Lycocerus nigrigenus, 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 : 84-86

Lycocerus nigrigenus sp. nov.

( Figures 2D , 4 D–F, 4H)

Athemus kiontochananus (Pic, 1921) , Wittmer 1995, p 241, Abb. 87, 88 [misidentification].

Male. See Figure 2D . Body length: 8.5–11.0 mm; width: 2.0– 2.6 mm. Body black, head red, mandibles dark brown, maxillary and labial palpomeres black, genae black, prothorax red. Body densely covered with black short pubescence, mixed with long erected pubescence on elytra and tibiae, clypeus, mouthparts, pronotum, coxae, trochanters, ventral sides of femora and ventral parts of thorax and abdomen with slightly long light yellow pubescence.

Head. Subquadrate, 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 to apical one-third of elytra, antennomeres II about twice longer than wide at apex, IV slightly longer and narrower than III, IV–XI each with a short and narrow longitudinal furrow near apex of outer margin, XI longer than X and pointed at apex.

Pronotum. Subquadrate, slightly longer than wide, anterior margin arcuate, lateral margins slightly sinuate and diverging posteriorly, 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 4.0 times longer than pronotum, 3.5 times longer than humeral width, lateral margins slightly converging posteriorly, disc coarse, densely and largely punctate than that on pronotum, each elytron with two obscure longitudinal costae.

Legs. All claws simple.

Aedeagus. See Figure 4 D–F. Conjoint dorsal plate of parameres slightly emarginated in middle, with lateral angles of emargination bent ventrally, lateral angles rounded, lateral margins nearly straight; ventral process of each paramere with apex slightly bent inwards, nearly as long as conjoint dorsal plate; laterophyses wide, with apices tapered and directed dorsally, separated on both sides.

Female. Similar to male, but eyes slightly protruding; antennae slightly wider and shorter than that of male, extending to middle of elytra, antennomeres IV–XI without furrows; pronotum nearly as long as wide, with disc slightly convex; elytra with lateral margins nearly parallel; pro- and meso-outer claws each with an obtuse tooth at base; abdominal sternite VIII ( Figure 4H ) slightly emarginated in middle of posterior margin, with a membranous area on each side of posterior part.

Type material. Holotype: ♂, China, Zhejiang, Taishun, Wuyanling , 28 July–3 August 2005, leg. Yi-Bin Ba [transliterated from Chinese label] ( HBUM) . Paratypes: 7♂♂, 1♀, same data as holotype ( HBUM) ; Zhejiang, Wuyanling , 3 August 2007, leg. Wei- Bing Zhu ( NKUM) ; 4♂♂, 1♀, Kuatun [Fujian: Guadun], 26 July 1946 ( NHMB) ; 1♀, [Fujian], Shaowu, Tachuland [Dazhulan], 11 June 1942 ( NHMB) ; 1♂, same locality, 8 August 1945 ( NHMB) ; 1♀, same locality, 15 June 1942 ( NHMB) ; 1♂, same locality, 19 June 1942 ( NHMB) ; 1♀, Kuatun [Fujian: Guadun], 23 June 1946, Tschung Sen. ( NHMB) ; 2♂♂, 5♀♀, same data, 15 July 1946 ( NHMB) ; 1♀, same data, 22 July 1946 ( NHMB) ; 1♂, 1♀, Kuatun [Fujian: Guadun], 2300 m, 27 ◦ 40 ′ N, 117 ◦ 40 ′ E, 13 June 1936, J. Klapperich ( NHMB) ; 1♂, Fujian, Jianyang, Huangkeng, Aotou , 800–950 m, 10 July 1960, leg. Yong Zuo [transliterated from Chinese label, the following are the same] ( IZAS) ; 1♀, Fujian, Chongan, Xingcun, Guadun , 840–1160 m, 1 August 1960, leg. Yi-Ran Zhang ( IZAS) ; 1♀, Fujian, Chongan, Xingcun, Xianfengling , 850–1170 m, 23 July 1960, leg. Yi-Ran Zhang ( IZAS) ; 1♂, Fujian, Chongan, Xingcun, Longdu , 580–650 m, 29 June 1960, leg. Yi-Ran Zhang ( IZAS) .

Etymology. This specific name is derived from Latin niger (black) and gena (cheek), referring to its head with black genae.

Remarks. The type specimens of NHMB were determined as Athemus kiontochananus (Pic, 1921) (now in Lycocerus ) by Wittmer (1995). In the present study, the types of L. kiontochananus and its synonymized species (Holotype ♀ of Cantharis kiontochanana Pic, 1921 , “ Chine, Kiautschau [Shandong: Jiaozhou]”; Holotype ♀ of Cantharis perroudi Pic, 1937 , “ China ”; Holotype ♀ of Cantharis perroudi var. atropygidialis Pic, 1937 , “Tienmushan [Zhejiang: Tianmushan], 22 June 1936, coll. O. Piel”, all in MNHN) were examined.

However, the aforementioned type specimens are shown to be distinctly different from L. kiontochananus in the abdominal sternite VIII of female, which is a useful and popular character to distinguish the species of Lycocerus , so they belong to an unknown species, which is described here under the name of L. nigrigenus sp. nov.

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.