Short Communication |
Corresponding author: Zi-Wei Yin ( pselaphinae@gmail.com ) Academic editor: Adam Brunke
© 2024 Ting Feng, Zi-Wei Yin.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Feng T, Yin Z-W (2024) Notes on the Pselaphodes Westwood complex (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Pselaphinae) of Hubei, China, with description of a new species and additional faunistic data. ZooKeys 1206: 231-239. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1206.126696
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The Pselaphodes Westwood complex of genera is represented in Hubei Province by four genera and eight species. Recent field work at Wanchaoshan Nature Reserve, Xingshan County revealed a small series of material belonging to this complex. In this paper, we describe Pselaphodes wanchaoshanus sp. nov. and provide new faunistic data for P. nomurai Yin, Li & Zhao. A key to the hitherto known members of Pselaphodes complex that occur in Hubei is provided to facilitate ready species identification.
Ant-loving beetle, central China, identification key, taxonomy, Tyrini
The Pselaphodes Westwood complex of genera (sensu
Motivated by Prof. Cong Wei of Northwest A&F University, our team recently had an opportunity to visit a few interesting collecting sites at several nature reserves in Hubei, and we successively obtained a short series of pselaphine beetles (c. 80 specimens). An attempt to identify this material revealed a new species of Pselaphodes, which represents the fourth member of the genus in Hubei. Simultaneously collected were two adults of Pselaphodes nomurai Yin, Li & Zhao, a well-known species distributed across the Qinling Mountains. This new find is reported in this paper, and a key to aid in the identification of all known species of the Pselaphodes complex (nine species) occurring in Hubei is provided.
The materials treated in this paper are deposited in the Insect Collection of Shanghai Normal University (SNUC). The label data of the material is quoted verbatim. Dissected parts were mounted in Euparal on plastic slides pinned with the specimen. The habitus image of the beetle was taken using a Canon EOS R5 camera, equipped with a 5× Mitutoyo M Plan Apo lens, and three 20W UFO LED bulbs (5000 k) were used as the light source. Images of morphological details were produced using a Canon G9 camera mounted to an Olympus CX31 microscope under reflected or transmitted light. Helicon Focus v. 8.2.0 Pro was used for image stacking. All images were modified and grouped into plates using Adobe Photoshop CC 2020.
Measurements were taken as follows: total body length was measured from the anterior margin of the rostrum to the apex of the abdomen; head length was measured from the anterior margin of the rostrum to the head base, excluding the cervical constriction; head width was measured across the eyes; the length of the pronotum was measured along the midline, the width of the pronotum equals the maximum width; the length of the elytra was measured along the suture; the width of the elytra was measured as the maximum width across both elytra; the length of the abdomen is the length of the dorsally exposed part of the abdomen along its midline, the width is the maximum width. The terminology follows
1 | Maxillary palpus small and simple, almost symmetrical, lateral margin of palpomeres 2–4 lacking expansion or projection (Locality: Guanmenshan) | Lasinus sinicus Bekchiev, Hlaváč & Nomura |
– | Maxillary palpus asymmetrical, lateral margin of palpomeres 2–4 expanded or projected | 2 |
2 | Vertexal and frontal fovea indistinct or absent | 3 |
– | Vertexal and frontal fovea distinct | 4 |
3 | Frons lacking fovea ( |
Linan arcitibialis Zhang, Li & Yin |
– | Frons with small, indistinct fovea ( |
Linan megalobus Yin & Li, 2011 |
4 | Setose metaventral fovea present; postgenae broadly expanded laterally ( |
Labomimus dabashanus Yin & Li |
– | Setose metaventral fovea absent; postgenae convergent posteriorly | 5 |
5 | Body length 2.2–2.4 mm; antennal club simple, lacking modifications ( |
Pselaphodes parvus Yin, Li & Zhao |
– | Body length no less than 3.0 mm; antennal club modified | 6 |
6 | Antennomere 9 subcylindrical, with disc-like projection near apex, antennomere 10 and 11 lacking modifications | 7 |
– | Antennomere 9 subtriangular, lacking disc-like projection, antennomere 10 and 11 greatly modified | 8 |
7 | Metaventral processes in lateral view straight, broadened apically and with broad notch at apex ( |
Pselaphodes anhuianus Yin & Li |
– | Metaventral processes in lateral view curved at middle, narrowing apically and with pointed apex ( |
Pselaphodes longilobus Yin & Li |
8 | Antennomere 9 subtriangular, lacking large projection (Fig. |
Pselaphodes wanchaoshanus sp. nov. |
– | Antennomere 9 subtriangular, greatly projected on inner apical margin ( |
Pselaphodes nomurai Yin, Li & Zhao |
Pselaphodes nomurai
Yin, Li & Zhao, 2010: 21;
(2 specimens). 2 ♂♂, “China: Hubei, Xingshan County, Wanchaoshan N. R., 31.3217°N, 110.4906°E, 1700 m, 19.viii.2023, Guo-Hao Wei leg., 湖北兴山县万朝山保护区, 魏国豪采” (SNUC).
