Othius glaber, Assing, 2010

Assing, V., 2010, A revision of Othiini. XVII. A new species from China and additional records (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 42 (2), pp. 1077-1091 : 1087-1089

Othius glaber nov.sp. ( Figs 10-17 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype: " China: Yunnan, Baoshan Pref., Gaoligong Shan, W pass, 32 km SE Tengchong, 1600 m, 24°51'11''N, 98°44'27''E, cleft with devast. primary forest, litter & mushr. sifted, 28.VIII.2009, leg. M. Schülke [ CH 09-14] / Holotypus Othius glaber sp. n. det. V. Assing 2010" (cAss). Paratype: same data as holotype (cSch).

D e s c r i p t i o n: Measurements (mm) and ratios (holotype, paratype): HL: 1.43, 1.53; HW: 1.28, 1.40; PW: 1.46, 1.59; PL: 1.74, 1.89; EL: 1.25, 1.37; TiL: 1.43, 1.49; TaL: 1.19, 1.16; TL: 10.6-11.3; HL/HW: 1.12, 1.09; HW/PW: 0.88, 0.88; PL/PW: 1.19, 1.19; EL/PL: 0.72, 0.73; TiL/TaL: 1.21, 1.29.

Habitus as in Fig. 10 . Coloration: body black, except for the abdominal apex (narrow posterior margin of segment VII, broad posterior margin of segment VIII, segments IX-X reddish-brown); legs dark-brown to blackish-brown with reddish to reddish-brown tarsi; antennae dark-brown, with the base of antennomere II reddish and the apical half of antennomere XI dark-yellowish.

Head ( Fig. 11 ) weakly widened posteriorly, oblong, and somewhat narrower than pronotum (see ratios HL/HW and HW/PW); anterior pair of frontal punctures distinct, without additional smaller punctures; posterior pair of frontal punctures present, distance between these punctures slightly greater than that between anterior punctures; median

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and posterior dorsal area impunctate, except for very sparse micropunctation; lateral portions with coarse, but rather sparse punctation; transverse microsculpture present, but very shallow. Eyes ( Fig. 12 ) of moderate size, approximately half the length of postocular region in dorsal view, or nearly so.

Pronotum ( Fig. 11 ) oblong (see ratio PL/PW); discal puncturation pattern similar to that of most other Eastern Palaearctic congeners; posterior discal puncture (i. e., puncture near posterior angle) separated from lateral margin by a distance of approximately twice its diameter and even more distant from posterior margin ( Fig. 13 ); microsculpture extremely shallow, partly almost obsolete, finely transverse.

Elytra distinctly shorter than pronotum (see ratio EL/PL); punctation rather dense and well-defined ( Fig. 11 ); interstices without microsculpture, glossy, on average slightly narrower than diameter of punctures. Hind wings present. Legs of moderate length (see measurements).

Abdomen slightly narrower than elytra; punctation relatively coarse and dense, coarser on anterior than on posterior portions of tergites; interstices with very shallow microsculpture and glossy; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe.

: protarsomeres I-IV strongly dilated; sternites V-VII unmodified; sternite VIII posteriorly shallowly impressed, posterior margin weakly concave; lateral tergal sclerites IX short, apically without tooth-like processes, not reaching posterior margin of tergite X; sternite IX moderately slender, anteriorly bifid, posterior margin concave, postero-lateral angles with spine-like process ( Fig. 14 ); aedeagus 1.4 mm long, ventral process moderately slender; parameres apically distinctly dilated, each with 4 apical setae ( Figs 15-16 ); internal sac with 4 sclerotized internal structures: a long median basal structure with a distinct median carina ( Fig. 19 ), a median apical structure of similar length and of characteristic shape ( Fig. 17 ), and a pair of very long and slender lateral structures ( Fig. 18 ); flagellum thin, transparent, and with numerous coils.

: protarsomeres I-IV dilated, but less so than in; tergite X with weakly modified submarginal setae, these setae long, slightly stouter than the other setae of the tergal surface, but apically not curved.

E t y m o l o g y: The specific epithet (Latin, adjective: glabrous) refers to the glossy appearance of the body.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: In the key to the Othius species of the Eastern Palaearctic region east of the Himalaya in ASSING (1999a), O. glaber would key out at couplet 30, together with the similar O. lubricus ASSING 1999 , which too is known only from Yunnan (ASSING 1999, 2003a). From this species, O. glaber is readily distinguished by the following characters: the uniformly blackish coloration of the forebody ( O. lubricus : at least elytra dark-brown); sparser punctation of the lateral portions of the head; distinctly smaller eyes ( O. lubricus : much more than half the length of postocular region in dorsal view); the absence of additional punctures near the anterior frontal punctures ( O. lubricus : such punctures are present); coarser and sparser punctation of the elytra ( O. lubricus : interstices on average much narrower than diameter of punctures); coarser and much sparser punctation of the abdomen (difference best visible on tergites V-VII); the posteriorly less strongly concave male sternite IX; the differently shaped ventral process of the aedeagus ( O. lubricus : apically abruptly narrowed and more acute in ventral view); the different number and shapes of the internal structures of the aedeagus ( O. lubricus : second pair of lateral structures present; basal median structure

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not carinate and apically truncate; lateral structures much shorter; apical median structure more strongly curved in lateral view). For illustrations of the sexual characters of O. lubricus see ASSING (1999a).

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d b i o n o m i c s: The type locality is situated in the Gaoligong Shan, western Yunnan, China. The specimens were sifted from leaf litter in a degraded primary forest at an altitude of 1600 m.

Figures

Figs 1-11: Othius chrysurus REITTER (1-9) and O. glaber nov.sp. (10-11): (1, 10) habitus; (2, 11) forebody; (3) male sternite IX; (4-5) aedeagus in ventral view; (6) aedeagus in lateral view; (7) apical internal structure in ventral and in lateral view; (8) lateral internal structures; (9) basal internal structure. Scale bars: 1-2, 10-11: 2.0 mm; 3-6: 0.5 mm; 7-9: 0.2 mm.

Figs 12-19: Othius glaber nov.sp.: (12) head in lateral view; (13) lateral portion of pronotum in dorso-lateral view; (14) male sternite IX; (15) aedeagus in ventral view; (16) aedeagus in lateral view; (17) apical internal structure; (18) lateral internal structures; (19) basal internal structure. Scale bars: 12-13: 1.0 mm; 14-16: 0.5 mm; 17-19: 0.2 mm.