Holcoferonia Fedorenko, 2022

Fedorenko, D. N., 2022, Notes on some Abacetina (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Pterostichini), with descriptions of a new genus and new species, Russian Entomological Journal 31 (1), pp. 15-26 : 24-25

Holcoferonia Fedorenko , gen.n.

Type species: Holconotus crassimargo Tschitschérine, 1898 .

DIAGNOSIS. Same characters as for Tiferonia except as follows: Legs impilose. Submentum bisetose. Pronotal basal bead obliterate medially, vague laterally. Prosternal process apically beaded. Elytral lateral edge serrate. USS with anterior (6 US) and posterior (8 US) groups widely separated. Abdomen densely punctate. Tarsi either without dorsolateral sulci or metatarsomere 1 with anterolateral sulcus. Protarsomeres 1–3 not dilated, without ventral pad in male, similarly toothed at latero-apical angles in sexes. Aedeagus distinctive.

DESCRIPTION. Body ( Figs 60–61 ) small, compact, and glabrous; setation complete, except that submentum is bisetose and elytral discal setae missing. Secondary pilosity much reduced so that palps are only setulose, scape with very few, mostly 1–2, setules; but pedicel with distinct additional, somewhat verticellate, setae. Dorsal microsculpture isodiametric on head, coarse on labrum, nearly indistinct on pronotum and elytra.

Head with eyes rather small, convex or slightly flattened; frontal sulci short, angulate, parallel and very deep anteriorly, more shallow and strongly diverging behind, disappearing at anterior supra-ocular seta. Labrum convex at apical margin. Antennae almost reaching pronotal base. Mentum without labial pits, bisetose.

Pronotum quadrate, slightly cordate, with apical angles porrect. Basal sulci parallel, very deep, two fifths as long as pronotum. Lateral bead entire and fairly thick, more so toward base; median line distinct, crenulate, obliterate just apically and basally. Lateral groove, basal sulci, and base between these and lateral margin punctate.

Elytra as for Tiferonia , except that lateral margin is distinctly serrate in basal half, indistinctly so behind; epipleura unevenly coarsely punctate.

Ventral side: metaventrite except along middle, metapleura and entire abdomen moderately and very densely punctate, mesoventrite laterally and mesopleura finely and densely rugulose and punctate, sides of prosternum finely punctate. Abdominal sternites V–VII conspicuously crenate along bases.

Aedeagus (Figs 44–47, 50–51, 56–59): median lobe with ventral margin slightly bisinuate in basal half and finely transversely plicate just distal to base; apex in dorsal/lateral view lanceolate and pointed. Internal sac with a few distinctly sclerotized patches.

Pregenital segment, genitalia and reproductive tract in female ( Figs 35–37 ): sternite VIII apically glabrous (vs. setulose in Tiferonia ); urite IX ventrally glabrous; laterotergite narrowly rounded at apex, setulose ventro-apically; gonosubcoxite glabrous; gonocoxite robust, with laterobasal angle tooth-like and curved dorsad, double nematiform seta, and two very strong ensiform setae, dorsal and ventral. Spermatheca convoluted yet short, with only 2–3 turns.

NAME. Compound feminine, abbreviated combination of Holconotus + Tiferonia .

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION. The genus includes two species which are only known from Indochina.

HABITATS AND HABITS. No data, except that all the specimens examined have been collected at light, together with those of T. trapezicollis sp.n. and H. lioderus .

