Thoracostrongylus baoxingensis, Yang & Zhou & Schillhammer, 2011

Yang, Zhuo, Zhou, Hong-Zhang & Schillhammer, Harald, 2011, Taxonomy of the genus Thoracostrongylus Bernhauer (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) with descriptions of five new species from China, Journal of Natural History 45 (7 - 8), pp. 407-433 : 415-418

Thoracostrongylus baoxingensis sp. nov.

( Figures 1C , 4 A–G)

Type material

Holotype. Male, CHINA: Sichuan, Baoxing, Qingshangou [30 ◦ 35’N, 102 ◦ 52’E], pitfall trap, 1820 m, 2003.VIII.3–6, Xiaodong Yu coll (IZCAS).

Paratypes. 1 male, 1 female, CHINA: Sichuan, Baoxing, Qingshangou [30 ◦ 35’N, 102 ◦ 52’E], pitfall trap, 1820 m, 2003.VIII.3–6, Xiaodong Yu coll. (IZCAS) ; 2 males, 2 females, Sichuan, Baoxing, Qingshangou [30 ◦ 35’N, 102 ◦ 52’E], pitfall trap, 1800 m, 2003.VIII.3–6, Xiaodong Yu coll. (IZCAS) ; 2 females, Sichuan, Baoxing, Qingshangou [30 ◦ 35’N, 102 ◦ 52’E], pitfall trap, 1700 m, 2003.VIII.3–6, Xiaodong Yu coll. (IZCAS) ; 2 females, Sichuan, Baoxing, Qingshangou [30 ◦ 35’N, 102 ◦ 52’E], pitfall trap, 1935 m, 2003.VIII.3–6, Xiaodong Yu coll. (IZCAS) ; 2 females, Sichuan, south of Jiulong County [29 ◦ 00’N, 101 ◦ 30’E], 2665 m, pitfall trap, 2001.VII.9–12, Xiaodong Yu coll. (IZCAS) .

Description

Measurements. Body length: 9.2 – 10.5 mm. ♂ (mean, n = 5): HL: 1.47; HW: 1.88; CL: 0.93; PO: 0.30; PL: 1.95; PW: 1.53; EL: 2.2; EW: 2.15; ELS: 1.15. ♀ (mean, n = 5): HL: 1.45; HW: 1.93; CL: 0.95; PO: 0.30; PL: 1.78; PW: 1.50; EL: 2.05; EW: 2.20; ELS: 1.05.

Male. Dark brown, dull; mandibles black, maxillary palpi, labial palpi and first four segments of antennae reddish brown, remaining segments black brown; legs pale brown, femora with black ring at midlength and distal end.

Head large, transverse, distinctly wider than pronotum; eyes large and prominent, their longitudinal diameter three times as long as temporal region; surface densely and regularly covered with umbilicate punctures, with short, scarce, brassy pubescence. Antennae with 1st segment longest, 2nd narrower than and almost one-third as long as 1st, 3rd narrower and longer than 2nd, 4th longer than wide, 5 – 10th gradually increasing in breadth, longer than wide, last segment two times as long as wide and subacuminate towards tip.

Pronotum oblong, dorsal surface convex, distinctly longer than wide, and much narrower than elytra; widest at level of large lateral seta, slightly narrowed towards rounded anterior angles, distinctly concavely narrowed towards base; anterior margin almost straight, posterior margin moderately convex, hind angles broadly rounded; punctation and pubescence similar to that on head, with brassy pubescence. Scutellum triangular, with dense, black, velvety pubescence.

Elytra subquadrate, slightly dilated posteriorly; surface densely and finely punctate, with brassy pubescence.

Abdomen elongate, gradually narrower towards apex, finely and densely punctate; 3 – 7th tergites dark, with black pubescence, mixed with golden pubescence medially at base; apical margin of 8th sternite ( Figure 4A ) shallowly and broadly excised medially, densely covered with short, golden, erect pubescence; 10th tergite ( Figure 4B ) wider than long, posterior margin almost straight with numerous long golden pubescence; apical margin of 9th sternite ( Figure 4D ) shallowly emarginate medially, with moderately long yellow pubescence.

Male genitalia ( Figures 4 F–G) moderately sclerotized, median lobe elongate; in ventral view almost symmetrical, gradually constricted above phallobase, apex sharply pointed; paramere stout, gradually narrowed towards apex, apex moderately sharply pointed, with eight fine apical setae; in lateral view, apical half bent dorsad, with a small acutely pointed process projecting dorsad at about one-fouth from apex.

Female. First four segments of front tarsus similar to those of male. Genital segment with second gonocoxite ( Figure 4E ) with minute stylus bearing one long apical seta; 10th tergite ( Figure 4C ) wider than long, posterior margin bisinuate, with several long black setae near apical margin.

Remarks

In general appearance, the species is similar to Th. miyakei Bernhauer, 1943 , but differs from it by the bigger size, the shape of the head and the male genitalia.

Distribution

China (Sichuan).

Etymology

The species is named after the type locality, Baoxing , in Sichuan Province, China .

Figures

Figure 1. (A) Thoracostrongylus acerosus sp. nov.; (B) Thoracostrongylus aduncatus sp. nov.; (C) Thoracostrongylus baoxingensis sp. nov.; (D) Thoracostrongylus diaoluoensis sp. nov.; (E) Thoracostrongylus fujianensis sp. nov.; (F) Thoracostrongylus birmanus, (Fauvel, 1895).

Figure 4. Thoracostrongylus baoxingensis sp. nov., holotype, male and female from Sichuan, China. (A) 8th sternite, male; (B) 10th tergite, male; (C) 10th tergite, female; (D) 9th sternite, male; (E) genital segment with second gonocoxite, female; (F) aedeagus, ventral view; (G) aedeagus, lateral view. Scale bar 1 mm.