Parena (Bothynoptera) obscura Mateu, 1977

Shi, Hongliang & Liang, Hongbin, 2023, Taxonomic revision of the genus Parena Motschulsky, 1860 (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Lebiini, Metallicina), Zootaxa 5286 (1), pp. 1-144 : 62-63

[14] Parena (Bothynoptera) obscura Mateu, 1977

Habitus: Figs 32E, 32F . Male genitalia: Fig. 35 .

Mateu, 1977: 161 (type locality: Bhutan: Wangdi-Phodrang ; holotype in NHMB) .

Type material examined. Parena obscura Mateu : Holotype (NHMB, Fig. 32E ): male, body length = 11.0 mm, board mounted, " Wangdi Phodrang / 17 00 m 21 km O ", "Nat.-Hist. Museum / Basel— Bhutan / Expedition 1972", "TYPE" [red label], " Parena / obscura / n.sp. / J. Mateu det. 197 6 ".

Non-type material examined. 1 male (NHMB), "W-Nepal / C.J. Rai", "Pothana / 1900 m / 7-9.VI.84", " Parena / obscura / Det. Sciaky '95" < Figs 32F , 35 >.

Comparisons. This species is very similar in several aspects to P. tesari , especially to specimens of that species from Yunnan and Vietnam. These two species differ mainly in the characters of male genitalia: in P. obscura , apical lamella very short, LL half as LW, endophallus with flared basal expansion strongly bent and basal sheath reduced ( Fig. 35 ); in P. tesari , apical lamella much longer, LL subequal to LW, endophallus with flared basal expansion straight and basal sheath well-developed ( Fig. 33 ). These two species also differ as follows: P. obscura has longer tempora, with the length of tempora plus neck-constriction about the same as length of the eye, and P. tesari has shorter tempora, with the length of tempora plus neck-constriction about two-thirds of the length of the eye.

Description. Body length 11.0– 11.2 mm. Dorsum piceous, tarsi, antennae, and mouthparts distinctly lighter than body. Tempora gradually narrowed behind eyes, length of tempora plus neck-constriction subequal to diameter of eye; vertex with a pair of short additional setae posteromedial to the primary posterior supraorbital seta; mentum with a pair of short setae. Pronotum nearly quadrate, PW/PL = 1.20–1.21, distinctly narrower than head, PW/HW = 0.85; lateral explanations narrow; widest at anterior third, slightly rounded at anterior half, and then clearly sinuate before posterior angles; posterior angles nearly rectangular and slightly pointed outward. Elytra wide, slightly dilated to apex, surface without microsculpture; striae not incised, replaced by fine puncture rows; intervals flat, with fine and sparse punctures; interval 3 with three setigerous pores; apical truncation indistinct, evenly rounded, sutural angles indistinct. Apex of abdominal sternite VII with three setae on each side. Males with uniseriate adhesive setae on apical three-fourths of mesotarsomere 2 and biseriate adhesive setae on nearly full length of mesotarsomere 3. Median lobe of aedeagus slender (AL/AW = 5.0), apical lamella laminar, LL half of LW, apex rounded. Endophallus with relatively small primary sclerite, flared basal expansion strongly bent, apical flagellum very short, ending at basal third of median lobe; apical sclerite elongate and well defined, basal core ovate; basal sheath reduced to fine scales surrounding flagellum, apical sheath composed of two scaled regions; squamate sac not divided, large and square, near middle of median lobe, right to squamate sheath. Female unknown, but inferred to have an ovipositor similar to that of P. tesari .

Distribution ( Map 7 , red). Bhutan, Nepal.

Figures

MAP 7. Distributions for species in the Parena (Bothynoptera) tesari group

FIGURE 32. Habitus of Parena (Bothynoptera) tesari species group. A Holotype of Parena tesari (Jedlička). B Holotype of Parena kataevi Kirschenhofer [=Parena tesari (Jedlička)]. C P. tesari (Jedlička), male from Taiwan. D P. tesari (Jedlička), fe- male from Yunnan. E Holotype of Parena obscura Mateu. F P. obscura Mateu, male from Nepal. Scale bars = 2 mm.

FIGURE 33. Median lobe of male genitalia for Parena (Bothynoptera) tesari (Jedlička), right-lateral (r), ventral (v), left-lateral (l), and dorsal (d) views, Taiwan. Scale bar = 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 35. Median lobe of male genitalia for Parena (Bothynoptera) obscura Mateu, right-lateral (r), ventral (v), left-lateral (l), and dorsal (d) views, Nepal. Scale bar = 0.5 mm.