Paederus agnatus EPPELSHEIM , 1889

Assing, Volker, 2015, On the Harpopaederus fauna of China (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 47 (1), pp. 163-190 : 171-173

Paederus agnatus EPPELSHEIM, 1889 ( Figs 1-29 , 54 , Map 2 )

Paederus agnatus EPPELSHEIM, 1889: 180 f.;

Paederus dangchangensis LI & ZHOU, 2007: 227 ff.; nov.syn.

Paederus konfuzius WILLERS, 2001b: 3 ff.; partim.

T y p e m a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d P. agnatus : Syntype ♀: "Kan-ssa / 14.IV [overleaf] / c. Epplsh. Steind. d. / agnatus Epp., Hor. Soc. ent. Ross., t. XXIII. p. 180. / Typus / Syntypus ♀ Paederus agnatus Eppelsheim rev. V. Assing 2015 / Paederus (Harpopaederus) agnatus ♀ Eppelsheim, det. V. Assing 2015" (NHMW).

A d d i t i o n a l m a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d China G a n s u 1♀, Qinling Shan , N Chengxian, 34°10'N, 105°43'E, 1850 m, mixed secondary forest margin, litter sifted, 29.VII.2012, leg. Wrase (cAss) ; 13, 1♀, Qinling Shan , N Chengxian, 34°10'N, 105°42'E, 1830 m, stream valley with secondary deciduous forest, moist litter sifted, 29.VII.2012, leg. Schülke & Wrase (cSch, cAss) ; 13, 2♀♀, Qinling Shan , NW Longnan , Lazikou pass, S-side, Laolong valley, 34°08'N, 103°52'E, 2300 m, S-slope with pine and spruce forest, litter sifted, 3.VIII.2012, leg. Assing, Schülke & Wrase (cAss, cSch) ; 13, Qinling Shan , NW Longnan , Lazikou pass, S-side, Zhuli valley, 34°08'N, 103°56'E, 2260 m, N-slope, mixed forest with oak and pine near stream, litter and dead wood sifted, 3.VIII.2012, leg. Wrase (cAss) ; 333, 2♀♀, Lazikou valley , 34°10'N, 103°48- 52'E, 2120-2510 m, 28.VI.2005, leg. Hájek et al. (cSch, cAss) ; 13, Lazikou valley , 34°10'N, 103°52'E, 2120 m, vegetation along meadow, baited pitfall trap (fish, meat, cheese), 28.VI.2005, leg. Hájek et al. (cSch) ; 233, Lazikou pass, 34°14'N, 103°54'E, 3180 m, grassland, 29.VI.2005, leg. Hájek et al. (cSch, cAss) ; 233, S Longnan , Min Shan , 33°03'N, 104°41'E, 2200 m, secondary pine forest with hazelnut, moist litter and roots sifted, 6.VIII.2012, leg. Assing & Wrase (cAss, cSch). S h a a n x i [see also type material of P. konfuzius ]: 233, 1♀, Qinling Shan, 105 km SW Xi'an, pass on road Zhouzhi-Foping, 33°46'N, 107°58'E, 1880 m, 4.VII.2001, leg. Wrase (cSch) ; 13, 2♀♀, Qinling Shan , 105 km SW Xi'an, pass on road Zhouzhi-Foping, 33°46'N, 107°58'E, 1700 m, stream valley, mixed deciduous forest, 3.VII.2001, leg. Wrase (cSch, cAss) ; 2♀♀, Qinling Shan , 105 km SW Xi'an, pass on road Zhouzhi-Foping, 33°44'N, 107°59'E, 1990 m, 2.-4.VII.2001, leg. Schülke & Wrase (cSch, cAss) ; 1♀, Qinling Shan , 52 km SSW Zhouzhi, 33°44'N, 107°58'E, 1900 m, mixed forest, litter and soil sifted, 25.VII.2012, leg. Wrase (cSch) .

C o m m e n t: The original description of P. agnatus is based on two syntypes (" 2 Exemplare ") from "Kan-ssu" (= Gansu) ( EPPELSHEIM 1889), that of P. dangchangensis on a male holotype and a male paratype from "Dangchang County, Dahe Dam" (LI & ZHOU 2007). Only one syntype of P. agnatus was found in the Eppelsheim collection at the NHMW. Since it is a female, it is not designated as the lectotype. The second syntype may be in the Potanin collection, whose whereabouts are apparently unknown ( HORN et al. 1990), if it still exists. The syntype from the Eppelsheim collection had been examined, but not assigned to a subgenus, by WILLERS (2001b). Thus, the species is listed as incertae sedis in SMETANA (2004) and SCHÜLKE & SMETANA (in press). Based on the external (coloration of the antennae and legs; shape and coloration of the mandibles; shape of labrum), as well as the female sexual characters (shapes of tergite VIII and sternite VIII), the syntype of P. agnatus is conspecific with P. dangchangensis . Hence the synonymy proposed above.

