Brachinus luzonicus Chaudoir

Tian, Mingyi & Deuve, Thierry, 2007, Review of four species of the genus Brachinus Weber (Coleoptera: Caraboidea: Brachinidae) from the Philippines, Zootaxa 1546, pp. 15-22 : 20-21

Brachinus luzonicus Chaudoir

( Figs. 4 , 8 , 13–14)

Brachinus luzonicus Chaudoir, 1876: 68 ; Andrewes, 1930: 50; Csiki, 1933: 1623.

Diagnosis: Small sized, head and pronotum yellow, elytra dark brown, legs yellow; mouthparts with palpi slender, mentum without pit or furrow, labial palpiger unisetose; head slightly wider than pronotum, lateral margin of pronotum shallowly sinuate before hind angle, proepisternum invisible from above; elytra indistinctly carinate, costae as wide as depressions.

Length: 5.5 mm; width: 2.6 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 4 .

Head, pronotum, antennae, ventral surface of thoraces, median portions of abdominal ventrites II–VI, epipleuron of elytra, and palpi yellow to yellowish red, elytra, abdominal ventrites II–VI at sides and VII light dark brown.

Head slightly longer than wide (HL/HW=1.10), frontal impressions shallow; compound eyes quite large, frons flat, vertex slightly convex, neck distinct; frons and vertex smooth and glabrous, neck pubescent; labrum with anterior margin emarginated, sexsetose; clypeus bisetose, impunctate; ligula large, plurisetose, adnate to paraglossae; palpi subcylindrical, middle more dilated than apices; mentum without tooth and setae, with two pairs of setae, submentum with three pairs of setae; labial palpiger unisetose. Antennae long, extending to mid of elytra, pubescent on whole joints, but antennomere 1 with only longer setae; antennomere 3 slightly shorter than antennomeres 1 and 2 combined.

Pronotum ( Fig. 8 ) transverse (PW/PL=1.07), slightly convex, widest at apical one-fourth, lateral margin deeply sinuate before hind angle; hind angle rectangular, somewhat pointed; pubescent throughout, with fine wrinkles or striae; hind impression faint.

Elytra convex, elongate-ovate (EL/EW=1.35), shoulder square, widest at a little behind of middle, pubescent mainly on depressions, costae slightly wider than depressions, convex, but not carinate, slightly setose; apical membrane presented.

Fore tibia with subapical spur externally located, fore tarsomeres 1–3 slightly dilated in male, with two rows of spongy-like setae symmetric on ventral surface.

Lower surface densely punctured and pubescent, except proepisternum and mesosternum glabrous.

Male genitalia: Median lobe of aedeagus stout, gently bent ventrally, apical lamella narrow, apex rounded; virga absent (Figs. 1314).

Materials studied: The holotype, a female, labeled luzonicus Chaud., Luzon, Dr. Semper, Thorey and Ex Musaeo Chaudoir ; 1 male and 1 female, with labels Philippines, Ch. Semper and Museum Paris, 1952, Coll. R. Oberthr, deposited in MNHN and SCAU, respectively.

Distribution: The Philippines (Luzon).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 4. Habiti of Brachinus ssp. from the Philippines. 1. B. solidipalpis n. sp., paratype, male, 2. B. philippinensis n. sp., holotype, female, 3. B. piceus Chaudior, holotype, male, 4. B. luzonicus Chaudoir, female. Scale bar: 5.0 mm.

FIGURES 5 – 8. Pronota and aedeagi of Brachinus ssp. from the Philippines. 5, 9 – 10. B. solidipalpis n. sp., holotype, 6. B. philippinensis n. sp., holotype, 7, 11 – 12. B. piceus Chaudior, holotype, 8, 13 – 14. B. luzonicus Chaudoir. Scale bar: 5.0 mm for 8, 10.0 mm for others.