Loncovilius lividipennis ( Fairmaire and Germain, 1862 )

Reyes-Hernández, José L., Hansen, Aslak Kappel, Shaw, Josh Jenkins & Solodovnikov, Alexey, 2024, Phylogeny-based taxonomic revision and niche modelling of the rove beetle genus Loncovilius Germain, 1903 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society (Zool. J. Linn. Soc.) 202 (1), pp. 1-42 : 36-37

Loncovilius lividipennis ( Fairmaire and Germain, 1862)

( Figs 7A, 9E, 11G, H, 12I, 13I, 14I)

Fairmaire and Germain 1862: 430 (as Philonthus lividipennis , original description); Fauvel, 1866: 338 (as Quedius lividipennis , additional characters); Bernhauer and Schubert 1916: 427 (as Quedius lividipennis , catalogue); Scheerpeltz, 1972: 23 [as Quedius (Loncovilius) lividipennis ; additional material]; Germain 1903: 443 (as Loncovilius lividipennis , characters); Coiffait and Sáiz 1966: 409 (as Loncovilius s.s. lividipennis ; characters; additional material); Coiffait and Sáiz, 1968: 365 (as Loncovilius s.s. lividipennis , checklist); Sáiz 1971: 385 (as Loncovilius s.s. lividipennis ; additional material); Herman 2001b: 3083 (as Loncovilius lividipennis , catalogue); Jenkins Shaw et al., 2020: 337 (as Loncovilius nr. semiflavus ; phylogeny).

Material examined: Supporting Information, File S7.

Diagnosis: Pronotum very rarely with APP. Elytra yellow or yellowish-brown. Sternite III with basal transverse carina sharply pointed medioapically. Aedeagus as in Figure 11G, H.

Description: Measurements ♂ [min–max (average); N = 10]: FBL = 3.09–3.36 (3.22); TL = 5.15–6.86 (6.20); HW = 0.79– 0.84 (0.81); HL = 0.78–0.84 (0.81); HW/HL = 0.98–1.02 (1); PW = 1.05–1.17 (1.11); PL = 0.97–1.08 (1.02); PW/ PL = 1.08–1.11 (1.09); EW = 1.38–1.84 (1.56); EL = 1.33– 1.44 (1.4); PW/HW = 1.31–1.42 (1.37).

Measurements ♀ [min–max (average); N = 10]: FBL = 3.13–3.68 (3.42); TL = 5.87–6.68 (6.29); HW = 0.78– 0.89 (0.85); HL = 0.8–0.9 (0.85); HW/HL = 0.98–1.02 (1); PW = 0.95–1.24 (1.14); PL = 0.89–1.16 (1.06); PW/ PL = 1.04–1.11 (1.08); EW = 1.54–1.82 (1.64); EL = 1.33– 1.63 (1.5); PW/HW = 1.1–1.41 (1.35).

Most of antennae, mouthparts, pronotum, elytra, legs yellow or yellowish-brown; last three or five antennomeres and pronotum sometimes darker; head, mandibles, pro-, meso-, and metasternum, metacoxal, and abdomen reddish-brown; tergites and sternites with pale posterior margin.

Head from slightly wider than long, to slightly longer than wide; dorsally and ventrally glossy with few micropunctures and microsculpture of transverse waves, without coarse non-setiferous punctures; posterior angles indistinct with several setiferous punctures of medium and small size. Eyes small (EYL/ HL = x = 0.47), from 1.07 to 1.44 times as long as temples (in lateral view) in males and 1.06 to 1.25 in females; distance between eyes about 1.16 times as long as length of eye in males and 1.35 times in females. Antennomeres 2 and 3 subequal in length; antennomeres 4 to 7 subequal in length; antennomeres 8 to 10 subequal in length; a11 from 1.88 to 2.2 times long as a 10 in males and from 1.72 to 1.94 in females. Basal and parocular punctures usually single; posterior frontal puncture located posterior to temporal puncture; without small setose punctures between frontoclypeal punctures and anterior frontal punctures; ventral basal ridge rather straight, almost united with gular sutures; postgenal ridge present; postmandibular ridge reaching close to eye margin; PMP greatly reduced; nuchal ridge present laterally and dorsally, fused with infraorbital ridge; gula without microsculpture medially, gular sutures moderately separated. Mandibles without dorsolateral groove; labrum with trapezoidal sclerotized region and entire apical margin; mentum with seta alpha only; penultimate labial palpomere markedly dilated apicad, apical palpomere distinctly narrower than previous and more or less subconical.

