Taridius ornatus Fedorenko

Fedorenko, Dmitri N., 2012, Notes on the genus Taridius Chaudoir, 1875 (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Lebiini), with descriptions of six new species from Vietnam, ZooKeys 244, pp. 67-89 : 74-76

1. Taridius ornatus Fedorenko sp. n. Figs 61120263738, 43

Description.

Body (Fig. 11), especially elytra, rather flat, 7.4-8.4 mm in length. DMF very wide (Fig. 6), outwardly extended to interval 9, PAS fairly short and transverse; PHSe short, expanded to interval 5 posteriorly and mostly also to interval 7 anteriorly, PHSi small, occupying intervals 3 and 4 posterior to PHSe, sometimes almost isolated. DSS transverse, mostly subangulate posterolaterally. Underside dark, middle of prosternum, meso- and metaventrite, as well as a narrow apical margin of abdominal sternite VII pale; outer half of metacoxae infuscate. Microsculpture coarse on elytra, obliterate on both pronotum and back half of head, with almost indistinct traces here and there on pronotal disc.

Eyes slightly flattened, genae rather long and a little projecting, head broadest slightly behind 1/3 eye tubercle length; frontal carinae on each side mostly four; of them, inner usually weaker, irregular, shortened at both extremities or only from behind, occasionally obsolete or duplicated. Vertex flattened, neck-constriction indistinct.

Pronotum 1.29-1.39 (mean 1.33, n=8) times as wide as head, 1.33-1.44 (mean 1.39) times as wide as long, base slightly convex backwards, a very small indentation between it and its lateral parts, the latter conspicuously oblique and increasingly curved forwards, sides subsinuate to nearly straight before base, hind angles highly obtuse and often rounded off, except for a small and blunt tooth bearing posterolateral seta. Front transverse impression obsolete or highly superficial, basal transverse impres sion shallow to moderately deep, slightly deeper at sides, basal foveae wide and shallow, at bottom each usually with a small, deep, transverse pit close to basal border, the latter interrupted or nearly so at middle. Anterior border widely interrupted at middle. Paralateral line obsolete or hardly traceable in basal half only. Coarse submarginal rugosities moderately dense and restricted to basal half. Coarse punctation rather dense over reflexed side margin and adjacent parts of disc in its basal half.

Elytra oblong-oval, flat, 1.44-1.53 (mean 1.49) times as long as wide, 1.45-1.55 (mean 1.5) times as wide as pronotum. Striae impunctate, with almost invisible punctures at bottom, three or four inner striae distinctly shallower within DMF, intervals flat and subequally wide, rarely odd in basal third distinctly narrower than even ones. Last abdominal sternite bisetose along apical margin in both sexes.

Penis as in Figs 20 and 26, apical lamella moderately long, widely rounded at tip. Female gonocoxite IX long and narrow, ensiform setae small, dorsal one invisible in ventral view (Fig. 43).

Diagnosis. Taridius ornatus is distinguishable from a very similar species, Taridius vietnamensis (Kirschenhofer, 1996), in the more extensive dark pattern on the elytra, especially, in a wider and more transverse DMS, flattened eyes, a little projecting genae and rather flat elytra. In addition, the latter species has been taken at much lower altitudes, 620-750 m asl.

Variability.

In a female from Chu Yang Sin (see below), the elytral DAS is slightly longer while the inner elytral striae within DMF are less shallow than in the type series.

Material.

Holotype ♂: "S[outh] Vietnam, Lam Dong Prov. / Bi Doup - Nui Ba [Nature] Reserve / 12°07'N, 108°39'20"E / Bi Doup Mt., N. slope / h = 1700-1900 m [asl], 16.IV.2008, leg. D Fedorenko". Paratypes, 5 ♂♂ and 4 ♀♀, taken together with holotype, as well as 12. and 19-22.IV.2008; 1♂, same locality, but env. Long Lanh / 12°10'44"N, 108°40'44"E / h = 1400-1600 m [asl], 29. III– 20.IV.2008.

Additional material: ♀, Vietnam, Dak Lak Prov., Chu Yang Sin Natn. Park, 12°23'48"N, 108°20'59"E, Krong Kmar riv., upper flow, h = 1650 m [asl], 30. III– 14.IV.2012, leg. D Fedorenko.

Geographic distribution.

Known from three localities within Dalat Plateau, Lam Dong and Dak Lak Provinces, Vietnam.