China: Henan, Shaanxi, Hubei, Chongqing, Sichuan. New distributional record in Hubei.
These two males can be readily identified as P. nomurai by the characteristic form of the male antennal club, the apically broadened metaventral processes, and the aedeagus with an extended, apically truncate median lobe. In comparison to that of the type locality, the Wanchaoshan population has the inner apical margin of male antennomere 10 being greatly protruding to level above the mesal projection of antennomere 9.
(1 specimen). Holotype: China: ♂, “China: Hubei, Xingshan County, Wanchaoshan N. R., 31.3217°N, 110.4906°E, 1700 m, 19.viii.2023, Guo-Hao Wei leg., 湖北兴山县万朝山保护区, 魏国豪采” (SNUC).
Male. Body length approximately 3.2 mm. Vertex and frontal rostrum with coarse rugose sculpture; maxillary palpomeres 2–4 each roundly protuberant on lateral margin; antenna distinctly clubbed, antennomere 1 with row of dense setae on lateral margin, 7 oblique, 9 subtriangular, 10 broadly impressed on dorsal surface, 11 constricted at base and broadened apically. Center of pronotal disc with large punctures, lacking rugose sculpture, with distinct median longitudinal sulcus. Metaventral process in lateral view short, narrowing apically. Protibia with small apical spur, protrochanter with thin spine, profemur with broad triangular spine; mesotrochanter with one distinct spine and few small denticles, mesofemur with small denticle on ventral margin. Tergite 1 (IV) dorsally more than 3× as long as 2 (V). Aedeagus with broad, extended median lobe, endophallus composed of two long and one short sclerite.
Male. Body (Fig.
Morphological characters of Pselaphodes wanchaoshanus sp. nov. A dorsal habitus B head dorsum and pronotum C maxillary palpus D antennal club E metaventral process, lateral F apex of protibia G protrochanter and profemur H mesotrochanter and mesofemur I sternite 7 (IX) J, K aedeagus, lateral (J) and ventral (K) L apex of paramere. Scale bars: 1.0 mm (A); 0.3 mm (B, D, E, G, H); 0.2 mm (C, F, J, K); 0.1 mm (I, L).
Head (Fig.
Pronotum (Fig.
Elytra subquadrate, much broader than long, length 0.91 mm, width 1.26 mm, length/width 0.72; each elytron with two large, setose basal foveae; with complete sutural striae and broad longitudinal discal impressions; humeri roundly prominent, lacking subhumeral foveae or marginal striae; posterior margin with row of dense setae. Metathoracic wings fully developed.
Mesoventrite short, laterally fused with metaventrite; mesanepisterna and anterior region of mesoventrite forming transverse prepectus, posteriorly mesoventrite smoothly broadening, with lateral margins moderately diverging; median mesoventral foveae broadly separated in setose transverse impression, lateral mesoventral foveae large and setose, not forked (straight) internally; intercoxal process blunt and short. Metaventrite weakly impressed at middle, with pair of elongate metaventral processes, laterally each process (Fig.
Legs elongate; protibia (Fig.
Abdomen widest at lateral margins of tergite 1 (IV), length 1.08 mm, width 1.18 mm, with well-developed paratergites 1–4. Tergite 1 (IV) in dorsal view approximately 3.3× as long as 2 (V), with broad, setose basal impression, discal carinae broadly separated, extending posterior for approximately 1/4 tergal length, tergite 2 (V) and 3 (VI) each short, subequal in length, 4 (VII) longer than 3, posterior margin angularly convex at middle, 2–4 each with one pair of basolateral foveae, 5 (VIII) transverse, posterior margin narrowed and roundly emarginate at middle. Sternite 2 (IV) longest, with densely setose basal sulcus and one pair of mediobasal and basolateral foveae, 3 (V) to 5 (VII) at middle successively shorter, each with one pair of small basolateral foveae, 6 (VIII) transverse, posterior margin with small emargination at middle, 7 (IX) (Fig.
Aedeagus (Fig.
Female. Unknown.
This species is placed as a member of the Walkeri group (sensu
China: Hubei.
The species is named after its type locality, i.e., Wanchaoshan.
We are grateful to Cong Wei (魏琮) (Northwest A&F University, Xianyang, China) for logistical support of the field work. Shûhei Nomura (National Museum of Nature and Science, Tsukuba, Japan) and Rostislav Bekchiev (National Museum of Natural History, Sofia, Bulgaria) critically reviewed the draft manuscript.
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
No ethical statement was reported.
The field work was supported by the Shennongjia National Park Biodiversity Background Survey Project (SNJNP2022009) and Open Project Fund of Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory on Conservation Biology of Shennongjia Golden Snub-nosed Monkey (SNJGKL2022009). ZWY was also supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32370465).
Conceptualization: ZWY. Funding acquisition: ZWY. Investigation: ZWY. Methodology: TF. Validation: TF. Writing – original draft: TF. Writing – review and editing: ZWY.
Zi-Wei Yin https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6659-9448
All of the data that support the findings of this study are available in the main text.