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Research Article
A new species of Laena Dejean (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae) from Sichuan Province, China, with an updated key
expand article infoHaizhi Wang‡, Zhonghua Wei‡, Guodong Ren§
‡ China West Normal University, Nanchong, China
§ Hebei University, Baoding, China

Corresponding author: Zhonghua Wei ( wzh1164@126.com )

Academic editor: Fedor Konstantinov
© 2024 Haizhi Wang, Zhonghua Wei, Guodong Ren.
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: Wang H, Wei Z, Ren G (2024) A new species of Laena Dejean (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae) from Sichuan Province, China, with an updated key. ZooKeys 1221: 165-173. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1221.132774
ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:EA20F573-24FB-48A9-AEB5-7DB685FDDC69
Open Access

Abstract

In this study, we describe and illustrate a new species of the genus Laena Dejean, 1821, Laena costata sp. nov., which was collected in Micangshan Nature Reserve of Sichuan Province, China. Additionally, the COI mitochondrial gene was sequenced to provide additional evidence for this new species’ validity. The results of phylogenetic analyses suggest that this new species is sister to L. maowenica Schawaller, 2008. Furthermore, an updated key to Laena species from Sichuan Province is provided.

Key words

DNA barcoding, Lagriinae, Laenini, new species

Introduction

The genus Laena Dejean, 1821 belongs to the tribe Laenini Seidlitz, 1895 of the family Tenebrionidae Latreille, 1802 (Bouchard et al. 2021), which is one of the largest genera in the subfamily Lagriinae Latreille, 1825. Laena species recorded in China appear endemic, except for L. leonhardi Schuster, 1916 and L. brunkei Schawaller & Bellersheim, 2023 (Schawaller 2001; Schawaller and Bellersheim 2023), and most Laena species appear to have narrow distribution ranges. Given China’s complex terrain and diverse ecological environments, it is likely that many undescribed Laena species exist within the country.

The Micangshan Nature Reserve, located in northern part of Sichuan Province, borders on Shaanxi Province. An insect diversity survey was initiated in the Micangshan Nature Reserve from 2023 to 2024, during which the genus Laena was found. Specimens of Laena were collected by sifting leaf litter. After examining the collected specimens, two Laena species were identified: L. qinlingica Schawaller, 2001 and L. costata sp. nov. This study provided a description and illustrations of this new species, as well as the results of DNA barcoding. Molecular species identification was conducted using newly sequenced COI data (Table 1), along with previously published COI sequences of Laena species (Wei and Ren 2023, 2024). An updated key to Laena species from Sichuan Province, modified from Wei et al. (2020), is provided. Seven Laena species (L. baogua Schawaller, 2021, L. chunyang Schawaller, 2021, L. dentithoraxa Wei & Ren, 2023, L. grebennikovi Schawaller, 2021, L. mounigouica Wei & Ren, 2023, L. wannian Schawaller, 2021, and L. costata sp. nov.) are added to this key.

Table 1.
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COI GenBank accession numbers and voucher information of Laena species provided in this study.

Name Collection site GenBank accession no.
Laena qinlingica Schawaller, 2001 China, Sichuan Province, Wangcang County, Micangshan Nature Reserve, Jinchangba, 32.4985°N, 106.6234°E, elev. 1880 m PQ059651
Laena costata sp. nov. China, Sichuan Province, Wangcang County, Micangshan Nature Reserve, Jinchangba, 32.4985°N, 106.6234°E, elev. 1880 m PQ059650
Laena habashanica Schawaller, 2001 China, Yunnan Province, Habaxueshan, Habacun, elev. 2870 m PQ059648
Laena tryznai Schawaller, 2001 China, Sichuan Province, Xiangcheng County, Redazhen, elev. 3200 m PQ059647
Laena quinquagesima Schawaller, 2008 China, Yunan Province, Xianggelila, elev. 3200–3500 m PQ059649

Materials and methods

The examined specimens of the genus Laena were collected in the Micangshan Nature Reserve of Sichuan Province, China, and are deposited at the Museum of China West Normal University (MCWNU). All examined specimens were collected by sifting leaf litter. The specimens were examined using an Olympus SZX10 stereomicroscope. Images were taken using a Canon EOS 9D Mark III camera with a Laowa FF 25 mm F2.8 Ultra Macro 2.5–5× lens.

The sequences of the mitochondrial gene COI were used for molecular species identification. The leg muscles were used for DNA extraction using the Ezup Column Animal Genomic DNA Purifcation Kit (Shanghai, China). The sequences were obtained using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification with the primer pair LCO1490 and HCO2198 (Folmer et al 1994) and the settings used in Wei and Ren (2023). The PCR products were sequenced by Sangon Biotech Co. Ltd (Shanghai, China) after examined using 1.0% agarose gel electrophoretic analysis.

