Lycocerus nigroapicis, Yang & Yang, 2013

Yang, Yu-Xia & Yang, Xing-Ke, 2013, Four new species of Lycocerus Gorham, 1889 from China (Coleoptera: Cantharidae), Journal of Natural History 47 (1 - 2), pp. 75-86 : 80-81

Lycocerus nigroapicis sp. nov.

( Figures 2B , 3 D–F, 3H)

Male. See Figure 2B . Body length: 7.0– 9.5 mm; width: 1.6–2.2 mm. Body yellowish brown, mandibles dark brown, maxillary and labial palpomeres black, antennae black, apices of elytra black, femora black at apical part, tibiae and tarsi black. Body covered with yellowish brown short pubescence, with black pubescence on black areas, mixed with slightly long erected pubescence on clypeus, pronotum, elytra and legs.

Head. Rounded, breadth across eyes wider than anterior margin of pronotum, dorsum finely and sparsely punctate, eyes moderately protruding, apical maxillary palpomeres long-triangular, widest nearly in middle, apical half of inner margins sharp and arcuate, antennae subfiliform and slightly flatted, extending to apical onefifth of elytra, antennomeres II as long as wide at apex, III widest, IV slightly longer and narrower than III, IV–XI each with a short and narrow longitudinal furrow at apical one-third of outer margin, XI longer than X and pointed at apex.

Pronotum. Subquadrate, distinctly longer than wide, anterior margin arcuate, lateral margins slightly sinuate and diverging posteriorly, posterior margin arcuate and slightly bordered, anterior angles rounded, posterior angles nearly vertical, disc convex at posterolateral parts, surface finely and sparsely punctate as that on head.

Elytra. About three times longer than pronotum, three times longer than humeral width, lateral margins distinctly converging posteriorly, disc largely and densely punctate, each elytron with two obscure longitudinal costae.

Legs. All claws simple.

Aedeagus. See Figure 3 D–F. Conjoint dorsal plate of parameres widely and roundly emarginated in middle of apical margin, lateral angles vertical, lateral margins nearly straight, with a long-triangular ridge near apical margin along median longitudinal line on inner surface; ventral process of each paramere normal and slightly bent inwards at apex, slightly shorter than conjoint dorsal plate; laterophyses wide, with apices tapered and directed dorsally, separated on both sides.

Female. Similar to male, but eyes slightly protruding; antennae filiform, slightly narrower and shorter than that of male, extending to basal one-third of elytra, antennomeres IV–XI without furrows; pronotum with disc indistinctly convex; elytra with lateral margins slightly converging posteriorly; pro- and meso-outer claws each with an obtuse tooth at base; abdominal sternite VIII ( Figure 3H ) rounded and slightly protuberant at posterior margin, with a membranous area on each side of posterior part.

Type material. Holotype: ♂, China, Guangxi, Wuming, Damingshan , 5–14 August 2011, leg. Yuan-Yuan Lu [transliterated from Chinese label] ( HBUM) . Paratypes: 2♂♂, 1♀, same data as holotype ( HBUM) .

Etymology. This specific name is derived from niger (black) and apex (tip), referring to its black apices of elytra.

Remarks. The right antennomeres IX–XI and right proclaw of the paratype female are missing.

Figures

Figure 2. Male habitus in dorsal view. (A) Lycocerus parameratus sp. nov.; (B) L. nigroapicis sp. nov.; (C) L. bifurcatus sp. nov.; (D) L. nigrigenus sp. nov.

Figure 3. Lycocerus parameratus sp. nov. (A–C, G) and L. nigroapicis sp. nov. (D–F, H). (A, D) Aedeagus in ventral view; (B, E) aedeagus in dorsal view; (C, F) aedeagus in lateral view; (G, H) female abdominal sternites VIII in ventral view. Note: Scale bars = 1 mm.