Omaliopsis fraterna, Shavrin, 2023

Shavrin, Alexey V., 2023, Four new species of the genus Omaliopsis Jeannel, 1940 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae: Omaliini) of China, Zootaxa 5380 (5), pp. 446-460 : 447-452

Omaliopsis fraterna sp. n.

( Figs 1 , 5–17 )

Type material. Holotype ♂ ( Fig. 1 ): ‘ CHINA: Yunnan [CH07-28], Nujiang | Lisu Aut.Pref. , Gaoligong Shan , side | valley 19 km NW Liuku, 25°59’02’’N, | 98°42’23’’E, 2730 m, devast. prim. | forest, litter sifted, 9.VI.2007, M. Schülke’ <printed>, ‘Museum für Naturkunde | Berlin | Sammlung M. Schülke’ <printed>, ‘HOLOTYPE | Omaliopsis | fraterna sp. n. | Shavrin A.V. des. 2023’ <red, printed> (cSch).

Paratypes (29 ♂♂, 24 ♀♀): 2 ♂♂ (one specimen dissected), 5 ♀♀ (one specimen dissected): same data as the holotype (1 ♂, 1 ♀: cSh; 1 ♂, 4 ♀♀: cSch); 1 ♂ (dissected), 1 ♀ (dissected): ‘ CHINA, YUNNAN prov. | 18.6.- 4.7. 1993 | HEISHUI = 35 km N Lijiang | 27, 13 N; 100, 19 E | lgt. S. Becvar’ <printed> ( MHNG); 1 ♂ (dissected): ‘ China Yunnan, 1-19.VII | HEISHUI 27.13N 100.19E | lgt. S. Becvar 1992’ <printed> ( MHNG); 1 ♂: ‘ CHINA: N-Yunnan [C03-14] | Zhongdian Co., 33 km ESE Zhongdian, | creek valley with old mixed forest, | dead wood, bamboo, moss, mushrooms, | 27°41.5’ N, 100°00.7’ E, 3200m, | 24.VIII.2003, leg. M. Schülke’ <printed>, ‘Museum für Naturkunde | Berlin | Sammlung M. Schülke’ <printed> (cSch); 1 ♀ (dissected): ‘ CHINA: N-Yunnan [C03-12] | Zhongdian Co., pass 28 km ESE Zhong- | dian, devastated primary forest with | young Abies, Larix, Betula, Rhodod. | 27°43.9’ N, 99°58.2’ E, 3700-3750m, | 22.VIII.2003, leg. M. Schülke’ <printed>, ‘Museum für Naturkunde | Berlin | Sammlung M. Schülke’ <printed> (cSch); 2 ♂♂: ‘ CHINA: N-Yunnan Zhong- | dian Co. pass 28 km ESE Zhong- | dian, 27°43.9’N 99°58.2’E | 3700-3750m 22.VIII.2003 | A. Smetana [C131]’ <printed; C131: sifting of leaf litter, rotting wood, moss and various floor debris, particularly around and under mushrooms in various stages of development in an degraded original Abies , Sorbus, Larix , Rhododendron forest with various deciduous shrubbery undergrowth> (cSh); 4 ♂♂ (one specimen dissected), 5 ♀♀ (one specimen dissected): ‘ CHINA: N-Yunnan Zhong- | dian Co. 33km ESE Zhong- | dian, 27°41.5’N 100°00.7’E | 3200m 24. VIII. 2003 | A. Smetana [C135]’ <printed; C135: sifting large quantities of orange-yellowish mushrooms growing on an old fallen tree, and debris under and around them in an open valley with scattered, old deciduous trees> (2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀: cSh, 2 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀: CNC); 1 ♀: ‘ CHINA: N-Yunnan,Lijiang | Naxi Aut.Co. E Yulongxue | Shan, 30km N Lijiang | 27°09.0’N 100°14.9’E | 2800- 2900m 13.VIII.2003 | A. Smetana [C 120]’ <printed; C120: sifting leaf litter along large rocks, some mushrooms and mats of soft moss in a secondary mixed forest> ( CNC); 1 ♀: ‘ CHINA: N-Yunnan Dali Bai | Nat.Aut.Pref. Diancang | Shan 3km E Dali 25°41’N | 100°07’E 29.VIII.2003 | 2700m A. Smetana [C138]’ <printed; C138: sifting of wet leaf litter and other debris and dense vegetation along edges of a creek> ( CNC); 7 ♂♂ (two specimens dissected), 5 ♀♀ (one specimen dissected): CHINA: W Sichuan | 20 km N Sabdê, 3200m | 29°35N 102°23E, 13.VII. | 1998, A. Smetana [C80]’ <printed; C80: old mixed forest ( Abies , Pinus, Betula , Populus ), sifting of ground mushrooms>, ‘1998 China Expedition | J. Farkač, D. Král, | J. Schneider | & A. Smetana’ <printed> (3 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀: cSh; 4 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀: CNC); 1 ♂, 1 ♀: ‘ CHINA: W Sichuan | 20 km N Sabdê, 3200m | 29°35N 102°23E, 12.VII. | 1998, A. Smetana [C78]’ <printed; C78: sifting of ground mushrooms in an old mixed forest ( Abies , Pinus, Betula , Populus )>, ‘1998 China Expedition | J. Farkač, D. Král, | J. Schneider | & A. Smetana’ <printed> ( CNC); 5 ♂♂, 1 ♀: ‘ CHINA: W Sichuan | 20 km N Sabdê, 3200m | 29°35N 102°23E, 15.VII. | 1998, A. Smetana [C83]’ <printed; C83: sifting of ground mushrooms in an old mixed forest ( Abies , Pinus, Betula , Populus ), in soaking wet moss in a forest seepage>, ‘1998 China Expedition | J. Farkač, D. Král, | J. Schneider | & A. Smetana’ <printed> (1 ♂: cSh; 4 ♂♂, 1 ♀: CNC); 4 ♂♂ (one specimen dissected), 4 ♀♀ (one specimen dissected): ‘ CHINA: Sichuan Gongga | Shan, Hailuogou, for. | above Camp 2, 2800 m | 29°35N 102°00E, 5.VII | 1998, A. Smetana [C75]’ <printed; C75: sifting of mushrooms on dead Betula trees, standing or lying on ground branches, etc.>, ‘1998 China Expedition | J. Farkač, D. Král, | J. Schneider | & A. Smetana’ <printed> (1 ♂, 1 ♀: cSh; 3 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀: CNC); 1 ♂: ‘ CHINA, Sichuan, Gongga | Shan, above Camp 3 | 3050m, 22.VII.1994 | A. Smetana [C18]’ <printed; C18: sifting of mushrooms and moss and debris under them growing on a fallen Abies tree in an original Abies forest with Rhododendron undergrowth> ( CNC); 1 ♂ (dissected): ‘ CHINA: W-Sichuan 1999 | Ganzi Tibet. Aut. Pref., Luding Co. | W Erlangshan-Passm 2600 m | 7 km SSE Luding, 29°51N, | 102°15E, Kiefer, Hasel, Blüten | 20. VI., leg. M. Schülke’ <printed>, ‘ Omalium [handwritten] | sp. [handwritten] | det. M. Schülke 2001’ <printed>, ‘Sammlung | M. Schülke | Berlin’ <green printed label> (cSch). All paratypes with additional red printed label: ‘ PARATYPE | Omaliopsis | fraterna sp. n. | Shavrin A.V. des. 2023’.