Anaedus brunneus (Ziegler, 1844), Grabulax darlingtonia Kanda, 2016, and three species of the genus Hypolaenopsis Masumoto, 2001 were chosen as outgroups in this study. The newly available DNA sequences were checked and edited using SeqMan v. 7.1.0. Then the new COI sequences (Table 1) and previously known 34 sequences (GenBank accession nos. OR682144–OR682149, OR721926, OR721927, OR721930–OR721939, OR721941–OR721953) were aligned using Clustal W (Thompson et al. 1994) and trimmed using trimmAl v. 1.2 (Capella-Gutiérrez et al. 2009). Based on Bayesian information criterion, the best substitution model, GTR+I+G4+F, was calculated using ModelFinder (Kalyaanamoorthy et al. 2017) that plugged into PhyloSuite v. 1.2.2 (Zhang et al. 2020). The maximum-likelihood (ML) tree was constructed using IQ-TREE v. 1.6.6 (Nguyen et al. 2015) which was also integrated in PhyloSuite. To estimate node reliability, we performed ML analysis using 1,000 ultrafast bootstrapping and 1,000 SH-aLRT iterations.

Results

Tribe Laenini Seidlitz, 1895

Genus Laena Dejean, 1821

Laena costata sp. nov.

https://zoobank.org/FF55FC90-0D17-4216-8A80-68263966C07A
Fig. 1A–F

Type material

Holotype : China • ♂; Sichuan Province, Wangcang County, Micangshan Nature Reserve, Jinchangba; 32.4985°N, 106.6234°E, elev. 1880 m; 2024-IV-21; Zhonghua Wei leg.; MCWNU. Paratypes: China – Sichuan Province • 1♀; Wangcang County, Micangshan Nature Reserve, Jinchangba; 32.4985°N, 106.6234°E, elev. 1880 m; 2024-IV-21; Zhonghua Wei leg.; MCWNU • 1♂; Wangcang County, Micangshan Nature reserve, Shiziba; 32.6554°N, 106.5581°E, elev. 1750 m; 2023-IX-7; Zhonghua Wei leg.; MCWNU.

Description

Male. Body length 6.4–7.2 mm. Body (Fig. 1B) blackish brown, antennae, maxillary palps, and tibiae reddish brown, tarsi light brown; body dorsum rough and covered with dense punctures bearing short setae. Epistome trapezoidal, each lateral part with two longer setae, surface with dense large punctures bearing short setae; anterior margin distinctly concave. Fronto-clypeal suture shallow, straight at middle. Genae ridge-like, strongly raised; surface with dense small punctures. Eyes elliptical and slightly prominent laterally. Frons slightly prominent at middle of anterior portion; surface with dense and large punctures, each puncture with a short seta. Antennae reaching posterior margin of pronotum; antennomere III about 1.7× as long as antennomere II.

Pronotum (Fig. 1C) nearly circular, widest at anterior 1/3, approximately as wide as long; anterior margin nearly straight; lateral margins finely beaded; posterior margin neither bent downwards nor beaded; disc slightly convex, with a longitudinal groove and a pair of shallow depressions at middle, surface with dense and large punctures, distance between punctures equal to 0–1× puncture diameter, each puncture with a short seta; anterior angles rounded and posterior angles obtuse. Prothoracic hypomera with punctures as large as those on pronotal disc, bearing short setae. Prosternal process widest at posterior margin, bent downwards behind coxae; surface with fused large punctures which bear very short setae.

Elytra (Fig. 1D) elongate-oval, approximately 1.5 times as long as wide, widest at middle; strongly prolonged at apices; humeral angles rounded; lateral sides curved; surface rough, without striate, with rows of punctures; punctures in rows bearing short setae, distinctly larger than those on pronotum; intervals with dense fine punctures which bear short setae, intervals I, II, IV and VI flat, III slightly convex, V and VII distinctly convex and ridged, IX with two setigerous pores at posterior portion.

Legs slender. Femora without teeth on inner sides. Tibiae hooked at inner apex; mesotibiae slightly curved on inner sides.

Punctures on abdominal ventrites gradually becoming smaller from ventrite I to V.

Aedeagus (Fig. 1E, F) subfusiform, 1.94–1.96 mm in length. Parameres trapezoidal, widest at base and gradually narrowed from base to apex; apex abruptly widened and strongly arcuated.

Female. All the tibiae not hooked at inner sides of apex.

Diagnosis

In the phylogenetic tree (Fig. 3), Laena costata sp. nov., L. maowenica Schawaller, 2008, and L. bifoveolata Reitter, 1889 form a clade, and the new species appear sister to maowenica Schawaller, 2008, but the relationships are not statistically supported. Based on morphological characteristics, Laena costata sp. nov. is similar to L. bifoveolata Reitter, 1889, L. bowaica Schawaller, 2001, L. haigouica Schawaller, 2001, L. maowenica Schawaller, 2008 and L. mounigouica Wei & Ren, 2023 shared with them body surface having the dense punctures, the pronotal disc with a longitudinal groove and two median impressions, and non-dentate femora without teeth. This new species can be distinguished from the latters by the following characters: (1) body surface rough, with dense punctures; (2) elytral interval III slightly convex, intervals V and VII distinctly convex and ridged; (3) parameres with apex distinctly broadened and constricted at sides near apex; (4) humeral angles arcuated and not prominent; (5) male tibiae hooked at inner apex.

