Quedius (Raphirus) hecato, sp. n.
Creators: name: Smetana, Aleš
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2012
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Staphylinidae
Quedius
Quedius hecato

description: Quedius (Raphirus) hecato sp. n.
(Figs. 16–21)
Type locality. People’s Republic of China: Yunnan: Baoshan Pref., Gaoligong Shan, 33km SE Tengchong 24°51ʹ22ʺN 98°45ʹ36ʺE 2100–2200 m.
Type material. Holotype ♂: China: CHINA (Yunnan) Baoshan Pref., Gaoligong Shan, 33km SE Tengchong 24°51ʹ22ʺN 98°45ʹ36ʺE 2100–2200 m (prim. decid. forest, brook bank, litter, moss sifted) 31.V. 0 0 7, D.W.Wrase [14B]. In the Smetana collection, Ottawa, Canada.
Description. Deep black, head, and pronotum with faint metallic hue, elytra with distinct metallic lustre, abdomen iridescent; both maxillary and labial palpi, antennae and legs uniformly testaceous. Head relatively narrow, about as long as wide; eyes very large and convex, tempora very short, considerably shorter than length of eyes seen from above (ratio 0.13); no additional setiferous punctures between anterior frontal punctures; posterior frontal puncture touching posteriomedian margin of eye, one puncture between it and posterior margin of head; temporal puncture small, touching posterior margin of eye; surface of head with very fine, moderately dense microsculpture of transverse and oblique waves gradually becoming slightly coarser and denser on middle of clypeus. Antenna moderately long, segments 2 and 3 subequal in length, segments 4–6 longer than wide, gradually becoming shorter, segments 7–10 about as long as wide, segment 11 as long as two preceding segments combined. Pronotum narrow, vaguely longer than wide (ratio 1.07), widely rounded basally, markedly narrowed anteriad, evenly transversely convex; dorsal rows each with three punctures; sublateral rows each with two punctures, posterior puncture situated before level of large lateral puncture; surface of pronotum with microsculpture of transverse waves, somewhat finer and denser than those on head. Scutellum with a few fine punctures on medial portion, surface without appreciable microsculpture. Elytra relatively long, at suture about as long as, at sides slightly longer (ratio 1.12) than pronotum at midline; punctation coarse and sparse; transverse interspaces between punctures larger than diameters of punctures, punctation becoming finer toward lateral margin of each elytron and being quite sparse on reflexed portion; surface between punctures without microsculpture. Wings fully developed. Abdomen with tergite 7 (fifth visible) with whitish apical seam of palisade setae; tergite 2 (in front of first fully visible tergite) entirely impunctate; punctation of tergites quite sparse, leaving large areas of each tergite impunctate, visible tergites 1–4 each with small, slightly impressed area laterad of midline with fine and dense punctation and pubescence; general pubescence apparently dark (see Comments); surface between punctures with excessively fine microscuplture of transverse striae.
M a l e. First four segments of front tarsus only vaguely dilated, not subbilobed, each with a few tenent setae ventrally, segment two distinctly narrower than apex of tibia (ratio 0.70); segment 4 only vaguely narrower than preceding segments. Sternite 8 with two long setae on each side, apical margin with wide, moderately deep, obtusely triangular, medioapical emargination, small triangular area before emargination flattened and smooth (Fig. 16). Genital segment with tergite 10 narrow, markedly narrowed toward subacute apex, with four very long setae near apex (see Comments), otherwise with only several long setae on middle portion(Fig. 17). Sternite 9 with narrow basal portion, apical portion with slightly emarginate apex, with a pair of fine setae at each side of emargination, otherwise sparingly setose with long setae (Fig. 18). Aedoeagus (Figs. 19–21) dark, rather robust, median lobe subparallelsided, anteriorly dilated before rather wide apical portion with subacute apex, on face adjacent to paramere, when paramere removed, with long medial carina (Fig. 20) forming a distinct hook in lateral view. Paramere robust, relatively wide, largely parallelsided, with narrowly arcuate apex not quite reaching apex of median lobe; four setae at apical margin, median setae slightly longer than lateral ones, two similar setae at each lateral margin below apex; sensory peg setae on underside of paramere forming one medial longitudinal group (Fig. 21).
F e m a l e. Not known.
Length 4.8 mm.
Geographical distribution. Quedius hecato is at present known only from the type locality in Gaoligong Shan in westernmost Yunnan, west of Salween river.
Bionomics. The holotype was taken in a primary deciduous forest by sifting litter and moss on a brook bank.
Recognition and comments. Quedius hecato is a very distinctive species, not only by its quite characteristic, dark pigmented aedoeagus, but also by several external characters, such as the narrow pronotum that is markedly narrowed anteriad, the peculiar punctation of the elytra (see the description), and the punctation of abdominal tergites (see the description). The setation of both tergite 10 and sternite 9 of the male genital segment is also characteristic (Figs. 17, 18).
The holotype was received with the setation and pubescence of the elytra and abdomen severely affected and to great extent, or entirely (on elytra), missing. It was therefore impossible to adequately describe these features.
The tergite 10 of the male genital segment is characteristic by the presence of the four very long setae near apex. Unfortunately, three of them were accidentally lost during the handling of the sclerite for mounting in Canada balsam. However, the illustration was done from memory immediately after the mishap, so that Fig. 17 is reliable.
Etymology. The specific epithet is the name of Hecato, - onis, m, a philosopher of Rhodos, pupil of Panaetius, in apposition.
description: Published as part of Smetana, Aleš, 2012, Contributions to the knowledge of the Quediina (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Staphylinini) of China. Part 42. Genus Quedius Stephens, 1829. Subgenus Raphirus Stephens, 1829. Section 10, pp. 43-68 in Zootaxa 3156 on pages 48-50, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3156.1.2, http://zenodo.org/record/210515