Belonuchus rufoniger Fauvel, 1895

Li, Liang & Zhou, Hong-Zhang, 2010, Revision of the Chinese species of the genus Belonuchus Nordmann (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Philonthina), Journal of Natural History 44 (35 - 36), pp. 2149-2177 : 2173-2176

Belonuchus rufoniger Fauvel, 1895

( Figure 10A–J )

Fauvel 1895: 266 ( Belonuchus ; Type locality: Bírmanie, Carin Cheba, 900–1100 m); Bernhauer and Schubert 1914: 371 ( Belonuchus , catalogue); Bernhauer 1928: 17 ( Belonuchus , Sumatra); Cameron 1932: 172 ( Belonuchus ; Burma; India); Scheerpeltz 1933: 1379 ( Belonuchus , catalogue); Cameron 1933: 391 ( Belonuchus , Sumatra); Legner and Moore 1977: 176 ( Belonuchus , found under bark); Herman 2001: 2533 ( Belonuchus , world catalogue); Smetana 2004: 629 ( Belonuchus , catalogue for Palaearctic region).

Synonym

Belonuchus gardneri Cameron 1932: 173 [type locality: Bengal: Rangirum, alt. 6000 feet (1800 m), near Darjeeling]; Scheerpeltz 1933: 1378 ( Belonuchus , catalog); Legner and Moore 1977: 176 ( Belonuchus , cited as gardeneri, found under bark); Herman 2001: 2526 ( Belonuchus , world catalogue); Smetana 2004: 629 ( Belonuchus , catalogue for Palaearctic region). syn. nov.

Examined material

Belonuchus rufoniger Fauvel, 1895 , Syntype.: Carin Cheba, 900–1100 m, L. Fea V XII- 88, Chicago NHMus M. Bernhauer Collection (FMNH); Belonuchus gardneri Cameron, 1932 . Syntype: Rangirum, 6000, Darjeeling, Bengal , 3 September 1929, J. C. M. Gardner collected ( NHML) ; two males, one female, China: Yunnan: Xishuangbanna: Menla , 940 m, 19 February 2004, Wu Jie and Lu Yongping collected (IZ-CAS) ; four males, one female, Tonkin: Hoa-Binh , July 1937, A. de Cooman collected (IZ-CAS) ; one ex., Tonkin: Hoa-Binh , A. de Cooman collected, Chicago NHMus M. Bernhauer Collection ( FMNH) ; one ex., Indonesia: Sumatra: Mjöberg, Chicago NHMus M. Bernhauer Collection ( FMNH) ; one ex., Tonkin: Hoa-Binh , 1930, Clermont, Chicago NHMus M. Bernhauer Collection ( FMNH) ; two exs., Java , 1891, H. Fruhstorfer collected, Chicago NHMus M. Bernhauer Collection ( FMNH) .

Description

Head and pronotum black usually with strongly golden lustre. Elytra reddish-brown. Scutellum black. Antennae black-brown with antennomeres I–III to various extent reddish-brown or dark brown and antennomere XI or antennomeres X–XI reddishbrown. Abdomen black with blue lustre, posterior margins of tergites III–IV sometimes narrowly reddish-brown. Mandibles dark brown. Maxillary and labial palpi reddish-brown. Legs reddish-brown or dark brown.

Body depressed, 10.6–11.8 mm long (HPL: 3.10–3.67 mm). Head obtusely quadrangular, 1.31–1.80 mm long, 1.55–2.12 mm wide, distinctly wider than long (HW: HL = 1.18–1.29), slightly widened posteriad behind eyes, with broadly obtuse hind angles. Frons with four punctures placed in square. Tempora 0.57–0.90 mm long, sparsely and coarsely punctate; eyes small, slightly prominent, 0.49–0.57 mm long, 0.64–0.86 times as long as tempora. Lateral portions of head with scattered, large, setiferous punctures, vertex largely impunctate; entire head with distinct and profound microsculpture of long waves. Antennae moderately long, antennomere I very long, thickened towards apex, antennomere III distinctly longer than antennomere II, antennomere IV slightly longer than wide, antennomeres V–VI almost as long as wide, antennomeres VII–X slightly transverse, antennomere XI distinctly longer than wide, obliquely truncate.

Pronotum distinctly narrowed posteriad, lateral margin usually slightly concave in posterior half; 1.63–1.88 mm long, 1.47–1.88 mm wide, slightly narrower than head (PW: HW = 0.91–0.95); dorsal rows each with six to nine punctures, lateral portions each with four to six large punctures; microsculpture fine, similar to that on head.

Elytra slightly widened posteriad, 2.04–2.45 mm long, 2.12–2.53 mm wide, 1.25–1.35 times as long as pronotum, densely and finely punctate, punctures separated by two to three times their diameter. Scutellum large, triangular, densely and finely punctate.

Abdomen slightly narrowed posteriad, widest 1.88–2.04 mm, finely and closely punctate, punctures separated by one or two times their diameter at base, gradually becoming sparser toward apex of each tergite; surface between punctures with exceedingly fine and dense microsculpture of transverse striae; first three visible abdominal tergites with two basal lines, elevated area between basal lines with one or two more or less irregular rows of fine punctures.

Male. Anterior tarsomeres I–IV dilated, with modified pale setae ventrally. Sternite VIII with inconspicuous, medio-apical emargination ( Figure 10H ). Genital segments with styli of tergite IX simple, moderately setose apically. Sternite IX with markedly asymmetrical proximal portion, with moderately deep emargination apically, each lobe with one long apical and one long subapical seta ( Figure 10G ). Tergite X simple, triangular, subtruncate at apex with numerous long apical setae ( Figure 10I ).

Aedeagus with median lobe moderately long, distinctly exceeding paramere, apical portion slightly narrowed into subrounded apex ( Figure 10A ); in lateral view, median lobe slightly widened anteriad, with a very small subapical tooth ( Figure 10B ); paramere distinctly narrower than median lobe, subrounded at apex, face adjacent to median lobe with sensory peg setae arranged along apico-lateral margins of paramere ( Figure 10C–F ).

Female. Anterior tarsomeres I–IV slightly dilated, with modified pale setae ventrally. Sternite VIII subarcuate at apex, without medio-apical emargination. Genital segments with styli of tergite IX similar to that of male. Tergite X triangular, subrounded at apex, with numerous apical setae ( Figure 10J ).

Distribution

China (Yunnan, Taiwan), India, Myanmar, Indonesia.

Remarks

Fauvel (1895) described Belonuchus rufoniger from ‘Bírmanie’. Our specimens agree well with the studied Syntype (FMNH). Cameron (1932) described the B. gardneri from India. Belonuchus gardneri differs from B. rufoniger by larger size, more punctures on post-ocular region and black legs with only tarsi reddish according to Cameron’s original descriptions. We examined the syntype of B. gardneri (NHML) and series of specimens of B. rufoniger identified by Bernhauer (FMNH). The species displays a wide variability in body size, punctures on post-ocular region and pronotum, coloration of antennae and legs and morphology of paramere, especially the number of peg setae on underside of paramere. Belonuchus gardneri fits well within the intraspecific variability range of B. rufoniger Fauvel, 1895 .

Figures

Figure 10. Belonuchus rufoniger Fauvel, 1895. (A) Aedeagus, ventral view; (B) median lobe of aedeagus, lateral view; (C–F) underside of paramere; (G) sternite IX of male; (H) sternite VIII of male; (I) tergite X of male; (J) tergite X of female. Scale bars 0.5 mm.