Paederus

Li, Xiao-Yan & Zhou, Hong-Zhang, 2009, A review of Chinese species of the subgenus Paederus s. str. (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae) with description of a new species, Zootaxa 2083, pp. 46-64 : 57-58

5. Paederus (s. str.) socius Bernhauer, 1916

(Figs. 5A–I)

Bernhauer, 1916: 29 (type locality: China: Shandong (Kiautschau)); Wu, 1937: 329 (catalog); Scheerpeltz, 1933: 1228; Scheerpeltz, 1957: 462 (placed in subgenus Paederus s. str.); Frank, 1988: 111 (catalog); Willers, 2001: 19 (status); Smetana, 2004: 614 (Jiangxi).

Synonymy: Paederus kaiseri Bernhauer, 1934: 6 (type locality: China (Kiangsi)); Scheerpeltz, 1957: 474 (placed in subgenus Paederus s. str.); Frank, 1988: 116 (catalog); Willers, 2001: 19 (synonymy of P. s o c i u s Bernhauer); Smetana, 2004: 614.

Type material. Syntypes: CHINA: Jiangxi: 1 female, 1 male, Kiangsi ( FMNH (Bernhauer collection)).

Additional material. CHINA: Guangxi: 1 female, 1 male, Leyeyachang forestry center, 24.VII.2004, collected by Yu Yang and Gaochao; 1 female, ditto but 26.VII.2004 (all IZCAS).

Description. Male. Body length 6.7–7.2 mm; width 1.2 mm. Length of body parts: HL AL PL ELL = 1.45 1.21 2.79 1.19 mm; width: HW PW ELW ABW = 1.15 1.22 1.09 1.20mm.

Head black, labrum brown, mandibles brownish yellow with inner margin slightly black. Labial palpi and first four antennal segments slightly brown, apex of 5th and all subsequent antennal segments blackish brown. Pronotum and 3rd–6th abdominal segments brownish red, 7th–8th segments black. Scutellum brown with margins black, elytra blackish blue with metallic shine. Legs brown with apex of femur and base of tibiae and tarsi slightly black.

Head nearly hexagonal, HL/HW = 0.99, lateral margin relatively straight, posterior margin slightly rounded. Eyes relatively large, slightly protruded laterally, HL/EL=3.05, diameter of eye longer than gena but slightly shorter than temple (gena eye temple = 0.45 0.39 0.35 mm). Labrum (Fig. 5A) transverse, anterior margin slightly sinuate but without distinct angles, middle notch shallow and its bottom with a very obtuse denticle. Mandibles each (Fig. 5C) with acute bicuspidate tooth on inner margin, behind it with a corneous notch.

Pronotum nearly oviform, PL/PW = 1.11, widest in apical 1/4, broadly rounded laterally. Disc very convex, longitudinal median area smooth and glabrous, lateral areas covered with fine and sparse punctures, slightly denser laterally, puncture diameter larger than on head, each puncture with blackish brown seta. Metaventrite in posterior part with medial broad and short groove, which gradually tapers anteriorly; both sides of the groove with strong but relatively sparse punctures.

Elytra broad and nearly parallel, ELL\ELW = 1.19, ESL/ELL = 0.81, humeral angles well developed, posterior margin slightly sinuate. Punctures on elytra large and dense, larger than on pronotum, intervals between punctures shorter than puncture diameter, each puncture with brown seta. Hind wings well developed. Legs long, protarsi with 2nd segment broadest, 1st about as broad as 3rd but slightly narrower than 2nd, meso- and metatarsi with first four segments gradually shortened from 1st to 4th.

Abdomen elongate, widest at 7th (5th visible) segment, where narrower than head or elytra but broader than pronotum. Setiferous punctures on tergites large and dense, base of each tergite (excluding 3rd segment) with distinct depression where punctures larger but sparser. Sternite punctures finer than tergite punctures. 7th sternite with hind margin shallowly emarginate, and triangular depression with strong and dense punctation. 8th sternite (Fig. 5D) at hind margin with deep, about 1/2 of sternite length, notch, its bottom slightly rounded and inner sides nearly parallel. 9th sternite (Fig. 5D) with rounded apex.

Aedeagus (Figs. 5G–I) slender, length/width = 3.45. Median lobe fusiform with basal portion slightly bulbous and lateral margin sinuate, apex slightly acute. Dorsal plate of median lobe claviform, apex fine and short, longer than ventral plate but slightly shorter than parameres. Internal armature (Fig. 5G) simple, includes one clearly visible curved thorn.

Female. Labrum (Fig. 5B) with middle notch and acute medial tooth. Posterior margin of 8th sternite (Fig. 5E) with apex triangular and laterally emarginate. 9th sternite (Fig. 5F) length/width = 1.66, both anterior and posterior margins with shallow emarginations.

Remarks. This species can be easily distinguished from the other Chinese species of the subgenus Paederus s. str. by the characters of the aedeagus: the apex of the dorsal plate long and slender and the internal armature with one clearly visible curved thorn (Fig. 5G).

Distribution. China (Shandong, Jiangxi, Guangxi).

FIGURES 5A–I. Paederus socius Bernhauer , syntypes, male and female from Jiangxi, China. A—labrum, male; B—labrum, female; C—right mandible, male; D—7th -9th sternite, male; E— 8th sternite, female; F—9th sternite, female; G—aedeagus, ventral view; H—aedeagus, lateral view; I—aedeagus, dorsal view. Scale bar 0.5 mm.