Apatetica laevicollis FAUVEL, 1904

Assing, Volker, 2018, On some species of Apatetica WESTWOOD (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Apateticinae), Beiträge zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 68 (2), pp. 347-359 : 354

Apatetica laevicollis FAUVEL, 1904

( Figs 23–28 )

Apatetica laevicollis FAUVEL, 1904: 86 f.

Type material examined: Lectotype ♂ [teneral], present designation: “Central-Tonkin, Chiem-Hoa, Aug. Sept., H. Fruhstorfer / laevicollis Fvl. / R.I.Sc.N.B. 17.479, Apatetica, Coll. et det. A. Fauvel / Type / Lectotypus ♂ Apatetica laevicollis Fauvel , desig. V. Assing 2018” ( IRSNB).

Comment: The original description is based on an unspecified number of syntypes from “ Tonkin central: Chiem-Hoa” ( FAUVEL 1904). The sole syntype in the Fauvel collection (IRSNB), a teneral male, is designated as the lectotype.

Additional material examined: Vietnam: 1 ♂, Cao Bang Province, Tinh Tuc env., Son Dong Nui Pia Nature Reserve, 22°37'N, 105°53'E, 900–1100 m, bamboo forest, 13.V.2014, leg. Weigel (cWei).

Redescription: Body length 7.0 mm; length of forebody 5.5–6.0 mm. Other measurements: headwidth 1.4–1.5 mm; length of antenna 2.9–3.1 mm; width of pronotum: 3.1–3.3 mm; length of pronotum 1.7–1.8 mm; length of elytra 2.8–3.0 mm; length of metatibia 1.6 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 23 . Coloration: body including the appendages black, except for the reddish to reddish-brown base of antennomere III and meso- and metatarsomeres III–V, and the pale-reddish protarsi.

Head ( Fig. 24 ) strongly transverse; vertex without microsculpture, with a pair of glossy patches with micropunctation separated by an oblong and weakly impressed area with coarse punctation; between vertex and dorsal margin of eyes with coarse longitudinal sculpture; frons with rather fine to coarse punctation and without microsculpture. Antenna moderately long; antennomeres IV and Vapproximately twice as long as broad, VI and VIII weakly oblong, and IX and Xapproximately as long as broad.

Pronotum ( Fig. 24 ) approximately 1.8 times as broad as long and approximately 2.2 times as broad as head, broadest near posterior angles; disc moderately convex in cross-section, near posterior angles flattened; posterior angles sharply marked and directed posteriad; lateral margins narrowly separated and of subequal width along their whole length; macropunctation very sparse (additional specimen) to scattered (lectotype), moderately coarse, and very irregularly distributed on disc, somewhat denser and more regularly distributed only along lateral margins; whole disc with moderately dense micropunctation; interstices without microsculpture.

Elytra approximately 1.65 times as long as pronotum; each elytron with eight finely and densely punctate striae; intervals flat, with micropunctation, but without distinct microsculpture and glossy. Scutellum weakly transverse. Legs rather short and stout; protarsomeres I–IV probably without sexual dimorphism.

Abdomen ( Fig. 25 ) with shallow transverse microsculpture; punctation of tergites VI and VII rather coarse and dense, that of tergite VIII somewhat less dense; tergite VIII strongly convex in cross-section, distinctly tapering posteriad.

♂: protarsomeres I–IV weakly dilated; aedeagus ( Figs 26–28 ) approximately 1.3 mm long; ventral process tapering apicad and very acute (needle-shaped) apically in ventral view; parameres slender, apically acute and flattened, extending slightly beyond apex of ventral process.

Comparative notes: Apatetica laevicollis is characterized by practically completely black colour, moderate body size, broad and relatively weakly convex (cross-section) pronotum and elytra, the near absence of macropunctation on the disc of the pronotum, short legs, and by the shape of the aedeagus. Among the described congeners recorded from continental Asia, A. laevicollis is similar only to the following species. For distinguishing characters see the comparative notes in the section on A. glabra .

Distribution and natural history: The species is currently known only from two localites in Central and Northeast Vietnam. The record from the Chinese province Sichuan (SCHÜLKE & SMETANA 2015) is based on a misidentification and refers to A. gibba spec. nov. (see below). The additional male recorded above was collectedin a bambooforest at an altitude of 900–1100 m. The lectotype is distinctly teneral.

Figures

Figs 23–33: Apatetica laevicollis (23–28) and A. glabra (29–33): habitus (23, 29); head and pronotum (24, 30); posterior portion of elytra and abdomen (25, 31); aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view (26–28, 32–33; 28: lectotype). Scale bars:23, 29:5.0 mm; 24–28, 30–33: 1.0 mm.