Lobrathium dabaicum, Assing, 2013

Assing, V., 2013, A revision of Palaearctic Lobrathium. IV. Three new species from Nepal and China, a new combination, and additional records (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 45 (1), pp. 191-204 : 201-203

Lobrathium dabaicum nov.sp.

( Figs 13-18 , Map 1 )

Type material: Holotype ♂: " China, NW Hubei, Shennongjia Nat. Res., 1.-5. Jul 1998, 1700-2500 m, Bolm lgt. / Holotypus ♂ Lobrathium dabaicum sp.n., det. V. Assing 2013" ( NHMB).

Etymology: The specific epithet is an adjective derived from the name of the mountain range where the type locality is situated.

Description: Body length 6.0 mm; length of forebody 3.3 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 13 . Coloration: forebody brown, each elytron with subcircular, not very distinct reddish spot posteriorly, this spot reaching neither suture nor posterior or lateral elytral margins; abdomen dark-brown with dark-reddish apex; legs and antennae reddish.

Head ( Fig. 14 ) 1.08 times as long as broad and of oval shape; posterior angles obsolete; punctation areolate and extremely dense, sparser on frons; interstices reduced to narrow ridges; dorsal surface matt, except for frons. Eyes of moderate size, approximately one third as long as distance from posterior margin of eye to neck. Antenna rather long and slender, 2.3 mm long.

Pronotum ( Fig. 14 ) 1.35 times as long as broad and 0.86 times as broad as head, distinctly tapering posteriad, strongly convex in cross-section; punctation of irregular density and coarser than that of head; impunctate midline moderately broad.

Elytra ( Fig. 14 ) 0.78 times as long as pronotum and slender; humeral angles weakly marked; punctation coarser than that of pronotum and dense; interstices without microsculpture. Hind wings reduced. Protarsomeres I-IV strongly dilated.

Abdomen distinctly broader than elytra; punctation fine and very dense; interstices with shallow microsculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe.

♂: sternite VII ( Fig. 15 ) moderately transverse and with shallow, small median impression posteriorly, posterior margin broadly concave; sternite VIII ( Fig. 16 ) transverse and with small median impression posteriorly, this impression with relatively few strongly modified, short and stout black setae, posterior excision rather deep and broadly Ushaped; aedeagus ( Figs 17-18 ) 0.75 mm long; ventral process relatively short and bladeshaped; dorsal plate long and somewhat bisinuate in lateral view; internal sac with large, curved, dark membranous structure basally.

Comparative notes: Based on the similar habitus and above all on the similarly derived male sexual characters, L. dabaicum is closely related to L. cholaicum and allied species. It is distinguished from all of them by the shapes and chaetotaxy of the male sternites VII and VIII, by the coloration, and, except L. emeimontis , by the conspicuously dense punctation of the head.

Distribution and natural history: The type locality is situated in the Da Shennongjia range in the eastern Daba Shan ( Map 1 ) at an altitude between 1700 and 2500 m. Additional data are not available.

Figures

Map 1: Distributions of Lobrathium tortile ZHENG (diamonds), L. emeimontis nov.sp. (circle), and L. dabaicum nov.sp. (triangle) in China.

Figs 13-18: Lobrathium dabaicum nov.sp.: (13) habitus; (14) forebody; (15) male sternite VII; (16) male sternite VIII; (17-18) aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view. Scale bars: 13-14: 1.0 mm; 15- 18: 0.5 mm.