Ipelates schmidti Schawaller, 2005

Pubu, Zhuoma & Yin, Zi-Wei, 2022, First record of Ipelates schmidti Schawaller (Coleoptera: Agyrtidae: Agyrtinae) from China, Zootaxa 5194 (3), pp. 444-446 : 444-446

Ipelates schmidti Schawaller, 2005

( Fig. 1 )

Chinese common name: Ṁ氏fflDNJflm

Ipelates schmidti Schawaller, 2005: 122 . Type locality: C. Nepal, Ganesh Himal , Jaisuli Kund Basecamp, 4100 m.

Material examined. One male, labeled ‘ China: Tibet, Gyirong County, Gyirong Town , Lhanggyi Tso Holy Lake , 28°24’13”N, 85°23’57”E, 3970 m, 24.vii.2022, Z.-W. Yin leg. 吉ǥDz朗吉ffiDzdz ’ ( SNUC) .

Discussion. The external morphology of the studied specimen generally agrees with the original description of I. schmidti . After a comparison with a paratype through the help of Jan Růžička, two differences were noticed: 1) there are fewer observable punctures at the antero-lateral and lateral portions of the pronotum, and more distinctly, 2) the apex of the aedeagus is dorso-ventrally more roundly truncate (lateral margins of apical part evenly narrowing to form roundtriangular apex in the paratype of I. schmidti ). Since only three specimens previously collected from a single locality are available, and it can be expected that in a wingless beetle species such as I. schmidti it would be easier to form distinct geographically-isolated populations, we therefore refrain from assigning the population of Tibet as a separate species. Further sampling efforts are certainly needed to determine the potential distributional range and intraspecific morphological variation of this species.

The body parts of the Tibetan specimen were measured for comparative purposes: total body length (from anterior margin of clypeal apex to posterior margin of elytra) 4.84 mm, width of head across eyes 1.11 mm, length of antennae 2.57 mm, relative length of antennomeres 1–11: 1.9: 1.9: 3.1: 2.3: 2.2: 2.2: 2.4: 2.3: 2.3: 2.1: 3.0, midlength of pronotum 1.22 mm, maximum/basal width of pronotum 2.80 mm / 2.23 mm, length of elytra along suture (from caudal tip of scutellum to elytral apex) 2.59 mm, maximum width of elytra 2.95 mm, length of aedeagus 2.35 mm.

Comparative notes. Ipelates schmidti ( Fig. 1A ) can be readily recognized and separated from all Himalayan congeners (especially from I. ruzickai Schawaller distributed in eastern Nepal) by its moderate body size (4.5–5.0 mm), pronotum with rectangular posterolateral corners, and its surface only with sparse punctures (mostly at lateral portions) and lacking microsculpture, elytra ( Fig. 1A ) each with a narrow epipleural keel, surface with feeble transverse microsculpture, and lateral margins completely serrate, the form of sternite VIII ( Fig. 1B ), and relatively elongate and slender aedeagus ( Fig. 1C, E ) with an apically narrowed apex ( Fig. 1D ). Additionally, the key of Růžička and Pütz (2009) also leads to an identification of this species.

Biology. The beetle was collected from a sifted sample of fern and low bush leaves on a slope at an altitude of approximately 3970 m ( Fig. 1F ). The collecting site is about 30 km east by a straight-line distance from the type locality; but the two localities are well-isolated by high snow peaks in between.

Distribution. Nepal (Gandaki) ( Schawaller 2005: fig. 18); SW China (Tibet). New country record for China.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Morphology (A–E) and collecting environment (F) of Ipelates schmidti, male. A. Dorsal habitus. B. Sternite VIII. C, E. Aedeagus, dorsal (C) and lateral (E). D. Apex of aedeagus, enlarged. F. A slope near Lhanggyi Tso Holy Lake, with ferns and low bushes on the ground, where the single male was collected.