Taridius piceus Fedorenko

Fedorenko, Dmitri N., 2012, Notes on the genus Taridius Chaudoir, 1875 (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Lebiini), with descriptions of six new species from Vietnam, ZooKeys 244, pp. 67-89 : 76-77

2. Taridius piceus Fedorenko sp. n. Figs 71222283536, 42

Description.

Body (Fig. 12) flat, 8.5-9.6 mm in length. Dorsum rather dull due to a sharp microsculpture, with strong sericeous luster on elytra; head and pronotum dark brown to almost black, elytral dark pattern (Fig. 7) dark brown to black posteriorly while increasingly pale both forwards and outwards, thus being barely darker anteriorly than PHS and side border. Elytral color pattern as in Taridius ornatus in general, with PHS a little smaller and interval 9 mostly pale. Ventral surface same colored.

Eyes rather small, genae long and distinctly projecting at eye back margin, head broadest level to about 1/3 eye tubercle length; two, long, frontal carinae on each side, an additional, internal, mostly very short, occasionally well-developed, carina present before eyes, sometimes another, external, very fine and short one traceable. Vertex flattened, neck-constriction indistinct or almost so.

Pronotum 1.23-1.32 (mean 1.26, n=8) times as wide as head, 1.3-1.41 (mean 1.35) times as wide as long, base nearly straight, with lateral parts rather strongly oblique and rounded, sides posteriorly subsinuate to straight, hind angles mostly rounded off or barely traceable at posterolateral setigerous pore. Front transverse impression obsolete, basal transverse impression shallow to moderately deep, basal foveae each reduced to a deep pit at its bottom close to basal border, the latter shallower or subinterrupted at middle. Anterior border interrupted medially. Paralateral line shallow but traceable in basal three fourths, starting from basal pit. Rugosities fairly dense but not very sharp, denser over entire area outside paralateral line. Punctation absent but very sparse minute punctures.

Wingless. Elytra flat, mostly reversely ovate, broadest behind middle, 1.38-1.43 (mean 1.4) times as long as wide, 1.52-1.62 (mean 1.58) times as wide as pronotum; with a highly obtuse, almost indistinct humeral angle opposite or just inside stria 7. Striae impunctate, even intervals flat, odd ones mostly slightly convex in basal third or half and often also a little narrower than even. Last abdominal sternite bisetose along apical margin in both sexes.

Penis (Figs 22, 28) regularly convex on right side, apical lamella long, parallel-sided, with a widely rounded tip forming a small capitulum in lateral view. Female gonosubcoxite IX stout, gonocoxite narrow, curved just before apex, dorsal ensiform seta small but distinct in ventral view (Fig. 42).

Diagnosis.

The present species is easily recognizable due to a particular combination of large size, flat, wide and wingless body, dull dorsum, an extensive but rather pale dark pattern on the elytra, etc.

Material.

Holotype ♂: "S[outh] Vietnam, Lam Dong Prov. / Bi Doup - Nui Ba [Nature] Reserve / 12°07'N, 108°39'20"E / Bi Doup Mt., N. slope / h = 1700-1900 m [asl], 12.IV.2008, leg. D Fedorenko". Paratypes, 3 ♂♂ and 4 ♀♀, taken together with holotype, as well as 16. and 19-22.IV.2008.

Geographic distribution.

Known from type locality only.