Lathrobium jinyuae Peng

Peng, Zhong, Li, Li-Zhen & Zhao, Mei-Jun, 2016, On the Lathrobium fauna of the Luoxiao Mountains, Central China, Zootaxa 4158 (3), pp. 385-402 : 390-392

Lathrobium jinyuae Peng and L.-Z. Li, new species

(Map 1, Figs 1 C, 4, 5A, 6)

Type material. HOLOTYPE: Ƌ, labeled ‘ China: Hunan Prov., Yanling County, Nanfengmian , 26°18'20''N 114°00'51''E, 1730 m, 28.V.2014, Peng, Shen, Yu & Yan leg.’ ( SNUC) . Paratypes: 1 Ƌ, 4 ♀♀, same label data as holotype (SNUC); 2 ƋƋ, same data, but ‘ Jiangxi Prov., Jinggangshan, Bijia Shan , 26°30'19''N 114°09'25''E, 1330 m, 25.VII.2014, Chen, Hu, Lv & Yu leg.’ ( SNUC) ; 1 ♀, same data, but ‘ Jiangxi Prov., Jinggangshan, Bijia Shan , 26°30'37''N 114°09'48''E, 1300 m, 13.VII.2015, Shen, Yan & Yin leg.’ ( SNUC) .

Description. Measurements (in mm) and ratios: BL 8.11–8.73, FL 3.78–3.89, HL 0.98–1.02, HW 1.10–1.13, AnL 2.00–2.11, PL 1.33–1.40, PW 1.17–1.20, EL 0.75–0.80, AL 1.34–1.39, HL/HW 0.89–0.91, HW/PW 0.93– 0.95, HL/PL 0.73–0.74, PL/PW 1.14–1.17, EL/PL 0.56–0.57.

Habitus as in Fig. 1 C, 5A. Body blackish brown, legs brown, antennae dark brown to light brown.

Head: punctation coarse and sparse, distinctly sparser in median dorsal portion; interstices with distinct microsculpture. Eyes small and composed of approximately 40 ommatidia.

Pronotum with weakly convex lateral margins in dorsal view; punctation somewhat denser than that of head; impunctate midline moderately broad, somewhat irregular; interstices without microsculpture.

Elytral punctation dense and weakly defined. Hind wings completely reduced. Protarsi with distinct sexual dimorphism.

Abdomen with moderately fine and moderately dense punctation, that of tergite VII sparser than that of anterior tergites; interstices with shallow microsculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII without palisade fringe; tergite VIII with weakly pronounced sexual dimorphism.

Male. Posterior margin of tergite VIII weakly convex; sternites III–VI unmodified; sternite VII ( Figs 4 D, 6D) strongly transverse, with very shallow postero-median impression, pubescence not distinctly modified, posterior margin broadly and very weakly concave; sternite VIII ( Figs 4 E, 6E) weakly transverse and symmetric, with median impression extending along whole sternite, middle of sternite narrowly without setae, on either side of middle with moderately modified short setae; posterior excision moderately deep and broadly V-shaped; aedeagus as in Figs 4 F, G, 6 F, G; ventral process slender and distinctly curved; dorsal plate with very long, strongly sclerotized apical portion and very short basal portion; internal sac with five strongly sclerotized spines of different sizes.

Female. Posterior margin of tergite VIII ( Figs 4 A, 6A) broadly convex; sternite VIII as in Figs 4 B, 6B, with sparse micropubescence, posterior margin distinctly convex; tergite IX ( Figs 4 C, 6C) with short, medially undivided antero-median portion and slender postero-lateral processes; tergite X ( Figs 4 C, 6C) 3.2 times as long as antero-median portion of tergite IX.

Comparative notes. Based on the morphology of the aedeagus, this species appears to be allied to the geographically close L. bamianense , from which it is distinguished by somewhat larger body size, darker coloration of the body, the chaetotaxy of the male sternite VII, and the distinctly curved ventral process of the aedeagus.

Intraspecific variation. The species is subject to some intraspecific variation of the coloration and body size, the shape of the female tergite VIII ( Figs 4 A, 6A) and also of the shape of the ventral process of the aedeagus ( Figs 4 F, 4G, 6 F, 6G).

Distribution and natural history. The specimens were collected in three localities in the Luoxiao Mountains. They were sifted from forest leaf litter at altitudes of 1300–1730 m.

Etymology. This species is dedicated to Mrs. Jin-Yu Zhou, the first author’s mother, who supported us on our field trips.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Habitus of Lathrobium spp., A — L. bamianense; B — L. fumingi; C — L. jinyuae (Nanfengmian). Scale bars: 1.0 mm.

FIGURE 4. Lathrobium jinyuae (Nanfengmian). A — female tergite VIII; B — female sternite VIII; C — female tergites IX – X. D — male sternite VII; E — male sternite VIII; F — aedeagus in ventral view; G — aedeagus in lateral view. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.