Research Article |
Corresponding author: Yuxia Yang ( yuxia0305@126.com ) Academic editor: Lyubomir Penev
© 2015 Junyan Su, Limei Li, Yuxia Yang, Xingke Yang.
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:
Su J, Li L, Yang Y, Yang X (2015) A new species of Themus (Themus) Motschulsky from Yunnan, China and a redescription of T. (T.) testaceicollis Wittmer, 1983 (Coleoptera, Cantharidae). ZooKeys 525: 107-116. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.525.6021
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A new species is described, Themus (Themus) dimorphus sp. n. from Yunnan, China. Themus (Themus) testaceicollis Wittmer, 1983 is redescribed and compared with the new species. The two species are illustrated with habitus and genitalia of both sexes and abdominal sternites VIII of female.
Taxonomy, Cantharidae, Themus, new species, China
The genus Themus Motschulsky, 1858 was divided into four subgenera (
In recent study, a new species was discovered from Yunnan, China and is described here under the name of Themus (Themus) dimorphus sp. n. It is similar to T. (T.) testaceicollis Wittmer, 1983, which is redescribed in the present study to make comparisons with the new species.
The types or other specimens are deposited in the following collections:
IZAS Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China;
MHBU Museum of Hebei University, Baoding, China;
MNHN Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, France;
NHMB Naturhistorisches Museum Basel, Switzerland.
The studied method and description format follow that of
Holotype, male (MHBU): CHINA: Yunnan, Yiliang, Xiaocaoba, 25.VIII.2013, leg. Xun Bian & Guang-Lin Xie; Paratypes: 2 males (MHBU): same data to the holotype; 2 females (MHBU): same locality and collectors, 24.VIII.2013.
Male (Fig.
Head rounded, densely and finely punctate, surface lustrous; eyes slightly protruding, breadth across eyes slightly wider than anterior margin of pronotum; terminal maxillary palpomeres widest nearly in middle, arcuate and sharp at apical parts of inner margins, rounded at apices; antennae extending to basal two-fifth length of elytra, antennomeres II approximately twice as long as wide at apices, III–X slightly obliquely widened apicad, III approximately twice as long as wide at apices and 1.5 times as long as II, IV approximately 1.5 times as long as III, IV–XI subequal in length, each with a small round to short narrow longitudinal impression in middle or basal part of outer margin, XI pointed at apices.
Pronotum approximately 1.40 times as wide as long, widest near base, anterior margin arcuate, lateral margins slightly sinuate at anterior part and distinctly diverging posteriorly, posterior margin bisinuate and narrowly bordered, anterior angles rounded, posterior angles nearly rectangular, disc slightly convex at posterolateral parts, surface lustrous, slightly finely and sparsely punctate than that on head.
Elytra approximately 3.0 times longer than pronotum, 2.6 times longer than humeral width, lateral margins distinctly converging posteriorly, apex of each elytron rounded, disc rugulose-lacunose and coarsely punctate, surface matt.
Aedeagus (Fig.
Female (Fig.
Body length: 8.0‒11.0 mm; width: 3.0‒4.5 mm.
China (Yunnan).
The specific name is derived from Latin dimorphus (dimorphic), referring to its different coloration of head and pronotum in both sexes.
The new species can be distinguished from most of the species of Themus (Themus) Motschulsky by the smaller body and uniformly orange pronotum or at most with one or two small black markings, which characters also equipped by the following species in the key.
1 | Legs mixed with orange and blue | 2 |
– | Legs uniformly blue | 3 |
2 | Pronotum distinctly wider than long, with lateral margins nearly parallel; aedeagus: laterophyses flattened and tapered apically, slightly longer than conjoint parameres of parameres | T. (T.) tumlonganus (Pic, 1916) |
– | Pronotum slightly wider than long, with lateral margins slightly converging posteriorly; aedeagus: laterophyses unlike above, stout, slightly shorter than conjoint dorsal plate of parameres | T. (T.) foveicollis (Fairmaire, 1900) |
3 | Pronotum distinctly wider than long, with lateral margins slightly diverging posteriorly; aedeagus: conjoint dorsal plate of parameres subroundly emarginated in middle of apical margin | T. (T.) dimorphus sp. n. |
– | Pronotum slightly wider than long, with lateral margins slightly converging posteriorly; aedeagus: conjoint dorsal plate of parameres inverse-trapeziformly emarginated in middle of apical margin | T. (T.) testaceicollis Wittmer, 1983 |
Themus (s. str.?) testaceicollis Wittmer, 1983: 218, Fig. 97.
Themus (s. str.) testaceicollis:
Holotype: 1 female (
CHINA: Shaanxi: 12 males, 7 females (IZAS): Taibai, Baiyuanxiang, Primary Forest, 33.814°N, 107.618°E, 1619 m, 19.VI.2012, leg. Sha Li; 4 males (IZAS): Liuba, Shangtaizi, Zibaishan, 22.VI.2012, leg. Yi Hua; 1female (MHUB): Fengxian, Heigou, 13.VI.2005, leg. Yi-Bin Ba; Hubei: 1 female (MHUB): Badong, Lvcongpo, 1700 m, 16.VII.2006, leg. Li Cai; Sichuan: 1 female (MHUB): Jiuzhaigou, Xinyangerlin, 14.VII.2009, leg. Zhen-Hua Gao & Yi-Ping Niu.
Male (Fig.
Head rounded, densely and finely punctate, surface lustrous; eyes slightly protruding, breadth across eyes slightly narrower than anterior margin of pronotum; terminal maxillary palpomeres widest nearly in middle, arcuate and sharp at apical half parts of inner margins, rounded at apices; antennae almost extending to mid-length of elytra, antennomeres II approximately twice as long as wide at apices, III‒X slightly obliquely widened apicad, III about 1.5 times as long as wide at apices and slightly longer than II, IV approximately 1.5 times longer than III, IV‒VIII subequal in length and slightly longer than the following antennomeres, IV‒XI each with a short longitudinal impression nearly in middle of outer margin, XI slightly longer than X and pointed at apices.
Pronotum approximately 1.20 times as wide as long, widest before middle, anterior margin arcuate, lateral margins slightly sinuate and converging posteriorly, posterior margin bisinuate and narrowly bordered, anterior angles nearly rectangular, posterior angles rounded, disc slightly convex at posterolateral parts, finely and sparsely punctate, surface lustrous.
Elytra approximately 3.5 times longer than pronotum, 2.7 times longer than humeral width, lateral margins distinctly converging posteriorly, apex of each elytron rounded, disc rugulose-lacunose and coarsely punctate, surface matt.
Aedeagus (Fig.
Female (Fig.
Body length: 11.5–15.0 mm; width: 3.0–4.0 mm.
China (Hubei, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Gansu).
In the original publication (
We would like to express our deep gratitude to late Dr. Michel Brancucci (
The present study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 31172135, 41401064), the Knowledge Innovation of Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KSCX2-EW-Z-8) and the Foundation of the Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Application of Hebei Province (No. 14967611D).