Metriorrhynchus laosensis, Bocak, 2007

Bocak, Ladislav, 2007, A Revision Of Metriorrhynchus (Coleoptera: Lycidae) From The Greater Sunda Islands And Continental Asia, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 55 (2), pp. 253-260 : 257-258

Metriorrhynchus laosensis , new species

(Figs. 5–6)

Material examined. – Holotype. Male ( LMBC), N Laos, 20 km NW Louang Namtha, 21°09'N 101°19'E, 900 m, coll. C. Holzschuh, 5–30 May.1997.

Paratypes: 3 males ( LMBC), N Laos, 20 km NW Louang Namtha, 21°09'N 101°19'E, 900 m, coll. C. Holzschuh, 5–30 May.1997 ; 1 male ( LMBC), Laos, Louangnamtha pr., Namtha-Muang Sing , 900–1,200 m, coll. V. Kuban, 5–31 May.1997 ; 3 males ( BMNH), Tenasserim, Javoy , coll. Doherty ; 3 males ( BMNH), Tenasserim ; 1 male ( BMNH), Birmah, Karen Mts. coll. Doherty ; 3 males ( LMBC), Laos, 15 km N Louang Namtha, 750 m, coll. E. Jendek and O. Sausa, 13–24 May.1997 ; 1 male ( LMBC), Thailand, 20 Apr.1953 .

Differential diagnosis. – Metriorrhynchus laosensis , new species, is morphologically similar to M. sericans and these species differ in the shape of male genitalia (Figs. 5–8). Females cannot presently be identified.

Description. – Male: Body medium- to large-sized, parallelsided. Body black, ventral part of thorax and abdomen with light metallic shine. Pronotum and elytra bright yellow to cinnamon-brown, or pronotum almost completely black and elytra brown. Head small with short rostrum, frontal distance between eyes 1.4 times maximum eye diameter. Antennae acutely serrate, reaching slightly behind middle of elytra. Figs. 9–11. 9: Metriorrhynchus inaequalis , female genitalia; 10: M. lineatus , male genitalia; 11: M. lineatus , female genitalia. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.

Pronotum at base 1.1 times length at midline. Elytra flat, parallel-sided. Primary costae considerably stronger than secondary ones. Transverse costae dense, regular, cells tiny, transverse. Male genitalia as in Figs. 5–6.

Female: Body usually larger, without any apparent sexual polymorphism. Frontal distance between eyes 1.65 times their maximum diameter.

Measurements. – Body length 10.4–18.3 mm, width at humeri 2.3–4.2 mm.

Variability. – All specimens of M. laosensis , new species, from Continental Asia are lightly yellow coloured and they have not been found in the darker form known in M. sericans .

Distribution. – Laos, Myanmar and Thailand.

Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the type locality of M. laosensis , new species.

Remarks. – Metriorrhynchus laosensis , new species, has a more restricted range in the Asian continent compared to M. sericans . Although relatively extensive material was available from Vietnam, Myanmar and eastern India only a few specimens were found from Myanmar (Karen State and Tenasserim). No records were available from eastern India and Vietnam.