Earota babai ( Sawada, 1989 ) Lee & Ahn, 2014

Lee, Seung-Gyu & Ahn, Kee-Jeong, 2014, Two new combinations and a key to the species of the genus Earota Mulsant & Rey (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), Zootaxa 3765 (2), pp. 187-193 : 188-191

Earota babai ( Sawada, 1989) , comb. nov.

( Figs. 1 , 3–11 )

Pelioptera babai Sawada, 1989: 301 ; Smetana, 2004: 415 (as valid species).

Redescription. Body length about 3.5–4.8 mm. Body ( Fig. 1 ) subparallel-sided; surface slightly glossy and densely pubescent, with fine punctures. Head, antennae, pronotum and abdomen dark brown to black; elytra and legs brownish, paler than other parts. Head. Subquadrate, about as wide as long, widest across eyes, narrower than pronotum; eyes large and distinctly prominent, about 1.5 times as long as tempora; cervical carina complete; gular sutures moderately separated, slightly diverged basally. Antennae ( Fig. 3 ) long and slender; antennomeres 1–3 elongate, 1 longer than 2, 2 about as long as 3, 4 about as long as wide, 5–10 increasingly transverse apically, 11 longest, about as long as preceding three combined. Mouthparts. Labrum transverse, emarginate in anterior margin; 3 lateral sensilla and 8 macrosetae present on each side of midline; epipharynx with α -sensillum shorter than ε -sensillum, β - and γ -sensilla very short (α–ε; see Ashe 1984). Mandibles asymmetrical, pointed at apex, about 1.6–1.7 times as long as wide; right mandible with small internal tooth, internal margin serrulate; prostheca developed. Lacinia of maxilla with nine spines in distal comb; maxillary palpus elongate, with long setae; palpomere 1 smallest, 2 about 3.6 times longer than wide, 3 slightly longer than 2, about 3.0 times longer than wide, 4 digitiform, filamentous sensillae not reaching to basal half of palpomere 4. Labium with ligula narrowed apically; two medial setae very widely separated; two basal pores very widely separated; lateral pseudopores absent, some medial pseudopores present, 1 setal pore and 3 real pores present on each side of prementum; labial palpus elongate, with many long setulae; palpomere 1 about twice longer than wide, with γ -setulae located between α and b -setulae, distance from setula α to γ twice as long as distance from setula b to γ; palpomere 2 shortest, about 1.6 times longer than wide; palpomere 3 parallel-sided, about as long as 1, about 3.0–3.5 times longer than wide. Mentum trapezoidal, anterior margin emarginate, v -seta very short (See Sawada 1989: 302 for mouthparts drawings). Thorax. Pronotum ( Fig. 4 ) slightly transverse, approximately 1.2 times as wide as long, wider at apical third to middle; macrosetae moderately long, some assembled in postero-lateral margin. Metanotal scutum with 1 long seta and about 4–5 moderately long setae on each side of midline; mesocoxae widely separated; mesoventral process rounded at apex, as long as or slightly longer than metaventral process ( Fig. 5 ). Elytra transverse, wider than pronotum, each elytron approximately 1.5–1.6 times as long as wide; postero-lateral margin almost straight; pubescence directed posteriorly and postero-laterally; hind wings fully developed; flabellum composed of about 12–14 setose lobes. Legs. Slender and moderately long, with dense pubescence; length ratio of tarsomeres 36:42:50:100 (protarsus); 50:68:65:57:96 (mesotarsus); 90:88:80:68:113 (metatarsus). Abdomen. Subparallelsided, slightly wider at middle; surface glossy and densely pubescent, with transversely reticulate microsculpture. Macrochaetal arrangement of tergites II–III 01–12; tergites III–VI impressed basally; male tergite VII ( Fig. 6 ) with elongate tubercle in median region; tergite VIII ( Fig. 7 ) with 5 macrosetae on each side of midline, posterior margin slightly serrulate, emarginate at middle; male sternite VII with many small pores in basal region; sternite VIII with 7 macrosetae on each side of midline, posterior margin broadly round, slightly emarginate in median region, slightly sclerotized and translucent, with marginal setae; female sternite VIII similar to male, with long and short marginal setae, minute setae present in median region. Tergite X with medial setose patch chevron-shaped; seta in four oblique rows; rows convergent proximally. Aedeagus. Median lobe ( Figs. 8, 9 ) oval, apical process in ventral aspect convergent apically. Apical lobe of paramerite ( Fig. 10 ) with four setae; a -seta longest, d -seta slightly longer than b -seta (a–d; see Sawada 1972: 50). Spermatheca. Bursa relatively small, with flat umbilicus; duct broader apically ( Fig. 11 ).

