Qianlongius zhoui Tian & Jia, 2021

Tian, Mingyi, Huang, Sunbin, Jia, Xinyang & Zhao, Yi, 2021, Two new genera and three new species of cavernicolous trechines from the western Wuling Mountains, China (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Trechinae), ZooKeys 1059, pp. 57-78 : 57

Qianlongius zhoui Tian & Jia sp. nov.

Figures 1 , 3C, F , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12

Type material.

Holotype male, cave Qianlong Dong, Qianlong, Wuluo, Songtao, Tongren, Guizhou Province, 28.16° N, 108.84°E, 908 m, 2021-IV-2, leg. Yi Zhao, Xinyang Jia and Mingyi Tian, in SCAU. Paratype: 1 male, ibid.

Diagnosis.

A medium-sized, semi-aphaenopsian species, with a rather stout body though both head and pronotum longer than wide, head and pronotum dark brown, elytra reddish-brown, fore body including mandibles slightly shorter than elytra, antennae extending to apices of elytra, propleura visible from above.

Description.

Length: 6.5-7.0 mm, width: 2.0-2.1 mm. Habitus as in Figure 9 . Head, pronotum, undersides of head and thorax, ventrites, femora and tibiae dark brown, elytra, labrum and mandibles reddish-brown, palps, antennae and tarsi yellow. Head smooth, with a few short setae, 1 or 2 on dorsal surface, while 2 on genae; pronotum and elytra with short pubescence, prosternum bisetose; abdominal ventrites wholly pubescent. Microsculpture: isodiametric meshes on neck, transversal striate on frons, vertex, pronotum and elytra.

Head moderately elongate, longer than wide, HLm/HW = 2.0-2.4, HLl/HW = 1.5-1.7; nearly parallel-sided, widest at about middle of head excluding mandibles; frons and vertex convex; frontal furrows wide and incomplete, more or less parallel-sided, but slightly and shortly convergent backwards, ending about middle of head; anterior and posterior supraorbital pores located at about 4/7 and ¼ of head from labrum to neck; clypeus 6-setose, labrum transverse, faintly bisinuate in the front margin, 6-setose; mandibles developed and moderately curved at apices; mentum tooth short but sharp at apex, bifid at tip, slightly shorter than the lateral lobes; ligula fused with paraglossae, 8-setose; palps thin and slender, the 2nd labial palpomere about 1.2 times as long as 3rd; 3rd maxillary palpomere 1.1times as long as 4th; suborbital pores absent (Fig. 3C ); antennae thin, filiform, pubescent from pedicle to 11th antennomeres, 3rd-5th antennomeres the longest, each almost twice as long as scape; relative length of each antennomere compared with scape in the holotype as follows: 1st (1.0), 2nd (1.1), 3rd (2.0), 4th (2.1), 5th (2.1), 6th (1.9), 7th (1.8), 8th (1.6), 9th (1.6), 10th (1.4) and 11th (1. 6). Prothorax slightly longer than wide, PrL/PrW = 1.1-1.3; Pronotum longer than wide, PnL/PnW = 1.1-1.2; slightly narrower than prothorax, PrW/PnW = 1.0-1.1; wider than head, PnW/HW = 1.2, but shorter than head excluding mandibles, PnL/HLl = 0.9; widest at about apical 3/5, lateral margins gently expanded, narrowly and evenly bordered throughout, shortly reflexed near hind angles which are widely obtuse; base and front unbordered, almost straight, the former slightly narrower than the latter; anterior latero-marginal pores located at apical quarter and the posterior pores a little before hind angles; frontal and basal transverse impressions faint; middle line well marked; disc moderately convex. Scutellum small. Elytra (Fig. 3F ) much longer than wide, EL/EW = 1.9, wider than pronotum, EW/PW = 1.8-1.9, and longer than fore body including mandibles EL/(HLm+PnL) = 1.1; unbordered at base; disc strongly convex, intervals flat; basal pore at side of scutellum, located against 3rd stria; anterior and posterior dorsal pores of the 3rd striae at about 1/3 and 2/3 of elytra from base, respectively; preapical pore at about apical 1/9 of elytra, closer to elytral suture than to apical margin; only an apical pore present; pore 7 distant from elytral marginal gutter.

Legs moderately long and densely pubescent; fore tibiae longitudinally grooved externally, whereas middle and hind tibiae simple.

Ventrites IV-VI each with a pair of paramedial setae. Ventrite VII with 2 setae in male.

Male genitalia (Fig. 10 ): median lobe of aedeagus rather short but stout, slightly arcuate at median portion, gradually narrowed toward apex, which is more or less reflexed; basal opening large, without a sagittal aileron; inner sac provided with a thick and long copulatory piece which is about 2/9 as long as aedeagus; in dorsal view, apical lobe longer than wide, apical margin broad, but emarginate at middle; parameres well developed and elongated, but much shorter than median lobe, each armed with 4 long setae at apex and anotherseta at subapex.

Female. unknown.

Etymology.

In honour of Mr Wenlong Zhou, an active speleologist (Guizhou Institute of Mountainous Region Resources, Guiyang) to thank him for supporting our survey in Qianlong Dong.

Distribution.

China (Hunan). Known only from limestone cave Qianlong Dong (Fig. 1 ).

Qianlong Dong is a show cave located at Qianlong village, Wuluo Zhen, Songtao Miao Autonomous County, northeastern Guizhou. This beautiful cave is 1481 m long and with many wonderful speleothems ( Barbary et al. 2011) (Fig. 11 , 12B-D ). Some parts inside the cave have natural conditions, although almost the entire cave has been developed for touristic purposes. Both specimens of this new species were discovered in the innermost part of the cave along the creek, not far from the artificial exit tunnel; one beetle was running on the ground and the other was found under a stone (Fig. 12E, F ). Other cave animals observed in Qianlong Dong were: a millipede ( Epanerchodus sp.; Fig. 12G ), springtails, crickets, and a harvestman.

Figures

Figure 1. A distribution map showing the localities of the three surveyed caves (stars) and the known species and subspecies of the genus Qianotrechus Ueno, 2000 (dots) A Shigao Dong B Qiankou Dong C Qianlong Dong.

Figure 3. Ventral head (A-C) and elytral chaetotaxy (E, F) of cave beetles A, D Wulongius qilinger gen. nov. and sp. nov. B, E Qianotrechus congcongae sp. nov. C, F Qianlongius zhoui gen. nov. and sp. nov.).

Figure 9. Qianlongius zhoui gen. nov. and sp. nov., habitus, holotype male.

Figure 10. Male genitalia of Xianlongius zhoui gen. nov. and sp. nov. A median lobe and parameres, lateral view B apical lobe, dorsal view.

Figure 11. Map of Qianlong Dong, to show where the exemplars of Qianlongius zhoui gen. nov. and sp. nov. were discovered (map courtesy of Mr Wenlong Zhou).

Figure 12. Cave Qianlong Dong A entrance B-D beautiful speleothems inside the cave E the locality of Qianlongius zhoui gen. nov. and sp. nov. F a running individual of Q. zhoui gen. nov. and sp. nov. G a millipede, Epanerchodus sp.