Eupines crinita Li, Nomura & Yin, 2021

Li, Qi-Qi, Nomura, Shûhei, Cai, Bo & Yin, Zi-Wei, 2021, A new species and a new record of Eupines King from China and Japan (Coleoptera Staphylinidae, Pselaphinae), Zootaxa 4975 (3), pp. 574-580 : 575-577

Eupines crinita Li, Nomura & Yin , sp. nov.

Figs 1–3

Type material (66 exx.). HOLOTYPE: CHINA: ♂, ‘ China: Hainan, Sanya City, Yacheng Town , Gangmen Vill. , nr. Yugang Wharf , 18°21′20.77″N, 109°6′59.49″E, light trap, 19–20.viii.2020, Cai & Han leg., 海南三亚崖AELJ村 渔AE码ĿȐữ’ ( SNUC) . PARATYPES: CHINA: 2 ♂♂, 5 ♀♀, same label data as the holotype ( SNUC) ; 1 ♂, 6 ♀♀, same locality as previous, except ‘ 18°21′26.63″N, 109°7′0.82″E, light trap, 09–10.i.2020, Cai & Meng leg.’ ( SNUC) ; 2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, ‘ China: Hainan, Sanya City, Tianya Dist. , 18°18′45.70″N, 109°24′22.68″E, lt. trap, B. Cai, R. Meng & S. Ao leg., 海南省三亚市R涯区IJṅ’ ( SNUC) ; JAPAN: 6 ♂♂, 9 ♀♀, ‘Shimo-oshima-cho (indoor), Takasaki-shi, Gunma Pref., 9-16.ix.2011, Teiso-Kasei co. ltd.’ ( NMNS) ; 1 ♂, ‘ Tsukuba Botanical Garden, Tsukubashi , Ibaraki Pref., 36.101389N, 140.112222E, by light trap, 8-9.v.2012, S. Nomura leg.’ ( NMNS) ; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, ‘same locality as previous, but ‘forest, by light trap, 3-4. viii. 2020, S. Nomura leg.’ ( NMNS) ; 1 ♀, same locality as previous, but ‘pondside, by light trap, 4-5.viii. 2020, S. Nomura leg.’ ( NMNS) ; 1 ♂, 4 ♀♀, same locality as previous, but ‘grassland, by light trap, 5-6. viii. 2020, S. Nomura leg.’ ( NMNS) ; 3 ♂♂, ‘ Ikenosawa, Aogashima Is., Izu Isls. , Tokyo pref., 32.455869N, 139.772347E, by light trap, 2-3.vii.2014, H. Kamezawa leg.’ ( NMNS) ; 2 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀, ‘Futamata, Takeo-shi , Saga Pref., 33.206709N, 130.043503E, by light trap, 17-18.viii.2019, S. Nomura leg.’ ( NMNS) ; 8 ♂♂, 8 ♀♀, ‘ Ishigakijima Is., Okinawa Pref., by truck trap, 28. X. 1996, K. Takahashi leg.’ ( NMNS) .

Diagnosis. Body length 1.14–1.24 mm; dorsal surface of head, pronotum, elytra, and abdomen pubescent. Head with punctiform vertexal foveae; antennae sexually unmodified, antennal club composed of enlarged terminal antennomere. Male lacking modifications on legs and abdomen; tergite 5 (VIII) with posterior margin almost straight, only slightly curved; aedeagus with symmetrical median lobe and broad parameres. Female with posterior margin of tergite 5 (VIII) rounded.

