Research Article |
Corresponding author: Michel Perreau ( michel.perreau@univ-paris-diderot.fr ) Corresponding author: Jan Růžička ( ruzickajan@fzp.czu.cz ) Academic editor: Achille Casale
© 2018 Michel Perreau, Jan Růžička.
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:
Perreau M, Růžička J (2018) Ptomaphaginus troglodytes sp. n., the first anophthalmic species of Ptomaphaginina from China (Coleoptera, Leiodidae, Cholevinae, Ptomaphagini). ZooKeys 749: 135-147. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.749.24964
|
Ptomaphaginus troglodytes sp. n., the first anophthalmic species of Ptomaphaginus Portevin, 1914 is described from two close caves in Libo Karst, south Guizhou Province, China.
Anophthalmy, China, Guizhou Province, new species, troglobiomorphy
Ptomaphagini is, after Leptodirini, the richest tribe of Cholevinae in species living in subterranean environment (caves or other subterranean habitats). Unlike Leptodirini, in which all species except a few dozen are anophthalmic, cave-dwelling species of Ptomaphagini are at most microphthalmic, a single species is fully anophthalmic. The tribe is presently divided into three subtribes: Baryodirina, Ptomaphagina, and Ptomaphaginina (
Subterranean Ptomaphagina occur mainly in the Nearctic and Neotropical Regions (
Ptomaphaginina are mainly distributed in the Oriental Region (
Guizhou comprises extended karst areas with a high diversity of cave-adapted arthropods and is the Chinese province with the highest number of known troglobitic species (
Dissected specimens were relaxed in warm water. Male genitalia were directly dehydrated in ethanol 95% then mounted in Euparal. The female abdomen was cleared in a hot water solution of potassium hydroxide 0.1 N for 10 minutes, then rinsed in distilled water, coloured with Azoblack then dissected to extract the genital segment, which was mounted in DMHF. Photonic microscopic pictures (Figs
Specimens examined are deposited in the following collections:
JRUC collection of Jan Růžička, Praha, Czech Republic
MPEC collection of Michel Perreau, Paris, France
NMPC National Museum, Praha, Czech Republic (M. Fikáček, J. Hájek)
NSMT National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, Japan (S. Nomura)
The distribution map was produced and edited in ESRI ArcMap 10.5 of ArcGIS Desktop 10.5 suite. For map layers, free levels 0–2 data from Global Administrative Areas (http://www.gadm.org, ver. 2.8) and Natural Earth (http://naturalearthdata.com, Cross Blended Hypso with Relief, Water, Drains, and Ocean Bottom) were used.
China: Guizhou Province, Libo Xian County, Shuiboshu Dong cave [ca. 25°29'05"N, 107°52'54"E], 490 m.
Holotype male (NSMT): “Shuiboshu Dong cave (490 m) / Shuipu cun [ca. 25°29'05"N, 107°52'54"E], Yuiping Zhen / Libo Xian // (Guizhou, CHINA) / 13.ix.1997, T. Kishmoto [leg.] // HOLOTYPUS / Ptomaphaginus troglodytes sp. n. / M. Perreau & J. Růžička, 2018”. Paratypes (NSMT, JRUC, MPEC): 1 male and 2 females, same data; 1 male and 1 female, “Yamen Dong cave [ca. 25°29'N, 107°54'E] / Shuibo Zhai, Shuipu Cun / Libo Xian // (Guizhou, CHINA) / 13.ix.1997, T. Kishmoto [leg.] // PARATYPUS / Ptomaphaginus troglodytes sp. n. / M. Perreau & J. Růžička, 2018”.
Length 1.85 mm. Body widely ovoid, uniformly light brown (depigmented). Body covered with recumbent setae inserted along tight transverse strigae (Fig.
Head without eyes (Fig.
Pronotum transverse, 1.6 times wider than long, the largest width just before the base. Lateral sides arcuate, the posterior angles clearly protruding behind the posterior margin. Pronotal surface with transverse microstrigae.
Elytra short and wide, as long as wide, the greatest width near the base. Surface covered with transverse microstrigae, similar to that of the pronotum (Fig.
Mesoventral process with a high, widely rounded medial carina (Fig.
Ptomaphaginus troglodytes sp. n., male holotype from Shuiboshu Dong cave, SEM. 6 mesoventral process in lateral view 7 apex of mesotarsus in lateral view 8 apex of maxillary palpus in dorsal view 9 right mandibula in dorsal view 10 left protibia in lateral view (arrows indicate position of spines on ventral side) 11 apex of mesotibia in dorso-posterior view.
Protibia with a row of regular spines along the external side and with a second internal row on the ventral side, with one spine situated basally and a line of seven spines medially (Fig.
Male genital segment with a spiculum gastrale extending beyond the anterior margin of epipleurites on one third of its length and slightly narrowed on this part (Fig.
Female abdominal segment IX with short gonocoxites (Fig.
Distinct from other Ptomaphaginus in the absence of eyes, short, wide body shape, especially the elytra as wide as long (taken together), more developed setation of the aedeagus, and transverse microstrigae of the elytra which are extremely tight and orthogonal to the suture, not oblique as generally in Ptomaphagini.
The identification table of Chinese species of Ptomaphaginus given in the revision of the genus by
1 | Anophthalmic. Transverse microstrigae of elytra tight and orthogonal to the suture | P. troglodytes sp. n. |
– | Eyes well developed. Transverse microstrigae of elytra more spaced out and oblique | Other species |
Figs
Cave-dweller in Latin, because of the association of the new species with caves; noun in apposition.
No bionomic details are available for the two small series, collected in Shuiboshu Dong and Yamen Dong caves. This is the first species of Ptomaphaginus reported from Guizhou Province, most probably as a result of a gap in knowledge of the fauna of the centre of southern China (see
We would like to express our sincere thanks to Shûhei Nomura (NSMT) and Jiří Hájek (NMPC) for loan of material. Martin Fikáček (NMPC) kindly assisted during SEM micrography. Examination of specimens using a Hitashi S-3700N scanning electron microscope in National Museum, Praha, was possible due to the Barrande I Project, partially supported by the European Union. We thank Maxwell V. L. Barclay (Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom) for comments on and linguistic revision of the text. This study was supported by the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic (no. VI20152018027).