Sternocampsus coriaceus Liu & Jiang

Liu, Zhen & Jiang, Shi-hong, 2019, The genus Sternocampsus Fleutiaux, 1927 (Coleoptera, Elateridae, Oxynopterinae), with description of a new species from South China, ZooKeys 852, pp. 111-124 : 111

Sternocampsus coriaceus Liu & Jiang sp. nov. Figs 4 a–c, 5 a–g, 6 a–f, 7 a–d, 8

Material examined.

Holotype. ♂, Guangdong Prov., Nanling Natural Reserve, 12.V.2001, Ming-yi Tian, No. 20180380 (SZPT). Paratypes: 1♀, Guangdong Prov., Nanling Natural Reserve, VI–VII.2001, Lei Gao, No. 20180381 (SZPT); 2♀♀7♂♂, Guangdong prov., Nanling Natural Reserve, VII–VIII,2011, Bei-kun Chen, Nos. 20180384, 20180385, 20180386, 20180387, 20180388, 20180389, 20180390, 20180391, 20180392 (SZPT); 6♂♂, Guangdong prov., Nanling Natural Reserve, V.2001, Ming-yi Tian, Nos. 20180393, 20180394, 20180395, 20180396, 20180397, 20180398 (SZPT); 1♂, Guangdong Prov. (light trap), Nanling Natural Reserve, 11.V. 2009, Ding Chen, No. 20180399 (SZPT); 1♂, Guangdong prov. (light trap), Nanling Natural Reserve (1000m), 3.V.2004, Jin-cheng Zeng, No. 20180400 (SZPT); 1♂, Guangdong Prov., Nanling Natural Reserve, VI–VII.2008, Lei Gao No. 20180401 (SZPT); 1♂, Guangdong Prov. (light trap), Nanling Natural Reserve, VII.2008, Kai-xuan Chen, No. 20180402 (SZPT); 1♀, Guangdong Prov., Nanling Natural Reserve (Nanling protection station), V.2010, Chen-Hui Zhan, No. 20180405 (SWU); 3♂♂, Guangdong Prov., border between Nanling N.R. and Mangshan N.R., 5.V.2017, Jin-Kun Zhang, Nos. 20180406, 20180407, 20180408 (1 in SNUC, ex SWU; 2 in SWU); 1♀1♂, Guangxi Prov., Maoer Mts., 3.VII.2003, Min Wang, Nos. 20180382, 20180383 (SZPT); 1♂, Fujian prov., Wuyi Natural Reserve, 5-20.VII.2003, Ming Bai et Guo-dong Ren, No. 20180403 (MHBU); 1♂, Hunan Prov. (light trap, 1430m), Yizhang County, Mangshan Natural Reserve (Xiangsikeng), 2.VII.2017, Ren-Zhi Zhang (SNUC, ex SWU), No. 20180404.

Diagnosis.

Body not-metallic. Pronotum nearly twice wider (across hind angles) than its median length, flat in dorsal view, with four shallow depressions between longitudinal and transverse middle line. Elytra widest at apical third, shiny, smooth, coriaceous-rugulose sculpture hardly visible, without striae or linear punctures, covered with short pubescence, 1/5 length of diameter antennomere 2. Penis width measured before apical attenuation 3.3 times wider than minimum width of paramere, and penis not reaching beyond parameres.

Description.

Male (holotype). Body length 47.5 mm, width 14.5 mm. Body dark red-brown to black (Fig. 4a), nearly impunctate. Pronotum, head, ventral parts of body, antenna and legs dark brown to black, elytra dark red-brown, dark laterally, strongly shiny; dorsal pubescence orange, recumbent, and extremely short, denser on pronotum, ventral pubescence longer and denser.

Head. Head semi-retracted (concealing most of eyes in dorsal view in Fig. 5c), frons broadly depressed, smooth and impunctate medially, uneven with weak rugose punctures laterally, surface with sparse, short pale orange pubescence, frontal carina incomplete, only present above antennae, moderately protruding above rest of frons in lateral view. Eyes bulbous (Figs 5a, 6a). Mandible strongly incurved, nearly right angled, simple. Labrum semicircular, with dense rugose punctures laterally and long (length 1.8 times longer than diameter of antennomere 2) orange pubescence medially (Fig. 5a). Last segment of maxillary palpus truncate apically, triangular and 1.7 times longer than wide. Antenna (Fig. 5d) reaching beyond hind angles of pronotum, with long (1/3 length of diameter antennomere 2) orange pubescence, serrate from antennomeres 3 to 10, and gradually narrowing from antennomere 4th onward; antennomere 1 clavate, elliptically concave dorsal-subapically, and 1.7 times longer than wide; antennomere 2 shortest, rounded, slightly longer than wide; antennomere 3 2.3 times longer than antennomere 2 and 0.6 times antennomere 4; antennomeres 4 to 10 elongate triangular, attached latero-apically to preceding antennomere; antennomere 11 4.7 times longer than its maximum width, and 1.4 times longer than antennomere 1, with a constriction at apical fourth.

