Paederus

Li, Xiao-Yan & Zhou, Hong-Zhang, 2009, A review of Chinese species of the subgenus Paederus s. str. (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae) with description of a new species, Zootaxa 2083, pp. 46-64 : 59-62

6. Paederus (s. str.) sondaicus Fauvel, 1895

(Figs. 6A–M)

Fauvel, 1895: 232 (type locality: South India: Travancore); Wendeler, 1926: 329; Cameron, 1931: 37 ( India, Burma); Scheerpeltz, 1957: 462 (placed in subgenus Paederus s. str.); Frank, 1988: 132 (catalog); Willers, 1999: 155; Smetana, 2004: 614 ( China: Fujian, Jiangxi, Taiwan).

Synonymy: Paederus ceylonicus Bernhauer, 1902: 37 (type locality: Ceylon); Bernhauer & Schubert, 1912: 205; Cameron, 1931: 38; Scheerpeltz, 1933: 1222; Willers, 1999: 155, Smetana, 2004: 614 (as synonym of P. sondaicus ).

Paederus javanus Erichson, 1840: 654 (nec Laporte de Castelnau; type locality: East-India); Kraatz, 1859: 150 (variant spelling: iavanus; homonym of Laporte de Castelnau); Fauvel, 1895: 232 (as synonym of P. sondaicus ); Bernhauer & Schubert, 1912: 211; Wendeler, 1926: 328; Cameron, 1925: 37; Scheerpeltz, 1957: 462 (placed in subgenus Paederus s. str.); Frank, 1988: 115; Willers, 1999: 155; Smetana, 2004: 614.

Paederus klapperichi Bernhauer, 1941: 226 (type locality: China); Scheerpeltz, 1957: 475 ( China: Fujian); Frank, 1988: 116; Willers, 1999: 155 (as synonym of P. sondaicus ); Smetana, 2004: 614.

Paederus obscurus Wendeler, 1926: 329 (as subspecie of P. sondaicus ; type locality: Indonesia: Molukken, Buru); Frank, 1988: 124 (status, infrasubspecific rank); Smetana, 2004: 614 (as synonymy of P. sondaicus ).

Paederus tongyai Bernhauer, 1939: 115 (type locality: Thailand); Willers, 1999: 155 (as synonym of P. sondaicus ); Smetana, 2004: 614.

Material. CHINA: Hainan Province: 1 male, Jianfeng, 5 km E Tian Chi, 800 m, 23.I.1996, collected by Jäch ( NMW); 3 females, 4 males, Tongshi, 340 m, 30.III–24.IV.1960, collected by Li Changqin; 1 female, 8.IV.1936, collected by G. Ros (all IZCAS); Yunnan Province: 1 male, SE Ping, Mt. Dawei 900 m, 23.VI. 1956, collected by Panfilov ( ZIN); 1 male, Jinping, 23.VI.1958; 1 male, by Wang Shuyong; 1 female, Damenglong, 850 m, 17.VII.1958, collected by Zhang Yiran; 1 female, 1 male, Lushui county, Pianma Town, 9–12.V.2004, collected by Yang Xiujuan & Liu Yushuang (all IZCAS); Fujian Province: 1 female, Guadun “Tschung SEN”, 2.X.1946, collected by Jäch ( NMW); 4 females, 3 males, Mt. Wuyi, Xingcunzhen, 5.X.2005, collected by Chen Haifeng; 1 male, Jianyang, 170 m, 20.III.1960, collected by Zhang Yiran; 1 female, 1 male, NW Fukien, Bohai Hills, 11. VII.1940, collected by T. Maa (all IZCAS); Guangxi Province: 1 male, Pingxiang, 230 m, 12.IV.1963, collected by Shi Yongshan; 2 females, 2 males, Fangcheng Fulong, 220 m, 14.III.1998, collected by Zhou Haisheng; 1 male, Fangcheng Fulong, 240 m, 15.III.1998, collected by Li Wenzhu; 2 females, Nanpo Baihe, 400–440 m, 8.IV.1998, collected by Wu Chunsheng & Zhou Haisheng; 1 female, Napo Beidou, 500 m, 9.IV.1998, collected by Zhou Haisheng (all IZCAS); Jiangxi Province: 1 male, Kiangsi Nifeng, 30.IX.1976, collected by S. K. Teng (all IZCAS); Shanghai Municipality: 1 female, 1.X.1947, collected by Marist Brothers (all IZCAS); Xizang Province: 1 female, Moto county, 1000–1150 m, 28.IV.1983; collected by Yu Yang & Liu Yushuang (all IZCAS); VIETNAM: 7 males, Tonkin, Hoa-Binh, VII.1939, collected by A. de Cooman (all IZCAS); SRI LANKA: 1 male, “ Ceylon ”, collected by Nietner ( ZMHB (Nr. 38993; historical collection ( Coleoptera ))).

