Anthobium besucheti Shavrin & Smetana, 2018

Shavrin, Alexey V. & Smetana, Aleš, 2018, A revision of Eastern Palaearctic Anthobium Leach, 1819 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae: Anthophagini). II. fusculum group, and two additional species of the nigrum group, Zootaxa 4508 (4), pp. 451-506 : 466-467

Anthobium besucheti Shavrin & Smetana , sp.n.

( Figs. 3 , 52–53 , 54 )

Type material examined: Holotype ♂: ‘ NEPAL Parbat | Distr. Ridge E | Ghoropani Pass | 3100m 7. X. 1983 | [A.] Smetana & [I.] Löbl’ <rectangular label, printed >, ‘ HOLOTYPE | Anthobium | besucheti sp.n. | Shavrin A. & Smetana A. des. 2018’ <red rectangular label, printed> ( MHNG) .

Paratypes (23 specimens): 6 ♂♂ [two specimens dissected], 6 ♀♀: same data as the holotype (5 ♂, 5 ♀: MHNG; 1 ♂, 1 ♀: CS) ; 1 ♂: ‘ NEPAL: Lamjung, S- | Sundar Danda , 3140m, | 28°22'57''N, 84°20'57''E, | 21.IX.2013 | leg. [J.]Hagge & [J.]Schmidt’ ( NME) ; 1 ♀: ‘E. NEPAL: KOSI [Khandbari District] | Goru Dzure Dara | 3600 m, 9.IV.84 | [I.]Löbl-[A.]Smetana’ ( MHNG) ; 4 ♂♂ [one specimen dissected], 5 ♀♀: ‘NEPAL—Goropani For. | Crête Est Goropani | 3100m 7.X.1983 | [I.]Löbl—[A.]Smetana’ ( MHNG) . All paratypes with additional red rectangular printed label: ‘ PARATYPE | Anthobium | besucheti sp.n. | Shavrin A. & Smetana A. des. 2018’.

Description. Measurements (n=24): HW: 0.55–0.57, HL: 0.32–0.36; AL(holotype): 0.93; OL: 0.12–0.14; PL: 0.41–0.48; PW: 0.81–0.95; ESL: 0.87–1.02; EW: 1.07–1.15; AW: 0.80–0.96; MTbL(holotype): 0.52; MTrL(holotype): 0.22 (MTrL 1–4: 0.14; MTrL 5: 0.08); AedL: 0.42; TL: 1.95–2.74 (holotype: 2.40).

Body elongate, convex. Body yellow to yellow-brown, some specimens with reddish-brown head, antennomeres 7–11 and abdomen; mouthparts, antennomeres 1–6 and legs yellow. Posterior portions of infraorbital ridges and area between ocelli with slightly rugose transverse sculpture between punctures, neck and abdominal tergites with distinct isodiametric microsculpture. Head with irregular, small and deep punctation, denser on posterior portion; middle part of neck with irregular and sparse punctation; pronotum with irregular punctation, markedly denser, larger and coarser than that on posterior part of head, sparser on lateral portions and posterior third of middle elevation, some specimens with small impunctate area between mediobasal impression and/or on basolateral portions; visible part of scutellum impunctated or with several small punctures; punctation of elytra dense, distinctly larger and deeper than that on pronotum, smaller and denser on parascutellar area, each elytron with five to eight very vague and tangled longitudinal rows of punctures, replaced by confluent punctures in some paratypes; abdominal tergites without visible punctures or with small and dense punctation on abdominal tergites VII–VIII. Habitus as in Fig. 3 .

