Trechepaphiopsis unipilosa Deuve and Liang, 2016

Deuve, Thierry, Kavanaugh, David H. & Liang, Hongbin, 2016, Inventory of the Carabid Beetle Fauna of the Gaoligong Mountains, Western Yunnan Province, China: Species of the Tribe Trechini (Coleoptera: Caraboidea), with Descriptions of Four New Genera, One New Subgenus and 19 New Species., Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 63 (12), pp. 341-455 : 421-424

Trechepaphiopsis unipilosa Deuve and Liang , sp. nov.

( Figs. 31 , 40b , 46–48 )

TYPE MATERIAL.— Holotype, a male, in IOZ, labeled: “CASENT 1023757”/ “ CHINA, Yunnan, Fugong County, Lishadi Township, 8.5 km above Shibali on Shibali Road, North Fork of Yamu He , N27.18416° / E98.72026°,”/ “ 3100 m, 7 May 2004 Stop #DHK-2004-038A D.H. Kavanaugh , C.E. Griswold, Liang H.-B., & Zhu B.-X. collectors”/ “ HOLOTYPE Trechepaphiopsis unipilosa Deuve & Liang , sp. nov. designated 2016” [red label] . Paratypes (at total of 17): 2 females (in CAS, IOZ) labeled: same as holotype, except first label “CASENT 1023746” and “CASENT 1023758”, respectively ; 1 male and 2 females (in CAS, IOZ) labeled: “CASENT 1017488” and “CASENT 10174896” to “CASENT 1017490”, respectively/ “ CHINA, Yunnan, Fugong County, Lumadeng Township, 8.5 km above Shibali on Shibali Road, south bank of North Fork of Yamu He , N27.18326° / E98.72002° ”/ 3100 m, 8 August 2005 Stop #DHK-2005-067B D.H. Kavanaugh , H.B. Liang, D.Z. Dong, & J.F. Zhang collectors” ; 7 males and 1 female (in CAS, IOZ, MNHN) labeled: “CASENT 1018375” to “CASENT 1018381” and “CASENT 1018382”, respectively/ “ CHINA, Yunnan, Fugong County, Lishadi Township , 10 km W of Shibali on Shibali Road, 3250 m,”/ “ N27.20055° / E98.71399°, 16 August 2005 Stop #PP-3805 P. Paquin collector” ; 1 male (in CAS) labeled: “CASENT 1018392”/ “ CHINA, Yunnan, Fugong County, Lishadi Township , 10.5 km W of Shibali on Shibali Road, 3221 m,”/ “ N27.20192° / E98.71329°, 17 August 2005 Stop #PP-4105 P. Paquin collector” ; 3 males (in CAS, IOZ) labeled: “CASENT 1023607”, “CASENT 1023608” and “CASENT 1023820”, respectively/ “ CHINA, Yunnan, Fugong County, Lishadi Township , 11.5 km above Shibali on Shibali Road, N27.20676° / E98.71763°,”/ “ 3290 m, 6 May 2004 Stop #DHK-2004-036 D.H. Kavanaugh , C.E. Griswold, Liang H.-B., & Zhu B.-X. collectors”. All paratypes also bear the following label: “ PARATYPE Trechepaphiopsis unipilosa Deuve & Liang , sp. nov. designated 2016” [yellow label] .

TYPE LOCALITY.— China, Yunnan, Fugong County, Shiyueliang Township , 8.5 km above Shibali on Shibali Road, North Fork of Yamu He , N27.18416° / E98.72026°, 3100 m .

DERIVATION OF SPECIES NAME.— The species epithet, unipilosa , is an adjective derived from the Latin word, unus, meaning one, and the Greek word, πίΛΟς (transliterated into Latin as pilus), meaning hair. The name refers to the single discal seta found on the elytra of members of this species.

DIAGNOSIS.— Adults of this species ( Fig. 31a ) can be distinguished from those of all other species in the region by the following combination of character states: size small (BL = 2.7 to 3.1 mm), apterous; body color reddish brown, dorsum shiny, pronotum and elytra slightly iridescent; eyes small but convex; tempora convex and sparsely pubescent; pronotum transverse (ratio PW/PL = 1.42), with basal angles obtuse and rounded; elytra convex, medial striae (1 to 5 or 6) distinct, finely punctate, more lateral striae more or less effaced; recurrent stria terminated anteriorly on interval 6; only one discal setiferous pore present, inserted at anterior one-third next to stria 3; preapical seta present, inserted next to stria 2; median lobe of male aedeagus ( Fig. 31b ) with apex slender and rounded, endophallus with a faintly sclerotized scaly area distinctly narrowed distally.

DESCRIPTION.— Size small, BL = 2.7 to 3.1 mm. Body color reddish brown, antennmae concolorous, legs slightly paler, yellowish brown, palpi paler yellow; dorsum shiny, pronotum and elytra slightly iridescent, head slightly alutaceous from more deeply impressed, irregularly isodiametric microsculpture.

Head. Broad; eyes small but convex, their diameter about equal to length of tempora, the latter short, distinctly convex and sparsely pubescent Frons convex, frontal furrows sharply impressed and rounded, not attenuated posterior to eyes. Two pairs of supraorbital setae present, the anterior pair inserted in foveae. Clypeus with four setae. Labrum with six setae, anterior margin distinctly emarginate. Mentum and submentum not fused. Mentum with medial tooth apically bifid, about half the length of the lateral lobes. Submentum with six setae anteriorly. Gula broad. Genae with a single ventral seta one each side. Antennae short, with only about two antennomeres extended posteriorly beyond basal pronotal margin; antennomeres 2 and 4 about equal in length, antennomere 3 slightly longer.

