Paederus lateralis, Li, Xiao-Yan, Solodovnikov, Alexey & Zhou, Hong-Zhang, 2014

Li, Xiao-Yan, Solodovnikov, Alexey & Zhou, Hong-Zhang, 2014, Three new species of the genus Paederus Fabricius (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae) from China, Zootaxa 3765 (4), pp. 382-388 : 386-388

Paederus lateralis sp. nov.

Figures 3 A–G.

Type material. Holotype, ♂, China: Yunnan, Tengchong County, Houqiao, Doujiazhai (25.36N, 98.23E) 1673 m (beating) 2006. V.30, leg. Hongbin Liang and Peng Hu ( IZCAS); Paratypes, ♀, same data as holotype but Jietou, Datang (25.72N, 98.69E) 1673 m (beating shrubs), ( IZCAS); 1♂, same data but Houqiao, Doujiazhai 1945 m (beating), 2006. V.18, leg. Hongbin Liang and Cailian Li ( ZMUC).

Description. Entire body length: 10.4 mm mean values are given, 3 specimens; forebody length 6.1 mm, width: 1.52 mm (N=3). Body brown except black elytra and abdomen.

Head with HL/HW =0.81. Eyes small but distinctly protruding laterally, HL/EL = 3.67, diameter of eye shorter than gena or temple (ratio, gena: eye: temple = 1.17: 1.00: 1.60).

Surface of head dull with clear microsculpture. Vertex and middle of frons glabrous. Punctation on lateral portions of head irregular,very sparse, shallow but coarse, with punctures of variable size, slightly denser around eyes and temporal areas. Most punctures with black or blackish brown oblique setae of variable length.

Labrum without distinct teeth or protrusions on anterior margin, with truncate anterolateral angle. Median tooth of mandible with one bicuspid and apically sharply acute tooth. Antennae with pubescence starting from antennomere VI. Gular sutures gradually narrowed posteriad and then diverging again in posterior part. Nuchal ridge long, broadly sinuate, visible ventrally. Neck with longitudinal and thick ridge ventrally.

Pronotum with PL/PW = 1.05. Middle surface with very shallow and large punctures and reticulate microsculpture. Scutellum broadly triangular, longer than wide, surface dull with dense reticulate microsculpture but without punctation or pubescence. Mesoventrite small and dull with dense reticulate microsculpture and pair of big setiferous punctures.

Elytra trapezoid, ELL\EW = 0.83, ESL/ELL = 0.82. Surface slightly lustrous with very dense reticulate microsculpture, punctures on surface smaller than on pronotum, homogeneous, diameter of a puncture distinctly shorter than interspaces between punctures, each puncture with an oblique blackish brown seta.

Abdomen widest at segment VII (5th visible). Setiferous punctures on tergites moderately large and dense, base of each tergite rugose, without punctures. Tergite VII with slightly yellow and very narrow fringe. Tergite VIII with obtuse apex. Sternites with punctation denser and smaller than on tergites, base of each sternite without relatively sparse punctures.

Male. Sternite V with pair of sclerotized, flat and long protrusions posteriad in the middle, sternite VI with middle depression and glabrous. Median excision of sternite VIII without ridge. Sternite IX with inner ridge slightly symmetrical and more or less rounded apex.

Aedeagus ( Figs. 3 B–D, F) 1.98 mm, with length/width = 2.8, more or less symmetric and strongly sclerotized with ventral plate very short and invisible. Parameres symmetrical with posterior portions having hairs and forming strongly sclerotized protrusions, apices acute and slightly curved. Dorsal plate with basal portion broad and gradually narrowed posteriad, with thin and long apex strongly curved dorsad. Internal sac ( Figs. 3 C–D) with armature of strongly sclerotized thorns each having truncate and more or less securiform apex.

Female. Sternite VIII ( Fig. 3 E) with rounded apico-lateral emarginations, apex broadly blunt but medially acute and slightly depressed middle line in posterior 2/3 part. Sternite IX ( Fig. 3 G) moderately wide and gradually narrowed posteriad with emarginated basal and apical margins and shallow longitudinal depression with distinct lateral borders at base.

Comparison. In habitus, Paederus lateralis sp. nov., is similar to the Paederus subgenus Gnathopaederus Chapin due its trapezoidal elytra, strongly reduced hind wings, and very slender body. However, the new species can be easily distinguished from that subgenus by the structure of mandibles and labrum. In P. lateralis sp. nov., there is no dorsal tooth on the right mandible and no teeth on the anterior margin of labrum (dorsal tooth present on the right mandible, and at least one pair of teeth present on the anterior margin of labrum in Gnathopaederus ). Also, P. lateralis sp. nov. is similar to P. biacutus group ( Li et al. 2013), but it differs from the members of this group not only by the color of head, but also by structure of the labrum. Paederus lateralis sp. nov. has neither teeth nor protrusions on the labrum, whereas in the species of P. biacutus group heads are more or less blackish, and labrum with four regularly arranged protrusions on the anterior margin. In addition, the aedeagus of P. lateralis sp. nov. differs from such of the members of P. biacutus group as well: dorsal plate of the new species is asymmetrical ( Fig. 3 G) but the latter members have asymmetrical dorsal plate instead (figs. 1G, 2I, 3G, 4F, 5G in Li et al., 2013).

Etymology. The species name is the Latin adjective meaning lateral. It refers to parameres that are extended along lateral sides of the median lobe.

Distribution. Paederus lateralis sp. nov. is confined to the south of Yunnan Province: Tengchong County (Jietou, Datong and Houqiao, Doujiazhai). According to the available labels and information from collectors, this species was collected by beating the shrubs of Lindera communis in the mountains at altitudes ranging from 1600 to 2000 m in May.

Figures

FIGURES 3. Paederus lateralis sp. nov. from Yunnan. A. habitus; B. aedeagus, ventral view; C. aedeagus, lateral view 1; D. aedeagus, lateral view 2; E. sternite VIII, female; D. aedeagus, dorsal view; F. sternite IX, female. Scale bars: A = 1 mm; B – G = 0.5 mm.