On the Nepalota fauna of China (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae: Athetini)
Author
Assing, Volker
text
Linzer biologische Beiträge
2015
2015-07-31
47
1
207
248
journal article
69155
10.5281/zenodo.5414155
4e3a5bec-0ada-41e6-9089-03de94058914
0253-116X
5414155
Nepalota smetanai
PACE
,
1998
(
Figs 46-64
,
Map 5
)
Nepalota smetanai
PACE, 1998: 945
ff.
Material examined:
China
: Shaanxi:
1♀
, SW
Zhouzhi
,
Qinling Shan
,
33°44'N
,
107°58'E
,
1900 m
, NE-slope, stream valley, mixed forest, litter and soil sifted,
25.VII.2012
, leg.
Assing
(cAss)
;
13 exs.
,
Qinling Shan
, autoroute km 93
S of Zhouzhi
,
33°45'N
,
107°56'E
,
1650 m
, forest, sifted,
1-2.IX.1995
, leg.
Schülke
&
Wrase
(cSch, cAss)
;
8 exs.
[partly teneral],
Qinling Shan
,
45 km
SSW Xi'an
, mountain range W pass on road
Xi'an - Shagoujie
,
33°52'N
,
108°46'E
,
2675 m
, N-slope with
Abies
,
Betula
,
Larix
, and
Rhododendron
, sifted,
25.VII.2001
, leg.
Schülke
(cSch, cAss)
;
1 ex.
,
Qinling Shan
, pass on road
Zhouzhi - Foping
,
33°44'N
,
107°59'E
,
1990 m
, stream valley with mixed deciduous forest, sifted, 2.&
4.VII.2001
, leg.
Wrase
(cSch)
;
1 ex.
,
Qinling Shan
, river bank above
Houzhenzi
,
33°50'N
,
107°47'E
,
1450 m
,
5.VII.2001
, leg.
Schülke
(cSch)
;
53 exs.
, SW
Meixian
,
Qinling Shan
,
34°02'N
,
107°24'E
,
1870 m
, N-slope, secondary deciduous forest, near stream, litter and grass sifted,
26.VII.2012
, leg.
Assing
,
Schülke
&
Wrase
(cAss, cSch,
MNHUB
)
;
44 exs.
,
Qinling Shan
,
Hua Shan
,
34°25'N
,
110°06'E
,
1950-2000 m
, forest, sifted,
19.VIII.1995
, leg.
Schülke
&
Wrase
(cSch, cAss)
;
25 exs.
,
Hua Shan
,
34°27'N
,
110°06'E
,
1200- 1400 m
, sifted, 18.&
20.VIII.1995
, leg.
Pütz
,
Schülke
&
Wrase
(cSch, cAss)
;
9 exs.
,
Daba Shan
, mountain range N pass
22 km
NW Zhenping
,
32°01'N
,
109°21'E
,
2850 m
, litter beneath fir and bushes sifted,
13.VII.2001
, leg.
Wrase
(cSch, cAss).
Gansu: 1♂, N
Chengxian
, W-Qinling
Shan
,
34°08'N
,
105°47'E
,
1760 m
, N-slope, secondary deciduous forest margin, sifted,
28.VII.2012
, leg.
Assing
(cAss)
;
31 exs.
, N
Chengxian
, W-Qinling
Shan
,
34°10'N
,
105°43'E
,
1850 m
, mixed secondary forest margin, litter sifted,
29.VII.2012
, leg.
Assing
(cAss,
MNHUB
)
;
21 exs.
, N
Chengxian
, W-Qinling
Shan
,
34°10'N
,
105°42'E
,
1830 m
, stream valley with secondary deciduous forest, moist litter sifted,
29.VII.2012
, leg.
Assing
(cAss,
MNHUB
)
;
7 exs.
, mountains SE
Longnan
,
33°13'N
,
105°15'E
,
2170 m
, N-slope with shrubs and scattered coniferous trees, litter sifted,
31.VII.2012
, leg.
Assing
(cAss)
;
5 exs.
, mountains SE
Longnan
,
33°11'N
,
105°14'E
,
2030 m
, N-slope with scree, moss, fern roots, and moist litter sifted,
31.VII.2012
, leg.
Assing
(cAss)
;
63 exs.
, W-Qinling
Shan
, NW
Longnan
,
34°03'N
,
104°10'E
,
2200 m
, SW-slope with shrubs, litter sifted,
1.VIII.2012
, leg.
Assing
&
Wrase
(cAss, cSch,
MNHUB
)
;
4♂♂,
6♀♀
,
2 exs.
