Lycocerus acutiapicis Y. Yang et Xi, 2021

Xi, Huacong, Wang, Younan, Yang, Xingke, Liu, Haoyu & Yang, Yuxia, 2021, New species and taxonomic notes on Lycocerus hickeri species-group (Coleoptera Cantharidae), Zootaxa 4980 (3), pp. 541-557 : 550-551

Lycocerus acutiapicis Y. Yang et Xi , sp. nov.

Figs 4C , 5G–I

Type material. Holotype: ♂ ( MHBU), China, Yunnan, Dali, Baiquesi , 2645 m, 25˚69’N, 100˚11’E, 25.vi.2020, leg. L. L. Yuan & Y. N. Wang. Paratypes: 2♂♂ ( MHBU), same data as holotype .

Description. Male ( Fig. 4C ). Body black, mandibles dark brown, pronotum red, with a large dark brown marking in center of disc, elytra red, darkened at the whole length of all elytral interstices. Body densely covered with short, decumbent black pubescence, mixed with brown pubescence on head, pronotum and elytra, of which slightly longer on elytra.

Head evenly narrowed behind eyes, surface densely and finely punctate; eyes strongly protruding, head width across eyes distinctly wider than anterior margin of pronotum; terminal maxillary palpomeres long-triangular, arcuate and sharp at apical half-length of inner margins; antennae nearly extending to apical one-fifth length of elytra when reclined, antennomere II shortest, slightly longer than wide at apices, III ‒ XI dorso-ventrally flattened, III ‒ X obliquely widened apically, long-triangular, III about twice as long as wide at apices, IV widest and slightly longer than III, IX longest, IV‒XI each with an oval smooth impression at apical part or middle of inner margin, XI longer than X, nearly parallel-sided and pointed at apex.

Pronotum as long as wide, widest at base, anterior margin strongly rounded, lateral margins moderately diverging posteriorly, posterior margin slightly arcuate, anterior angles rounded, posterior angles rectangular, disc moderately convex at postero-lateral parts, surface semillustrous, slightly sparsely punctate than head.

Elytra about 5.4 times longer than pronotum, 3.8 times longer than humeral width, which about 1.5 times wider than posterior margin of pronotum, lateral margins nearly parallel, apices tapered, elytra venations strongly developed and costate, surface matt, wrinkled, sparsely and very finely punctate.

Legs slender, all tarsal claws simple.

Aedeagus (Figs. 5G–I): ventral process of each paramere straight in ventral view and feebly bent dorsally in lateral view, with apex feebly expanded and rounded; dorsal plate shorter than ventral process, longitudinally ridged laterally on inner surface, with inner margin nearly straight, apical margin slightly rounded, inner apical angle subrounded, outer apical angle slightly emarginate in lateral view; laterophyse shorter than dorsal plate, with apex acutely hooked, bent dorsally and directing outwards, opposite to apical end of longitudinal ridge of dorsal plate.

Female. Unknown.

Body length: 10.0 ‒ 11.0 mm (10.5 mm in holotype); width: 2.1 ‒ 2.4 mm (2.2 mm in holotype).

Etymology. The specific name is derived from Latin acutus (sharp) and apices (plural form of apex, tips), referring to the acute apices of elytra.

Diagnosis. This species is most related to L. parahickeri nom. nov., but differs in the following characters: male with the longer antennae, elytra tapered at apices, all tarsal claws simple in male. The aedeagus has the dorsal plate of each paramere with nearly straight inner margin, subrounded inner apical angle and slightly emarginate outer apical angle in lateral view. For comparison, L. parahickeri nom. nov. has the antennae only extending to apical one-third length, elytra subrounded at apices, pro- and meso-tarsal claws each bears a digitiform tooth at base of outer claw in male, and the dorsal plate of each paramere is equipped with bisinuate inner margin, acute inner apical angle and rectangular outer apical angle in lateral view.

Distribution. China (Yunnan).

IGURE 5. Aedeagus (A, D, G. ventral view; B, E, H. dorsal view; C, F, I. lateral view): A–C. Lycocerus guangxiensis sp. nov.; D–F. L. rufipennis sp. nov.; G–I. L. acutiapicis sp. nov. Scale bars: 1.0 mm.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Habitus, dorsal view (A, C. male; B. female): A–B. Lycocerus rufipennis sp. nov.; C. L. acutiapicis sp. nov. Scale bars: 2.0 mm.