Coptodera (Coptoderina) taiwana (Nakane)

Hunting, Wesley & Yang, Man-Miao, 2019, A taxonomic review of the pericaline ground-beetles in Taiwan, with descriptions of new species (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Lebiini), ZooKeys 816, pp. 1-164 : 79-82

Coptodera (Coptoderina) taiwana (Nakane) Figs 55, 56 A–D, 58D, 60

Coptoderina esakii taiwana Nakane, 1956: 104; Nakane and Ohkura 1956: 46; Jedlička 1963: 348.

Types and other material examined.

Holotype (male) labeled “HOLOTYPE” [rectangular, red paper]; "27 VII 1936/Tyokakurai/DAIBU"; From Coll./Asahina"; NAKANE Coll./SEHU JAPAN/1999"; "0000005409/Sys. Ent/Hokkaido Univ./Japan [SEHU]; "HOLOTYPE/Appended label by/N. Inari/2008; " NCHU#/101663". One allotype (female on same pin as type specimen) and 62 other specimens of C. taiwana : 35 males and 27 females. For further details see EH Strickland Virtual Entomology Museum Database.

Type locality.

Taiwan. Taitung county, Dawu township.

Diagnosis.

Specimens of this species are easily distinguished from other Taiwanese Coptodera by a head a pronotum that is metallic green.

Description.

OBL 5.00 - 6.33 mm. Length (n = ten males, ten females): head 0.56 - 0.74, pronotum 0.80 - 1.00, elytra 3.00 - 3.83, metepisternum 0.68 - 0.88 mm; width: head 1.10 - 1.40, pronotum 1.36 - 1.80, elytra 2.33 - 3.00, metepisternum 0.40 - 0.52 mm.

Body proportions. HW/HL 1.77 - 2.07; PWM/PL 1.67 - 1.82; EL/EW 1.26 - 1.42; ML/MW 1.55 - 1.70.

Color. Fig. 55. See notes on coloration below. Dorsum of head piceous with faint metallic sheen, clypeus rufo-brunneous to rufo-piceous, always lighter than head, labrum rufo-brunneous to rufo-piceous, always slightly lighter than clypeus, contrasting with testaceous mandible base, antennae and palpi testaceous to rufo-brunneous; disc of pronotum brunneo-piceous to piceous, with faint metallic sheen, lateral margins testaceous to rufo-brunneous, always lighter then disc; disc of elytra black, with four testaceous macula, two anterior and two posterior, variable, anterior macula from interval 2 or 3 to 6 or 7, closest to base of elytra in interval 6 (when reduced, sometimes 4), closest to apex of elytra in interval 4, macula distinctively long in interval 4 compared to other intervals; posterior macula from suture (few specimens from interval 1) to interval 8 (few specimens to interval 7), closest to base of elytra in interval 5, closest to apex of elytra in interval 3; margins of elytra brunneous to rufo-brunneous; ventral surface with thoracic and abdominal tergites rufo-brunneous to rufo-piceous, margins of abdominal tergites and metepisternum darker; legs contrastingly lighter, with trochanter and femora and tarsi testaceous to brunneo-testaceous, tibia rufo-brunneous to darker on dorsal surface.

Notes on coloration.

In certain light conditions this species appears to have a metallic green to cupreous head and pronotum and elytra with a faint cupreous sheen. This is so in the habitus photograph as well as our experience with them in the field, under a bright LED headlamp. Other light sources such as the Wild M5 incandescent bulb source show no apparent metallic sheen to only a faint metallic sheen. The above description is what you will typically see through a microscope.

Microsculpture. Dorsum of head with microsculpture granulate, +/- isodiametric, easily visible at 50 × magnification; pronotum somewhat granulate, transverse on disc, less so at margins; elytral intervals with shallowly impressed, transverse sculpticells; ventral surface of head, smooth with microsculpture not visible at 50 ×; prosternum, proepipleuron, mesepisternum and metepisternum with sculpticells forming a shallow, somewhat transverse to transverse mesh.

Macrosculpture. Dorsum of head somewhat rugulose between eyes, clypeus faintly rugulose to smooth, both head and clypeus with relatively dense, fine and scattered setigerous punctures, punctures not visible and setae hardly visible at 50 ×; pronotum with fine and scattered setigerous punctures, punctures not visible but setae visible in side view at 50 ×, disc faintly rugulose to smooth; elytra with intervals somewhat flat, +/- single row of fine scattered setigerous punctures in center of each interval, hardly visible in lateral view at 50 ×; striae narrow, appear impunctate when viewed dorsally but with single row of fine scattered setigerous punctures, hardly visible in lateral view at 50 ×; ventrally, thoracic and abdominal sclerites with scattered setigerous punctures throughout.

Fixed setae. Elytra with two setae in apical 1/3 stria 2, one seta near base in stria 3; ventrally, prosternal process with dense, circular patch of setae at base in males.

Luster. Dorsal surface of head and pronotum moderately shiny; elytra shiny.

Head. Mandibles somewhat curved at apex, somewhat long and narrow in form, when measured on outside diameter, visible portion approximately half the length of the labrum; labrum bilobed, right lobe occasionally slightly longer than left.

Pronotum. Anterior transverse impression shallow; posterior transverse impression moderately shallow; median longitudinal impression moderately shallow; lateral margins explanate, apico-lateral margins rounded, somewhat lobed, posterio-lateral margins sinuate, almost right angled.

Elytra. Apex almost truncate.

Legs. Two rows of small squamo-setae on tarsomeres 1-2 of mid-leg, males with one notch apically on ventral side of mid-tibia.

Male genitalia. Fig. 56 A–D. Length 1.00 - 1.14 mm. Ostium catopic, positioned on left side of dorsal surface. Phallus cylindrical, right side straight along length, left side curving slightly from mid-length to apex of ostium when viewed ventrally, apical area somewhat elongate, apex bluntly rounded, slightly curved upwards in lateral view; endophallus, relatively short, stout and bulbous, distinctive form, sclerotized ring (esr) at narrowest portion of apical constriction, spines no evident.

Female genitalia. Fig. 58D. Width 0.96 mm. One spermatheca (sp1), cylindrical, ribbed laterally along length; one spermathecal accessory gland (sg), large and somewhat cylindrical, from apex of duct appears as two chambers, a small chamber followed by a constriction approximately the width of the gland duct, to a larger apical chamber; spermathecal gland duct (sgd) attachment site apically on large diverticulum (div) of spermatheca; bursa copulatrix (bc) with distinctive sac at apical end (bs), large and somewhat cylindrical, coming to a rounded point at the apex.

Habitat, habits, and seasonal occurrence.

The known elevational range of C. taiwana is from 100 to 1150 meters. Adults of this species are found in mixed forest of montane areas. This species is crepuscular and specimens can occasionally be found on trunks of live trees but is most commonly collected on deadwood. Specimens have been collected from March to December. Methods of collecting include u.v. light sheet, light trap, sweep netting, hand collecting, and insecticidal fogging of Pinus morrisonicola Hayata.

Geographical distribution.

Coptodera taiwana is known from Japan and Taiwan. For Taiwan collecting localities see Figure 60.