Ochthephilus monticola ( Cameron, 1924 )

Makranczy, György, 2014, Revision of the genus Ochthephilus Mulsant & Rey, 1856 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae, Oxytelinae), Revue suisse de Zoologie 121 (4), pp. 457-694 : 626-630

Ochthephilus monticola ( Cameron, 1924) Figs 455-458, 556, 585

Ancyrophorus monticola Cameron, 1924: 174 . – Cameron, 1930: 177. – Scheerpeltz, 1976: 19. Ochthephilus monticola (Cameron) . – Herman, 1970: 384. – Watanabe, 2007: 58.

TYPE MATERIAL EXAMINED: Ancyrophorus monticola – LECTOTYPE (here designated): “ Type [red margined round disc, curator label] \ Ghum district [ Darjeeling district , Ghoom , +27.02/+88.16]; v-vi-31; Dr. Cameron \ A.; basicornis; Type Cam. \ M. Cameron.; Bequest.; B.M. 1955-147.; \ Lectotypus; Ancyrophorus ; basicornis Cameron ; (on the back) des. Makranczy, 1999 \ Ochthephilus ; basicornis Cameron ; det. Makranczy, 1999” ( BMNH) . – PARALECTOTYPES (11): same data as lectotype ( BMNH, 5, coll. Last, MMUE, 5, AMNH, 1) .

OTHER MATERIAL: INDIA: Kashmir, Hemis *+33.90/+77.72*, VI. 1981, leg. G. de Rougemont, coll. Rougemont, OXUM (1). – Kashmir , Gulmarg *+34.05/+74.38*, VI-VII.1931; [leg.] Dr. Cameron, BMNH (1). – Parbatti Valley , Kul [l]u, Punjab , 6000-8000ft *+32.00/+77.44*, V.1926?, leg. H.G. Champion ( BMNH, 1♀, 4, MHNG, 1♀). — NEPAL: Dolakha distr. , SW Kalinchok Mt. , 3100m *+27.75/+86.03*, 19-23.IV.1995, leg. J. Martens & W. Schawaller (no. 421), SMNS (2). – Dhawalagiri, Region Parbat , Chitre , 2500m [28°25'01"N, 83°41'52"E, sifted wet mosses], 26.V.2004, leg. A. Kleeberg, coll. Kleeberg (13). – Dhawalagiri, Region Parbat , near Chitre , Ghar Khola valley , ~ 2400m [28°27'36"N, 83°38'06"E], 24.V.2004, leg. A. Kleeberg [sifted organic material at bank of a tributary to Ghar Khola], coll. Kleeberg (1♀) . – Dhawalagiri, Region Parbat, Nange Thati , 2500m [28°23'05"N, 83°42'37"E], 28.V.2004, leg. A. Kleeberg [from moss on stones in small creek], coll. Kleeberg (13), HNHM (1♀, 1) . — CHINA: YUNNAN: Dali Bai Nat. Aut. Pref., Diancang Shan , 3km W Dali old town, creek valley and pine forest at "Cloud Road", right upper chairlift station, 25°41.1'N, 100°06.8'E, 2650-2750m, 29.VIII.2003, leg. M. Schülke, litter, pine needles, moss (dry and wet), mushrooms (coll. Schülke, 1♀) .

REDESCRIPTION: Forebody as in Fig. 556. Measurements (n=10): HW = 0.63 (0.60-0.66); TW = 0.59 (0.55-0.61); PW = 0.72 (0.67-0.75); SW = 0.95 (0.90-1.00); AW = 1.00 (0.90-1.15); HL = 0.52 (0.50-0.54); EL = 0.21 (0.20-0.22); TL = 0.115 (0.105-0.125); PL = 0.60 (0.58-0.62); SL = 1.10 (1.04-1.15); SC = 1.01 (0.97-1.08); FB = 2.34 (2.26-2.44); BL = 4.42 (4.15-4.84) mm. Whole body blackish dark brown, including mouthparts and antennae; legs dark brown. Occasional lighter specimens with dark brown elytra (slightly lighter than rest of main body parts), femora medium brown except apex darker, tibiae dark brown except both ends (plus tarsi lighter, medium brown. Body with greasy lustre due to not so deep punctation on head and pro- FIGS 452-461

(452-454) Ochthephilus basicornis (Cameron) ; aedeagus (452), female ringstructures (453-454). (455-458) O. monticola (Cameron) ; aedeagus (455), spermatheca (456), female ringstructures (457-458). (459-461) O. kashmiricus (Cameron) ; aedeagus (459), female ringstructures (460-461). Scale bar = 0.07 mm for 460, 0.1 mm for 456-458, 461, 0.12 mm for 452-453, 0.15 mm for 452, 459, 0.17 mm for 455.

notum, but distinct coriaceous microsculpture covering interspaces; elytral setation short but rather dense. Pubescence on elytra shorter than in closest congeners but strong, rather dense and regularly spaced, in contrast with somewhat less conspicuous setation of head and pronotum: with rather fine and moderately dense setae. Abdominal tergites with setae just as thick as elytral ones but much longer, especially at apices of tergites and adjacent to laterosternites. Head anteriad eyes and near inner posterior margin of eye with stronger and much longer bristles, as well as pronotal margin; at middle of tibiae with darker bristles. Elytral apex without conspicuous setae. Last tarsomere with a few setae only.