Material examined. KOREA: Chungbuk Prov.: ♀, Danyang-gun, Yeongcheon-myeon, Mt. Taehwasan , 14 VII – 14 VIII 2001 , KJ Ahn, SJ Park, CW Shin , FIT ; 3♀, Danyang-gun, Mt. Sobaeksan, Cheondong , 7–9 V 1999, US Hwang, HJ Kim, FIT ; Gangwon Prov.: 2♂, 2♀, Jeongseon-gun, Gohan-eup, Mt. Hambaeksan , 13 VII 1999 , US Hwang, HJ Kim, FIT ; ♀, Hongcheon-gun, Naechon-myeon, Mt. Baekamsan, Garyeong fall, 24 V 2002, KJ Ahn, JS Park , sifting ; 2♀, Pyeongchang-gun, Bangnim-myeon, Ungyo-ri, Mt. Baekdeoksan , 12 VII–16 VII 2001, KJ Ahn, SJ Park, CW Shin , FIT ; ♀, Pyeongchang-gun, Cheondong-ri, Mt. Sambangsan , 13 VII–15 VIII 2001 , KJ Ahn, SJ Park, CW Shin , FIT in Pinus forest ; 3♂, 2♀, Pyeongchang-gun, Jinbumyeon, Dongsan-ri, Mt. Odaesan, Sangwonsa , 30 IV–4 VI 2001, KJ Ahn, SJ Park, MS Kim, MJ Jeon , FIT ; ♀, same data as former except for ‘ 4 VI – 22 VI 2001’; ♀, same data as former except for ‘ 22 VI –16 VIII 2001, SJ Park, CW Shin , FIT’ ; ♀, same data as former except for ‘ 18 VI 2004, SJ Park, FIT’; 2♂, ♀, same data as former except for ‘ 21 IV–18 V 2002, CW Shin, FIT’; ♀, same data as former except for ‘ 18 V –23 VI 2002’; ♂, ♀ (on slide), same data as former except for ‘N37˚47.074’ E128˚33.735’, 15 V 2006, TK Kim, HW Kim, sifting, leaf litter’; 7♂, 6♀, same data as former except for ‘N37˚47’03” E128˚33’55”, 9–25 V 2004, SJ Park, SM Choi, DH Lee, FIT’ ; 3♂, ♀, Pyeongchang-gun, Mt. Odaesan, Jeongmyeolbogung , 7–9 VII 1998 , KL You, HJ Lim , FIT ; 11♂ (two on slide), 5♀ (one on slide), Taebaek-si, Mt.Taebaeksan, Baekdansa , 14 VII 1999 , US Hwang, HJ Kim, FIT ; 2♂, 5♀ (one on slide), same data as former except for ‘ 16 VII 1999 ’.

Distribution. Korea (South) and Japan.

Remarks. This species is transferred from Pelioptera Kraatz, 1857 to Earota based on Gusarov’s diagnosis of the latter genus (2002). It corresponds to Earota and differs from Pelioptera species in the following characters: larger and broader body (smaller and slender body in Pelioptera ); antennomere 11 about as long as preceding three combined (antennomere 11 about as long as preceding two combined in Pelioptera ); mesoventral process round at apex (mesoventral process truncate at apex in Pelioptera ); large and broad medial lamellae of internal sac of aedeagus (small and narrow medial lamellae of internal sac of aedeagus in Pelioptera ); and different shape of spermatheca. Earota babai is a new addition to the Korean fauna and the genus is reported from the East Palaearctic region for the first time.

Figures

FIGURES 1–2. Habitus, male. 1, Earota babai, 4.3 mm; 2, Earota koreana, 5.5 mm.

FIGURES 3–11. Details of Earota babai. 3, antenna; 4, pronotum, dorsal aspect; 5, meso- and metaventrites, ventral aspect; 6, male tergite VII, dorsal aspect; 7, male tergite VIII, dorsal aspect; 8, median lobe of aedeagus, lateral aspect; 9, median lobe of aedeagus, ventral aspect; 10, paramere, lateral aspect; 11, spermatheca. Scale bars 0.1 mm.