Myllaena japonica Sharp, 1888

[Japanese name: Migiwa-hanekakushi]

(Figs. 1, 5–8, 18)

Myllaena japonica Sharp, 1888: 377 (original description; type locality: Japan, “Miyanoshita” [Hakone-machi, Kanagawa-ken, eastern Honshû]); Bernhauer & Scheerpeltz 1926: 507 (catalogue); Li 1992: 55 (record from China); Paśnik 2001: 189 (record from North Korea); Smetana 2004: 465 (catalogue); Schülke & Smetana 2015: 678 (catalogue).

Type material. Lectotype, here designated, ♂, “Type [RRL]// Myllaena japonica Type/D.S./Miyanoshita/ May 1880 Lewis // Miyanoshita // Japan./ G. Lewis. //Sharp Coll./1905 – 313.// Lectotype / Myllaena /japonica/ Sharp, 1874/des. Maruyama, 2011[RPC]” (considerably broken, probably by DS; abdominal segments VIII – X and aedeagus were dissected and mounted by MM) (BMNH).

Non-type specimens examined. [Japan]: Honshû: 6 ♂, 4 ♀, 61 unsexed, Amagi-tôge, Kawazu-chô, Shizuokaken, 16 III 1996, M. Maruyama (KUM); 1 ♂, 1 ♀, 8 unsexed, same locality, 14 III 1996, M. Maruyama (KUM); 2 ♂, 17 unsexed, same locality, 14–16 III 1996, S. Naomi (KUM) .

Distribution. China (Heilongjiang, Jilin)?; North Korea?; Japan (Honshû: Kanagawa, Shizuoka; Kyûshû: Nagasaki?). See, Comments below.

Redescription. Body (Figs. 1, 5) large, robust, about 2.2–3.0 mm, widest at elytra. Color darker brown, but mouthparts, basal segments of antennae, and legs reddish brown, similarly colored, a little paler than body color.

Head subtriangular, more or less produced anteriorly, wider than length, shorter than pronotum and elytra; eyes large, almost as long as temporal length; antenna reddish brown, longer than total length from head to pronotum; antennal segments all longer than width; segment I shortest, about half shorter than II, almost 0.6 times shorter than III; XI almost as long as II, and about 2 times longer than I.

Pronotum shorter than elytra and wider than head, semicircular, trapezoid, and wider than length, and widest at base; posterior-lateral angle acute, slightly protrude posteriorly; basal width about 1.8 times wider than narrowest width.

Elytra wider than length; hind wings fully developed.

Median lobe of aedeagus (Figs. 6 – 7) rather simplified; flagellum long; basal sclerites separated; apical sclerites separated, semicircular. Spermatheca (Fig. 8) about 17 times coiled at base.

Measurements of lectotype. BL, ≈ 3.0; PL, 0.59; PW, 0.83; HTL, 0.48.

Measurements of specimens from Shizuoka. BL, 2.2–3.0; FBL, 1.4–1.5; HL, 0.30–0.45; HW, 0.48–0.55; PL, 0.55–0.61; PW, 0.85–0.90; EL, 0.68–0.80; EW, 0.93–0.95; HTL, 0.48–0.55; AL, 1.15–1.25; AS-I, 0.07–0.09; AS-II, 0.14–0.15; AS-III, 0.12–0.13; AS-XI, 0.17–0.2.

Comments. This species was recorded from China and North Korea (Li 1992; Paśnik 2001). However, these records are doubtful because they are not based on observation of the genitalia of M. japonica, that is essential for species-level identification for this group. Re-examination of the voucher specimens is needed.

This was originally described from Nagasaki and Miyanoshita(possibly in Kanagawa).The syntype are composed of two females from Nagasaki and one male from Miyanoshita, and the latter is designated as lectotype because the specimens from Nagasaki belong to a different species (see, Comments of the next species). A distribution map of the examined specimens of this species in Japan is illustrated in Fig. 18. In Shizuoka, this species was collected in leaf litter near a wet cliff along the old road of Amagi-tôge .