Description. Male. Body length 9.1–9.6 mm; width: 1.2–1.9 mm. Length rates of body parts: HL AL PL ELL = 1.86 1.44 2.90 1.30mm; width rates: HW PW ELW ABW = 1.40 1.72 1.38 1.35mm.

Head and elytra blackish blue with metallic shine. Labrum brownish red with anterior margin black. Mandibles blackish red with outer margin brown. Labial palpi brownish yellow. Antennae with first three segments, apex of 4th and last segment slightly brownish yellow, the rests brown. Pronotum and 3rd–6th abdominal segments brownish red, 7th–8th segments black. Scutellum yellowish brown with margins blackish brown. Legs brownish yellow, except 1/3 of femora black.

Head nearly quadrangular, HL/HW = 0.96, lateral sides rounded, posterior margin broadly rounded. Eyes relatively large, slightly protruding laterad, HL/EL = 3.17, eyes longer than gena but shorter than temple (gena:eye:temple = 0.48 0.41 0.32mm). Punctures on head moderately dense and large, denser laterally; around eyes even denser and larger; all punctures with black or brown oblique setae of different length. Middle of vertex and front smooth and glabrous. Labrum (Fig. 6A) transverse, anterior margin irregularly sinuate or obtusely toothed, with small denticle at bottom of medial notch. Mandibles (Fig. 6C) robust and falciform with a bicuspidate tooth in middle of inner margin, behind it with big corneous notch.

FIGURES 6A–M. Paederus sondaicus Fauvel , male and female from Fujian, China. A—labrum, male; B—labrum, female; C—right mandible, male; D—right mandible, female; E—8th tergite, male; F—8th sternite, male; G—9th sternite, male; H—8th tergite, female; I—8th sternite, female; J—9th sternite, female; K—aedeagus, ventral view; L—aedeagus, lateral view; M—aedeagus, dorsal view. Scale bar 0.5 mm.

Pronotum subtrapezoidal, wider in apical 1/4, PL/PW = 1.04, gradually narrowed posteriad, lateral margin nearly straight. Disc very convex, longitudinal medial area smooth and glabrous, lateral areas with fine and sparse punctures, slightly denser laterally, each puncture with blackish brown seta. Metaventrite broad with fine and dense punctation, in middle of posterior part with a short reverse T-shaped groove, gradually tapered anteriorly.

Elytra broad and nearly parallel, ELL\ELW = 1.11, ESL/ELL = 0.78, humeral angles well developed, posterior margin weakly sinuate; punctation irregular, larger and denser than on head or pronotum, intervals between punctures smaller than puncture diameter, each puncture with black seta. Punctation in middle and posterior parts of elytra slightly denser than in anterior part. Hind wings well developed. Legs long, 2nd segment of protarsi broadest, 1st, 3rd and 4th gradually narrowed apically, first three segments of meso- and metatarsi gradually shortened from 1st to 3rd segments, length of 4th as long as 2nd.

Abdomen elongate, widest at 7th (5th visible) segment, where narrower than head or elytra but broader than pronotum. Punctures on tergites fine and moderately dense, denser laterally, each puncture with black seta. Base of 3rd and 4th (first two visible) abdominal tergites with distinct transverse depression where punctures very dense and large. Punctures on sternites denser and larger than on tergites. 7th sternite with a tomentose patch in middle, hind margin shallowly emarginate. 8th sternite (Fig. 6F) with posterior notch about 1/2 as long as sternite, its bottom slightly rounded and inner sides nearly parallel.

Aedeagus (Figs. 6K–M) thick and asymmetrical, length/width = 2.17. Median lobe thick, basal portion slightly bulbous, widest in middle. Dorsal plate of median lobe asymmetrical, broad at base and gradually narrowed apically, apex curved dorsally, apically extending slightly beyond ventral plate. Parameres broad, sinuate and overlapping in apical 1/4. Internal armature (Fig. 6M) very complex and broad, includes two sclerotized pieces, both with apex falciform, one with inner margin serrated.

Female. Labrum (Fig. 6B) with one pair of acute teeth on anterior margin, bottom of middle notch with small denticle. 8th sternite (Fig. 6I) with apex rounded and both sides of the apex without notches, 9th sternite (Fig. 6J) triangular, length/width = 1.39, basal margin broad and shallowly emarginate, posterior margin with shallow and narrow notch.

Remarks. The main diagnostic character of this species is the remarkable structure of the internal armature of the aedeagus: it is composed of two long and strongly sclerotized pieces: in both the apex is falciform, and in one of them the apex has the inner margin serrated (Fig. 6M).

Distribution. China (Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Yunnan, Hainan, Xizang, Taiwan); Thailand ( Bernhauer 1939), Vietnam ( Tonkin), Burma ( Cameron 1931), Sri Lank, India ( Cameron 1931), Indonesia ( Wendeler 1926).