Lathrobium lackneri, Assing, 2007

ASSING, VOLKER, 2007, A new species of Lathrobium from Kyrgyzstan (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Zootaxa 1415 (1), pp. 65-68 : 65-68

Lathrobium lackneri sp. n.

( Figs. 1 –10 )

Type material. Holotype ♂: S Kyrgyzstan, Batken Province , valley Layle-Mazar, ca. 1500 m, 24–25.VI.2003, T. Lackner / Holotypus ♂ Lathrobium lackneri sp. n. det. V. Assing 2006 (author´s collection) .

Description. Measurements (mm) and ratios (holotype): head length from anterior margin of clypeus to posterior margin of head (HL) 1.39; head width (HW): 1.27; width of pronotum (PW): 1.30; length of pronotum (PL): 1.59; length of elytra at suture from apex of scutellum to posterior margin (EL): 1.54; length of aedeagus: 2.94; total length from apex of mandibles to apex of abdomen: 10.4; HL/HW: 1.10; HW/PW: 0.98; PL/PW: 1.22; EL/PL: 0.90.

Coloration: body black, with elytra dark reddish brown; legs reddish brown; antennae reddish brown, with antennomere I slightly darker ( Fig. 1 ).

Head weakly oblong (see ratio HL/HW), of subrectangular shape; puncturation moderately coarse, in lateral and posterior dorsal area rather dense, diameter of punctures wider than interstices, in anterior and central area slightly sparser; interstices with fine and shallow microreticulation. Eyes moderately large, less than half the length of postocular region in dorsal view ( Fig. 2 ). Antennae as in Fig. 1 .

Pronotum slightly broader than head (see ratio HW/PW), puncturation slightly coarser than that of head; microsculpture absent ( Fig. 2 ).

Elytra at suture slightly shorter than pronotum (see ratio EL/PL); puncturation finer and less well-defined than that of head and pronotum; microsculpture absent ( Fig. 3 ). Hind wings apparently fully developed.

Abdomen with very fine and dense puncturation and with shallow microsculpture composed of minute meshes; posterior margin of tergite VII with pronounced palisade fringe.

♂: sternite VII with weakly concave posterior margin and broad shallow median impression with stout black setae directed diagonally medio-caudad ( Fig. 4 ); sternite VIII with posterior margin in middle shallowly concave and with median impression with dense stout black setae directed diagonally medio-caudad ( Fig. 5 ); lateral tergites IX very long and slender; aedeagus with long and apically slightly asymmetric ventral process of distinctive shape and with massive, strongly sclerotised internal structures ( Figs. 6–10 ).

Comparative notes. Lathrobium lackneri is separated from all its congeners by the distinctive shape of the aedeagus. It is additionally distinguished from other congeners occurring in Middle Asia and adjacent regions as follows:

From L. bucharense Koch, 1944 ( Uzbekistan) by larger size and a broader body, the more subquadrate shape of the head (in L. bucharense oval with almost obsolete posterior angles), and the longer elytra (in L. bucharense much shorter than pronotum); for illustrations of the aedeagus of L. bucharense see Figs. 78K, L in Coiffait (1982) and Fig. 3 in Koch (1944);

From L. caspicum Koch, 1938 ( Azerbaijan, Iran) by the uniform coloration of the elytra (in L. caspicum bicoloured with the anterior half black and the posterior reddish), the longer elytra (in L. caspicum much shorter than pronotum), and the finer irregular puncturation of the elytra (in L. caspicum coarser and arranged in rows); for illustrations of the aedeagus of L. caspicum see Figs. 80C, D in Coiffait (1982), Figs. 4, 5a in Koch (1938), and Fig. 57 in Wüsthoff (1942);

From L. concolor Motschulsky, 1860 ( Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Russian Far East) by darker coloration (body of L. concolor reddish brown), more oblong head, and by the shape and chaetotaxy of the male sternite VIII (in L. concolor posteriorly deeply concave and without modified setae); for illustrations of the aedeagus of L. concolor see Figs. 80I, J in Coiffait (1982);

