Lobrathium emeimontis, Assing, 2013

Assing, V., 2013, A revision of Palaearctic Lobrathium. IV. Three new species from Nepal and China, a new combination, and additional records (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 45 (1), pp. 191-204 : 199-201

Lobrathium emeimontis nov.sp.

( Figs 7-12 , Map 1 )

Type material: Holotype ♂: " China, Sichuan, 103.20el, 29.30nw, Mt. Emei 2600 m, 4.- 15.V.1989, S. & J. Kolibáč / Holotypus ♂ Lobrathium emeimontis sp. n., det. V. Assing 2013" ( NHMB).

Etymology: The specific epithet is composed of the name of the mountain where the species was discovered and of the genitive of the Latin noun mons (mountain).

Description: Body length 7.0 mm; length of forebody 4.0 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 7 . Coloration: head and pronotum blackish-brown; elytra brown; abdomen darkbrown with paler apex; legs and antennae reddish.

Head ( Fig. 8 ) 1.05 times as long as broad; posterior angles broadly rounded, almost obsolete; punctation areolate and extremely dense, somewhat sparser on frons; interstices reduced to narrow ridges; dorsal surface matt, except for frons. Eyes of moderate size, approximately one third as long as distance from posterior margin of eye to neck. Antenna 2.5 mm long.

Pronotum ( Fig. 8 ) 1.35 times as long as broad and approximately 0.95 times as broad as head, distinctly tapering posteriad, strongly convex in cross-section; punctation dense and coarser than that of head; interstices much narrower than diameter of punctures; impunctate midline rather narrow.

Elytra ( Fig. 8 ) 0.73 times as long as pronotum and slightly dilated posteriad; humeral angles weakly marked; punctation coarser than that of pronotum and dense; interstices without microsculpture. Hind wings reduced. Protarsomeres I-IV strongly dilated.

Abdomen distinctly broader than elytra; punctation fine and very dense; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe.

♂: sternite VII ( Fig. 9 ) strongly transverse and with moderately pronounced median impression of triangular shape posteriorly, this impression with a cluster of approximately 20 strongly modified, short and stout black setae and narrowly without setae in the middle, posterior margin broadly and distinctly concave; sternite VIII ( Fig. 10 ) transverse and with moderately pronounced and extensive median impression in posterior two thirds, this impression with numerous strongly modified, short and stout black setae, posterior excision broadly V-shaped, on either side of this excision with tuft of dense black setae; aedeagus ( Figs 11-12 ) 1.3 mm long; ventral process long and slender, apically slightly hooked in lateral view; dorsal plate long and thin in lateral view.

Comparative notes: Based on the similar habitus and above all on the similarly derived shape and chaetotaxy of the male sternite VII and the morphology of the aedeagus, L. emeimontis is closely allied to L. cholaicum from southeastern Tibet and L. daxuense from Sichuan. It is readily distinguished from both species by the considerably denser punctation of the head, the distinctly more transverse male sternite VII, the different chaetotaxy of the male sternite VIII, and on the much longer and more slender ventral process of the aedeagus. The shape of the ventral process somewhat resembles that of the wing-dimorphic L. duplex from Sichuan, from which L. emeimontis is distinguished by shorter antennae, denser punctation of the head, the different chaetotaxy of the male sternite VII, the more extensive median impression of the male sternite VIII, the distinctly longer ventral process of the aedeagus, slightly smaller body size, and the paler coloration of the legs and antennae. For illustrations of the compared species see ASSING (2012).

Distribution and natural history: Thetypelocalityissituatedin the Emei Shan in western Sichuan ( Map 1 ) at an altitude of 2600 m. The holotype is apparently slightly teneral. The presence of a palisade fringe at the posterior margin of tergite VII suggests that, like some of its close relatives, L. emeimontis may be wingdimorphic and more widespread.

Figures

Map 1: Distributions of Lobrathium tortile ZHENG (diamonds), L. emeimontis nov.sp. (circle), and L. dabaicum nov.sp. (triangle) in China.

Figs 7-12: Lobrathium emeimontis nov.sp.: (7) habitus; (8) forebody; (9) male sternite VII; (10) male sternite VIII; (11-12) aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view. Scale bars: 7-8: 1.0 mm; 9-12: 0.5 mm.