Nebria (Patrobonebria) incognita, Charles Huber & Hannes Baur, 2016

Charles Huber & Hannes Baur, 2016, Nebria (Patrobonebria) incognita n. sp. and Nebria (P.) hiekeiana n. sp., two new species from the Western Himalaya, with remarks on Nebria (P.) desgodinsi (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Nebriinae), Entomologische Blätter und Coleoptera 112 (1), pp. 203-214 : 208-211

Nebria (Patrobonebria) incognita n. sp.

Fig. 6

Type material. Holotype male: Afghanistan, Nuristan, Bashgultal, 1100 m, 17.4. 1953, J. Klapperich // Nebria desgodinsi Obth. , det. Bänninger 1954 ( ETHZ) [Remark: basal part of the aedeagus damaged by an earlier attempt at preparation.] Paratypes: 1 male, 2 females, same data and same determination labels of BÄNNINGER as holotype (ETHZ, NMB, NMBE) [Remark: in the male paratype specimen, the removed aedeagus is missing.]

Remarks on the type locality. KLAPPERICH (1954) exactly reported his expedition to Afghanistan (“Alphabetische Fundort-Liste der Afghanistan-Expedition”, pp. 116–118). According to KLAPPERICH’ s note “Bashgul-Tal, 1100 bis 2800 m”, the river of the Bashgul valley Fows from North to South into the Kunar River near the village of Barikot. The conFuence 3 km upstream of Barikot is located at 1065 m a.s.l. The Kunar River represents at this point the border between Afghanistan (Kunar province) and Pakistan (Chitral valley). Obviously KLAPPERICH collected the type series immediately after entering the Bashgul valley at an altitude of 1100 m a. s. l. The geographic position of the conFuence mentioned is: 35°19’40” N, 71°33’12” E, which may be the approximate type locality.

Additional material examined. 2 females, India, R[iver] Sarda Gorge, Kumaon, U. P., Dec. 1918, H. G. C. [= H.G. Champion; handwritten] // H. G. Champion coll., B. M. 1953-156 // 2596 // Nebria desgodinsi Oberthur, G. Ledoux det. 1978 (BMNH); 1 male, 1 female, India, Haldwani Dist., Kumaon, H. G. Champion [printed] // R[iver] Sarda Gorge, waterfalls, alt. 2000 ft., 20. XI. 1922 [handwritten] // Kaldhunga, 20. xi. 1922 [handwritten] // Nebria desgodinsi [handwritten] // G.C. Champion, B.M. 1927-409 (BMNH); 1 female, India, Haldwani Dist., Kumaon, H. G. Champion [printed] // R[iver] Sarda Gorge, waterfalls, alt. 2000 ft., 20. XI. 1922 [handwritten] // Nebria desgodinsi Oberth. [handwritten] // G.C. Champion, B.M. 1927-409 (BMNH); 1 male, India, Haldwani Dist., Kumaon, H. G. Champion [printed] // Figured specimen [printed] // Nebria desgodinsi Oberth. , compared with type, H. E. A. // H. E. Andrewes coll., B. M. 1945-97 (BMNH); 1 male, India, Haldwani Dist., Kumaon, H. G. Champion [printed] // Nebria desgodinsi Oberth. // H. E. Andrewes coll., B. M. 1945-97 (BMNH); 1 male, Tanakpur, Kumaon, U.P. India, H.G.C. [printed] // Nebria Desgodinsi Oberth. , det. H. E. Andrewes [handwritten] // G. C. Champion coll, B. M. 1927-409 (BMNH); 1 male, 2 females, Tanakpur, Kumaon, U.P. India, H.G.C. [printed] // G. C. Champion coll, B. M. 1927- 409 (BMNH); 1 female, Tanakpur, Kumaon, U.P. India, H.G.C. [printed] // Nebria Desgodinsi Oberth. , det. H. E. Andrewes [handwritten] // coll. Bänninger (ETHZ).

Description. Body length: 12-14 mm.

Colour dark brown to black, mandibulae and labrum brown, appendages of the head yellow. Ultimate palpomere of the palpi brownish darkened. Antennae brown, antennomeres 1-4 yellow with the basal part brownish darkened. Head with two small, weakly visible brown spots on the vertex. Legs yellow, tarsi somewhat brownish darkened.

Head large, with a distinct transverse collar impression of the neck behind the eyes. Labrum with anterior margin distinctly trisinuate, generally bearing six setae. Apical margin of clypeus slightly concave. Supraantennal edge distinctly and largely rebordered. Supraorbital impression shallow, obliquely wrinkled, coarsely punctate. Head near supraorbital seta longitudinally wrinkled. Vertex Fnely punctate. Collar impression coarsely punctate. Eyes large, very prominent, ratio maximal head width/frons width = 1.52 (1.48-1.55) ( Tab. 3). Temples long, strongly rounded towards the neck. One supraorbital seta. Antennae long and slender, extending to the middle of the elytra. Antennal scape elongate suboval, basally narrowed, shorter than the eye’s diameter, with one dorsoapical seta; second antennomere with one ventral seta; fourth antennomere with an apical collar of long setae, with several additional short setae apically. Ligula blunt, apicolaterally with two long setae. Penultimate labial palpomere bisetose. Mentum with a median, distinctly excised tooth. Spina apicalis of the mentum wide, triangular, incision apicalis indistinct ( Fig 5 D). Submentum with a row of 4-8 setae. Microsculpture of the head isodiametric.

