Lathrobium (Lathrobium) houhuanicum, Assing, 2010

Assing, Volker, 2010, On the Lathrobiina of Taiwan (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 60 (2), pp. 301-361 : 315-317

Lathrobium (Lathrobium) houhuanicum sp. n. ( Figs 49-57 )

Type material:

Holotype ♂: " Taiwan, Nantou Hsien, Houhuanshan, Kuenyang , 3050 m, 29.IV.90, A. Smetana [ T30 ] / Holotypus ♂ Lathrobium houhuanicum sp. n., det. V. Assing 2010" (cSme) . Paratypes: 1 ♂, 1 ♀: " Taiwan, Nantou Hsien, Houhuanshan, Kuenyang , 3050 m, 27.IV.90, A. Smetana [ T29 ]" (cSme, cAss) .

Description:

Body length 4.9-5.7 mm; habitus as in Fig. 49 . Externally highly similar to L. involutum , except for the somewhat broader body, the more pronounced microsculpture on the head, the less oblong pronotum, and the broader elytra. Pronotum approximately 1.25-1.30 times as long as wide ( Fig. 50 ).

♂: posterior margin of sternite VII weakly concave, pubescence in postero-median portion weakly modified ( Fig. 51 ); sternite VIII approximately as long as wide, posterior excision relatively deep and in asymmetric position (i.e., not in the middle), its depth 1/6-1/5 the length of sternite ( Fig. 52 ); aedeagus approximately 0.9 mm long, with slender and apically acute ventral process, and with internal structures of distinctive shape ( Figs 53-54 ).

♀: tergite VIII approximately 1.2 times as long as wide, posterior margin obtusely angled in the middle ( Fig. 55 ), latero-ventral flaps pronounced, meeting ventrally, but not overlapping; sternite VIII approximately 1.25 times as long as broad and 1.15 times as long as tergite VIII, distinctly produced posteriorly ( Fig. 56 ); tergite X approximately 2.5 times as long as tergite IX in the middle ( Fig. 57 ).

Comparative notes:

Based on the similar external and sexual characters, L. houhuanicum undoubtedly belongs to the L. involutum group. From other species of this group, it is distinguished particularly by the morphology of the aedeagus (ventral process, internal structures), from most of them also by the shape of the female tergite VIII.

Etymology:

The specific epithet (adjective) is derived from the name of the mountain where the type specimens were discovered.

Distribution and natural history:

The species is probably endemic to the Houhuanshan, Nantou Hsien, central Taiwan, where the types were sifted from leaf litter, moss, grass, and other debris, partly around the bases of large trees, in a fir forest with bamboo undergrowth at an altitude of 3050 m .

Figures

Figs 49-57: Lathrobium houhuanicum sp. n.: habitus (49); forebody (50); male sternite VII (51); male sternite VIII (52); aedeagus in lateral view (53-54); female tergite VIII (55); female sternite VIII (56); female tergites IX-X (57). Scale bars: 49-50: 1.0 mm; 51-52, 55-57: 0.5 mm; 53-54: 0.2 mm.