Ochthephilus qingyianus, Makranczy, 2014

Makranczy, György, 2014, Revision of the genus Ochthephilus Mulsant & Rey, 1856 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae, Oxytelinae), Revue suisse de Zoologie 121 (4), pp. 457-694 : 580-582

Ochthephilus qingyianus sp. nov. Figs 260, 296-299, 305-306, 351, 356, 379, 384, 387

TYPE MATERIAL: HOLOTYPE (3): “ NEPAL: Annapurna Region, unterh. [below] Annapurna Base Camp, 3800-4000m [28°32'N, 83°54'E], 14.VI.2000, leg. J. Schmidt [in the gravel of banks of the upper Modi Khola river, collected by hand]” ( MHNG). – PARATYPES (3): same data as holotype ( MHNG, 1♀). – “E-Nepal, Rolwaling Himal, Rolwaling Tal, Nyimare, 3300m [27°54'N, 86°22'E], 19.V.2000, leg. A. Kleeberg [cloud forest; sifting leaf litter under wood, wet mosses]” ( ZMHB, 1♀). – “ CHINA: SICHUAN: Bao'xing Co., Tibet Auton. Unit, Yaoji; Qing Yi river , 1750m elev., (approx. 30º33'N, 102º39'E), 16.VIII.1995, leg. R.E. Roughley ” ( JBWM, 13, barcode 0091584) .

DESCRIPTION: Measurements (n=4): HW = 0.54 (0.52-0.56); TW = 0.48 (0.46- 0.50); PW = 0.61 (0.59-0.64); SW = 0.77 (0.74-0.81); AW = 0.79 (0.75-0.84); HL = 0.41 (0.39-0.42); EL = 0.19 (0.17-0.20); TL = 0.07 (0.07-0.08); PL = 0.48 (0.41-0.46); SL = 0.95 (0.89-0.99); SC = 0.87 (0.82-0.91); FB = 1.90 (1.81-1.97); BL = 3.42 (3.21- 3.59) mm. Body very dark coloured, dark brown to pitch black, occasional lighter coloured exemplars with lighter (dark brown, slightly reddish) elytra, legs and mouthparts – even these lighter specimens with dark antenna. Darker specimens with tibiae lighter on both ends. Body with greasy lustre mostly due to elytral setation plus forebody punctation and microsculpture. Pubescence rather fine and moderately dense, shorter and stronger (regularly spaced) on elytra, abdominal tergites with finer and much longer setae, extremely long ones adjacent to laterosternites. Head anteriad eyes and near inner posterior margin of eye with stronger and darker bristles, as well as pronotal margin and middle of tibiae (Fig. 379). Elytral apex without conspicuous setae. Last tarsomere with a few setae only.

Forebody. Antenna as in Fig. 384, antennomere 6 (Fig. 356) shorter and less wide than neighbours (articles 5 and 7). Clypeus (Fig. 300) sparsely punctate (colliculate microsculptured), trapezoid, corners rounded, anterior edge gently arched; separated by impressed transversal line (frontoclypeal suture) across a shinier area. Supraantennal prominences well developed, feebly separated from clypeus/vertex by impressions. Vertex with three setigerous pores in middle. Temples (Fig. 351) bulging, evenly curved, little shorter than half of eye length. Neck separated by an impressed transversal groove, microsculpture much stronger than on head, with transverse cells, no setation. Pronotum with a narrow marginal bead, visible to anterior pronotal corners. Posterior pronotal angles well-formed, just slightly obtuse-angled, sides in posterior 2/3 very gently concave/bisinuate. 'Anchor' fully formed, longitudinal midline as a slightly elevated, impunctate, weakly microsculptured line, parallel to this line two gentle, semi-longitudinal elongate elevations in anterior half of disc. In corners of anchor feeble, oblique impressions directed outwards, in middle at sides of midline two smaller impressions. Elytra (Fig. 301) slightly broadening posteriorly, sutural corners narrowly rounded; apical sides slightly oblique and in inner halves gently convex. Elytral surface rather even with two shallow, very elongate impressions behind scutellum. Head with fine coriaceous/colliculate microsculpture, fading on elevated parts, stronger in impressions, on pronotum microsculpture slightly stronger and more even. Punctation on head sparse, mostly confined to posterior part and sides, on pronotum shallow, more evenly spaced, average interspaces 1.5 puncture diameters; elytral punctation more even and regularly spaced, average interspaces (with indistinct coriaceous microsculpture) about as puncture diameters, punctures rather discrete.

Abdomen. Compared to forebody, abdomen with more sparse but not finer punctation (could be slightly confluent), microsculpture on tergal apices fine coriaceous with moderately transverse cells. Tergite VII posterior margin (Fig. 387) with palisade fringe unmodified in middle (nearly uniform breadth). Tergite VIII (Fig. 260) basal edge arched (more straight laterally, more arched in middle), basal sclerotized band straight on a small distance in middle; apical edge with sinuate (protruding) corners, and broad, moderately deep emargination in between. Sternite VIII with rounded apical corners, apex in males shallowly concave laterally, sinuate in middle, rather pointed (but obtuse-angled); in females slightly more sinuate (convex) in middle. Tergite X strongly modified, in males as in Fig. 305, in females as in Fig. 306. Aedeagus as in Fig. 296, inner sclerite as in Fig. 297. Female ringstructures as in Figs 298-299.

ETYMOLOGY: Named after the Qing Yi river , the locality of the first discovered (male) specimen; two very interesting species were discovered by Harald Schillhammer, who suggested that I contact Robert E. Roughley for the five specimens he had spotted in the collection of the Manitoba University (Winnipeg). For years I was searching for proof that this male belongs to the same species as a lone female, courtesy of Andreas Kleeberg , from East Nepal; a pair of specimens from Gunnar Hirthe (who got these from Joachim Schmidt) from Central Nepal (Annapurna) finally proved it .

COMPARATIVE NOTES: See also under O. gusarovi , which also has a deep midvertex puncture, but this species is darker coloured.

DISTRIBUTION: Currently only known from Nepal and the Chinese province of

Sichuan.

BIONOMICS: Specimens were collected from wet moss and gravelbanks of mountain rivers.