Amarochara daweiana, Assing, 2015

Assing, Volker, 2015, A revision of Amarochara THOMSON of the Holarctic region V. A new species from China, a new combination, the male of A. caeca ASSING, and additional records (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae: Aleocharini), Linzer biologische Beiträge 47 (1), pp. 63-71 : 67-70

Amarochara daweiana nov.sp. ( Figs 5-11 , Map 1 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype 3: " CHINA [22a] - Yunnan, SE Pingbian, primary forest, 22°54'31''N, 103°41'44''E, 2100 m, 28.VIII.2014, V. Assing / Holotypus 3 Amarochara daweiana sp.n. det. V. Assing 2014" (cAss). Paratypes: 333: " CHINA: Yunnan, SE Pingbian, 22°54'31''N, 103°41'44''E, 2100 m, primary subtropical broad-leaved forest, litter sifted, 27.VIII.2014, leg. M. Schülke [ CH 14-22]" (cSch, cAss).

E t y m o l o g y: The specific epithet is derived from Dawei Shan, the name of the mountain where the type locality is situated.

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 3.7-4.3 mm; length of forebody 1.6-1.8 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 5 . Coloration: body blackish-brown; legs dark-reddish; antennae blackish-brown, with antennomeres I-III dark reddish-brown.

Head ( Fig. 6 ) posteriorly without distinct neck, approximately as wide as long and of subquadrate shape, lateral contours subparallel in dorsal view; punctation very fine; interstices with very weak traces of microsculpture; eyes moderately long, shorter than the distance from posterior margin of eye to posterior constriction of head; genal carina fine, in lateral view visible only posteriorly. Maxillary palpus moderately slender, preapical palpomere approximately 2.5 times as long as wide. Antennae massive, approximately 1.1 mm long; antennomere I less than twice as long as wide and with pronounced dorso-apical furrow; II shorter and more slender than I, little more than 1.5 times as long as broad; III shorter than II, distinctly coniform, and approximately 1.5 times as long as wide; IV disc-shaped, approximately 3 times as wide as long; V-X slightly wider than IV, of subequal width, of gradually increasing length, and decreasingly transverse, X less than twice as wide as long; XI of ovoid shape and almost as long as the combined length of VIII-X ( Fig. 7 ).

Pronotum ( Fig. 6 ) relatively large, approximately 1.15 times as wide as long and 1.5 times as wide as head, posterior angles weakly marked; lateral margins weakly convex, maximal width approximately in the middle; punctation moderately dense and very fine; interstices with very indistinct traces of microsculpture; pubescence depressed.

Elytra ( Fig. 6 ) approximately 1.15 times as wide and at suture approximately 0.7 times as long as pronotum; posterior margin distinctly sinuate near posterior angles; punctation moderately dense, moderately fine, as fine as, or slightly more distinct than that of pronotum, and defined; interstices without microsculpture and on average broader than diameter of punctures; pubescence depressed. Metatarsus approximately 0.75 times as long as metatibia; metatarsomere I elongated, slightly longer than the combined length of II-IV.

Abdominal tergites III-V with moderately deep, densely and coarsely punctate, but not carinate anterior impressions; tergites VI-VII anteriorly with conspicuous coarse and striate punctation; remainder of tergal surfaces with very sparse and fine punctation; all tergites without microsculpture and glossy ( Fig. 8 ).

3: tergite VIII posteriorly convex; posterior margin of sternite VIII broadly convex and with dense long marginal setae; median lobe of aedeagus ( Figs 9-10 ) slender, 0.39 mm long; ventral process much longer than basal capsule and curved in lateral view; paramere 0.38 mm long, not distinctly modified, apical lobe small, slender, and with four thin setae ( Fig. 11 ).

♀: unknown.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: Based on the similar external characters and particularly on the similar morphology of the male sexual characters, A. daweiana is most closely related to A. schuelkei ASSING, 2010 and A. effeminata ASSING, 2010 , both known only from Yunnan. Using the key in ASSING (2010), A. daweiana would key out at couplet 21, together with A. schuelkei , from which it is distinguished by larger body size, the less transverse pronotum ( A. schuelkei : approximately 1.2 times as broad as long), the smaller eyes ( A. schuelkei : approximately as long as distance from posterior margin of eye to posterior constriction of head), the longer and more massive antennae with less transverse antennomeres IV-X, the more distinct punctation of the head, the relatively shorter elytra, the more distinctly convex posterior margin of tergite VIII, the smaller (despite larger body size) median lobe of the aedeagus ( A. schuelkei : 0.45 mm), the different shape of the ventral process particularly in lateral view ( A. schuelkei : practically straight and with more slender apex), and by the smaller paramere ( A. schuelkei : 0.42 mm) with a more slender apical lobe. For illustrations of A. schuelkei , A. effeminata , and other species previously recorded from Yunnan see ASSING (2010).

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d n a t u r a l h i s t o r y: Thetypelocalityissituatedin the Dawei Shan Virgin Forest Park, to the southeast of Pingbian, southern Yunnan ( Map 1 ). The specimens were sifted from leaf litter in a primary subtropical broad-leaved forest ( Fig. 12 ) at an altitude of 2100 m, together with several other undescribed species of Staphylinidae .

Figures

Map 1: Distribution of Amarochara wrasei (black circles) and A. daweiana (star) in the East Palaearctic region.

Figs 5-11: Amarochara daweiana nov.sp.: (5) habitus; (6) forebody; (7) antenna; (8) abdomen; (9) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; (10) apical portion of median lobe of aedeagus in ventral view; (11) paramere. Scale bars: 5, 8: 1.0 mm; 6-7: 0.5 mm; 9-11: 0.1 mm.

Fig. 12: Type locality of Amarochara daweiana nov.sp.