Forebody. Antenna as in Fig. 585. Clypeus very finely and sparsely punctate but microsculptured trapezoid, corners rounded, anterior edge gently arched; separated by impressed transversal line (frontoclypeal suture) across a shinier area. Supraantennal prominences well developed, feebly separated from clypeus/vertex by impressions. Vertex with oblique impressions in middle almost joining in V-shape. Temples slightly bulging, evenly curved, barely longer than half of eye length. Neck separated by an impressed transversal groove, microsculpture much stronger than on head, with transverse cells, no setation. Pronotum with a narrow marginal bead, getting inconspicuous anteriorly with pronotal corners strongly curved in ventral direction. Posterior pronotal angles well-formed, just slightly obtuse-angled, sides in posterior 1/3 very gently concave. 'Anchor' fully formed, longitudinal midline as a slightly elevated, impunctate, weakly microsculptured line, parallel to this line two gentle, semi-longitudinal elongate elevations in anterior half of disc. In corners of anchor feeble, oblique impressions directed outwards, in middle at sides of midline two smaller impressions. Elytra slightly broadening posteriorly, sutural corners narrowly rounded; apical sides slightly oblique and in inner halves more or less straight. Elytral surface rather even with two shallow, very elongate impressions behind scutellum. Head with fine coriaceous/colliculate microsculpture, fading on elevated parts, stronger in impressions, on pronotum microsculpture slightly stronger and more even. Punctation on head moderately sparse, more dense on posterior part and sides, on pronotum more evenly spaced, average interspaces much larger than puncture diameters; elytral punctation more even and regularly spaced, average interspaces (with indistinct coriaceous microsculpture) little less than puncture diameters, punctures discrete.

Abdomen. Compared to forebody, abdomen with much more sparse, finer, less distinct punctation, microsculpture on tergal apices fine coriaceous with moderately transverse cells. Tergite VII posterior margin with palisade fringe broadened in middle with more coarse spiniform processes. Tergite VIII basal edge evenly arched, without concavity in middle of basal sclerotized band; apical edge with sinuate (protruding) corners, and broad, moderately deep emargination in between. Sternite VIII with rounded apical corners, apex in males shallowly concave laterally, gently sinuate in middle; in females slightly more sinuate (convex) in middle. Tergite X unmodified, apex very slightly wider in males than in females. Aedeagus as in Fig. 455. Spermatheca as in Fig. 456, female ringstructures as in Figs 457-458.

COMPARATIVE NOTES: This species belongs to the O. monticola complex currently comprising 4 named species: O. monticola , O. basicornis , O. kashmiricus and O. uhligi . This assemblage is especially difficult as the male genitalia look the FIGS 462-466

Ochthephilus proximus (Cameron) ; head and pronotum (462), side of head (463), antenna (464), elytra and base of abdomen (465), left side of tergite VII (466). All SEM, dorsal views. Scale bar = 0.25 mm for 463, 466, 0.5 mm for 462, 0.6 mm for 465, 0.7 mm for 464.

same externally and have no inner sclerite. In these species the female ringstructure also looks similar, therefore delimiting species is particularly difficult. At the current state of knowledge description of more taxa is deemed undesirable. The listed quartet of species includes one with (moderately) elongate antennae ( O. monticola ) and three with shorter antenna ( O. basicornis , O. kashmiricus and O. uhligi ); two have unicolorous body with dark elytra ( O. monticola , O. kashmiricus ) and two have lighter, reddish elytra ( O. basicornis , O. uhligi ). Ochthephilus basicornis has shorter elytra, often depressed on disc, temples rather long and broadly rounded. The eyes of O. uhligi are conspicuously bulging.

DISTRIBUTION: The species is so far known from Kashmir, N-India, Nepal and the Chinese province of Yunnan.

BIONOMICS: Specimens were collected from sifted wet moss by Andreas Kleeberg (on 26.V.2004), who made the following observations: “During sifting I have seen few rove beetles. Because the weather was nice and I wanted to see whether it is worth to continue sifting here I have examined the moss material on my white sheet. However, it was surprising, that even after waiting a fair amount of time for it to dry I could not find any beetles. Therefore, I decided to bring the material with me to my accomodation. Next day in the morning I carefully culled the moss piece by piece and finally I found the beetles. So my conclusion at that time was that the species living in these throughflow materials are well adapted to the great fluctuation of flow velocity and wetness that occurs between heavy rainfalls and drier periods in the region”.