Nepalota smetanai PACE , 1998

Assing, Volker, 2015, On the Nepalota fauna of China (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae: Athetini), Linzer biologische Beiträge 47 (1), pp. 207-248 : 225-227

Nepalota smetanai PACE, 1998

( Figs 46-64 , Map 5 )

Nepalota smetanai PACE, 1998: 945 ff.

Material examined: China: Shaanxi: 1♀, SW Zhouzhi , Qinling Shan, 33°44'N, 107°58'E, 1900 m, NE-slope, stream valley, mixed forest, litter and soil sifted, 25.VII.2012, leg. Assing (cAss) ; 13 exs., Qinling Shan , autoroute km 93 S of Zhouzhi, 33°45'N, 107°56'E, 1650 m, forest, sifted, 1-2.IX.1995, leg. Schülke & Wrase (cSch, cAss) ; 8 exs. [partly teneral], Qinling Shan , 45 km SSW Xi'an, mountain range W pass on road Xi'an - Shagoujie , 33°52'N, 108°46'E, 2675 m, N-slope with Abies , Betula , Larix, and Rhododendron, sifted, 25.VII.2001, leg. Schülke (cSch, cAss) ; 1 ex., Qinling Shan , pass on road Zhouzhi - Foping, 33°44'N, 107°59'E, 1990 m, stream valley with mixed deciduous forest, sifted, 2.& 4.VII.2001, leg. Wrase (cSch) ; 1 ex., Qinling Shan , river bank above Houzhenzi, 33°50'N, 107°47'E, 1450 m, 5.VII.2001, leg. Schülke (cSch) ; 53 exs., SW Meixian , Qinling Shan, 34°02'N, 107°24'E, 1870 m, N-slope, secondary deciduous forest, near stream, litter and grass sifted, 26.VII.2012, leg. Assing, Schülke & Wrase (cAss, cSch, MNHUB) ; 44 exs., Qinling Shan , Hua Shan, 34°25'N, 110°06'E, 1950-2000 m, forest, sifted, 19.VIII.1995, leg. Schülke & Wrase (cSch, cAss) ; 25 exs., Hua Shan , 34°27'N, 110°06'E, 1200- 1400 m, sifted, 18.& 20.VIII.1995, leg. Pütz, Schülke & Wrase (cSch, cAss) ; 9 exs., Daba Shan , mountain range N pass 22 km NW Zhenping, 32°01'N, 109°21'E, 2850 m, litter beneath fir and bushes sifted, 13.VII.2001, leg. Wrase (cSch, cAss). Gansu: 1♂, N Chengxian, W-Qinling Shan, 34°08'N, 105°47'E, 1760 m, N-slope, secondary deciduous forest margin, sifted, 28.VII.2012, leg. Assing (cAss) ; 31 exs., N Chengxian , W-Qinling Shan, 34°10'N, 105°43'E, 1850 m, mixed secondary forest margin, litter sifted, 29.VII.2012, leg. Assing (cAss, MNHUB) ; 21 exs., N Chengxian , W-Qinling Shan, 34°10'N, 105°42'E, 1830 m, stream valley with secondary deciduous forest, moist litter sifted, 29.VII.2012, leg. Assing (cAss, MNHUB) ; 7 exs., mountains SE Longnan , 33°13'N, 105°15'E, 2170 m, N-slope with shrubs and scattered coniferous trees, litter sifted, 31.VII.2012, leg. Assing (cAss) ; 5 exs., mountains SE Longnan , 33°11'N, 105°14'E, 2030 m, N-slope with scree, moss, fern roots, and moist litter sifted, 31.VII.2012, leg. Assing (cAss) ; 63 exs., W-Qinling Shan , NW Longnan, 34°03'N, 104°10'E, 2200 m, SW-slope with shrubs, litter sifted, 1.VIII.2012, leg. Assing & Wrase (cAss, cSch, MNHUB) ; 4♂♂, 6♀♀, 2 exs., W-Qinling Shan , NW Longnan, Lazikou pass, S-side, Zhuli valley, 34°08'N, 103°56'E, 2260 m, Nslope, mixed forest with oak and pine near stream, litter and dead wood sifted, 3.VIII.2012, leg. Assing & Wrase (cAsscSch) ; 8♂♂, 7♀♀, W-Qinling Shan , NW Longnan , Lazikou pass, S-side, Laolong valley, 34°08'N, 103°52'E, 2300 m, S-slope with pine and spruce forest, litter sifted, 3.VIII.2012, leg. Assing (cAss) ; 22♂♂, 26♀♀, W Longnan , Min Shan, 33°26'N, 104°36'E, 1470 m, deep cleft with scree, shrubs at N-slope, litter sifted, 5.VIII.2012, leg. Assing (cAss, MNHUB) ; 1♀, mountains SE Longnan , 33°11'N, 105°14'E, 2060 m, N-slope with scree, shrub litter and moss sifted, 7.VIII.2012, leg. Assing (cAss). Sichuan: 1♂, Gongga Shan , Hailuogou Glacier Park , Camp 1, 29°36'N, 102°04'E, 2100 m, 27.