Amaurodera kraepelini FAUVEL, 1905

Assing, Volker, 2016, On some Lomechusini of the Palaearctic and Oriental regions (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 66 (1), pp. 13-111 : 83-84

Amaurodera kraepelini FAUVEL, 1905 ( Map 1 )

Amaurodera kraepelini FAUVEL, 1905: 85 .

Amaurodera kraepelini rougemonti PACE, 1987: 204 ; syn. nov. Amaurodera smetanai PACE, 1992a: 129 ; syn. nov.

Amaurodera yaoana PACE, 1992b: 257 f.; syn. nov.

Material examined: Thailand: 3 ♂♂, NE Bangkok , Khao Yai National Park , 750–850 m, 26.XI.–3.XII.1985, leg. Burckhardt & Löbl ( MHNG, cAss) ; 1 ♂, NE Bangkok, Khao Yai National Park , E Heo Suwat Waterfalls , 800–900 m, 11.XII.1985, leg. Burckhardt & Löbl ( MHNG) ; 1 ♂, Chiang Mai, Doi Chiang Dao , 450 m, 7.V.1987, leg. Schwendinger ( MHNG) ; 1 ♀, Chiang Mai, Doi Saket , 1130 m, 4.XII.1987, leg. Schwendinger (cAss) ; 1 ♀, Chiang Rai, 10 km W Wiang Pa Pao, Ban Huay Yan Sal , 780 m, 28.I.1988, leg. Schwendinger ( MHNG) ; 1 ex., Doi Pha Hom Pok, Bhoo Muan waterfall, 20°02'N, 99°14'E, 800 m, leaf litter sifted, 25.I.2014, leg. Ob (cAss) ; 2 exs., Doi Pha Hom Pok, Pong Nam Dang waterfall, 20°00'N, 99°10'E, 710 m, on rocks in waterfall, 26.I.2014, leg. Ob (cAss) ; 5 exs., same data, but leaf litter sifted (cAss) ; 1 ex., Doi Pha Hom Pok, Tad Mok waterfall, 20°04'N, 99°16'E, 700 m, litter, 27.I.2014, leg. Ob (cAss) . Indonesia: Bali: 12 exs., Bedugul , 1200 m, leaf litter sifted, 13.VI.1994, leg. Wunderle (cWun, cAss) ; 7 exs., Batukaru , 700–800 m, flood debris, 12.VI.1994, leg. Wunderle (cWun, cAss).

Comment: The original description of Amaurodera kraepelini is based on an unspecified number of syntypes from “Tjompea” [recte: Tjampea near Bogor) in West Java ( FAUVEL 1905). In referring to a female syntype from the Fauvel collection as the “ holotype ” [sic], PACE (1987) unintentionally designated this specimen as the lectotype. In the same paper he described A. kraepelini rougemonti based on fifteen type specimens collected in two localities (“L. Bouyaio”, “Batukaru”) in Bali, stating that this subspecies was distinguished from the nominal form by dark-brown coloration, the pronotum being broader than the head, by more slender antennomeres, and by a larger apical cuticular invagination of the spermatheca. Subsequently, PACE (1992a, b) described A. smetanai from Nepal and A. yaoana from Thailand. The latter was recently synonymized with the former by ASSING (2015c).

A comparative study of material from most of the extensive range of A. smetanai and A. kraepelini , including the locality where nearly all the type specimens of A. rougemonti were collected, revealed no evidence that this material should represent two species. The aedeagus is identical; the spermatheca is subject to some variability, but this variation does not correspond to a distinct distribution pattern. Moreover, in external characters, including those emphasized by PACE (1987), A. kraepelini is subject to pronounced intraspecific variation; this even applies to material from the same region. The only variation that appears to be related to distribution is the relative length and width of the elytra. In the material from Bali, they are generally narrower and shorter than in material seen from other regions. In consequence, both A. rougemonti and A. smetanai (including its previously established synonym A. yaoana ) are placed in synonymy with A. kraepelini .

The currently known distribution of this widespread species extends from the Himalaya across southern China (Yunnan, Hainan) and Thailand to Java and Bali ( Map 1 ).

Figures

Map 1: Distribution of Amaurodera kraepelini.