Coleolissus inessae Kataev, 2021

Kataev, B. M., 2021, Description of a remarkable new species of the genus Coleolissus from the Western Ghats (India), with notes on this and related genera (Coleoptera: Carabidae), Russian Entomological Journal 30 (4), pp. 448-454 : 449-451

Coleolissus inessae Kataev , sp.n.

Figs 1–6 .

MATERIAL. Holotype: ♂, “ INDIA: W Karnataka, W Gats Mts, jog Falls , 530 m, at light, 14°13.240´N 74°48.471´E, 2–5.XI.2013 S. Saluk leg.” ( ZIN).

DESCRIPTION (male). Body elongate, medium-sized, length 7.8 mm, width 3.0 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 1 .

Body pitch black, shiny and iridescent on dorsal and ventral sides, with labrum, base of mandibles and very narrow lateral margins of pronotum reddish brown; palpi, antennae and legs yellowish brown; antennomeres 3–11 and apices of tibiae very slightly infuscate.

Head medium-sized (HWmax/PWmax 0.68, HWmin/ PWmax 0.53), impunctate. Eyes large, moderately convex (HWmax/HWmin 1.28), separated ventrally from buccal fissure by very short distance about as wide as antennomere 1 basally. Genae glabrous. Tempora short, oblique, gently sloping to neck. Labrum slightly convex, very shallowly concave anteriorly. Clypeus somewhat flat, slightly emarginated along anterior margin, with a pair of lateral setigerous pores and a pair of very short longitudinal wrinkles each adjacent medially to lateral pore. Fronto-clypeal suture fine, slightly impressed, almost straight. Frontal foveae like elongate short pit without prolongation on clypeus. Fronto-ocular furrows very fine, vaguely reaching supraocular furrows. Frons with angulate shallow depression and with a few very fine micropunctures at lateral margins of this depression. Supraorbital furrows very narrow, touching upper margin of eyes. Supraorbital setigerous pores small, situated slightly before level of posterior margin of eyes and removed from supraorbital furrows by diameter of pores. Mentum separated from submentum by complete transverse suture ( Fig. 2 ), with a very short and wide median tooth; epilobes markedly widened apically; submentum with one pair of long lateral setae. Ligular sclerite almost parallel-sided, truncate at apex, with one pair of ventroapical setae. Paraglossae glabrous, moderately wide, markedly longer than ligular sclerite and separat- ed from it apically by narrow notches. Basal labial palpomere not carinate; penultimate labial palpomere about as long as ultimate one. Mandibles very moderately elongate, evenly curved apically, with wide bases; left mandible blunted at tip. Dorsal microsculpture very fine, obliterated, consisting of indistinct, more or less isodiametric meshes. Antennae slen- der, surpassing pronotal basal edge by two apical antennomeres, pubescent from apical half of antennomere 3, with antennomeres 4–8 about two times as long as wide and basal antennomere slightly longer than antennomere 3.

Pronotum transverse, comparatively long for genus (PWmax/PL 1.34), widest slightly before the middle, very moderately narrowed apically and basally (PWmax/PWmin-ap 1.44, PWmax/PWmin-bas 1.20), with one lateral seta inserted at the end of the anterior third. Sides rounded along entire length; lateral bead complete, throughout very narrow. Apical margin shallowly emarginated, almost straight medially, very narrowly bordered along entire length; border slightly obliterated at the middle. Apical angles rounded, slightly protruding anteriorly. Basal margin almost straight in middle portion, slightly rounded laterally, bordered along entire length, not ciliate, slightly longer than apical margin (PWmin-bas/PWmin-ap 1.20) and almost as long as base of elytra between humeral angles. Basal angles obtuse, rounded at apex. Disc convex. Lateral depressions beginning from lateral setae, very shallow, widened basally and disappearing before the apical quarter. Basal foveae elongate oval, shallow, isolated from lateral margins and from each other by convex areas. Median line distinct, slightly impressed, isolat- ed from apical margin and touching basal margin. Anterior transverse depression wide and shallow. Surface with dense distinct non-setigerous punctures basally and along sides, with sparser and finer punctation at apical margin including anterior transverse depression. Microsculpture highly obliterated, not forming distinct meshes.