-31.V.1997, leg. Schülke (cAss). Yunnan 10♂♂, 8♀♀, 8 exs., mountains W Dongchuan, Sedan Snow Mountain Scenic Resort, 26°06'N, 102°55'E, 2620 m, secondary pine forest, litter, moss, and roots of herbs sifted, 14.VIII.2014, leg. Assing & Schülke (cAss, cSch, MNHUB) ; 6♂♂, 5♀♀, 3 exs., mountain WNW Wuding , 25°39'N, 102°07'E, 2390 m, mixed forest margin with alder and pine, litter sifted, 18.VIII.2014, leg. Assing & Schülke (cAss, cSch, MNHUB) ; 6♂♂, 9♀♀, 7 exs., same data, but 1.IX.2014, leg. Assing & Schülke (cAss, cSch, MNHUB) ; 61 exs., Dali Bai Aut. Pref. , mountain range E Weishan, 12 km NE Weishan, 25°17'N, 100°22'E, 2630-2660 m, shrubs with pine and bamboo, litter sifted, 15.IX.2009, leg. Schülke & Wrase (cSch, cAss) ; 8 exs., Dali Bai Nat. Aut. Pref., Diancang Shan, 3 km W Dali old town, pine forest at "Cloud Road", right upper chairlift station, 25°41'N, 100°07'E, 2650-2750 mpine needles and dry moss in ditches, 3.IX.2003, leg. Schülke (cSch, cAss) ; 1 ex., Dali Bai Nat. Aut. Pref., Diancang Shan, 3 km W Dali old town, creek valley at "Cloud Road", left upper chairlift station, 25°41'N, 100°07'E, 2700 m, bamboo, moss and litter sifted, 28.VIII.2003, leg. Schülke (cSch) ; 1 ex., Dali Bai Nat. Aut. Pref., Diancang Shan, 3 km W Dali old town, pine forest at "Cloud Road", 25°11'N, 100°07'E, 2650-2750 m, 17.VI.2005, leg. Schülke (cSch) ; 2 exs. Dali Bai Nat. Aut. Pref., Diancang Shan, 4 km W Dali, 25°41'N, 100°07'E, 2900-3000 m, E slope with degraded forest and old pine forest, 31.VIII.2003, leg. Schülke (cSch) ; 1♂, Dali Bai Nat. Aut. Pref. , Diancang Shan, 5 km SSW Dali old town, creek valley above cable car, 25°39'N, 100°08'E, 2800 m, shrubs, bamboo, moss and old flood debris sifted, 26.VIII.2003, leg. Schülke (cAss) ; 1 ex., Dali Bai Nat. Aut. Pref., Diancang Shan, E pass 43 km NW Dali, 26°00'N, 100°00'E, 2700 m, secondary pine forest, litter and moss sifted, 23.VIII.2009, leg. Schülke (cSch) ; 16 exs., Dali Bai Aut. Pref., Wuliang Shan, 11 km SW Weishan, 25°09'N, 100°14'E, 2520 m, pine forest with shrubs, litter sifted, 14.IX.2009, leg. Schülke & Wrase " (cSch, cAss) ; 1 ex., Dali Bai Aut. Pref., Zhemo Shan, 7 km SW Xiaguan, 25°32-33'N, 100°10-11'E, 2870- 2970 m, shrubs with bamboo, oak, and rhododendron, litter sifted, 18.IX.2009, leg. Schülke (cSch) ; 1♂, 34 exs., Lincang Pref., Xue Shan, 11 km ENE Lincang, 23°55'N, 100°11'E, 2510 m, secondary pine forest with rhododendron, litter sifted, 10.IX.2009, leg. Schülke (cSch, cAss) ; 1♀, Dehong Dai Aut. Pref. , mountain range 31 km E Luxi, 24°30'N, 98°53'E, 2280 m, secondary pine forest with old deciduous trees, litter sifted, 3.VI.2007, leg. Schülke (cAss) ; 6 exs., Nujiang Lisu Aut. Pref. , Gongshan Co., Gaoligong Shan, 27°45'N, 98°36'E, 2500 m, litter & debris at snowfield sifted, 19.VI.2005, leg. Schülke (cSch, cAss) ; 37 exs., Lincang Pref., Laobie Shan, Wei Bo Shan pass, 24°08'N, 99°43'E, 2375 m, stream valley with degraded secondary deciduous forest, litter and moss sifted, 8.IX.2009, leg. Schülke (cSch, cAss) ; 1♂, 4 exs., Pu'er Pref. , Ailao Shan, 37 km NW Jingdong, 24°45'N, 100°41'E, 2300 m, degraded forest remnant, litter sifted, 13.IX.2009, leg. Schülke (cSch, cAss) ; 1 ex., Zhongdian Co., 51 km SSE Zhongdian , 27°25'N, 99°57'E, 2970 m, stream valley, mixed coniferous forest with shrubs and bamboo, 16.VIII.2003, leg. Wrase (cSch).

