Lycocerus bifurcatus, Yang & Yang, 2013

Yang, Yu-Xia & Yang, Xing-Ke, 2013, Four new species of Lycocerus Gorham, 1889 from China (Coleoptera: Cantharidae), Journal of Natural History 47 (1 - 2), pp. 75-86 : 82-84

Lycocerus bifurcatus sp. nov.

( Figures 2C , 4 A–C)

Male. See Figure 2C . Body length: 9.8–10.5 mm; width: 2.0– 2.1 mm. Body black, clypeus and mouthparts yellow, apical maxillary and labial palpomeres darkened, mandibles dark brown, antennomeres I–II yellow, slightly darkened at apices, pronotal hypomera yellow at lower margins, prosternum yellow, coxae, trochanters and basal half of femora yellow, coxae slightly darkened at bases, pro- and mesotibiae yellow along apical half of lower sides, abdominal ventrites with lateral and posterior margins yellow. Body densely covered with light yellow short pubescence, sparsely mixed with long erected pubescence on clypeus and elytra.

Head. Rounded, breadth across eyes wider than anterior margin of pronotum, dorsum finely and densely punctate, eyes moderately protruding, apical maxillary palpomeres long-triangular, widest nearly in middle, apical half of inner margins sharp and arcuate, antennae subfiliform and slightly flatted, extending nearly to posterior margin of elytra, antennomeres II as long as wide at apex, IV slightly longer than III, IV–X each with a short and narrow longitudinal furrow in middle of outer margin (XI missing).

Pronotum. Subquadrate, distinctly longer than wide, anterior margin arcuate, lateral margins nearly parallel, posterior margin arcuate and slightly bordered, anterior angles rounded, posterior angles nearly vertical, disc convex at posterolateral parts, surface finely and densely punctate as that on head.

Elytra. About 3.5 times longer than pronotum, 3.5 times longer than humeral width, lateral margins slightly converging posteriorly, disc densely and slightly largely punctate than that on pronotum.

Legs. All claws simple.

Aedeagus. See Figure 4 A–C. Conjoint dorsal plate of parameres widely and roundly emarginated in middle of apical margin, lateral angles rounded, lateral margins triangularly protuberant nearly in middle, with a short and longitudinal ridge near apical margin along median longitudinal line on inner surface; ventral process of each paramere wide and almost straight, nearly as long as conjoint dorsal plate; laterophyses wide, with apices bifurcated and directed dorsally, separated on both sides.

Female. Unknown.

Type material. Holotype: ♂, S. China, Kwangtung [Guangdong], Kan-Lin San [Jiulian Shan], 700–900 m, Lien-Ping Distr. [Lianping], 20 April 1940, J.L. Gressitt and F.K. To ( IZAS) . Paratype: 1♂, Guangdong, Shixing, Chebaling, 25 April 1991, leg. Rui- Zhen Wen [transliterated from Chinese label] ( SYSU) .

Etymology. This specific name is derived from Latin bi - (two) and furca (fork), referring to its bifurcated apices of laterophyses of aedeagus.

Remarks. The left antennomeres IX–XI and right VIII–XI, right protarsomeres II–V and left mesotarsomeres II–V of the holotype are missing. The left antennomeres II–XI and right XI, right protarsomeres IV–V, right mesotarsomeres V, left mesoleg and both metalegs of the paratype are missing.

Figures

Figure 2. Male habitus in dorsal view. (A) Lycocerus parameratus sp. nov.; (B) L. nigroapicis sp. nov.; (C) L. bifurcatus sp. nov.; (D) L. nigrigenus sp. nov.

Figure 4. Lycocerus bifurcatus sp. nov. (A–C), L. nigrigenus sp. nov. (D–F, H) and L. kuatunensis (Wittmer, 1995) (G). (A, D) Aedeagus in ventral view; (B, E) aedeagus in dorsal view; (Bi) apex of laterophysis in lateral view; (C, F) aedeagus in lateral view; (G, H) female abdominal sternites VIII in ventral view. Note: Scale bars = 1 mm.