Elytra convex, elongate, only slightly wider than pronotum (EL/EW 1.64, EL/PL 2.61, EW/PWmax 1.19), widest before the apical third; sides very slightly diverging in the apical two thirds, with weak sinuation before the middle, and roundly converging in the apical third; subapical sinuation distinct but shallow. Humeri rounded, with an indistinct denticle recognizable in caudal view. Sutural angle narrowly rounded at tip, not extended posteriorly. Basal edge slightly arched, forming a sharp, very obtuse angle with lateral margin. Striae comparatively wide, impunctate, impressed along entire length, reaching anteriorly basal elytral border, with granulate microsculpture on bottom. Intervals glabrous, almost flat on disc, gradually becoming convex and narrow at apex; intervals 8 and 9 throughout and other intervals just at apex irregularly punctate; punctation of intervals 8 and 9 in apical half very fine and sparse. Parascutellar (abbreviate) striole long, about 0.2 as long as elytron, with a large setigerous pore basally isolated from basal elytral border. Interval 3 with a series of seven very distinct discal setigerous pores adjoining to stria 2 along its entire length; intervals 5 and 7 without discal pores. Marginal umbilicate series without distinct gap at middle, consisting of 22–25 setigerous pores. Lateral groove narrow and flat throughout, without distinct elongate convexity along this groove apically. Microsculpture highly obliterated on intervals, without distinct meshes or lines, granulate in lateral groove.

Wings fully developed.

Ventral side of thorax glabrous except for sparse very fine short setae on prosternum anteriorly, almost throughout finely punctate laterally. Metepisternum markedly longer than wide, strongly narrowed posteriorly.

Metacoxae each only with two obligatory setigerous pores, without additional pores and setae. Profemur with deep longitudinal excavation on inner side. Protibia on dorsal side without longitudinal sulcus, with two similar sized preapical spines on outer margin. Metafemur ventrally with two setae at posterior margin and without setae at anterior margin. Pro- and mesotarsi dorsally with a few very fine and short setae. Protarsomeres 1–4 and mesotarsomeres 2–4 (in male) markedly widened, short, with biseriate adhesive scales ventrally; mesotarsomere 1 not widened, elongate, only slightly shorter than mesotarsomeres 2 and 3 combined, with a pair of very small scales just at apex. Metatarsus slender, about as long as HWmax, with tarsomeres 2 and 3 weakly and tarsomeres 3 and 4 markedly widened distally; metatarsomere 1 slightly longer than metatarsomeres 2 and 3 combined. Tarsomere 5 with two pairs of ventro-lateral setae.

Abdominal sternites mostly smooth, only two basal ones with very fine non-setigerous punctures; last visible sternite (VII) (in male) very widely rounded at apex, with one pair of marginal setae; these setae not removed from margin.

Aedeagus ( Figs 3–6 ) with comparatively large parameres ( Figs 3, 4 ) and basal bulb. Median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view ( Fig. 5 ) arcuate on dorsal side, with ventral margin almost straight in middle portion and convex in the apical quarter; apex sharply hooged ventrally; in dorsal view medi- an lobe ( Fig. 6 ) almost straight, with terminal lamella very wide and short, rounded apically. Apical orifice in dorsal position, wide apically. Internal sac with spiny formation medially, without spines.

ETYMOLOGY. Named after Prof. Inessa Kh. Sharova (1931–2021), the famous entomologist and soil zoologist, the teacher of many carabidologists in the former Soviet Union and Russia, to whose memory this volume is dedicated.

COMPARISON. This new species is markedly distinguished from all other congeners by elongate body with comparatively long pronotum which is not depressed latero-basally. In addition, unlike most of other species, its mandibles are shorter and abdominal sternite VII (in male) is with only one pair of marginal setae.

