Laricobius mirabilis Háva & Jelínek, 1999

Leschen, Richard A. B., 2011, World review of Laricobius (Coleoptera: Derodontidae), Zootaxa 2908, pp. 1-44 : 19

13. Laricobius mirabilis Háva & Jelínek, 1999

(fig 13)

Diagnosis. Body unicolored. Head light; ocelli present. Prothorax quadrate without well developed lateral carina, sides not strongly explanate. Pronotum light; posterior tooth absent. Scutellum light. Surface of elytra incurvate; elytral punctures posteriorly confluent. Epipleura light. Ventrites dark. Femora light. Tibiae light. Aedeagus with medium lobe acute.

Description. Length 2.86 mm. Body unicolored, mostly light brown or tan dorsally, prosternum light brown, thoracic and abdominal ventrites dark brown; antenna (with A1 slightly darker), palpi, and legs light tan. Head with ocelli; u-shaped furrow absent; interocular distance about 2x the width of the eye; macropunctures ovate and deeply impressed, scattered and present at center of frons; micropunctures coarse; microsculpture visible; setation short, length shorter than 1/3 the width of the eye. Antenna with length of A3 shorter than A4, ratios 1.6:1.3:1.0:1.3:1.5:1.4:1.5:1.0:1.4:1.3:1.8; A11 strongly asymmetrical. Prothorax quadrate and convex, widest just antemedially, sides sinuate; about 0.82 x as long as wide (pronotal length/greatest pronotal width = 0.82); depth = 0.40 mm; pronotum not laterally explanate, lateral carina poorly developed and reduced to a narrow bead; anterior angle acute, deflected, and forming a short laterally directed tooth (the angle formed between the anterior margin and lateral carina, excluding the tooth, is about 90°); anterior foveae visible in lateral view only, posterior foveae visible dorsally; posterior angle indistinct and broadly rounded and without a short tooth; macropunctures ovate, deep, and well-separated; micropunctures coarse; microsculpture visible; setae short, and about 1/2 the width of eye. Elytra about 3.23 x as long as wide (elytral length/greatest elytral width = 3.23) and 3.33 x as long as pronotum (elytral length/pronotal length = 3.33); surface weakly incurvate at basal third; macropunctures, especially of striae 1–2, coalescing posteriorly to form grooves, separated by an average of 1/3 of a puncture diameter; micropunctures fine; setae decumbent and short, about 1/2 length of the eye. Aedeagus (based on Háva 2009a) with phallobase slightly transverse and rectangular, about 2/3 the length of the median lobe, median lobe projecting significantly beyond apices of parameres, relatively broad and apically arrowshape-d with its greatest width about that of the parameres, apex acute; parameres broad and apically acute, internal subapical ridge absent.

Comments. Laricobius mirabilis is the only species with coalescent elytral punctuation that is unicolorous tan in color. It was described based on a single female, which was covered with a thin clear residue making some of the characters difficult to observe. The male genitalia was drawn by Háva (2009a), presumably from an additional specimen that was recorded by Háva (2009b), and was not made available for study.

Distribution. China: Shaanxi, Yunnan.

Type material examined. HOLOTYPE ( NMPC). 1 female (card mounted and dissected), CHINA, Shangxi prov. Qing Ling Shan Mts., track Hou Zen Zi vill. to Taibai Shan, 3500 m, / 2–4 July 1998, alpina meadows, Z. Jindra, O. Šafránek, et M. Trýzna leg./ HOLOTYPE (red label) / Laricobius mirabilis sp. n. J. Háva & J. Jelínek det. 1999/ Mus. Nat. Pragae 66130 (number handwritten) Inv. (red label).

Material not examined (see Háva 2009b). China, N-Yunnan [C2005-05A], Diqing Tibet. Aut. Pref., Zhongdian Co., Xue Shan near lake 23 km S Zhongdian, 3895 m / 27°37.1´N, 99°38.5´E, devast mixed forest, meadows, lake border leaf litter, dead wood, sifted, 6.vi.2005, M. Schülke leg., 1 Ƥ, J. Háva det. ( SMNS).