Liotesba punctiventris ( Sharp, 1889 )

Zhou, Yu-Lingzi & Zhou, Hong-Zhang, 2013, Taxonomy and phylogeny of the genus Liotesba Scheerpeltz (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae: Xantholinini) with descriptions of four new species, Journal of Natural History 47 (45 - 46), pp. 2869-2904 : 2894-2896

Liotesba punctiventris ( Sharp, 1889)

Sharp, 1889: 252 (orig. Xantholinus punctiventris ; type locality: Ichiuchi); Bernhauer and Schubert, 1914: 306 (catalogue); Bordoni, 1997: 171 ( Liotesba ; characters; Japan, Honshu, Mikurajima Is., Kyushu); Herman, 2001: 3692 (catalogue); Bordoni, 2003a: 9 (first recorded characters of male; Fukuoka Pref., Mt Tachibana, T. Ueno, Y. Hoshina and H. Goto leg.; 6–9 May 1996; flight intercept trap); Smetana, 2004: 691 (catalogue); Bordoni, 2007a: 9 ( China, Hubei, 31 ◦ 2 ′ N, 110 ◦ 5 ′ E); Bordoni, 2007b: 71 (catalogue).

Material examined. female, with labels as follows: “ Holotype ”/“ Xantholinus punctiventris type D.S. Ichiuchi, 1.5.1881 ”/“ Japan, G. Lewis, 1910-320”/“ Ichiuchi , 30. IV- 2 . V.81”/“ Liotesba punctiventris, Det. A. Bordoni, 1996 ”. ( BMNH) .

Description

Measurement. BL = 8.85 mm, FL = 4.50 mm, HL = 1.29 mm, HW = 1.05 mm, PL = 1.44 mm, PW = 0.99 mm, EL = 1.62 mm, EW = 1.20 mm.

Body nearly cylindrical and medium-sized. Head, pronotum and abdomen dark brown. Elytra and legs reddish brown. Antennae brown, antennomere I and III darker in colour, antennomere II reddish. Maxillary and labial palpi brown.

Head. Subrectangular (HL to HW ratio 1.2), tempora straight, posterior angles rounded. Dorsal integument of head shiny, rather smooth; extensively with micropunctures, and also with few sparsely scattered punctures in medium size toward lateral and posterior margin; deflexed portion of tempora with a row of large punctures. Each side of cranium with anterolateral puncture near antennal insertion, midlateral puncture approximately a distance of three punctures’ diameter to dorsal margin of eye, temporal puncture at the posterior one-fifth, and occipital puncture at the lateral one-third. Frontal furrows relatively long and deep, anteocular furrows absent. Eye medium in size, shorter than half the length of tempora (eye: tempora = 0.30: 0.68 mm), slightly protruding laterad; one large and one small puncture next to dorsal margin of eye. Epistoma narrow, and acute. Distance between antennal insertions 0.30 mm, shorter than distance from antenna to eye (0.37 mm).

Antennae. Scape stout, thickened apically, slightly longer than three subsequent antennomeres combined, 0.48 mm; antennomere II and III elongate, and of same length, 0.14 mm; IV and V of equal in length, 0.06 mm; last antennomere medium length, 0.17 mm, as long as two preceding antennomeres combined.

Mouthparts. Labrum transverse, with a pair of median teeth, and a lateral tooth at each side, which slightly protruding. Mandibles falciform, right one with a broad tooth on inner edge. Maxillary palpus elongate, second segment longest, last segment fusiform, with subtruncated apex. Labial palpus slender, each segment of same length, last segment slightly dilated subapically.

Neck. Wide (0.48 mm), slightly narrower than half the width of head.

Pronotum. Subrectangular and distinctly oblong (PL to PW ratio 1.5), slightly longer, narrower than head. Widened anteriad, lateral margins sinuate, anterior angles well defined, posterior angles broadly rounded. Integument extensively covered with micropunctures, with two large punctures on each anterolateral corner, and one large puncture on each posterolateral corner, and also with other irregular punctures near anterior and lateral margins of pronotum.

Mesoscutellum. Shiny, scattered with two pairs of punctures.

Elytra. Subrectangular, elongate (EL to EW ratio 1.4), distinctly longer and wider than pronotum. Humeri well developed, lateral margins divergent posteriorly, hind margin rounded. Integument shiny and flattened, without microsculpture; each elytron symmetrically with two or three rows of smaller punctures near median suture, a row of median punctures on centre, also with three rows of punctures on deflexed portion.

Legs. First four segments of protarsi dilated, heart-shaped; last segment of both mesotarsi and metatarsi slender. Last segment of protarsi and mesotarsi shorter than each II–IV combined, metatarsi subequal to II–IV combined.

Abdomen. Cylindrical, broadest at segment VI. Tergites III–VII shiny, each segment covered with distinct transverse microstriae, and with large, densely distributed punctures, distance between punctures less than a puncture’s diameter. Each tergite with a basal impression near anterior margin, bearing transverse microstriae and larger punctures. All abdominal sternites shiny, with microstriae and punctures as those on tergites.

Distribution. China (Hubei); Japan (Fukuoka, Kyushu, Mikurajima, Honshu, Ichiuchi).

Remarks. This species can be distinguished from other congeners by the unique coloration of the antennae, acute epistoma, distinctly oblong pronotum and slightly protruding teeth of labrum in combination.