Distribution

China: Sichuan.

Etymology

The name is in reference to the elevated and ridged elytral intervals V and VII; costata, Latin, meaning ribbed.

Figure 1. 

The holotype of Laena costata sp. nov. A, B habitus, in dorsal and ventral views C pronotum D elytra E, F aedeagus, in dorsal (apical portion) and lateral views.

Laena qinlingica Schawaller, 2001

Fig. 2A, B

Laena qinlingica Schawaller, 2001: 32; Schawaller 2008: 406; Yuan and Ren 2018: 700; Wei et al. 2020: 527.

Examined material

China – Sichuan Province • 2♀ (in 95% ethanol); Wangcang County, Micangshan Nature reserve, Shuiliandong; 2023-IX-8; Zhonghua Wei leg.; MCWNU • 2♂5♀ (2♂4♀ in 95% ethanol); Wangcang County, Micangshan Nature reserve, Jinchangba; 32.4985°N, 106.6234°N, elev. 1880 m; 2024-IV-21; Zhonghua Wei leg.; MCWNU.

Distribution

China: Sichuan, Shaanxi.

An updated key to Laena species from Sichuan Province modified from Wei et al. (2020)

The couplets 5, 10, 11, 25 and 41 of the key to Laena from Sichuan Province provided by Wei et al. (2020) should be modified as follows to include Laena baogua Schawaller, 2021, L. chunyang Schawaller, 2021, L. costata sp. nov., L. dentithoraxa Wei & Ren, 2023, L. grebennikovi Schawaller, 2021, L. mounigouica Wei & Ren, 2023, and L. wannian Schawaller, 2021.

Figure 2. 

The habitus of Laena qinlingcia Schawaller, 2001 A habitus in dorsal view B habitus in ventral view.

Figure 3. 

The maximum-likelihood tree of Laena species based on available COI sequences. The values on the branches show ultrafast bootstrap supports.

5 Femora with opposite teeth 5a
– Femora each with a tooth or angle or spine 6
5a Lateral margins of pronotum beaded; pro- and mesofemora each with single tooth, metafemora with opposite teeth L. grebennikovi
– Lateral margins of pronotum not beaded; all femora with opposite teeth 5b
5b Male protibiae strongly curved at basal third; pronotum with feeble longitudinal impression and on each side with an indistinct impression; body length 8.2–8.5 mm L. baogua
– Male protibiae weakly curved at base; pronotum with an impression at middle of base; body length 10.6–11.9 mm L. latitarsia
…
10 Pronotum with lateral margins not beaded 10a
– Pronotum with lateral margins beaded or partially beaded 16
10a Lateral margins of pronotum serrated L. dentithoraxa
– Lateral margins of pronotum arcuated 11
11 Elytral intervals V and VII convex or only interval VII convex; male tibiae not hooked or meso- and metatibiae hooked at inner apex 11a
– Elytral intervals V and VII not convex; male metatibiae hooked at inner apex 13
11a Male tibiae not hooked at inner apex 11b
– Male meso- and metatibiae hooked at inner apex 12
11b Pronotal disc with a pair of impressions at middle; elytral intervals with a few scattered fine punctures L. chunyang
– Pronotal disc without impressions at middle; elytral intervals with a row of fine punctures L. wannian
…
25 Elytral interval VII convex, swollen and knob-shaped at shoulder 25a
– Elytral interval VII not convex and not knob-shaped at shoulder 27
25a Lateral margins of pronotum beaded; elytral interval VII not swollen L. costata sp. nov.
– Lateral margins of pronotum not beaded; elytral interval VII swollen 26
…
41 Elytral intervals with small scattered punctures; all male tibiae hooked at inner apex 41a
– Elytral intervals with a regular row of small punctures; male meso- and metatibiae hooked at inner apex, without granules 42
41a Male metatibiae with granules on inner sides; elytral intervals with a row of punctures, interval IX with two setiferous pores L. hengduanica
– Male metatibiae without granules on inner sides; elytral intervals with scattered fine punctures, interval IX with three setiferous pores L. mounigouica

Acknowledgements

We thank the staff of the Micangshan Nature Reserve Administration for providing help in sample collection. We also appreciate the reviewers and academic editor for improving the quality of this manuscript.

Additional information

Conflict of interest

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Ethical statement

No ethical statement was reported.

Funding

This study was supported by the Biodiversity Survey and Monitoring of the Micang Mountains National Nature Reserve (KH2023-016) and the Sichuan Provincial Natural Science Foundation (2024NSFSC0076).

Author contributions

Conceptualization: ZHW, GDR. Data curation: HZW, ZHW. Formal analysis: ZHW. Visualization: HZW, ZHW. Writing – original draft: HZW, ZHW. Writing – review and editing: ZHW.

Author ORCIDs

Zhonghua Wei https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7349-9939

Guodong Ren https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5808-9122

Data availability

All of the data that support the findings of this study are available in the main text.

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