Leptusa (Aphaireleptusa) excisa, Assing, 2021

Assing, Volker, 2021, New species and additional records of Leptusa from the Palaearctic region, with a focus on the faunas of China and the Caucasus region (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 71 (1), pp. 103-126 : 108-115

Leptusa (Aphaireleptusa) excisa spec. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:963E5B3D-F42E-411C-A6A9-F57EBCCA00E5

( Figs 1 , 12 , 19–25)

Type material: Holotype : “P. R. CHINA, Shaanxi, S slope Qin Ling Shan, N 33°51'40" E 108°59'27", 15.v.2011, 2000–2600 m, sift01, V. Grebennikov / Holotypus  Leptusa excisa sp. n. det. V . Assing 2020” ( CAS). Paratypes: 22 exs.: same data as holotype ( CNC, cAss) ; 4 exs.: “P. R. CHINA, Shaanxi, S slope Qin Ling Shan, N 34°01'07" E 107°51'50", 17.v.2011, 1700–2200 m, sift02, V . Grebennikov” ( CNC).

Etymology: The specific epithet (adjective) alludes to the distinctly concave posterior margin of the male tergite VIII.

Description: Body length 2.4–3.2 mm; length of forebody 1.2–1.5 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 1 . Colouration: head and pronotum blackish-brown to black; elytra reddish to dark-red; abdomen reddish to reddish-brown with tergite VI and the anterior half of tergite VII blackish; legs reddish; antennae reddish to reddish-brown with the basal 3–4 antennomeres yellowish-red.

Head ( Fig. 12 ) transverse; punctation rather coarse, very dense, and somewhat umbilicate; interstices reduced to narrow ridges, without microsculpture. Eyes approximately as long as postocular region in lateral view. Antennae slender, gradually and moderately incrassate apically, preapical antennomeres approximately 1.5 times as broad as long.

Pronotum ( Fig. 12 ) 1.25–1.30 times as broad as long and approximately 1.25 times as broad as head; maximal width in anterior half; posterior angles angularly marked; punctation coarse, very dense, and distinctly granulose; interstices without microsculpture.

Elytra ( Fig. 12 ) approximately as long as pronotum; punctation coarse, very dense, and defined. Hind wings present.

Abdomen narrower than elytra; punctation fine and rather dense, very coarse and very dense in anterior impressions of tergites III–VI; interstices without microsculpture and glossy; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe.

7 – L desculpens ; 8 – L. procera . Scale bar: 1.0 mm.

Figs 19–32: Leptusa excisa (19–25), L. grandipennis (26–29), L. gonggana (30), and L. pathibarana (31–32). 19–20, 26–27 – median lobe of aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view; 21, 28 –male tergite VIII; 22 – male sternite VII; 23, 29–30 – male sternite VIII; 24 – female sternite VIII; 25 – spermatheca; 31 – forebody; 32 – male abdomen. Scale bars: 31–32: 0.5 mm; 21–24, 28–30: 0.2 mm; 19–20, 25–27: 0.1 mm.

Figs 33–50: Leptusa gonggana (33–38), L. habana (39–44), and L. auriculata (45–50). 33–34, 39–40, 45–47 – median lobe of aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view; 35, 41, 48 – male tergite VIII; 36, 49 – female tergite VIII; 37, 43 – female sternite VIII; 38, 44, 50 – spermatheca; 42 – male sternite VIII. Scale bars: 35–37, 41–43, 48–49: 0.2 mm; 33–34, 38–40, 44–47, 50: 0.1 mm.

Figs 51–64: Leptusa emeiana (51–55), L. auriculata (56–57), L. jizuica (58–60), and L. desculpens (61–64). 5 1–52, 58, 61–62 – median lobe of aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view; 53 – paramere; 54, 59, 63 – male tergite VIII; 55–56, 60, 64 – male sternite VIII; 57 – female sternite VIII. Scale bars: 54–57, 59–60, 63–64: 0.2 mm; 51–53, 58, 61–62: 0.1 mm.

Figs 65–79: Leptusa procera (65–68), L. monscangi (69–76), and L. pathibarana (77–79). 65–66, 69–70, 77–78 – median lobe of aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view; 67, 71 – paramere; 72 – male tergite VIII; 73 – male sternite VIII; 74 – female tergite VIII; 75 – female sternite VIII; 68, 76, 79 – spermatheca. Scale bars: 72–75: 0.2 mm; 65–71, 76–79: 0.1 mm.

: posterior margin of tergite VIII distinctly concave to acutely excised (Fig. 21); posterior margin of sternite VII broadly concave, with fringe of very long setae (Fig. 22); posterior margin of sternite VIII angularly pointed in the middle (Fig. 23); median lobe of aedeagus approximately 0.38 mm long, and shaped as in Figs 19–20; apical lobe of paramere of similar shape as in L. chinensis .

: tergite VIII with weakly concave to truncate posterior margin (Fig. 24); posterior margin of sternite VIII convex; spermatheca (Fig. 25) not distinctive.

Comparative notes: Leptusa excisa resembles L. chinensis in habitus and punctation (especially of the pronotum), but differs from this species by a usually distinctly bicoloured forebody, on average smaller body size, shorter and more coarsely punctate elytra, a more strongly concave posterior margin of the male tergite VIII, a less strongly concave posterior margin of the male sternite VII, and particularly by a significantly smaller aedeagus ( L. chinensis : median lobe approximately 0.5 mm long). For illustrations of other Aphaireleptusa species known from mainland China see PACE (1997, 1999, 2001, 2010) and ASSING (2002, 2006)

Distribution and natural history: The specimens were sifted in two close localities in the southern slopes of Qinling Shan, Shaanxi, at altitudes between 1700 and 2600 m.

Figures

Figs 1–8: Male habitusof Leptusaspp.1 – L.excisa; 2 – L.grandipennis; 3– L.auriculata; 4– L.gonggana; 5– L.emeiana; 6 – L. jizuica;

Figs 9–18: Male habitus (9–11) and forebody (12–18) of Leptusa spp. 9, 15 – L. habana; 10 – L. monscangi; 11 – L. pathibarana; 12 – L. excisa; 13 – L. grandipennis; 14 – L. gonggana; 16 – L. auriculata; 17 – L. jizuica; 18 – L. desculpens. Scale bars:9–16: 1.0 mm; 17–18: 0.5 mm.