DISTRIBUTION. Known from the Western Ghats near Jog Falls, Western Karnataka, India.

REMARKS. This new species is rather dissimilar to any other described species and at first I hesitated to place it in any described genus. Such characters as the distinct fronto-ocular furrows, glabrous paraglossae, several setae on penultimate labial palpomere, elytral interval 3 with row of setigerous pores, long metatarsomere 1 and pro- and mesotarsi of male with biseriate adhesive scales are clearly indicate that it is a member of the Selenophori group. In having moderately elongate mandibles and glabrous, almost subcylindrical body without latero-basal depressions on pronotum, it looks as somewhat intermediate form between Coleolissus and Oxycentrus . Although these taxa are always regarded as separate genera, the structural differences between them are not evident [ Kataev, 2006] and assignment of some species to one or another genus is difficult since the body form is rather variable in the both genera. For example, two apparently closely related species with elongate body were described by one author [ Ito, 1997b, 1999] as Oxycentrus (s. str.) subarcuaticollis Ito, 1997 and Coleolissus (Tenuistilus) iridipennis Ito, 1999 without comparing them, and their generic affiliation remains unclear. They both markedly differ from C. inessae sp.n. at least in body size larger (about 9.5–12.0 mm) and in having pronotum markedly depressed latero-basally, with more rounded sides and basal angles, and abdominal sternite VII of male with two pairs of marginal setae. The new species is included in the genus Coleolissus on the basis of the following characters: frontal foveae without prolongation on clypeus, parascutellar striole long, interval 3 with a row of seven setigerous pores, and protibia with two preapical spines on outer margin. Each of these characters occurs in Oxycentrus but not in such combination. As opposed to Coleolissus , most species of Oxycentrus have frontal foveae with more or less distinct prolongation on clypeus, parascutellar striole short or absent, interval 3 with less number of setigerous pores (in some species these pores absent), and protibia with more than two preapical spines on outer margin. The very moderately elongate mandibles of C. inessae sp.n., shorter than in most Coleolissus and Oxycentrus , and its comparatively long pronotum without latero-basal depressions, which are present probably in all congeners, suggest that this species is rather isolated within Coleolissus . The similarity to Oxycentrus may be convergent (most species of Coleolissus and Oxycentrus have the plesiomorphic state of the abdominal sternite VII with two pairs of marginal setae as opposed to the apomorphic state in the new species with only one, inner, pair of setae), but it is not improbably that C. inessae sp.n. is phylogenetically close to the branching node of two phyletic lineages sensu Noonan [1985b]: the less modified lineage Hyphaereon and the more specialized lineage Oxycentrus . The relationships and status of C. inessae sp.n. need further study. Interestingly, the new species is somewhat similar in appearance to some species of Siopelus Murray, 1859 having smooth elytra, but well distinguished from them by having longer mandibles and glabrous genae and outer elytral intervals. The predominantly Ethiopian genus Siopelus seems to occupy ancestral position in relation to the phyletic lineages Hyphaereon and Oxycentrus sensu Noonan [1985b] , and, in my opinion, does not differ morphologically from the American genus Selenophorus Dejean, 1829 which is ancestral group for many American genera.

Figures

Figs 1–6. Coleolissus inessae sp.n. 1 — general view; 2 — labium; 3 — left paramere; 4 — right paramere; 5 — median lobe of aedeagus, lateral view; 6 —same, dorsal view. Scale bars: A = 1.0 mm (1), B = 0.5 mm (2–6). Рис. 1–6. Coleolissus inessae sp.n. 1 — внешний вид; 2 — нижнЯЯ губа; 3 — леваЯ парамера; 4 — праваЯ парамера; 5–6 — срединнаЯ лопасть Эдеагуса (5 — сбоку; 6 — сверху). Масштаб: A = 1,0 мм (1); B = 0,5 мм (2–6).