Rhopalocerina sinica, Assing, 2012

Assing, V., 2012, On the genus Rhopalocerina REITTER (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 44 (2), pp. 1005-1010 : 1007-1010

Rhopalocerina sinica nov.sp. ( Figs 1-7 , 9-12 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype: " China [2] - S-Shaanxi, SW Meixian, Qinling Shan , 34°01'31''N, 107°24'13''E, 1870 m, 26.VII.2012, V. Assing / Holotypus Rhopalocerina sinica sp.n. det. V. Assing 2012" (cAss) . Paratypes: 2, 2: same data as holotype (cAss) ; 2: same data, but leg. Schülke (cSch) .

E t y m o l o g y: The specific epithet is a latinised adjective meaning "Chinese".

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 2.2-2.9 mm; length of forebody 1.1-1.3 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 1 . Coloration: head brown; pronotum and elytra pale-brown; abdomen reddishbrown, with segments VI-VII darker; legs reddish-yellow; antennae dark-brown, with the basal two antennomeres sometimes slightly paler.

Head ( Figs 2-3 ) approximately as long as broad, widest anteriorly (across eyes), narrowed behind eyes; integument with distinct microreticulation; punctation extremely fine, barely noticeable. Eyes large and distinctly convex, longer than postocular region in dorsal view. Antenna ( Fig. 4 ) strongly incrassate apicad.

Pronotum ( Figs 2, 5 ) 1.25-1.30 times as broad as long and 1.30-1.35 times as broad as head, widest approximately in the middle; posterior angles weakly marked, almost obsolete; punctation slightly less fine than that of head; microsculpture similar to that of head.

Elytra ( Fig. 2 ) approximately as long as, and at posterior margin approximately 1.4 times as broad as pronotum, distinctly widened posteriad; punctation very fine, barely noticeable in the pronounced microreticulation. Hind wings fully developed. Metatarsomere I approximately as long as II.

Abdomen ( Figs 1, 6 ) approximately as broad as elytra at posterior margin, widest at segment V; punctation very sparse and fine, barely noticeable in the microreticulation; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe.

: median lobe of aedeagus approximately 0.24 mm long and shaped as in Figs 9-12 ; ventral process deeply bifid.

: spermatheca as in Fig. 7.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: The new species is distinguished from R. clavigera by the paler coloration ( R. clavigera : pronotum and elytra usually blackish-brown to blackish), slightly larger average body size, somewhat more massive antennae, larger and more convex eyes, on average less pronounced microsculpture of the forebody, by the shape of the ventral process of the median lobe of the aedeagus and by the shape of the spermatheca.

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d n a t u r a l h i s t o r y: Thetypelocalityissituatedin the Qinling Shan in southern Shaanxi province, China. The specimens were sifted from leaf litter and grass roots in a secondary deciduous forest near a stream at an altitude of 1870 m.

Figures

Figs 1-8: Rhopalocerina sinica nov.sp. (1-7) and R. clavigera from Greece (8): (1) habitus; (2) forebody; (3) median portion of head; (4) antenna; (5) median portion of male pronotum; (6) median portion of tergite VI; (7-8) spermatheca. Scale bars: 1: 1.0 mm; 2: 0.5 mm; 3-8: 0.1 mm.

Figs 9-16: Rhopalocerina sinica nov.sp. (9-12) and R. clavigera from Greece (13-16): (9-10, 13) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; (11, 14) median lobe of aedeagus in ventral view; (12, 15) apical portion of median lobe of aedeagus in ventral view; (16) mesotarsus. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.