found that the northern population (Wushaoling, Lenglongling, Datong Shan) usually has a rounded or a slightly rectangular pronotal basal angle, but the southern population (Laji Shan) generally has a rectangular basal angle of the pronotum;however, a few specimens from Laji Shan also have rounded pronotal basal angles. Moreover, there is no significant difference in the male genitalia between the different localities, both for the median lobe and right paramere. Thus, we synonymize P. balthasari with P. singularis .

Variations.

This species is widely distributed in the eastern section of the Qilian mountain range and is sometimes locally abundant. We studied many specimens from the five branches of the Qilian mountain range: Wushaoling, Lenglongling, Daban Shan, Datong Shan, and Laji Shan. In addition to the above variations of the basal angle, three more variations exist geographically or individually as follows:

(1) elytral dorsal pores on third interval. For ca. two-thirds of the examined specimens, two setigerous pores are present on the third elytral interval. For the other one-third, one or two additional pores are present anterior to the first pore or between the first and second pores.

(2) elytra basal pore. For most specimens there is no basal pore on the elytra, but occasionally, a basal pore is present on one elytron or on both elytra. The proportion of individuals with elytra basal pores is larger in the population from Laji Shan than in the others.

(3) shape of right paramere. The length of the right paramere varies individually as well as geographically. Statistically, the northeastern populations (Wushaoling, Lenglongling, Datong Shan) have a longer right paramere with the apex usually more elongate and acicular as in Figs 17-21 . In contrast, the southern (Laji Shan) populations usually have shorter right paramere with the apex less elongate or narrowly triangular as in Figs 12-14 . But, this individual variation with a long acicular right paramere is also present in some specimens from the southern localities (Figs 15 , 16 ).

Figures

Map 1. Distributions for P. singularis.

Figures 1 - 6. Habitus of Pterostichus (Chinapterus) singularis Tschitscherine. 1 Holotype of P. singularis Tschitscherine, male (ZIN) 2 specimen determined by Tschitscherine, female, LT: alpes de Sinin (MNHN) 3 Lectotype of P. balthasari Jedlicka, male (NMPC) 4 male, LT: Lajishan (IZAS) 5 male, LT: Lenglongling (IZAS) 6 male, LT: Dadongshu pass (IZAS).

Figures 7 - 23. male genitalia of Pterostichus (Chinapterus) singularis Tschitscherine. 7 - 9 Endophallus, LT: Pass Xining-Guide (IZAS) 7 right lateral view 8 left lateral view 9 ventral view, abbreviations as stated in text 10 - 11 median lobe of aedeagus, LT: Wushaoling (IZAS) 10 dorsal view 11 left lateral view 12 - 23 right paramere, inner face 12 LT: Lajishan (IZAS) 13 LT: Lajishan (IZAS) 14 LT: Pass Xining-Guide (IZAS) 15 LT: Guoshizeshan (IZAS) 16 LT: Lajishan (IZAS) 17 LT: E Qilianshan (IZAS) 18 LT: Dadongshu pass (IZAS) 19 LT: Dadongshu pass (IZAS) 20 LT: Lenglongling (IZAS) 21 LT: Wushaoling (IZAS) 22 Holotype of P. singularis (ZIN) 23 Lectotype of P. balthasari (NMPC). Scale bars: 0.5 mm.

Figures 58 - 65. female genitalia of Pterostichus (Chinapterus) spp. 58, 59 Female reproductive system 58 P. singularis, LT: Pass Xining-Guide (IZAS) 59 P. przewalskyi, LT: Zhenqin (IZAS). Scale bar: 0.5 mm. 60 - 65 Female ovipositor 60, 61 P. przewalskyi, LT: Zhenqin (IZAS) 62, 63 P. lianhuaensis sp. nov., Paratype LT: Lianhuashan (IZAS) 64 - 65 P. singularis, LT: Pass Xining-Guide (IZAS) 60, 62, 64 Gonocoxite II, inner view, 61, 63, 65 Gonocoxite I, II, ventral view. Scale basr: 0.2 mm.