Description. Measurements (n=54): HW: 0.40–0.47; HL: 0.28–0.33; OL: 0.10–0.14; TL: 0.03–0.05; AL (holotype): 0.62; PL: 0.36–0.42; PW: 0.55–0.62; ESL: 0.80–0.86; EW: 0.80–0.85; MTbL (holotype): 0.40; MTrL (holotype): 0.19 (MTrL 1–4: 0.07; MTrL 5: 0.12); AW: 0.80–0.88; AedL: 0.50–0.55; BL: 2.17–2.95 (holotype: 2.30).

Habitus as in Fig. 1 . Body yellow-brown to reddish-brown, with distinctly darker head and middle portion of pronotum (one specimen from Heishui with red pronotum and brownish spots in medioapical and laterobasal portions); lateral and basal portions of pronotum, mediobasal, lateroapical and apical portions of elytra, paratergites, lateral portions of abdominal tergites and apex of abdomen yellowish (some specimens with paler elytra, with darker middle parts of each elytron and distinct lateroapical spots); mouthparts, antennomeres and legs yelllowish (sometimes antennomeres 7–11 slightly darker). Punctation of head irregular, sparser and finer in basal portion of frontoclypeal area, and slightly denser and larger in middle; neck without punctures; punctation of pronotum relatively dense, about as that in middle portion of head, sparser in mediobasal portion and sometimes finer along apical and basal portions, some specimens with narrow impunctate area in mediobasal part; punctation of elytra about as that on pronotum, but slightly sparser and finer around scutellum and along suture; abdominal tergites without visible punctation. Forebody glossy; anterior portion of head with dense and transverse microreticulation, anteriomedian depression with fine subdiagonal meshes, middle portion with dense subdiagonal microsculpture; neck with very dense transverse microreticulation; pronotum with distinct and very dense transverse microsculpture, finer and sometimes indistinct in mediobasal portion; scutellum with fine transverse meshes; abdominal tergites with very dense and coarse isodiametric sculpture. Anterior and lateral portions of head with several long setae; lateral margins of pronotum with four moderately short setae; elytra without distinct setation or with several short setae on lateral margins; abdominal tergites with several short setae on lateral margins of paratergites.

