Sternotrigon albipilus, Ba, Yi-Bin & Ren, Guo-Dong, 2013

Ba, Yi-Bin & Ren, Guo-Dong, 2013, Taxonomy and distribution of Sternotrigon Skopin in China (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae), Zootaxa 3693 (4), pp. 568-578 : 569-571

Sternotrigon albipilus sp. nov.

(Figs 1–13, 79)

Type material. Holotype ♂, Qorghas, Xinjiang, China, 9 April 2008, collected by Zhang Chengli and Liu Chunlin; Paratypes: 2 ♂ 5♀, same data as holotype.

Etymology. The specific name is derived from the Latin words “albi-” and “pilus”, and refers to the short, white, setal vestiture on the dorsal surface.

Diagnosis. The new species is similar to Sternotrigon grandis (Faldermann, 1835) , but differs from the later as follows: elytra narrower; dorsum of body covered with short white setae; protibiae with sparse serration on outer margin. It differs from S. hiekiei as follws: middline of pronotum slightly concave; elytral humera acutely protruding, granule rows of humera weakly costate.

Description. Body elongate-oval, black with weak luster.

Labrum conversely trapezoidal, sparsely covered with short brown setae; anterior margin slightly concave. Clypeus nearly smooth, anterior margin straight; genae arched, narrower than eyes; frons somewhat smooth, with fine granules, sparsely covered with short white setae, the setae denser on sides and backside; antennae extending beyond base of pronotum, 3rd segment 5.7 times as long as broad, apex of 3rd and 4th segments sparsely clothed with long brown setae on inner side, terminal segment elongate-triangular; relative length ratio of 2nd to 11th segments as follows: 7.3: 41.5: 24.0: 20.9: 20.9: 18.5: 15.2: 12.0: 9.4: 12.9; mentum approximately square, somewhat flat, sparsely clothed with short brown setae, middle of anterior margin triangularly emarginated.

Pronotum approximately transversely rectangle, 1.4 times as broad as long; anterior margin slightly concave, interruptedly bordered; lateral margins weakly arched, broadest at apical 1/3, and somewhat straight in basal 1/3, border invisible in dorsal view; base nearly W – shaped, broadly bordered; anterior angles acute, posterior angles roundly obtuse; disc weakly arched, somewhat densely covered with short pale yellow setae and uniform round granules; middle line slightly concave; sides nearly vertical, somewhat flat, granules approximately equal with their space. Propleura densely clothed with short white setae, with sparse granules, granules sparser than these on prosternum. The end of prosternal process almost truncated, posterior margin sparsely clothed with short white setae. Mesosternum smoothly arched forward, not hump-shaped.

Elytra broadly oval, about 1.4 times as long as broad, and about 1.3 times as broad as pronotum; base slightly W – shaped, humeri weakly costate; lateral margins approximately parallel, humeral rows with dense granules, moderately costate behind middle, humeri entirely visible in dorsal view, with very sparse granules and densely short setae; dorsum weakly arched, short white setae becoming denser from middle to sides and apex, with two obvious rows of sparse granules, interval of rows with sparse granules and one weak row of granules. Pseudoepipleuron flat, with uniformly dense granules of equal size. Abdomen arched, anal segment flat, sparsely closed with white setae and visible granules.

FIGURES 1 – 13. Sternotrigon albipilus sp. nov.: Fig. 1 Head; Fig. 2 Pronotum; Fig. 3 Antenna; Fig. 4 Protibia; Fig. 5 Metatasus; Figs. 6–7 Prosternal process in lateral and dorsal view; Figs. 8–10 Aedeagus in ventral, dorsal and lateral view; Figs. 11–12 Ovipositor in dorsal and ventral view; Fig. 13 the 8th inner sternite of male.

Femora and tibiae slight, with dense granules, sparsely covered with short setae. Protibiae gradually becoming thick to apex, outer margins with sparse serrations, length of protibial spur approximately equal with basal two segments of tarsi; meso- and metatibiae with long brown setae on apex, those sparser on inner side than on outer side; ratio of relative length of metatarsi 1st to 4th segments as follows: 33.3: 16.0: 17.5: 44.0.

Parameres of aedeagus longer than phallobase, lateral margins approximately parallel, apex suddenly becoming narrower; dorsum with long and shallow longitudinal mid groove on the middle; the sides with shallow groove on ventral middle. Lateral margins of phallobase approximately parallel, apex approximately cutting. Ovipositor stout, valvula approximately triangular.

Measurements. Body length: 19.0– 22.5 mm; width: 9.0– 10.5 mm.