A comparison of the sexual characters of the material from the environs of Chengxian, of the specimens from the regions to the northwest and southwest of Longnan, of material from Shaanxi, and of the aedeagus of the holotype based on photos kindly sent to me by Xiaoyan Li (Beijing) revealed some differences, particularly regarding the shape of the internal structures of the aedeagus ( Figs 1-12 , 17-19, 14 , 26, 29 ), the size and number of the denticles on the dorsal plate of the aedeagus, the depth of the posterior excision of the male sternite VIII ( Figs 13-14 , 54 ), the shape of the posterior margin of the female tergite VIII ( Figs 20-21 ), and the shape of the apical projection of the female sternite VIII ( Figs 22-23 ). The aedeagi of the holotype and the paratype of P. dangchangensis , as well as those of some males from Shaanxi have smaller denticles on the dorsal plate and an internal structure of slightly different shape. However, no significant differences were found in the external characters and in the general shape of the aedeagus ( Figs 1-12 , 15- 16 , 24-27 ). The question whether or not the observed differences are an expression of inter- or intraspecific variation cannot answered with certainty, but the observation that slight differences may occur even within and between geographically close populations suggests that they are most plausibly interpreted as intraspecific variation.

Regardings its male and the female sexual characters, P. agnatus is similar to P. konfuzius , with which is was previously confounded (see type material of P. konfuzius ) and from which it is distinguished by the absence of pronounced sexual dimorphisms of the head shape and the mandibles, by the paler tibiae ( P. agnatus : usually yellowish, very indistinctly infuscate at most; P. konfuzius : more or less distinctly and more or less extensively infuscate basally), by the smaller aedeagus ( P. agnatus : approximately 1.9 mm; P. konfuzius : 2.0- 2.1 mm), and by the apical internal structure of the aedeagus ( P. konfuzius : straight, dagger-shaped, and more strongly sclerotized). For illustrations of P. konfuzius see PENG et al. (2015). The previously unknown female sexual characters of P. agnatus are illustrated in Figs 20-23 .

Paederus agnatus is remarkably widespread in the Qinling Shan, from central southern Gansu to central southern Shaanxi ( Map 2 ).

Figures

Map 2: Distributions of Harpopaederus species in Sichuan, Gansu, and Shaanxi (some doubtful female-based literature records omitted): Paederus chinensis (filled triangles); P. deplectens (filled stars); P. antennocinctus (open circles); P. agnatus (filled circles); P. minicus (open diamond); P. edentulus (filled diamonds); P. gracilacutus (open stars).

Figs 1-12: Paederus agnatus EPPELSHEIM: aedeagus of males from the Chengxian region (1-3), the region to the southwest of Longnan (4-9), and from the region to the northwest of Longnan (10-12) in lateral (1, 4, 7, 10), ventral (2, 5, 8, 11), and in dorsal view (3, 6, 9, 12). Scale bar: 1.0 mm.

Figs 13-23: Paederus agnatus from the Chengxian (13, 15, 17, 20, 22) and Longnan regions (14, 16, 18-19, 21, 23): (13-14) male sternite VIII; (15-16) apex of aedeagus in lateral view; (17-19) internal structure of aedeagus in dorsal view (dorsal plate removed in 17-18); (20) female tergite VIII; (21) apex of female tergite VIII; (22-23) female sternite VIII. Scale bars: 13-14, 20-23: 1.0 mm; 15-19: 0.5 mm.

Figs 24-29: Paederus agnatus from Shaanxi: (24) aedeagus in ventral view; (25) aedeagus in lateral view; (26) aedeagus in dorsal view; (27) aedeagus without dorsal plate and internal structures in ventral view; (28) dorsal plate in dorsal view; (27) internal structures of aedeagus. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.

Figs 46-54: Paederus minicus nov.sp. (46-53) and P. agnatus from Shaanxi (54): (46) forebody; (47) head; (48, 54) male sternite VIII; (49-51) aedeagus in lateral, ventral, and dorsal view; (52) apical portion of aedeagus in dorsal view; (53) apical portion of aedeagus in lateral view. Scale bars: 46: 1.0 mm; 47-54: 0.5 mm.