Sinaphaenopoides zhaoyiae, Tian & Huang & Jia, 2023

Tian, Mingyi, Huang, Sunbin & Jia, Xinyang, 2023, A contribution to cavernicolous beetle diversity of South China Karst: eight new genera and fourteen new species (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Trechini), Zootaxa 5243 (1), pp. 1-66 : 21-23

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.5243.1.1
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7642384
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/039587AD-BF2C-FFBF-FF7F-43B323E5FCA8
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Sinaphaenopoides zhaoyiae
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Sinaphaenopoides zhaoyiae n. sp.

Figure 1m View FIGURE 1 , 12–14 View FIGURE 12 View FIGURE 13 View FIGURE 14

Material. Holotype female, Zhongguo Dong, Tianzidi Cun , Suxian Qu, Chenzhou Shi, 2019-XII-24, leg. Yi Zhao, in SCAU; paratype: 1 female, ibid; 2 females, 2020-X-28, same cave, leg. Weixin Liu, Yi Zhao & Xinyang Jia .

Diagnosis. A medium-sized Sinaphaenops -like beetle species, but with moderately thin and slender appendages, fore body (head plus prothorax) as long as elytra.

Description. Length: 5.8–6.3 mm; width: 1.6–1.7 mm. Habitus as in Figure 12 View FIGURE 12 .

Body brown to dark brown, but mouthparts palps and tarsi pale; moderately shiny; head with a few sparse long setae on vertex and genae, pronotum and elytra glabrous; ventrite covered with short pubescence; microsculptural engraved meshes moderately transverse on labrum and head and neck constriction, striate on other part of head, pronotum and elytra.

Head elongate, much longer than wide, HLm/HW = 1.96–1.97, HLl/HW = 1.70–1.71; genae evidently expanded medially, widest at about middle of head excluding mandibles; frons flat, vertex strongly convex; clypeus transverse, 6-setose; labrum feebly emarginate at frontal margin, 6-setose; mandibles short and stout, feebly curved apically, anterior supraorbital setiferous pores located at about basal 2/3 of head excluding mandibles, middle and the posterior ones at 3/8 and 1/4 respectively, both with smaller setae than anterior pore; frontal furrows not parallel-sided; mental tooth blunt or sharp at tip; labial penultimate palp much longer (about 1.3 times) than the apical, bisetose on inner margin, and with another one on outer margin at middle, apical one glabrous; maxillary penultimate palp 1.1 times longer than the apical, both are glabrous; ligula adnated with paraglossae, 10-setose, inner two much longer than other; ventral head sparsely setose, with long pubescence; suborbital setae present, located on basal 2/5 from base to submentum ( Figure 13A View FIGURE 13 ); antennae pubescent from pedicel; scape glabrous, stouter and longer than pedicel, the 3 rd longest, about twice as long as scape; the comparative length of each antennomere from the 1 st to 11 th in holotype as: 1 st (1.21) / 2 nd (1.00) / 3 rd (2.50) / 4 th (2.29) / 5 th (1.93) / 6 th (1.89) / 7 th (1.79) / 8 th (1.64) / 9 th (1.50) / 10 th (1.25) / 11 th (1.68).

Prothorax slightly longer than wide, PrL/ PrW = 1.25–1.28; distinctly wider than pronotum, PrW/PnW = 1.17– 1.20; distinctly shorter than head, PrL/HLl = 0.72–0.76; slightly wide than head, PrW/ HW = 1.16–1.20; widest at about 1/3 from base. Pronotum much longer than wide, PnL/PnW = 1.51–1.57; as wide as head; base as wide as front; lateral margin feebly bordered throughout, widest at about middle; anterior latero-marginal seta located at about apical 1/3, posterior setae a little before hind angles; fore transverse impression weakly defined, hind transverse impression well marked, median line clear. Scutellum quite large.

Elytra elongate ovate, longer than wide, EL/EW = 1.61–1.65; expanded posteriorly; much wider than pronotum, EW/PnW=2.04–2.12;lateral sides finely bordered throughout,marginal gutters well-marked;dorsal surface depressed medially near base; striae weakly defined but more or less traceable, and neither of intervals.Chaetotaxy ( Figure 13B View FIGURE 13 ): setiferous pores well-marked; basal pore present; anterior and posterior dorsal pores with large and long setae, located on 3 rd stria, at about basal 1/6 just before the level of 1 st marginal umbilicate pore and basal 4/7 of elytra respectively; preapical pore at the apical anastomosis of 3 rd and 4 th striae, at about apical 1/9 of elytra, much closer to suture than to apical margin, with a large and long seta; 2 nd pore of the marginal umbilicate series closer to marginal gutter than others; the 1 st pore shifted inwardly on the 6 th or 7 th stria, just before the level of 2 nd pore; 4 th pore shifted backwardly, 5 th and 6 th pores of the median group located behind middle; the anguloapical pore fine, closer to suture than to apical margin of elytra.

Legs thin and slender, bearing dense setae and short pubescence; the 1 st tarsomere shorter than 2 nd –4 th tarsomeres together in fore leg, whereas as long as in middle and hind legs respectively.

Ventrites smooth, finely pubescent; IV–VI each with two paramedial setae, VII 4-setose apically in female.

Male: Unknown.

Etymology. Dedicated to Ms. Yi Zhao, a member of SCAU caving team, who discovered and collected the holotype specimen during our first visit to Zhongguo Dong in late 2019.

Distribution. China (Hunan). Known only from Zhongguo Dong cave in suburb of Chenzhou Shi, southern Hunan ( Figure 1m View FIGURE 1 ).

Zhongguo Dong is not so far from a village called Tianzidi and near the intersection of G4 and G76 highways. There are two layers in the cave which is about 60 meters deep. The upper layer is dry and about 100 meters long. The lower has a small stream. The beetles were collected in the main passage of the upper layer from two small places which were wet and moist. Other cave animals observed in the cave were Glyphiulus millepedes and nonglowing sticky worm Chetoneura sp. ( Figure 14 View FIGURE 14 ).

To collect a male of Sinaphaenopoides zhaoyiae n. sp., we re-visited Zhongguo Dong three times but all our efforts ended in vain.