Pronotum cordate, transverse, widest at apical fourth; ratio width/length of the pronotum 1.34 (1.26-1.38). Lateral margin convex with a distinct break in the outline caused by the marginal pore. Pronotum shallowly rounded towards the anterior angles, narrowed towards the posterior angles, concavely and sharply angled in front of the posterior angles. Anterior angles large, regularly rounded, little protruding. Posterior angles sharply right-angled or slightly protruding outwards and backwards. Posterior angles narrower than the anterior ones (0.85 (0.81-0.89)). Lateral groove wide, lateral margin towards base bladelike. Basal margin bisinuate. Pronotal disc convex, slightly transversally wrinkled. Prebasal fovea deep, reaching the basal margin. Anterior transverse impressions shallow, posterior transverse impressions deep, median longitudinal impression weak. Prebasal fovea, the anterior and the posterior transverse impressions and the lateral groove tightly and coarsely punctate. Apical and basal margin absent. One lateral and one basolateral seta present. Lateral seta situated at apical sixth slightly in front of the widest diameter of the pronotum ( Fig. 7 A). Microsculpture of the pronotum isodiametric. Pronotal disc faintly and sparsely punctate. Proepisternum apically and basally tightly punctate, medially smooth. Prosternum laterally tightly punctate. Prosternal process slender, triangular, longitudinally bulged, coarsely punctate, unmargined.

Elytral silhouette elongate, widest slightly behind middle. Lateral margin slightly sinuate at the basal fourth and subapically as well. Elytral apex rounded. Basal margin curved, joined at an obtuse angle with the lateral margin. Humeral carina faint. Striae distinctly impressed, sharply and deeply punctate. Striae 1-3 reaching the apex, the other striae and their punctation obliterate apically. Short carina at apex. Intervals faintly convex, interval 3 with 7-10 short setae. Scutellar seta asymmetrically present. Microsculpture isodiametric. Mesepisterna tightly punctate. Metepisterna 2.5 times as long as wide, coarsely and tightly punctate. Metacoxa with 5-6 basal and one apical setae. Hindwings fully developed. Second sternum laterally rough, coarsely punctate. Third sternum laterally Fnely punctate, medially asetose. Sterna 4-6 each with (2)3-4 posterior paramedial setae. Anal sternum with one paramedial seta in the male and 2-3 in the female. All sterna with faint impressions laterally.

Legs long and slender. All tarsi without a dorsal pubescence. Protarsomeres 1-2 of the males slightly dilated, ventrally with pads of adhesive setae. Metatarsomere 4 with a short ventroapical tooth, bearing long setae. Metatarsomeres 2-4 laterally compressed in males.

Median lobe (basal part lacking; Fig. 8 A): Mid-shaft thin, straight to the apex. Apex slender, acute, faintly deFected towards the left, tip short.

Diagnosis. The new species differs from all Patrobonebria species by the strongly apically positioned lateral seta of the pronotum (in front of the widest diameter) and by the sharply and densely punctate striae of the elytra. The ratio pronotum length/apical distance of the marginal seta of the pronotum (ratio prm.l/prs.p> 3.5) separates N. incognita from the other Patrobonebria species as well as the ratio elytral length/head width (ratio ely.l: hea.w = 3.20-3.55; Tab. 2).

Etymology. The name refers to the fact that the specimens of the new species were stored misidentiFed for decades in museum collections (latin incognitus = unknown).

Distribution. The new species is known from Afghanistan (Bashgul valley, Kunar valley) to the Sarda River (= Mahakali River) system at the border between India and Nepal. All specimens of Indian provenance reported by ANDREWES (1929; Haldwani, Tanakpur, Sarda River Gorge) as N. desgodinsi refer to N. incognita n. sp. or N. hiekeiana n. sp. (see below).

Figures

Fig. 5. Menta of Nebria (Patrobonebria) species. A – N. desgodinsi OBERTHÜR, 1883, (putative) male type specimen (MHNP), the right part of the mentum is white-bordered; B – N. himalayica BATES, 1889, type specimen (MNHN); C – N. capillosa LEDOUX & ROUX, 1992; D – N. incognita n. sp.; E – N. hiekeiana n. sp. All photographs C. GERMANN.

Fig. 6. Habitus of the male holotype specimen of Nebria (Patrobonebria) incognita n. sp. Foto C. GERMANN.

Fig. 7. Pronota of Nebria (Patrobonebria) species. A – N. incognita n. sp., with a break in the outline caused by the marginal pore, and with the lateral seta apically inserted in front of the widest diameter of the pronotum; B – N. hiekeiana n. sp. Photographs C. GERMANN.

Fig. 8. Aedeagi of Nebria (Patrobonebria) species. the male specimens of A – N. incognita n. sp., holotype; B – N. hiekeiana n. sp., holotype. Photographs C. GERMANN.