, W-Qinling
Shan
,
NW Longnan
,
Lazikou
pass, S-side,
Zhuli valley
,
34°08'N
,
103°56'E
,
2260 m
,
Nslope
, mixed forest with oak and pine near stream, litter and dead wood sifted,
3.VIII.2012
, leg.
Assing
&
Wrase
(cAsscSch)
;
8♂♂,
7♀♀
, W-Qinling
Shan
, NW
Longnan
,
Lazikou
pass, S-side,
Laolong valley
,
34°08'N
,
103°52'E
,
2300 m
, S-slope with pine and spruce forest, litter sifted,
3.VIII.2012
, leg.
Assing
(cAss)
;
22♂♂,
26♀♀
, W
Longnan
,
Min Shan
,
33°26'N
,
104°36'E
,
1470 m
, deep cleft with scree, shrubs at N-slope, litter sifted,
5.VIII.2012
, leg.
Assing
(cAss,
MNHUB
)
;
1♀
, mountains SE
Longnan
,
33°11'N
,
105°14'E
,
2060 m
, N-slope with scree, shrub litter and moss sifted,
7.VIII.2012
, leg.
Assing
(cAss).
Sichuan: 1♂,
Gongga Shan
,
Hailuogou Glacier Park
,
Camp
1,
29°36'N
,
102°04'E
,
2100 m
,
27.-31.V.1997
, leg.
Schülke
(cAss).
Yunnan 10♂♂,
8♀♀
,
8 exs.
, mountains W
Dongchuan
,
Sedan Snow Mountain Scenic Resort
,
26°06'N
,
102°55'E
,
2620 m
, secondary pine forest, litter, moss, and roots of herbs sifted,
14.VIII.2014
, leg.
Assing
&
Schülke
(cAss, cSch,
MNHUB
)
;
6♂♂,
5♀♀
,
3 exs.
, mountain WNW
Wuding
,
25°39'N
,
102°07'E
,
2390 m
, mixed forest margin with alder and pine, litter sifted,
18.VIII.2014
, leg.
Assing
&
Schülke
(cAss, cSch,
MNHUB
)
;
6♂♂,
9♀♀
,
7 exs.
, same data, but
1.IX.2014
, leg.
Assing
&
Schülke
(cAss, cSch,
MNHUB
)
;
61 exs.
,
Dali Bai Aut. Pref.
, mountain range E
Weishan
,
12 km
NE Weishan
,
25°17'N
,
100°22'E
,
2630-2660 m
, shrubs with pine and bamboo, litter sifted,
15.IX.2009
, leg.
Schülke
&
Wrase
(cSch, cAss)
;
8 exs.
,
Dali
Bai Nat. Aut. Pref., Diancang Shan,
3 km
W Dali
old town, pine forest at "Cloud Road", right upper chairlift station,
25°41'N
,
100°07'E
, 2650-2750 mpine needles and dry moss in ditches,
3.IX.2003
, leg.
Schülke
(cSch, cAss)
;
1 ex.
,
Dali
Bai Nat. Aut. Pref., Diancang Shan,
3 km
W Dali
old town, creek valley at "Cloud Road", left upper chairlift station,
25°41'N
,
100°07'E
,
2700 m
, bamboo, moss and litter sifted,
28.VIII.2003
, leg.
Schülke
(cSch)
;
1 ex.
,
Dali
Bai Nat. Aut. Pref., Diancang Shan,
3 km
W Dali
old town, pine forest at "Cloud Road",
25°11'N
,
100°07'E
,
2650-2750 m
,
17.VI.2005
, leg.
Schülke
(cSch)
;
2 exs.
Dali
Bai Nat. Aut. Pref., Diancang Shan,
4 km
W Dali
,
25°41'N
,
100°07'E
,
2900-3000 m
, E slope with degraded forest and old pine forest,
31.VIII.2003
, leg.
Schülke
(cSch)
;
1♂,
Dali Bai Nat. Aut. Pref.
,
Diancang Shan
,
5 km
SSW Dali
old town, creek valley above cable car,
25°39'N
,
100°08'E
,
2800 m
, shrubs, bamboo, moss and old flood debris sifted,
26.VIII.2003
, leg.
Schülke
(cAss)
;
1 ex.
,
Dali
Bai Nat. Aut. Pref., Diancang Shan, E pass
43 km
NW Dali
,
26°00'N
,
100°00'E
,
2700 m
, secondary pine forest, litter and moss sifted,
23.VIII.2009
, leg.
Schülke
(cSch)
;
16 exs.
,
Dali
Bai Aut. Pref., Wuliang Shan,
11 km
SW Weishan
,
25°09'N
,
100°14'E
,
2520 m
, pine forest with shrubs, litter sifted,
14.IX.2009
, leg.
Schülke
&
Wrase
" (cSch, cAss)
;
1 ex.
