Ocypus (Pseudocypus) lewisius Sharp, 1874

Smetana, Aleš & Agr. Gc, 2009, Contributions to the knowledge of the ‘ Staphylinus-complex’ (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylinini) of China. Part 19. The genus Ocypus Leach, 1819, subgenus Pseudocypus Mulsant & Rey, 1876. Section 3., Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 49 (2), pp. 683-694 : 684-688

Ocypus (Pseudocypus) lewisius Sharp, 1874

( Figs. 1 , 5–10 )

lewisius Sharp, 1874: 33 (Ocypus) ; BERNHAUER & SCHUBERT (1914: 387) ( Staphylinus ; subg. Ocypus ); SCHEERPELTZ

(1933: 1395) ( Staphylinus ); NAKANE (1963: 93) ( Ocypus ); HAYASHI (1993: 298) ( Ocypus ); LI (1993: 38) ( Ocypus );

SMETANA & DAVIES (2000:34, 44) ( Ocypus ; subg. Pseudocypus ); HERMAN (2001:3385) ( Ocypus ); SMETANA (2004:

677) ( Ocypus ; subg. Pseudocypus ).

kobensis Cameron, 1930: 207 ( Ocypus ); CAMERON (1949: 469) ( Ocypus ); SCHEERPELTZ (1933: 1395) ( Staphylinus ); SMETANA & DAVIES (2000: 34, 44) ( Ocypus ; subg. Pseudocypus ; synonym of lewisius ); HERMAN (2001: 3386) ( Ocypus ; synonym of lewisius ); SMETANA (2004: 677) ( Ocypus ; subg. Pseudocypus ; synonym of lewisius ).

Type locality. Japan, Yokohama.

Type material. The original series of Ocypus lewisius was studied and described by SMETANA & DAVIES (2000: 34), who designated the lectotype.

Additional Chinese material examined. CHINA: HUBEI: E-Hubei, Dabie Shan, Wujiashan , 31.1N 115.8E, 4.–22.v. 2005, leg. J.Turna, 2JJ ( ASC, NMW) ; central Hubei, Dahongshan , 31.5N 113.0E, 1.- 31.v.2005, Jaroslav Turna leg., 1 J ( NMW) . LIAONING: ‘ Chikuanshan S. Mandschur. [= Zi Yang Guan]’, 1 J ( FMNH) . ZHEJIANG: ‘Da-laen-saen. Nr. Nong-po. Walker Coll. 93.-18 [= very likely Dalei Shan near (45km SW) Ningbo]’, 1 J ( ASC) .

Diagnosis. A large species with very densely punctate head and pronotum, with pronotum lacking entire impunctate midline, with tergite 2 (anterior to first visible tergite) with apical third to half punctate and pubescent, with abdominal tergites 6 and 7 (fourth and fifth visible) without a patch of yellowish tomentose pubescence, with abdominal tergite 7 (fifth visible) without pale seam of palisade setae, and with characteristically shaped aedoeagus.

Redescription. Black, moderately shiny; pubescence of dorsal side of body brownish-piceous on abdomen with intermixed paler hairs; maxillary and labial palpi testaceobrunneous to dark brunneous, antennae piceous to brunneous, becoming more or less paler toward apex; legs piceous with paler tarsi. Head of rounded quadrangular shape, with obtuse to rounded posterior angles, slightly dilated posteriad, markedly wider than long (ratio 1.28), eyes moderately large, rather flat, tempora longer than eyes from above (ratio 1.27); dorsal surface of head finely and densely punctate, interspaces between punctures on disc distinctly narrower than diameters of punctures, punctation gradually becoming denser toward posterior and lateral margins, less dense toward and on clypeus, interspaces between punctures without microsculpture; impunctate midline absent, V-shaped front portion of epicranial suture present in most specimens; dorsal side of neck with punctation finer and denser than that on head. Antenna moderately long, segment 3 longer than segment 2 (ratio 1.28), segments 4 to 8 longer than wide, becoming gradually shorter, segments 9 and 10 about as long as wide, last segment short, considerably shorter that two preceding segments combined. Pronotum about as wide as long, subparallelsided, moderately convex, narrow marginal groove disappearing downwards just in front of middle of pronotal length; impunctate narrow midline slightly indicated just in front of posterior margin of pronotum, punctation on disc fine and very dense, appreciably finer and denser than that on disc of head. Pronotal hypomeron without microsetae. Scutellum densely punctate, with black tomentose pubescence. Elytra moderately long, parallelsided to vaguely dilated posteriad, at suture distinctly shorter (ratio 0.78), at sides somewhat shorter than pronotum at midline (ratio 0.89); punctation very fine and very dense, granulose. Wings each folded once under elytron, probably non-functional (see Bionomics and Comments). Abdomen with fifth visible tergite lacking pale apical seam of palisade setae; tergite 2 (anterior to first visible tergite) with apical third to half punctate and pubescent; all tergites evenly, densely and very finely punctate; interspaces with very fine and dense, transversely meshed microsculpture.

Male. Sternite 8 with deep triangular medioapical emargination. Genital segment with sternite 9 long, with rather short basal portion, apical portion largely subparallelsided with subtruncate apex ( Fig. 5 ). Tergite 10 relatively large and long, with subacute apex ( Fig. 6 ). Aedoeagus ( Figs. 7–9 ) of quite characteristic shape, with both median lobe and paramere highly asymmetrical, apical portion of paramere in ventral view markedly twisted mediad; underside of paramere lacking sensory peg setae, apical setae situated in unusual way, as in Fig. 9 .

Female. Tergite 10 of genital segment of characteristic shape, with differentiated apical portion narrowed into sharp apex ( Fig. 10 ).

Length 17.0–19.0 mm.

Bionomics. No details are known about the habitat requirements of this species. Several specimens collected in Japan (Ibaraki, Tsukuba) by M. J. Sharkey were taken from a flight intercept trap, set in a park-like environment. The Japanese specimens from Tsukuba, bearing the label ‘flight trap’ or ‘FIT’, very likely crawled in the plastic containers at the bottom of the flight intercept trap. The specimens from Hubei were taken from pitfall traps, but nothing is known about the habitat the traps were set in. I believe that Ocypus lewisius is a flightless species.

Geographical distribution. Ocypus lewisius is at present known from Japan (Honshu, Shikoku) and from the provinces of Hubei, Liaoning and Zhenjiang in the mainland China.

Recognition and comments. Ocypus lewisius may only be confused with O. densissimus , but the shape of the aedoeagus distinguishes these two species instantly. In addition, Ocypus densissimus differs by the dark color of the appendages, longer elytra and by the presence of the pale apical seam of palisade setae on fifth visible abdominal tergite (see the description for details).

Figures

Figs. 1–4. Habitus. 1 – Ocypus lewisius Sharp, 1874; 2 – Ocypus densissimus (Bernhauer, 1933); 3, 4 – Ocypus jelineki sp. nov.

Figs. 5–10. Ocypus lewisius Sharp, 1874. 5 – sternite 9 of male genital segment; 6 – tergite 10 and styli of tergite 9 of male genital segment; 7 – aedoeagus, ventral view; 8 – underside of paramere; 9 – apical portion of ventral side of paramere with apical setae; 10 – tergite 10 of female genital segment. Scales: 1 mm (short bar for Figure 9 only).