Omalium lama, Shavrin, 2025

Shavrin, Alexey V., 2025, Review of the genus Omalium Gravenhorst, 1802 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae: Omaliini) of China, Zootaxa 5588 (4), pp. 501-543 : 529-530

3.5.3. Omalium lama sp. nov.

( Figs 26 , 64, 69–71, 75)

Type material examined. Holotype ♂: CHINA: QINGHAI: ‘CHINA: Qinghai province, | Yunning Si [lamasery], | 2890 m, 36°45.6´N | 102°10.6´E (GPS), 1.–16. | VII. 2005, J. Hájek, D. Král | & J. Růžička leg.’ <printed>, ‘[Ch 10 & 19] ; baited pitfall | traps (fish meat) with | ethylene glycol ; wet | coniferous forest, close | valley above the village’ <printed>, ‘Museum für Naturkunde | Berlin | Sammlung M. Schülke’ <printed>, ‘HOLOTYPE | Omalium | lama sp. nov. | Shavrin A.V. des. 2025’ <red, printed> ( CNC).

Paratypes (12 ♂♂, 26 ♀♀): QINGHAI: 8 ♂♂ (two specimen dissected; four specimens with additional printed label: ‘ Omalium | cf. japonicum Sharp | det. M. Schülke 2007’), 19 ♀♀ (one specimen dissected; two specimens without head and pronotum; one specimen without left elytron; six specimens with additional printed label: ‘ Omalium | cf. japonicum Sharp | det. M. Schülke 2007’): same data as the holotype (3 ♂♂, 5 ♀♀: cSh; 4 ♂♂, 13 ♀♀: cSch ; 1 ♂, 1 ♀: NMPC) ; 2 ♂♂ (one specimen without left antennomeres 3–11 ; one specimen with additional printed label: ‘ Omalium | cf. japonicum Sharp | det. M. Schülke 2007’), 6 ♀♀ (one specimen without left antennomeres 3–11; two specimens with additional printed label: ‘ Omalium | cf. japonicum Sharp | det. M. Schülke 2007’): ‘ CHINA: Qinghai province, | Yunning Si [lamasery], | 2890 m, 36°45.6´N | 102°10.6´E (GPS), 1.–2. | VII. 2005, J. Hájek, D. Král | & J. Růžička leg.’ <printed>, ‘[Ch 10]; individually under | stones and logs, in | excrements and on | vegetation in | coniferous forest ’ <printed>, ‘Museum für Naturkunde | Berlin | Sammlung M. Schülke’ <printed> (1 ♂, 1 ♀: cSh ; 1 ♂, 5 ♀♀: cSch) ; SICHUAN: 1 ♂ (dissected): ‘ CHINA Sichuan, Gongga | Shan , Hailuogou , above | Camp 3, 3100m 8.VII.[19]96 | 29°35N 102°00E C56’ <printed>, ‘collected by | A. Smetana, J. Farkáč | and P. Kabátek’ <printed> ( CNC) ; 1 ♂ (dissected), 1 ♀: ‘ CHINA, N-Sichuan, | Huanglong Shan, 2611 m | Sanluogou vill. | 32°46´05´´N, 103°55´25´´E | 15–17.VI.2018,leg. Reuter’ <printed> (cF). All paratypes with additional red printed label: ‘ PARATYPE | Omalium | lama sp. nov. | Shavrin A.V. des. 2025’.

Description. Measurements (n=39): HW: 0.48–0.59; HL: 0.33–0.42; OL: 0.14–0.16; TL: 0.07–0.10; AL (holotype): 0.94; PL: 0.35–0.51; PWmax: 0.60–0.74; PWmin: 0.51–0.67; ESL: 0.78–0.91; EW: 0.83–0.99; MTbL (holotype): 0.45; MTrL (holotype): 0.23 (MTrL 1–4: 0.08; MTrL 5: 0.15); AW: 0.75–0.99; AedL: 0.62–0.70; BL: 2.70–3.75 (holotype: 2.90).

Habitus as in Fig. 64 . Head, pronotum and abdomen reddish-brown (lateral and basal portions of pronotum usually paler); elytra brown to reddish-brown; antennomeres 5–11 or 6–11 brown; mouthparts, antennomeres 1–4 or 1–5 and legs yellow-brown. Punctation of head variable, moderately fine and sparse or slightly larger and coarser, denser in middle; neck with moderately dense punctation, sometimes with impunctate medioapical part; punctation of pronotum about as that on head, but sometimes larger, denser and deeper, usually finer and sparser in medioapical and mediobasal portions; punctation of elytra denser, larger and coarser than that on pronotum, usually finer and sparser in middle; abdominal tergites without or with indistinct fine and sparse punctation. Anterior part of clypeus with distinct transverse microsculpture, lateral portions of clypeus with fine isodiametric and subdiagonal meshes, portion between apical margin of eyes and scutellum with fine longitudinal microsculpture; neck without or with indistinct transverse or isodiametric sculpture in middle; scutellum with fine transverse or isodiametric meshes; abdominal tergites with dense isodiametric microreticulation.