,
Dali
Bai Aut. Pref., Zhemo Shan,
7 km
SW Xiaguan
, 25°32-33'N, 100°10-11'E,
2870- 2970 m
, shrubs with bamboo, oak, and rhododendron, litter sifted,
18.IX.2009
, leg.
Schülke
(cSch)
;
1♂,
34 exs.
,
Lincang
Pref., Xue Shan,
11 km
ENE Lincang
,
23°55'N
,
100°11'E
,
2510 m
, secondary pine forest with rhododendron, litter sifted,
10.IX.2009
, leg.
Schülke
(cSch, cAss)
;
1♀
,
Dehong Dai Aut. Pref.
, mountain range
31 km
E Luxi
,
24°30'N
,
98°53'E
,
2280 m
, secondary pine forest with old deciduous trees, litter sifted,
3.VI.2007
, leg.
Schülke
(cAss)
;
6 exs.
,
Nujiang Lisu Aut. Pref.
,
Gongshan Co.
,
Gaoligong Shan
,
27°45'N
,
98°36'E
,
2500 m
, litter & debris at snowfield sifted,
19.VI.2005
, leg.
Schülke
(cSch, cAss)
;
37 exs.
,
Lincang
Pref., Laobie Shan, Wei Bo Shan pass,
24°08'N
,
99°43'E
,
2375 m
, stream valley with degraded secondary deciduous forest, litter and moss sifted,
8.IX.2009
, leg.
Schülke
(cSch, cAss)
;
1♂,
4 exs.
,
Pu'er Pref.
,
Ailao Shan
,
37 km
NW Jingdong
,
24°45'N
,
100°41'E
,
2300 m
, degraded forest remnant, litter sifted,
13.IX.2009
, leg.
Schülke
(cSch, cAss)
;
1 ex.
,
Zhongdian Co.
,
51 km
SSE Zhongdian
,
27°25'N
,
99°57'E
,
2970 m
, stream valley, mixed coniferous forest with shrubs and bamboo,
16.VIII.2003
, leg.
Wrase
(cSch).
Comment: The original description of
N. smetanai
is based on a male
holotype
from "
China
,
Sichuan
, Gongga Shan, above camp 2" and
15 paratypes
from "
China
,
Gansu
, Xinlong Shan, ca.
70 km
S Lanzhou" (
PACE 1998
). The species was subsequently reported from additional localities in
Shaanxi
,
Yunnan
,
Hubei
by
PACE (2011)
, who again illustrated the genitalia (
PACE 2011
: figures 88-90) without indicating what specimens these illustrations are based on. Since the specimens collected by Andreas Pütz in the Hua Shan have type labels by Pace ("
Holotypus
[or
Paratypus
, respectively]
Nepalota huamontis
mihi, det. R.
Pace 2009
") attached to them, the illustrations in
Pace (2011)
probably refer to this material.
Nepalota smetanai
is subject to remarkable intraspecific variation of external and sexual characters, which at first led me to hypothesize that the examined material was composed of two species. The material from the Qinling
Shan
(and adjacent mountain ranges), the Daba
Shan
, and the Gongga
Shan
is characterized by a reddish-brown to brown body, relatively short elytra (approximately 0.8 times as long as the pronotum), and a dimorphism of the hind wings, whereas the specimens from
Yunnan
are of darker coloration (body blackish-brown to blackish), have longer elytra (approximately as long as pronotum), and always fully developed hind wings; for illustrations the external and sexual characters of specimens from East
Yunnan
see
Figs 29-38
. Moreover, slight differences in the shape and size of the median lobe of the aedeagus, in the internal structures of the aedeagus, and in the secondary sexual characters were observed, while the spermatheca is practically identical (
Figs 39-64
). However, in some populations in western
Yunnan
these characters were found to be variable: some specimens are externally identical to other material from
Yunnan
, but have an aedeagus of similar morphology as material from the Qinling
Shan
and the Daba
Shan
. Thus, it was not possible to unambiguously attribute them to either of the two morphs. It seems possible that these morphs represent distinct subspecies, but additional (e.g., molecular) evidence would be needed to clarify their status. Therefore, for the time being, the observed differences are interpreted as intra- rather than inter(sub-)specific variation.
Distribution and natural history:
Nepalota smetanai
is one of the most common representatives of the genus in
China
, its distribution ranging from
Hubei
and
Shaanxi
in the north and northeast to
Yunnan
in the south (
Map 5
). The examined material was sifted from litter in various
types
of forest and shrub habitats at altitudes between 1200 and
3000 m
. On numerous occasions it was found together with other species of the genus, mostly
N. gansuensis
, but also
N. franzi
,
N. martensi
, and
N. cuneata
.