From L. kuntzeni Koch, 1939a ( Uzbekistan, Iran) by the darker coloration of the elytra (in L. kuntzeni reddish yellow) and the uniformly dark abdomen (in L. kuntzeni with reddish apex), the denser puncturation of the head, the smaller eyes (in L. kuntzeni half as long as postocular region in dorsal view), the absence of a blue hue of the pronotum, and by the different shape and chaetotaxy of the male sternite VIII (in L. kuntzeni with deep and almost triangular emargination, see Fig. 31 in Koch (1939a)); for illustrations of the aedeagus of L. kuntzeni see Figs. 79I, J in Coiffait (1982), Figs. 32– 33 in Koch (1939a), and Fig. 58 in Wüsthoff (1942);

From L. marani Koch, 1939b ( Kazakhstan, Tajikistan) by slightly larger size ( L. marani : 8–10 mm), longer antennae, and by larger and longer elytra; for illustrations of the aedeagus of L. marani see Figs. 78I, J in Coiffait (1982), Fig. 11 in Koch (1939b), and Fig. 11 in Wüsthoff (1942);

From L. semirufulum Bernhauer, 1902 ( Kazakhstan, Tajikistan) by much larger size ( L. semirufulum approximately 5 mm), dark coloration of the head, pronotum, and abdomen (in L. semirufulum head, pronotum, and apex of abdomen reddish), and by the pronotum not distinctly narrowed posteriorly; for illustrations of the aedeagus of L. semirufulum see Figs. 83C, D in Coiffait (1982); according to Gusarov (1995), these figures refer to L. semirufulum , not to Lobrathium sahlbergi ( Fauvel, 1900) , as indicated by Coiffait (1982);

From the similar trans-Palaearctic L. elongatum ( Linnaeus, 1767) , which is also recorded from Kazakhstan ( Smetana 2004), by slightly larger size and by the shape and chaetotaxy of the male sternite VIII (in L. elongatum posteriorly with deep triangular incision); for illustrations of the aedeagus of L. elongatum see Figs. 77A, B in Coiffait (1982) and Fig. 32 in Wüsthoff (1942);

From the trans-Palaearctic L. fulvipenne ( Gravenhorst, 1806) , which has also been reported from the Middle Asian countries Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan ( Smetana 2004), by larger size, the larger and less oblong head, the denser puncturation of the head, larger and longer elytra, the absence of microsetae at the posterior margin of the elytra, and by the shape and chaetotaxy of the male sternite VIII (in L. fulvipenne posteriorly smoothly concave, without conspicuous patterns of modified black setae); for illustrations of the aedeagus of L. fulvipenne see Figs. 81A, B in Coiffait (1982) and Fig. 39 in Wüsthoff (1942);

From the similar trans-Palaearctic L. geminum ( Kraatz, 1857) , which has been reported from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan ( Smetana 2004), by the longer antennae, the coloration of the elytra (in L. geminum distinctly bicoloured, anteriorly black and posteriorly bright reddish), the larger elytra, and by the shape and chaetotaxy of the male sternite VIII (in L. geminum posteriorly even more shallowly concave and with very dense patches of modified black setae); for illustrations of the aedeagus of L. geminum see Figs. 78C, D in Coiffait (1982), Fig. 9 in Koch (1939b), and Fig. 9 in Wüsthoff (1942).

Etymology. The species is dedicated to Tomáš Lackner (Amsterdam), specialist of Histeridae , who collected the holotype.

Distribution and bionomics. The type locality is situated in southern Kyrgyzstan. Apart from the altitude (1500 m), bionomic data are not available.

Acknowledgements. My thanks are due to Peter Hlaváč for the generous gift of the type specimen, as well as to Benedikt Feldmann (Münster) for proof-reading the manuscript. Moreover, I am grateful to two anonymous reviewers for their helpful criticism.

VOLKER ASSING Gabelsbergerstr. 2, D-30163 Hannover, Germany. E-mail: [e-mail]

Figures

FIGURES 1–5. Lathrobium lackneri: 1—forebody; 2—head and pronotum; 3—elytra; 4—male sternite VII; 5—male sternite VIII (slightly damaged). Scale bars: 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 6–10. Lathrobium lackneri: 6–7—aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view; 8—apex of ventral process of aedeagus in lateral view; 9—apex of ventral process of aedeagus in ventral view; 10—apex of dorsal plate and internal structures in lateral view. Scale bars: 6–7: 1.0 mm; 8–10: 0.2 mm.