Head 1.5–1.7 times as wide as long; middle portion of head between eyes slightly elevated, usually with middle transverse impression between eyes at posterior third, with indistinct to distinct small and narrow grooves in front of ocelli, sometimes reaching middle length of eyes; postocular ridges usually smooth; anterior portion between antennal insertion and anterior margin of eye with wide and shallow semicircular notch. Ocelli small, situated at level of postocular ridges; distance between ocelli one and half times as long as distance between ocellus and posterior margin of eye. Apical segment of maxillary palp about three times as long as preceding segment, widest in basal part and conically narrowed toward acute apex. Antenna moderately short, reaching shoulders of elytra when reclined; apical antennomeres widened, as wide as basal antennomere; length × width of antennomeres (holotype): 1: 0.13 × 0.05; 2: 0.07 × 0.04; 3–4: 0.07 × 0.03; 5–6: 0.08 × 0.03; 7: 0.07 × 0.03; 8: 0.07 × 0.04; 9: 0.07 × 0.05; 10: 0.07 × 0.05; 11: 0.15 × 0.05.

Pronotum about twice as wide as long, 1.4–1.6 times as wide as head, widest in front of middle, indistinctly and evenly narrowed both posteriad and anteriad; apical margin slightly shorter than posterior margin, widely rounded on anterior margin; anterior angles widely rounded, slightly protruded anteriad, posterior angles obtuse; lateral edges of pronotum with irregular, small and smooth crenulation; pronotum with very wide, markedly elevated middle portion, with very indistinct to distinct and deep longitudinal impression on anterior half of middle elevation, with pair of distinct, slightly or moderately deep transverse impressions on mediobasal third.

Elytra slightly broader than long, about twice as long as pronotum, slightly widened apicad, reaching apical margin of abdominal tergite IV or V; each elytron in middle with irregular, distinct elevations between punctures, forming indistinct two or three longitudinal elevations in some specimens.

Abdomen with indistinctly elevated paratergites.

Male. Apical margin of abdominal tergite VIII straight or rounded. Apical margin of abdominal sternite VIII slightly sinuate. Aedeagus ( Fig. 52 ) with median lobe moderately wide basally, gradually narrowed toward subtruncate apex; parameres wide, significantly exceeding apex of median lobe, with two small apical and preapical setae; internal sac very narrow and long. Aedeagus laterally as in Fig. 53 .

Female. Apical margin of abdominal tergite VIII straight. Apical margin of abdominal sternite VIII rounded.

Comparative notes. Based on the body size, coloration, shape of the body with moderately short elytra, A. besucheti Shavrin & Smetana , sp.n. is most similar to A. denticulatum Shavrin & Smetana , sp.n., from which it differs by the slightly wider pronotum, by the narrower and smaller aedeagus with internal sac missing sclerotized teeth.

Distribution. The species is known from several localities in central and eastern Nepal ( Fig. 54 ).

Bionomics. Specimens were collected at elevations from 3100 to 3600 m a.s.l. Specimens from Parbat District were taken by sifting of Carex mixed with other vegetation along edges of the pond in an Abies and Rhododendron forest; a male from Sundar Danda ( Nepal) was taken by sifting leaf litter in Rhododendron - Abies forest, together with A. monticola (see below). Specimens from Goru Dzure Dara were collected together with A. cavicrus (see below) and were taken by sifting of various debris, moss and Rhododendron leaf litter in a small gorge with still remnants of snow.

Etymology. Patronymic, the species is named to honour our colleague, coleopterologist Claude Besuchet (Genève, Switzerland).

Figures

FIGURE 54. Distribution of Anthobium altivagans (black circles), A. besucheti (black squares), A. rugosum (black triangles) and A. denticulatum (black star) in the Himalayan Region.

FIGURES 1–5. Habitus of Anthobium fusculum group: 1—A. fusculum (KAZAKHSTAN: Tian Shan), 2—A. altivagans (NEPAL: Telbrung Danda), 3—A. besucheti (paratype: Ghoropani Pass), 4—A. capitale (holotype), 5—A. cavicrus (NEPAL: Thare Pati). Scale bar: 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 50–53. Aedeagus of Anthobium altivagans (50–51: NEPAL: Ganesh Himal) and A. besucheti (52–53: NEPAL: Ghoropani Pass): 50, 52—parameral view, 51, 53—lateral view. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.