Pronotum slightly transverse, convex, evenly curved, with two PPDS, usually without APP, with one SLSP; flexible postcoxal hypomeral extension (process) not interrupted by inferior line. Elytra evenly punctate, interspaces from about as long as, to one or three times as long as, diameter of punctures. Mesosternum with seven macrosetae arranged in two rows medially.

Protibiae usually sexually dimorphic, with laterodorsal row of thick spines only in females; rarely in males too. In males, mesotarsomeres 1–4 with pale adhesive setae, mesotarsomeres 1–3 with terminal plate. In females, mesotarsomeres 2–4 with pale adhesive setae without terminal plate. In both sexes, metatarsomeres 2–4 with pale adhesive setae, without terminal plate; metatarsomere 1 moderately longer than 5, metatarsomere 4 ventrally with apical margin straight or slightly sinuate.

Abdominal tergites III and IV with several rows of punctures of moderate size and density, without a sizeable impunctate area; tergite VIII emarginate medio-apically. Sternite III with basal transverse carina descending medially at a sharp point; lateral tergal sclerites IX not dorsoventrally or laterally flattened. Male sternite VIII with deep sharp V-shaped emargination medially ( Fig. 14I); female sternite VIII with arcuate emargination medially; male sternite IX with V-shaped emargination medially, its basal portion moderately longer than distal portion; male tergite X with deep U-shaped emargination medially ( Fig. 12I); female tergite X with V-shaped emargination medially ( Fig. 13I); ovipositor, its second gonocoxite with one macroseta medially.

Aedeagus as in Figure 11G, H; its total length 1.05–1.15.

Distribution and habitat: Loncovilius lividipennis is known from Chile and Argentina. In Chile, it occurs in the Araucanía, Biobío, Los Lagos, Los Ríos, and Ñuble regions. In Argentina, it is confined to the westernmost portions of the Chubut, Neuquén, and Río Negro provinces. The species occurs from 550 to 1600 m elevation; it is reported in the Araucaria - Nothofagus forests from central and north-central portions of the Valdivian temperate forest ecoregion. It has been collected using Malaise and window traps, beating the forest vegetation, attracted to ultraviolet lights, sifted from moss and leaf litter, and directly from male cones of Araucaria araucana and flowers, e.g. from Desmaria mutabilis ( Loranthaceae ) on Nothofagus sp.

Remarks: This species was described in the genus Philonthus ( Fairmaire and Germain 1862: 430) based on an unspecified number of syntypes from the Andean forests near Chillan, a city in central Chile. Fauvel (1866) moved the species to the genus Quedius , while Germain (1903) to his genus Loncovilius . Scheerpeltz (1972), who treated Loncovilius at the rank of a subgenus of Quedius , listed significant new material for this species. Coiffait and Sáiz (1966) provided the species redescription and first illustration of the aedeagus based on the non-type material that comes from localities other than ‘Chillan’. Sáiz (1971) listed a few more specimens. Camousseight (1980) lists a ‘ paratype N 2267–2272’ of Philonthus lividipennis from Germain’s collection at the National Museum of Chile in Santiago, which is apparently a syntype. Coiffait and Sáiz (1966) denoted one of the specimens they examined as a neotype of L.lividipennis . Although we were unable to examine any syntypes of L. lividipennis , we assume that the currently accepted concept of this species is correct, because the only other externally similar species, L. carlsbergi sp. nov., is known only further south, from the Magellanic subpolar forests ecoregion.