Comment: The original description of N. smetanai is based on a male holotype from " China, Sichuan, Gongga Shan, above camp 2" and 15 paratypes from " China, Gansu, Xinlong Shan, ca. 70 km S Lanzhou" ( PACE 1998). The species was subsequently reported from additional localities in Shaanxi, Yunnan, Hubei by PACE (2011), who again illustrated the genitalia ( PACE 2011: figures 88-90) without indicating what specimens these illustrations are based on. Since the specimens collected by Andreas Pütz in the Hua Shan have type labels by Pace (" Holotypus [or Paratypus, respectively] Nepalota huamontis mihi, det. R. Pace 2009 ") attached to them, the illustrations in Pace (2011) probably refer to this material.

Nepalota smetanai is subject to remarkable intraspecific variation of external and sexual characters, which at first led me to hypothesize that the examined material was composed of two species. The material from the Qinling Shan (and adjacent mountain ranges), the Daba Shan, and the Gongga Shan is characterized by a reddish-brown to brown body, relatively short elytra (approximately 0.8 times as long as the pronotum), and a dimorphism of the hind wings, whereas the specimens from Yunnan are of darker coloration (body blackish-brown to blackish), have longer elytra (approximately as long as pronotum), and always fully developed hind wings; for illustrations the external and sexual characters of specimens from East Yunnan see Figs 29-38 . Moreover, slight differences in the shape and size of the median lobe of the aedeagus, in the internal structures of the aedeagus, and in the secondary sexual characters were observed, while the spermatheca is practically identical ( Figs 39-64 ). However, in some populations in western Yunnan these characters were found to be variable: some specimens are externally identical to other material from Yunnan, but have an aedeagus of similar morphology as material from the Qinling Shan and the Daba Shan. Thus, it was not possible to unambiguously attribute them to either of the two morphs. It seems possible that these morphs represent distinct subspecies, but additional (e.g., molecular) evidence would be needed to clarify their status. Therefore, for the time being, the observed differences are interpreted as intra- rather than inter(sub-)specific variation.

Distribution and natural history: Nepalota smetanai is one of the most common representatives of the genus in China, its distribution ranging from Hubei and Shaanxi in the north and northeast to Yunnan in the south ( Map 5 ). The examined material was sifted from litter in various types of forest and shrub habitats at altitudes between 1200 and 3000 m. On numerous occasions it was found together with other species of the genus, mostly N. gansuensis , but also N. franzi , N. martensi , and N. cuneata .

Figures

Map 5: Distribution of Nepalota smetanai PACE in China, based on examined (filled circles) and reliable literature records (open circles).

Figs 39-52: Nepalota smetanai PACE from East Yunnan (39-45) and from Gansu (46-52): (39-43, 46-50) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; (44-45, 51-52) spermatheca. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.

Figs 53-64: Nepalota smetanai PACE from East Yunnan (53-57) and from Gansu (58-64): (53-61) apical portion of median lobe of aedeagus in ventral view; (62) male tergite VIII; (63) female tergite VIII; (64) female sternite VIII. Scale bars: 62-64: 0.2 mm; 53-61: 0.1 mm.

Figs 29-38: Nepalota smetanai PACE from East Yunnan: (29) male forebody; (30) antenna; (31) male tergite VIII; (32) male sternite VIII; (33) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; (34) apical portion of median lobe of aedeagus in ventral view; (35) paramere; (36) female tergite VIII; (37) female sternite VIII; (38) spermatheca. Scale bars: 29-30: 0.5 mm; 31-32, 36-37: 0.2 mm; 33-35, 38: 0.1 mm.