Lasiocera schuelei Serrano, 2017

Serrano, Artur R. M., Capela, Rúben A. & Santos, Carmen Van-Dúnem Neto, 2017, Biodiversity and notes on carabid beetles from Angola with description of new taxa (Coleoptera: Carabidae), Zootaxa 4353 (2), pp. 201-256 : 232-235

Lasiocera schuelei Serrano sp. n.

( Figs 1 b , 4 , 5 )

Type series. Holotype, ♂; Angola (KWANZA SUL), Munenga 35 km W Calulo (unknown, 147), 3.XII.2012, DO, P. Schüle leg., PSC . Allotype 1♀: same data as Holotype, P. Schüle leg., ASC . Paratypes: Angola ( HUÍLA) 3.5 km SW Negola (14° 08´53´´ S, 14° 28´16´´ E, 1615 m, 317), 8.XII.2012, 2♀, DO, P. Schüle leg., PSC, ZSM ; Cambamba ( Catoio-Quela ) (09° 14´42´´ S, 17° 00´33´´ E, 1178 m alt., 115) (MALANJE), 20.XI.2015, 1♀, DO, A. Serrano leg., ASC .

Derivatio nominis. This species is cordially dedicated to Peter Schüle, from Herrenberg, a specialist on tiger and ground beetles of Africa which has deeply collaborated with us and kindly provided most of the specimens of this new species.

Diagnosis. Body elongate, parallel, slightly convex and greenish-bronze ( Fig. 1 b ); integument densely and deeply punctate, shagrened; surface among punctures with micropunctures visible at high magnification. Pronotum subrectangular or subtrapezoidal shaped ( Fig. 4 ). Four reduced elytral spots. Internal sac of median lobe of aedeagus ( Fig. 5 ) with tangled membranes, the dorsal twisted one closer to the apex (lateral view), this slightly bent to the left (dorsal view) ( Fig. 5 ).

Description. Length of Holotype: 4.82 mm. Length of paratypes (all females): 4.95‒5.74 mm.

Head. Triangular ( Fig. 1 b ), 1.2‒1.3 times wider than long [length: 0.77 mm (holotype), 0.83‒0.88 mm (female allotype and paratypes), width: 0.99 mm (holotype), 1.02‒1.14 mm (female allotype and paratypes)], greenish bronze, shagreened, closely and deeply punctate, surface intervals distinctly micropunctate; mandibles and labrum brownish dark; eyes large, proeminent; palpi light yellowish, apical half of the last articles darker, last article of both palpi fusiform, sharp at the tip; labrum with anterior margin triangularly emarginated; frontal forrows distinct, subparallel, extended to level of anterior supraorbital seta, joining to the inner ocular suture; frons slightly convex or depressed, occiput slightly concave; antennae flavescent, brown dark in inner side of 1st to 10th antennomers, surpassing the posterior margin of pronotum by the last two-three antennomers, 3rd to 10th with 4‒5 long bristles just bellow the joints, scape 2.5 times (holotype) and 2.3‒2.7 times (female allotype and paratypes) longer than wide [length: 0.32 mm (holotype), 0.31‒0.38 mm (female allotype and paratypes), width: 0.13 mm (holotype), 0.13‒0.14 mm (female allotype and paratypes)], pedicele 1.3 times (holotype) and 1.1‒1.4 times (female allotype and paratypes) longer than wide [length: 0.10 mm (holotype), 0.10‒0.11 mm (female allotype and paratypes), width: 0.08 mm (holotype), 0.08‒0.10 mm (female allotype and paratypes)], 3rd to 4th antennomers 2.1 times (holotype) and 2.1‒2.5 times (female allotype and paratypes) longer than wide [length: 0.21 mm (holotype), 0.19‒ 0.21 mm (female allotype and paratypes), width: 0.10 mm (holotype and female allotype and paratypes)], 5th to 10th 2.3‒2.6 times (holotype) and 2.2‒3.2 times (female allotype and paratypes) longer than wide [length: 0.21‒0.24 mm (holotype), 0.22‒0.32 mm (female allotype and paratypes), width: 0.09‒0.10 mm (holotype), 0.09‒0.10 mm (female allotype and paratypes)], and 11th 2.7 times (holoptype) and 3‒3.4 times (female allotype and paratypes) longer than wide [length: 0.27 mm (holotype), 0.27‒0.31 mm (female allotype and paratypes), width: 0.10 mm (holotype), 0.09 mm (female allotype and paratypes)]. Cephalic chaetotaxy (large setae): Labrum with three pairs of setae gradually shorter from external to inner sides, one pair on sides of clypeus and two pairs of supraocular setae present over each eye.

