Trechepaphiopsis unisetosa (Deuve), 2004

Deuve, Thierry, Kavanaugh, David H. & Liang, Hongbin, 2016, Inventory of the Carabid Beetle Fauna of the Gaoligong Mountains, Western Yunnan Province, China: Species of the Tribe Trechini (Coleoptera: Caraboidea), with Descriptions of Four New Genera, One New Subgenus and 19 New Species., Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 63 (12), pp. 341-455 : 411

Trechepaphiopsis unisetosa (Deuve), 2004 (sp. 2)

( Figs. 27 , 37a , 43b , 46–48 )

Trechus unisetosus Deuve, 2004: 220 . Holotype, a female, in SCAU. Type locality: China, Yunnan, Gaoligong Shan, Lushui County, Fengxue Yakou [Pass], 2600-2700 m.

Trechepaphiopsis unisetosa (Deuve) , NEW COMBINATION

DIAGNOSIS.— Adults of this species ( Fig. 27a ) can be distinguished from those of all other species in the region by the following combination of character states: size medium (BL = 3.1 to 3.5 mm), apterous; body color light brown, dorsum slightly iridescent; eyes small but convex; tempora very convex, sparsely pubescent; pronotum transverse (ratio PW/PL = 1.35), with basal angles obtuse and rounded; elytra convex, with median 2 or 3 striae deeply impressed, lateral striae faintly impressed to effaced; recurrent stria terminated anteriorly in presumed location of interval 6; only one discal setiferous pore present, inserted at anterior one-third next to stria 3; preapical seta present, inserted next to stria 2; median lobe of male aedeagus ( Fig. 27b ) highly distinctive, with ventral margin of shaft sinuous and apex short and thin in lateral view, with broad apical projects in ventral view; endophallus without sclerites, but with a long tubular sleeve covered with long, slender spines.

COMMENTS.— Among males of all the species of Trechepaphiopsis , those of T. unisetosa have an endophlallus most like that typical for members of the Epaphiopsis complex of genera, especially of certain species of Epaphius described from China ( Jeannel 1962, Deuve 1992b). These also have a long tubular sleeve covered with long spines, symmetrically arranged in ventral view ( Fig. 27c )

HABITAT DISTRIBUTION.— Members of this species have been found in mixed broadleaf evergreen/ deciduous forest at elevations ranging from 2460 to 2470 m and collected using both pitfall traps and sifting of leaf litter from the forest floor ( Fig. 37a ). Specimens of Trechepaphiosis uniporosa sp. nov and Trechepaphiama goaligong sp. nov were collected in the same sifted leaf litter samples and are therefore syntopic with T. unisetosa at this site. Additional specimens of T. unisetosa were collected in pitfall traps set in Rhododendron and bamboo thickets on the east flank of the summit ridge just south of the Fengxue Yakou at 3150 m ( Fig. 43b ), a site slightly above the type locality for the species.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION WITHIN THE GAOLIGONG SHAN.— Fig. 27d . We examined a total of 25 specimens (10 males and 16 females) from the following localities: Lushui County: Luzhang Township (100 m S of Fengxue Yakou on east side of pass, 3150 m, N25.97195° / E97.68381°, 11-21 May 2005, D.H. Kavanaugh , C.E. Griswold & K.J. Guo collectors [1 male and 1 female; CAS, IOZ]); Pianma Township (9.3 km ENE of Pianma along road to Lushui at Changyan He, 2460-2470 m, N25.99363° / E97.66651°, 15-18 October 1998, D.H. Kavanaugh , C.E. Griswold, C. Ferraris & C.L. Long collectors [7 males, 12 females; CAS, IOZ, MNHN], 12- 21 May 2005, D.H. Kavanaugh , C.E. Griswold & K.J. Guo collectors [2 male and 2 females; CAS, IOZ]) .

Members of this species have been collected only in the southcentral part of the study area, on both western and eastern slopes of the Gaoligongshan, which are in Core Areas 4 and 5, respectively.

OVERALL GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.— This species currently is known only from Lushui County in the southcentral part of the Gaoligong Shan region, western Yunnan Province, China.

Figures

FIGURE 27. Trechepaphiopsis unisetosa (Deuve); a. Dorsal habitus (CASENT1024491). b-c. Median lobe of aedeagus of male (CASENT1001903); b. left lateral aspect; c. ventral aspect. d. Map of locality records (red circles) for T. unisetosa in the Gaoligong Shan region. Scale lines a-c = 0.5 mm, d = 100 km.

FIGURE 37. Photographs of habitats for trechine species in the Gaoligong Shan region. a. Lushui County, Pianma Township,9.3 km ENE of Pianma along road to Lushui at Changyan He, elevation 2460 m; habitat in which specimens of Trechepaphiopsis unisetosa (Deuve), T. uniporosa sp. nov., and Trechepaphiama gaoligong sp. nov. were collected. b. Gongshan County, Cikai Township, slope S of of Heipu Yakou, elevation 3370 m; habitat in which specimens of Queinnectrechus griswoldi sp. nov., Q. balli sp. nov., and Trechus qiqiensis sp. nov. were collected. Photos by David H. Kavanaugh.

FIGURE 43. Photographs of habitats for trechine species in the Gaoligong Shan region. a. Lushui County, Luzhang Township, Piana Road 0.1 km E of Fengxue Yakou, elevation 3150 m; habitat in which specimens of Trechus luzhangensis sp. nov. were collected. b. Lushui County, Luzhang Township, 100 m S of Fengxue Yakou on east side of pass, elevation 3150 m; habitat in which specimens of Trechepaphiopsis unisetosa (Deuve) were collected. Photos by David H. Kavanaugh.

FIGURE 46. Chart showing the representation of trechine species in project-designated Core Areas (see Fig. 3) in the Gaoligong Shan region.

FIGURE 47. Chart illustrating the altitudinal ranges of trechine species represented in the Gaoligong Shan region.

FIGURE. 48. Chart illustrating the co-occurence (syntopy) of trechine species in samples from the same habitats and at the same sites in the Gaoligong Shan region.