Lathrobium jiaxingyangi Lin & Peng, 2021

Lin, Xiao-Bin, Zhen, Yi-Dan & Peng, Zhong, 2021, On the Lathrobium fauna of the Nanling National Nature Reserve, southern China (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Paederinae), ZooKeys 1054, pp. 15-24 : 15

Lathrobium jiaxingyangi Lin & Peng sp. nov.

Figures 1B , 3D-G , 6

Type material.

Holotype: ♂, labeled 'China: Guangdong Prov., Ruyuan County, Nanling National Nature Reserve, Shikengkong, 24°55'33"N, 112°59'29"E, 1,820 m, 30.IV.2015, Peng, Tu & Zhou leg.' (SNUC). Paratypes: 1 ♂, same data, but ' 24°55'38"N, 112°59'30"E, 1,850 m, 27.IV.2015, Peng, Tu & Zhou leg’ (SNUC).

Description.

Measurements (in mm) and ratios: BL 7.95-8.34, FL 3.12-3.24, HL 1.09-1.14, HW 1.09, AnL 1.99-2.16, PL 1.34-1.37, PW 1.09-1.14, EL 0.68-0.73, AL 1.55, HL/HW 1.00-1.04, HW/PW 0.96-1.00, HL/PL 0.82-0.83, PL/PW 1.20-1.22, EL/PL 0.51-0.53.

Habitus as in Figure 1B . Body dark reddish brown, legs reddish brown, antennae dark to light reddish brown.

Head punctation moderately fine and moderately dense, not sparser in median dorsal portion; interstices with shallow microsculpture. Eyes moderately small and composed of approximately 60 ommatidia.

Pronotum nearly parallel-sided; punctation somewhat sparser than that of head; impunctate midline broad; interstices without microsculpture.

Elytral punctation moderately dense and shallow. Hind wings completely reduced.

Abdomen with fine and moderately dense punctation, that of tergite VII somewhat sparser than that of anterior tergites; interstices with shallow, but distinct microsculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII without palisade fringe.

Male. Sternites III-VI unmodified; sternite VII (Fig. 3D ) strongly transverse and symmetric, with shallow median impression with modified short black setae, posterior margin broadly and very weakly concave; sternite VIII (Fig. 3E ) approximately as long as broad, with moderately extensive median impression posteriorly, this impression with numerous distinctly modified, stout black setae, posterior excision relatively deep; aedeagus as in Figure 3F and G ; ventral process weakly hooked apically in lateral view; dorsal plate with long apical portion and very short basal portion; internal sac with one sclerotized spine.

Female. Unknown.

Comparative notes.

Lathrobium jiaxingyangi resembles L. wangxingmini sp. nov. in having the similarly derived chaetotaxy of the asymmetric male sternite VIII and the long dorsal plate of the aedeagus. It is distinguished from L. wangxingmini by the lighter coloration, the smaller body size, the chaetotaxy of the male sternite VII, the shallower posterior excision of the male sternite VIII, and the morphology of the aedeagus (shape of ventral process; internal sac with one shorter sclerotized spine).

Etymology.

The species is named after Xing-Yang Jia, who supported us on our field trips.

Distribution and natural history.

The type locality is situated in the Nanling National Nature Reserve to western Ruyuan County, eastern Guangdong. The specimens were sifted from leaf litter and grass roots in shrub habitats at an altitude of 1,850 m (Fig. 6 ).

Figures

Figure 1. Male habitus of Lathrobium spp. A L. yangyihani B L. jiaxingyangi C L. wangxingmini. Scale bars: 1.0 mm.

Figure 3. Lathrobium guangdongense (A-C) and L. jiaxingyangi (D-G) A female tergite VIII B female sternite VIII C female tergites IX-X. D male sternite VII E male sternite VIII F aedeagus in ventral view G aedeagus in lateral view. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.

Figures 5 - 7. Collecting sites on the Nanling National Nature Reserve 5 type localities of Lathrobium yangyihani (1,260 m) 6 type locality of Lathrobium jiaxingyangi (1,850 m) 7 type locality of Lathrobium wangxingmini (1,090 m).