Thorax. Pronotum nearly twice wider (across hind angles) than its length, impressed on either side of midline near anterior and posterior thirds (Fig. 5c), bordered by carina at sides and posterad. Disc polished, with short orange pubescence, longer and denser along hind margin; anterior angles broadly protruding anterad near head, pronotal setae long anteriorly to half covering eyes in Fig. 5a; hind angles long, and divergent, upheaved and acute, apices curved downwards, without dorsal carina. Anterior lobe of prosternum rugose-punctate (Fig. 6b). Prosternal sutures sinuate and not bordered by raised carina on hypomeraon; prosternum shiny with small punctures, spaces between punctures 2 to 3 puncture diameters wide and sparse pubescence, length 1/2 of diameter antennomere 2, surface sulcate laterally (Figs 4b, 6a, b); prosternal process straight in lateral view, acuminate in dorsal view, area between the dorsal and ventral apices (sensu Douglas 2011) concave, ventral surface shorter than dorsal surface (Fig. 6b, d). Meso- and metaventrite smooth with regular small punctures, covered with thick and orange pubescence, half length of diameter antennomere 2, and suture between ventrites shallow; metaventrite narrowly furrowed medially along entire length (Fig. 6b).

Scutellar shield. (Fig. 5f) Flat, widest in anterior third, straight anteriorly with rounded lateral corners and posterior end, broadly concave medially in dorsal view, nearly straight on posterior sides, slightly wider than long, punctate, pubescent.

Elytra. 4 times longer than and slightly wider than pronotum (measured across hind angles), elongate (Figure 4a), anterior two-thirds nearly parallel-sided narrowed at posterior third, each apex with spine; shiny, smooth, with fine coriaceous-rugulose sculpture, without striae or linear punctures, covered with pubescence, which 1/5 length of diameter antennomere 2 (Fig. 5g).

Legs (Fig. 6e) Covered with extremely dense and regular pubescence. Tarsi with yellow-brown bristle pad underneath, tarsomeres 1 to 4 becoming sequentially shorter, tarsomeres1 nearly equal to tarsomere 5, tarsomere 5 longest, tarsomere 4 shortest. Metacoxal plate (Fig. 6b) with mesal third nearly parallel-sided, then abruptly and strongly narrowed into a narrow strip laterally.

Abdomen. General surface like that of metaventrite. Sternite III–VII each with paired round red-brown tubercles laterally, sternite VII emarginate basal-medially, abruptly narrowed posterad, triangular in ventral view, sinuate laterally, with weak longitudinal snowflake-like rugosity near sides anterad (Fig. 6f).

Genitalia. Penis width measured before apical attenuation 3.3 times wider than minimum width of paramere, and penis slightly shorter than parameres, apex abruptly and strongly narrowed, with low thorny tubercles; parameres with incision near each base in ventral view, sides nearly straight, and then strongly concave towards apex, with pre-apical acute hook-like expansion (Fig. 7 a–c).

Female. Like male, except longer (17.0-17.5 mm) and with shorter antennae. Bursa copulatrix with four symmetrical thorny plates inside (Fig. 7d).

Variations.

Body length: 45.5-51.0 mm (male) or 52.0-53.5 mm (female); body width: 13.5-17.0 mm (male) or 17.0-17.5 mm (female).

Larva.

Unknown.

Etymology.

The specific name “coriaceus” (Latin for “leather-like”) refers to the coriaceous sculpture of the elytra.

Distribution.

China: Guangdong (Nanling Natural Reserve), Guangxi (Maoer Mts.), Fujian (Wuyi Mts.), Hunan (Mangshan Natural Reserve) (Fig. 8).

Biology.

Unknown, but collected at light traps at night. Some specimens collected at the elevation of 1430 m in subtropical forest.

Remarks.

This species is the second species of the genus Sternocampsus Fleutiaux. It differs from the congener S. villosus Fleutiaux, 1927 by the following: smaller body (45.5-53.5 mm; 55 mm in S. villosus ); antennomere 3 shorter than antennomere 1 (antennomere 3 longer than 1 in S. villosus ); and pubescence of hypomeron sparser and shorter (thicker and longer in S. villosus ). The shape and arrangement of thorny plates in female bursa copulatrix (Fig. 7d) of S. coriaceus differs from Campsosternus spp. ( Hsieh et al. 2014)), which also supports diagnosis of genus Sternocampsus Fleutiaux.