Head 1.4 times as broad as long, with slightly elevated middle portion, distinctly more elevated between posterior parts of eyes, with moderately wide and shallow anteriomedian depressions and with deep and short anteocellar foveae, slightly convergent lateroanteriad; temples very short, strongly narrowed toward neck, without postocular ridges. Eyes large and convex. Ocelli large and convex, located slightly behind levels of posterior margins of eyes; distance between ocelli about as long as distance between ocellus and posterior margin of eye. Maxillary palpi moderately long, apical palpomere about three and a half times as long as small and distinctly transverse penultimate segment. Antenna reaching basal portion of elytra when reclined, antennomeres 7–10 distinctly transverse,six antennomeres with strong pubescence; basal antennomere wide, about two and a half times as long as broad, antennomere 2 oblong, distinctly shorter and narrower than basal antennomere, 3 slightly shorter and about twice narrower than 2, 4 distinctly shorter than 3, 5 slightly shorter and broader than 4, 6 slightly transverse, slightly shorter and distinctly broader than 5, 7 longer and distinctly broader than 6, 8–10 broader than 7, apical antennomere about twice longer than 10, from about middle strongly narrowed apicad toward subacute apex.

Pronotum distinctly convex, 1.4–1.5 times as broad as long, 1.3 times as broad as head, widest slightly above middle, gradually rounded anteriad and slightly narrowed posteriad toward obtuse posterior angles; lateral margins narrowly marginated; surface of disc with two distinct, moderately long and wide longitudinal depressions, deeper in mediobasal portion; laterobasal portions relatively deeply impressed.

Elytra about as long as broad, slightly more than twice as long as pronotum, indistinctly broadened posteriad; lateral margins marginated; hind margins straight. Wings fully developed.

Metatarsi about twice shorter than metatibia.

Abdomen distinctly convex, as broad as elytra, with two small oval wing-folding patches in middle of abdominal tergite IV (indistinct in some specimens) and narrow palisade fringe on apical margin of abdominal tergite VII.

Male. Posterior margin of abdominal tergite VIII rounded ( Fig. 11 ). Posterior margin of abdominal sternite VIII widely emarginate ( Fig. 12 ). Aedeagus with moderately wide basal portion, gradually narrowed toward middle of relatively narrow median lobe and slightly more narrowed apically toward rounded apex; parameres narrow, not or slightly broadened apically, with two long apical and one short preapical setae; internal sac long and wide, with paired long, narrow and curved sclerites in middle portion and moderately short narrow flagellum between them ( Figs. 5, 7, 9–10 ). Lateral aspect of the aedeagus as in Figs. 6, 9 .

Female. Posterior margin of abdominal tergite VIII ( Fig. 13 ) and sternite VIII ( Fig. 14 ) rounded. Female accessory sclerite triangular, with wide basal portion strongly narrowed apically ( Fig. 15 ). Spermatheca as in Fig. 16 .

Comparative notes. Based on the general shapes of the forebody and the aedeagus, and the lack of postocular ridges, O. fraterna sp. n. is similar to three Chinese species described in the present study: O. hlavaci sp. n., O. obliquesignata sp. n. and O. smetanai sp. n. From O. hlavaci sp. n. it differs by the slightly paler coloration of the forebody, longer elytra, and narrower apical portion of the median lobe of the aedeagus. From O. obliquesignata sp. n. it differs by the darker coloration of the elytra, denser punctation of the head and pronotum, narrower and longer elytra, narrower apical portion of the median lobe of the aedeagus and slightly longer parameres. From O. smetanai sp. n. it differs by the darker elytra and denser punctation of the head and pronotum. From all these species it can be distinguished by the shape of yellowish maculae on lateroapical portions of the elytra, and details of the structure of the internal sac and the shape of the female accessory sclerite. For additional details see the key below.

Distribution. The new species is known from several locations in Gaoligong Shan, Heishui, Zhongdian and Diancong Shan in Yunnan, and Sabdê, Gongga Shan and Erlangshan in Sichuan, China ( Fig. 17 ).

Etymology. The specific epithet is the Latin adjective fraternus, - a, - um (like brothers). It confirms the similarity of O. fraterna with other relative Chinese species described in the present study.

Bionomics. Specimens were collected at elevations from 2600 to 3750 m a.s.l. by sifting forest litter, mosses, mushrooms and debris in mixed forests ( Abies, Larix, Betula , Populus , etc.), usually with shrubs of rhododendrons.

Figures

FIGURE 17. Distribution of Omaliopsis in China: O. fraterna (circles), O. hlavaci (triangles), O. obliquesignata (black star), O. smetanai (diamonds).

FIGURES 1–4. Habitus of Omaliopsis: 1—O. fraterna (holotype), 2—O. hlavaci (holotype), 3—O. obliquesignata (holotype), 4—O. smetanai (holotype). Scale bars: 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 5–10. Aedeagus of Omaliopsis fraterna (Figs 5–8: Gaoligong Shan; Fig. 9: Heishui, Fig. 10: Zhongdian): 5, 7–8, 10—parameral view, 6, 9—lateral view. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 11–16. Omaliopsis fraterna: 11–male tergite VIII, 12–male sternite VIII, 13–female tergite VIII, 14–female sternite 8, 15–female accessory sclerite, 16–spermatheca. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.