Description. [measurements were taken only from Chinese population] Male ( Fig. 1A ). Body length 1.22–1.24 mm; body color yellow red, with tarsi and mouthparts paler. Head roundly triangular, broader than long, length from anterior margin of clypeus to base (excluding occiput) 0.24–0.26 mm, width across eyes 0.26–0.29 mm; vertex broad, slightly convex; antennal tubercles barely prominent; frons almost flat, confluent with anteriorly sloping clypeus; anterior margin of clypeus rounded and distinctly ridged; eyes large, prominent, each eye composed of about 32–35 ommatidia; ocular-mandibular carinae complete; posterior tentorial pits (gular foveae) small; gular ridge thin, extending anteriorly to fuse with transverse carina posterior to mouthparts. Antenna 0.52 mm long, with 11 antennomeres; antennomeres 1 (scape) and 2 (pedicel) much larger than antennomeres 2–8, antennomere 3 elongate, antennomeres 4–8 gradually shorter, antennomere 9 larger than 8, slightly transverse, antennomere 10 much broader than 9, sub- hexagonal and distinctly transverse, antennomere 11 largest, suboval, with truncate base and round apex. Pronotum broader than long, subcordate, broadest at anterior 2/5; length along midline 0.25 mm, maximum width 0.28–0.29 mm; disc slightly convex, lacking median and lateral antebasal foveae; sides rounded, smoothly narrowing apically and more strongly so posteriorly; both anterior and posterior margins evenly curved. Apical part of prosternum short, half as long as coxal length, with small lateral procoxal foveae widely separated from anterior margin of coxae; with complete paranotal carinae. Elytra slightly broader than long, widest near middle, length along suture 0.38–0.40 mm, maximum width 0.48–0.49 mm; humeral calli small and slightly prominent; sutural stria complete, thin. Mesoventrite with triangular median plate, single median mesoventral fovea small, lateral foveae large; lateral metaventral foveae moving medially and close to each other, touching but not connecting internally, lateral mesocoxal foveae present; metacoxae widely separated, posterior margin of metaventrite broad, evenly impressed. Legs normally elongate, lacking spines or projections. Abdomen with tergite 1 (IV) about twice as long as tergite 2 (V), tergites 1–4 (IV–VII) each with one pair of small lateral foveae, tergite 5 (VIII) ( Fig. 2A ) subtriangular, posterior margin almost straight, slightly curved pending angle of observation; sternite 2 (IV) longest, longer than 3–5 (V–VII) combined, with pair of punctiform lateral pits. Aedeagus ( Fig. 2C–E ) 0.15 mm long, broad and symmetrical; median lobe round at base and narrowing apically, apical half in lateral view strongly curved ventrad; parameres broad, with round apices, each paramere bearing two long preapical and two short apical setae.

Female ( Fig. 1B ). External morphology similar to male, eyes as large as male. Measurements: Body length 1.14–1.18 mm, length of antenna 0.46 mm, length / width of head 0.24 mm / 0.28–0.29 mm, pronotum 0.26 mm / 0.29 mm, elytra 0.41–0.44 mm / 0.47–0.49 mm, abdomen 0.24–0.25 mm / 0.41–0.43 mm. Externally separatable from male only by rounded posterior margin of tergite VIII ( Fig. 2B ).

Distribution. China: Hainan; Japan: Honshu, Kyushu, Aogashima Is., Ishigaki Is. ( Fig. 3 ).

Biology. The individuals from China were collected by Mercury light traps set near the seashore ( Fig. 5 ), those from Japan were attracted by UV light traps (fluorescent UV light tubes of 4W) set in forests or on grasslands ( Fig. 6 ), or collected by a truck trap. The natural habitat of this species remains uncertain.

Comments. The new species can be readily separated from its Asian congeners, except for E. atomus , primarily by the densely pubescent surface of the body, which is glabrous and shining in E. nideki , E. sphaerica , and E. inconspicua . As mentioned in the ‘Introduction’ section, E. atomus possibly does not belong to Eupines because the presence of basal foveae and discal striae of the elytra. To clarify the placement of this species, an examination of the type material is required.

No intraspecific variation in the external morphology and the shape of the aedeagus was detected between the Chinese and Japanese populations of E. crinita sp. nov.

Etymology. The specific epithet ‘ crinita (- us, - a, - um)’ is a Latin adjective means ‘hairy’, referring to the pubescent body surface of the new species.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Habitus of Eupines crinita sp. nov. A male B female. Scale bars: 0.3 mm.

FIGURE 2. Morphology of Eupines crinita sp. nov. A abdomen, male B same, female C–E Aedeagus, lateral (C), and ventral (D, E). Scale bars: 0.2 mm in A, B; 0.1 mm in C–E.

FIGURE 3. Distribution of Eupines crinita sp. nov. in China and Japan.

FIGURE 5. Collecting environment and technique for Eupines in China. A, B surrounding environments of the collecting sites C–E light traps set in situ.

FIGURE 6. Collecting environment and technique for Eupines in Japan. Light traps set in forest (A, B), by pondside (C), and by grassland (D); B is a closeup of A.