Pronotum. Transverse (ratio PW/PL = 1.42), with greatest width at anterior one-third; lateral margins rounded, slightly more so anteriorly, not or only slightly straighten posteriorly just anteri- or to basal angles, the latter obtuse and blunted. Disc convex and smooth, median longitudinal impression finely impressed, continuous from middle of apical median swelling to posterior margin; basal foveae small and shallow, faintly impressed; median basal area well defined but short and transverse, smooth or with a few small longitudinal foveae. Lateral borders slender and finely relexed dorsally, lateral grooves deeply impressed. Single midlateral setae on each side inserted near anterior one-third; single basolateral seta on each side, inserted at basal angle.

Elytra. Ovoid only slightly elongate, not or only very slightly more narrowed anteriorly than posteriorly, humeri distinct but rounded. Disc convex, striae finely punctate, only medial striae 1 to 3 distinctly impressed, more lateral striae more or less effaced, but still evident in most specimens. Parascutellar striole present, distinct but short. Recurrent stria deeply impressed, its anterior end abruptly terminated in the posterior end of stria 5. Parascutellar setiferous pore present at base at common origin of discal striae 1 and 2. Only one discal setiferous pore present, inserted at anterior two-fifth of elytral length next to stria 3. Only one discal setiferous pore present, inserted slightly anterior to middle next to stria 3. Preapical seta present, inserted on interval 3 next to stria 2 and about equidistant from apical and sutural elytral margin. Umbilicate setal series with setae of humeral group equidistance from each other and setae of median group inserted slightly posterior to middle.

Legs. Short, protibiae with longitudinal furrow. Male protarsomeres 1 and 2 dilated and apicomedially toothed.

Abdomen. Abdominal ventrites glabrous, except for a single paramedial seta on each side, and ventrite VII of males apically with one pair of paramedial setae, of females with two pairs.

Male aedeagus. Median lobe ( Fig. 31b ) with sagittal aileron very small, shaft moderately broad basally, then gradually narrowed apically to a narrowly rounded apex; endophallus with a faintly sclerotized scaly area distinctly elongate and narrowed distally.

COMMENTS.— This species appears to be very closely related (perhaps sister species) to T. monochaetus , but its male members can be distinguished from those of the latter by having the base of the median lobe of the male aedeagus narrower (broader in T. monochaeta members, see Fig. 30b ) and the scaly sclerotized area of the endophallus distinctly narrowed distally (of more equal width throughout in T. monochaeta males).

HABITAT DISTRIBUTION.— Members of this species have been collected by sifting leaf litter from forests of scattered, large Abies sp. trees with a dense understory of bamboo or Rhododendron spp. at elevations ranging from 3221 to 3290 m. Specimens of Trechus shiyueliang and T. shibalicus were collected in one or more of the same litter samples. Specimens of T. unipilosa were also collected at 3100 m elevation under stones at the open edges of a small stream draining a north-facing glacial cirque with a large snowfield in its basin ( Fig. 40b ). A specimen of Trechepaphiopsis unisetulosa sp. nov. was also collected in this area, at the upper limit of the altitudinal range of this last mentioned species.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION WITHIN THE GAOLIGONG SHAN.— Fig. 31c . We examined a total of 18 specimens (13 males and 5 females) from sites on the eastern slope of the northcentral part of the Gaoligong Shan in Fugong County (see Type material above for exact collection data). All of these sites are in Core Area 3 .

OVERALL GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.— This species currently is known only from Fugong County in the northcentral part of the Gaoligong Shan region, western Yunnan Province, China.

Figures

FIGURE 31. Trechepaphiopsis unipilosa sp. nov.; a. Dorsal habitus (CASENT1023757). b. Median lobe of aedeagus of male (CASENT1023757), left lateral aspect. c. Map of locality records (red circles) for T. unipilosa in the Gaoligong Shan region. Scale lines a, b = 0.5 mm, c = 100 km.

FIGURE 40. Photographs of habitats for trechine species in the Gaoligong Shan region. a. Gongshan County, 21 air km W of Cikai on east slope of Qiqi/Dulong divide, elevation 3600 m; habitat in which specimens of Queinnectrechus balli sp. nov. and Trechus gongshanensis sp. nov. were collected. b. Fugong County, Shiyueliang Township, 8.5 km above Shibali on Shibali Road, elevation 3100 m; habitat in which specimens of Trechus shiyueliang sp. nov., T. shibalicus sp. nov., Trechepaphiopsis unisetulosa sp. nov. and T. unipilosa sp. nov. were collected. Photos by David H. Kavanaugh.

FIGURE 46. Chart showing the representation of trechine species in project-designated Core Areas (see Fig. 3) in the Gaoligong Shan region.

FIGURE 47. Chart illustrating the altitudinal ranges of trechine species represented in the Gaoligong Shan region.

FIGURE. 48. Chart illustrating the co-occurence (syntopy) of trechine species in samples from the same habitats and at the same sites in the Gaoligong Shan region.

FIGURE 30. Trechepaphiopsis monochaeta sp. nov.; a. Dorsal habitus (CASENT1007411). b. Median lobe of aedeagus of male (CASENT1007411), left lateral aspect. c. Map of locality records (red circles) for T. monochaeta in the Gaoligong Shan region. Scale lines a, b = 0.5 mm, c = 100 km.