Domene firmicornis, Assing & Feldmann, 2014

Assing, V. & Feldmann, B., 2014, On Domene scabripennis ROUGEMONT and its close relatives (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 46 (1), pp. 499-514 : 510-512

Domene firmicornis nov.sp.

( Figs 36-43 , Map 1 )

Type material Holotype: " CHINA: Zhejiang Prov., Lin'an County, 700 m., W. Tianmu Shan N.R. , 16.V.1996 J. Cooter / Holotypus Domene firmicornis sp.n., det. V. Assing 2013" ( cRou). Paratypes: see Addendum.

Etymology: The specific epithet (Latin, adjective) alludes to the relatively massive antennae, one of the characters distinguishing this species from its closest relatives.

Description: Body length 12.0 mm; length of forebody 6.6 mm. Coloration: body black; legs, except for the slightly paler tarsi and antennae blackish.

Head ( Fig. 36 ) nearly as broad as long, somewhat flattened, of subcircular shape, widest behind eyes; lateral margins behind eyes broadly convex in dorsal view; frons anteriorly straight and glossy; punctation ( Fig. 37 ) moderately coarse, umbilicate, and very dense, interstices forming narrow ridges. Antenna 4.1 mm long; antennomere X barely 1.5 times as long as broad.

Pronotum ( Fig. 36 ) short and broad, 1.11 times as long as broad and 0.95 times as broad as head; 1.23 times as long as broad and approximately 0.9 times as broad as head, widest in the middle; lateral margins convex in dorsal view; punctation ( Fig. 38 ) similar to that of head; midline with rudiments of a fine glossy line anteriorly and posteriorly.

Elytra ( Fig. 36 ) 0.9 times as long as pronotum, without distinct longitudinal ridges, somewhat impressed on either side of anterior half of suture; suture elevated in posterior three fourths; macropunctation ( Fig. 39 ) irregular, composed of a mix of coarser and less coarse punctures. Hind wings not examined. Protarsomeres I-IV distinctly dilated.

Abdomen slightly narrower than elytra; anterior impressions of tergites III-VI distinctly sculptured; punctation extremely fine and extremely dense on tergites III-VI, somewhat less dense on tergites VII and VIII; interstices with distinct microreticulation; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe; tergite VIII with truncate posterior margin.

: sternite VII ( Fig. 40 ) with shallow postero-median impression, this impression with a few modified short and black setae posteriorly; sternite VIII ( Fig. 41 ) with pronounced and long median impression, this impression with numerous distinctly modified, short and stout black setae, posterior excision moderately deep and V-shaped, on either side of this excision without clusters of black setae; aedeagus ( Figs 42-43 ) 1.65 mm long; ventral process long and bisinuate in lateral view; dorsal plate completely reduced; internal sac with long membranous structures.

Comparative notes: Domene firmicornis is distinguished from all the preceding species by numerous characters, particularly the more massive antennae with less slender antennomeres, the subcircular head, the less distinctly oblong pronotum, the punctation of the elytra, the strongly dilated protarsomeres I-IV, the presence of a few modified setae on the male sternite VII, the shape and chaetotaxy of the male sternite VIII (pronounced median impression with numerous distinctly modified setae, shape of posterior excision, absence of clusters of black setae on either side of posterior excision), and by the morphology of the larger aedeagus (longer and bisinuate ventral process, dorsal plate completely reduced). In view of the nature (especially the strongly dilated protarsomeres I-IV, the shape and chaetotaxy of the male sternite VIII, and the morphology of the aedeagus) and number of these differences, its placement in the D. scabripennis group is doubtful and tentative, and it requires confirmation.

The new species is distinguished from the sympatric D. reitteri KOCH 1939 particularly by larger body size, much darker coloration, the different elytral punctation, the completely different shapes and chaetotaxy of the male sternites VII and VIII, as well as by the completely different morphology of the aedeeagus ( D. reitteri : ventral process much broader in lateral view; dorsal plate sclerotized and long). For illustrations of D. reitteri see KOCH (1939).

Distribution and natural history: The type locality is situated in the Tianmu Shan, a mountain range in Zhejiang, East China ( Map 1 ). The holotype was collected at an altitude of 700 m.

Figures

Map 1: Distributions of the species of the Domene scabripennis group: D. immarginata (white circles), D. sagittata (black diamond), D. scabripennis (black triangle), D. alesiana (white triangle), and D. firmicornis (black circle).

Figs 36-44: Domene firmicornis nov.sp. (36-43) and D. immarginata nov.sp. (44): (36) forebody; (37) median portion of head; (38) median portion of pronotum; (39) disc of left elytron; (40) male sternite VII; (41) male sternite VIII; (42) aedeagus in lateral view; (43) apical portion of aedeagus in ventral view; (44) female sternite VIII. Scale bars: 36: 1.0 mm; 40-44: 0.5 mm; 37-39: 0.2 mm.