Paederus (Harpopaederus) minicus, Assing, 2015

Assing, Volker, 2015, On the Harpopaederus fauna of China (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 47 (1), pp. 163-190 : 176-177

Paederus (Harpopaederus) minicus nov.sp. ( Figs 46-53 , Map 2 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype 3: " CHINA: Gansu, Min - Shan 2300-3300 m, 27.VII.- 14.VIII.2000, 33°30'N, 104°35'E, leg. A. Plutenko / Holotypus 3 Paederus minicus sp.n. det. V. Assing 2015" (cAss).

E t y m o l o g y: The specific epithet is an adjective derived from the name of the mountain range where the species was discovered.

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 12.0 mm; length of forebody 6.0 mm. Coloration: head black; pronotum dark-reddish; elytra metallic-blue; scutellum dark-reddish; abdomen bicoloured with segments III-VI pale-reddish and segments VII-X black; legs with the tibiae and tarsi yellowish-brown, and the femora blackish with the bases narrowly and diffusely yellowish-brown; antennae and maxillary palpi dark-yellowish; labial palpi brown with the terminal joint yellowish-brown.

Head ( Fig. 46 ) transverse, 1.2 times as broad as long; punctation rather fine and sparse in median and anterior dorsal portions, denser and with interspersed coarser punctures in lateral and posterior dorsal portions; interstices without microsculpture. Eyes much shorter than postocular region from posterior margin of eye to posterior constriction of head. Antenna 3.3 mm long; antennomere IV more than twice as long as broad; antennomere X slightly more than 1.5 times as long as broad. Anterior margin of labrum broadly excavate and with a distinct tooth on either side of middle ( Fig. 47 ).

Pronotum ( Fig. 46 ) 1.09 times as long as broad and 1.02 times as broad as head, strongly convex in cross-section; dorsal series each composed of approximately 10 punctures; lateral portions with sparse and fine punctation.

Elytra ( Fig. 46 ) 0.7 times as long as pronotum and of trapezoid shape; punctation moderately coarse and dense; interstices without microsculpture. Hind wings completely reduced. Metatarsomere I approximately as long as the combined length of II and III.

Abdomen approximately 1.1 times as broad as elytra; punctation moderately fine and rather dense, somewhat sparser on tergites VII and VIII than on anterior tergites; pubescence rather short and blackish; interstices with fine and transverse microsculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII without palisade fringe.

3: protarsomeres I-IV distinctly dilated ( Fig. 46 ); tergite VIII strongly convex posteriorly; posterior margin of sternite VII not distinctly concave in the middle; sternite VIII ( Fig. 48 ) about as broad as long, posterior excision 0.55 times as deep as length of sternite; aedeagus ( Figs 49-53 ) conspicuously long (2.7 mm) and slender; ventral process very weakly sclerotized; dorsal plate long, basally slender, apically acute and distinctly curved in lateral view, extending beyond apices of parameres, dorsally with two rows of 3-4 denticles at some distance from the slightly hooked apex; parameres apically hooked; internal sac with a clip-shaped weakly sclerotized basal structure, apical structure not sclerotized.

♀: unknown.

C o m m e n t: The dorsal plate of the aedeagus of the holotype has a conspicuous flagshaped dorsal process subapically. Most likely, this structure is a teratotology and not a constant character.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: Paederus minicus differs from other geographically close Harpopaederus species particularly by the conspicuously long and slender aedeagus, the absence of a distinct apical internal structure of the aedeagus, and the presence of two series of denticles on the dorsal plate of the aedeagus situated at some distance from the apex. From most species recorded from the Qinling Shan and adjacent mountain ranges, it is additionally distinguished by the dark-reddish pronotum, the dark femora, and the deep posterior incision of the male sternite VIII.

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d n a t u r a l h i s t o r y: The type locality is situated in the Min Shan in southern Gansu ( Map 2 ) at an altitude between 2300 and 3300 m. Additional data are not available.

Figures

Map 2: Distributions of Harpopaederus species in Sichuan, Gansu, and Shaanxi (some doubtful female-based literature records omitted): Paederus chinensis (filled triangles); P. deplectens (filled stars); P. antennocinctus (open circles); P. agnatus (filled circles); P. minicus (open diamond); P. edentulus (filled diamonds); P. gracilacutus (open stars).

Figs 46-54: Paederus minicus nov.sp. (46-53) and P. agnatus from Shaanxi (54): (46) forebody; (47) head; (48, 54) male sternite VIII; (49-51) aedeagus in lateral, ventral, and dorsal view; (52) apical portion of aedeagus in dorsal view; (53) apical portion of aedeagus in lateral view. Scale bars: 46: 1.0 mm; 47-54: 0.5 mm.