Head 1.4 times as broad as long, with distinctly elevated middle portion and deep and wide anteriomedian depressions, reaching level of anterior third of eyes; posterior part of clypeus gradually narrowed basad, with elongate posteriolateral margins reaching level of middle or posterior third of eyes. Latero-apical parts between anterior margin of eyes and clypeus with moderately wide and deep semicircular notch. Dorsal surface without or with irregular elongate or transverse wrinkles on infraorbital portions; median portion sometimes with irregular elevations between punctures. Anteocellar foveae moderately narrow, deep, distinctly convergent latero-apicad and reaching level of middle length of eyes, usually connected with deep latero-apical depressions between clypeus and eyes. Temples 1.6 times to twice as long as longitudinal length of eyes, from posterior margins of eyes gradually narrowed posteriad toward widely rounded hind angles. Apical part of neck narrowly and moderately deeply depressed, sometimes with short and narrow elevations; mediobasal portion sometimes with a row of short and narrow elevations. Distance between ocelli 1.4–1.7 times as long as distance between ocellus and posterior margin of eye. Apical maxillary palpomere about three times as long as penultimate segment. Antenna with slightly transverse antennomeres 6–8 and distinctly transverse 9–10.

Pronotum 1.4–1.7 times as broad as long, 1.2 times as broad as head, from widest anterior portion gradually narrowed posteriad. Apical angles widely rounded, not protruded anteriad. Anterior margin rounded, not protruded anteriad, with slightly concave middle. Laterobasal portions not concave in front of obtuse angles. Lateral portions widely depressed, deeper in about middle and significantly broadened in laterobasal portions. Surface of disc with two wide longitudinal depressions, without or with narrow or suboval and shallow depression in medioapical portion; latero-apical parts with narrow and curved elongate elevations, reaching middle. Middle portion sometimes with irregular transverse or diagonal elevations between punctures.

Elytra indistinctly broader than long, 1.7 times to slightly more than twice as long as pronotum.

Abdomen about as wide as elytra or slightly narrower.

Male. Posterior margin of abdominal tergite VII truncate or rounded. Posterior margin of abdominal sternite VIII widely sinuate. Aedeagus with wide basal portion, gradually narrowed toward median lobe; median lobe narrow and elongate, with rounded apex; accessory plates elongate and relatively wide, rounded apically; parameres strongly broadened toward middle and from preapical parts narrowed apically, each with two long and two short preapical setae; internal sac long and wide, without sclerotized structures ( Fig. 69 ). Lateral aspect of the aedeagus as in Fig. 70 ; apical portion of median lobe (lateral view) narrow, with ventrolateral margin forming disinct five rounded teeth ( Fig. 71 ).

Female. Posterior margin of abdominal tergite VII truncate. Posterior margin of abdominal sternite VIII rounded. Accessory sclerite with moderately wide basal portion, gradually narrowed toward wide and elongate median part, rounded apically ( Fig. 26 ). Spermatheca not recognized.

Comparative notes. Based on the general shapes of the body and the aedeagus, O. lama sp. nov. is similar to O. smetanai sp. nov. (see below), from which it can be distinguished by the distinctly narrower antennomeres 6–10, the shorter temples, denser punctation of the head, slightly broader elytra, the shape of the narrower median lobe, not forming hook in apical portion (lateral view), slightly longer parameres, broader apical part of the female accessory sclerite, and other details of the external and internal morphology of the aedeagus.

Distribution. Omalium lama sp. nov. is known from three localities in Yunning Si, Qinghai and Gongga Shan and Huanglong Shan mountain ranges in Sichuan, China ( Fig. 75 ).

Etymology. The name of the new species is derived from the fact that most type specimens were collected near monastery of lamas.

Bionomics. Specimens were collected at elevations from 2611 to 3100 m a.s.l. Specimens from Qinghai were collected by using pitfall traps in wet coniferous forest, and were collected individually under stones and logs and in excrements. The specimen from Gongga Shan Mts. (C56) was collected by sifting of fallen leaves, humus and debris under them under rhododendrons at edges of an old Abies forest.

Figures

FIGURE 75. Distribution of Omalium in China: Omalium lama (rounds), O. pseudojaponicum (square), O. smetanai (triangle)

FIGURES 13–29. Female accessory sclerite (Figs 13–14, 16, 18, 20–22, 24, 26, 28, 30) and spermatheca (Figs 15, 17, 19, 23, 25, 27, 29) of Omalium: 13—O. anguliferum, 14–15—O. rutilum, 16–17—O. cocleare, 18–19—O. contiger, 20—O. kurbatovi, 21—O. schuelkei, 22–23—O. bambusaphilum, 24–25—O. confertum, 26—O. lama, 27–28—O. rougemonti, 29—O. smetanai. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 63–65. Habitus of Omalium: 63—O. confertum (paratype), 64—O. lama (paratype), 65—O. pseudojaponicum (paratype). Scale bar: 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 66–74. Aedeagus of Omalium (Figs 66–68—O. confertum (holotype), Figs 69–71—O. lama (paratype), 72–74—O. pseudojaponicum (holotype)): 66, 69, 72—aedeagus, parameral view, 67, 70, 73—aedeagus, lateral view, 68, 71, 74—median lobe, lateral view. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.