COMMENTS. Holcoferonia gen.n., Tiferonia and Holconotus are more closely related inter se than to the other abacetines defined by the antennal pedicel centrically articulated to the scape. This conclusion is based on the following shared characters: distinct postocular sulcus, discal setae primarily absent from the elytra, tarsomeres 1–3 with latero-apical angles toothed in female, elytral stria 7 weakened or obliterate toward base, and pronotum not laterally explanatereflexed. Besides, (1) maxillary and labial palps are setulose, (2) the tarsomere 5 ventrally setose, (3) legs otherwise more or less distinctly pilose, and (4) antennomeres 1–3 ( Holconotus ) or 1 and 2 ( Holcoferonia gen.n.), or only antennal pedicel ( Tiferonia ) have additional setae (because these four characters are certain to have emerged from finest body pilosity, they all can be reduced to this latter character). Additionally, the dorsal seta on the scape is distant about a third from apex (vs. a fourth in Metabacetus , Aristopus and Cosmodiscus ), yet this difference may reflect considerable differences of the taxa compared in body size.

Most characters suggest closer relationships between Holcoferonia gen.n. and Tiferonia than between these two and Holconotus . The former two taxa share similar elytral striation and tibial setation, including elytral interval 9 reduced anteriorly; stria 5 secondarily reaching apex (vs. stria 7); mesotibia with inner setal brush divided into three (vs. continuous); mesotibial anterolateral setae strong, 3–4 in number, with distal seta being on a level with posterolateral seta; protibial latero-apical spines equally strong; and protarsomeres 1–3 not or narrowly dilated (vs. distinctly dilated) in male. Another synapomorphy is the female gonocoxite IX less flattened dorso-ventrally than that of Holconotus , with laterobasal angle shifted and curved dorsad. Many other shared characters are symplesiomorphies balanced with apotypic states observed in Holconotus , such as mentum setae much to totally reduced in size, tibiae and tarsi distinctly pilose, tarsomere 5 with additional ventral and dorsal setae, US 9 and US 10 proximate and arranged into a transverse row, male profemur ventrally toothed in most species, and female genitalia very distinctive.

Similarity between Holcoferonia gen.n. and Holconotus is due chiefly to (1) serrate lateral edges of elytra. The two taxa share also (2) widely interrupted elytral USS, (3) the bisetose submentum, and (4) the prosternal process distinctly beaded. Character (4) is symplesiomorphous, character (3) apotypic yet of little value, probably homoplastic, and characters (1–3) are only substantial, certainly apotypic yet not improbably homoplastic.

As for Tiferonia it has female genitalia most similar to those of Metabacetus . The gonostyli are more or less groundplan in both, including the gonosubcoxite with apical setae and the gonocoxite not or barely modified, with all fixed setae retained, two preapical nematiform and two ensiform, ventral and dorsal. On the other hand, Metabacetus is farther advanced because it has the laterotergite modified, with a long and apically setose process, and the other genera are still more so, since some fixed setae have been lost in them or the gonocoxite has become peculiar in shape.

Figures

Figs 60–61. Holcoferonia spp, habits: 60 — H. crassimargo; 61 — H. tenuimargo sp.n., paratype. Рис. 60–61. 6Holcoferonia spp, внешний вид: 60 — H. crassimargo; 61 — H. tenuimargo sp.n., паратип.

Figs 29–37. Urites VIII and IX in female: 29–31 — Tiferonia trapezicollis sp.n.; 32–34 — Holconotus lioderus; 35–37 — Holcoferonia crassimargo; 29 — urite IX and reproductive tract; 30, 33, 36 — sternite VIII; 31, 34, 37 — tergite VIII; 32, 35 — urite IX; bc — bursa copulatrix; ov — common oviduct; sp — spermatheca; vs — ventral sclerite. Scale bar: 1 mm. Рис. 29–37. Уриты VIII и IX самки: 29–31 — Tiferonia trapezicollis sp.n.; 32–34 — Holconotus lioderus; 35–37 — Holcoferonia crassimargo; 29 — урит IX и репродуктивный тракт; 30, 33, 36 — 36 — стернит VIII; 31, 34, 37 — тергит VIII; 32, 35 — урит IX; bc — копулЯтивнаЯ сумка; ov — непарный Яйцевод; sp — сперматека; vs — вентральный склерит. Масштаб: 1 мм.