Thorax. Pronotum ( Fig. 4 ) 1.36 times (holotype) and 1.23‒1.35 times (female allotype and paratypes) longer than wide [length: 0.99 mm (holotype), 1.01‒1.18 mm (female allotype and paratypes), width: 0.73 mm (holotype), 0.75‒0.91 mm (female allotype and paratypes)], greenish bronze, shiny, closely and deeply punctate, surface intervals distinctly micropunctate; wider than head, slightly subrectangular or inverted subtrapezoidal shaped, concussively widest at first third or close to the anterior angles; apical and basal margins not margined, lateral margins with complete and distinct margination in the two first thirds since the anterior angles, reaching the posterior angles, proepisterna well visible from above in the two first thirds; apical margin slightly emarginated, apical angles largely rounded, not protruded; lateral margins slightly subparallel or oblique at first two thirds, followed by a slight sinuosity before the roundly right basal angles, posterior margin slightly but distinctly arcuate; median line absent or very superflous, not reaching anterior or posterior margins, anterior transverse sulcus indistinct, posterior transverse sulcus slightly conspicuous; one marginal setae situated in the end of first third, the posterior marginal seta absent.

Elytra ( Fig. 1 b ) 1.76 times (holotype) and 1.71‒1.82 times (female allotype and paratypes) longer than wide [length: 2.78 mm (holotype), 2.88‒3.36 mm (female allotype and paratypes), width: 1.58 mm (holotype), 1.68‒ 1.87 mm (female allotype and paratypes)], greenish bronze, shiny and with punctual metallic reflections; wider than pronotum, humeral angles broadly rounded; elongate and parallel, dorsally moderately convex, truncated obliquely behind, posterior obtuse angle sometimes slightly produced in a short spine, apical margin with 7 to 10 small denticles since the posterior angle to the sutural angle; striae deeply punctate, intervals narrow and convexes, transversely strongly rugose, surface distinctly micropunctate; yellowish patches: one sub-basal and other submedian on 6th interval, more or less rounded or in a small longitudinal line, and two joint small longitudinal subapicals, respectively on 5th and 6th intervals; three setiferous punctures situated at 3rd interval, one at basal quarter, other at median region and the last one at beginning of the last quarter.

Ventral surface. Blachish-bronze, shiny; genae sparsely finely punctate, glabrous; proepisterna closely and deeply alveolo-punctate in the upper sides, becoming less densely punctate towards the ventral region; sternum glabrous; elytral epipleura smooth with some sparse and deeply punctures at first half; abdominal segments sparcely micropunctate, the first two covered lateraly with sparce dressed short hairs; last segment with 1 pair (male) or 2 pairs (female) of setae near the posterior margin;

Legs. Slender, yellowish, almost transparent; knees, apical region of tibiae and tarsi brownish dark; trochanters black.

Aedeagus ( Fig. 5 ). Slender, median lobe slightly curved and apex slightly upwards (lateral view); internal sac with tangled membranes very weekly sclerotized twisted in a pre-dorso-apical position; apex slightly bent to left (dorsal view); parameres like figure 5a.

Intraspecific variation. The range of variability observed in L. schuelei sp. n. (5 specimens) affects the pronotum shape (see description), the elytral yellow pattern and the number of teeth in apical elytrae margin (see description).

Concerning the variability within the elytral yellow patches, sometimes the sub-basal patch is absent in one elytron or on both, other times both the sub-basal and the median ones are also absent, remaining solely the subapicals. Asymmetries in the length of left and right elytron are common too.

Remarks. The species of this genus are characterized, among other features (see Péringuey 1896), by the convex pronotum inflated lateraly in the median region and, consequently, presenting an oblong-ovate or fusiform shape more or less developed. The new species by the singular pronotum shape (subrectangular or even subtrapezoidal), presenting the lateral margins parallel or slightly oblique convergently backwards, is easily segregate from the remaining species. It seems closer to L. egregia Péringuey, 1896 by the reduced elytral patches, the elongate body, parallel elytra and the posterior elytral angle slightly denticled.

Ecological notes. Adult specimens from Munenga (Calulo) were found during day on open, moist patches with sparse vegetation within a meadow with a few single trees. Adult specimens from Negola were found also during day, walking on a sunshine loamy path after rain, within an open secondary forest. The single female specimen from Cambamba (Catoio-Quela) was found beneath litter in the edges of a countryside road with sandy soil whitin a secondary open forest ( Fig. 9b ) together with the tiger beetle L. wellmani and the ground beetles C. convexicollis and G. ellipticus .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Facies of:a) Perigona liboloensis sp. n. male holotype, b) Lasiocera schuelei sp. n. male holotype.

FIGURE 4. Lasiocera schuelei sp. n., pronotum (dorsal view): a) male holotype, Munenga,b) female paratype, Cambamba.

FIGURE 5. Lasiocera schuelei sp. n., Aedeagus: a) Median lobe and parameres (left lateral view), b) apex of median lobe (dorsal view).

FIGURE 9. Habitats of: a) Perigona liboloensis sp. n., Alto Ventura, Kwanza Sul, b) Lasiocera schuelei sp. n., Cambamba, Malanje, c) Galerita procera capelai ssp. n, Calulo-Cabuta, Kwanza Sul, d) Habrodera nilotica and Lophyra neglecta intermediola destroyed by sand removal (arrow) before Cambambe dan, Kwanza Sul, e) and f) Dromica fredericoi and Trichotaeniapepetela inNovember 2014 and 2015, well perserved and destroyed by fire, respectively, Catota, Bié.