Liotesba recticeps Zhou & Zhou 2013, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Zhou, Yu-Lingzi
name: Zhou, Hong-Zhang
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Staphylinidae
Liotesba
Liotesba recticeps

description: Liotesba recticeps sp. nov.
(Figure 2A–K)
Type material. Holotype: male, CHINA: Sichuan: Wolong co., Wulidun village, 2145 m, 23–26 May 2004, Yu Xiaodong collected (IZ-CAS); Paratype: male, Sichuan: Genda co., 1820 m, 5–8 July 2004, Yu Xiaodong collected (IZ-CAS); Emei Shan, male, 800–1000 m, 23 April 1957, Huangkeren collected (IZ-CAS).
Description
Measurement. BL = 8.66 mm, FL = 4.46 mm, HL = 1.30 mm, HW = 1.10 mm, PL = 1.38 mm, PW = 1.00 mm, EL = 1.63 mm, EW = 1.25 mm.
Body nearly cylindrical, medium-sized. Head, pronotum, mesoscutellum and abdomen black, except posterior margin of abdominal segment VII much lighter in colour. Elytra reddish brown. Legs entirely brown. Antennae brown, basal three antennomeres darker and smoother than the remaining antennomeres. Maxillary and labial palpi dark brown, apical portion of both last segments light brown.
Head (Figure 2A). Subrectangular (HL to HW ratio 1.2), widest at middle of eyes, tempora slightly narrowed backwards, posterior angles rounded. Dorsal integument with numerous micropunctures; frontal region and disc smooth, without punctures; posterior half of head with large punctures, and becoming denser posterolaterally; deflexed portion of tempora with a row of small punctures. Each side of cranium with anterolateral puncture near antennal insertion, midlateral puncture about a distance of two to three punctures’ diameters from dorsal margin of eye. Frontal furrows relatively long and deep, anteocular furrows absent. Eye large, slightly shorter than the length of tempora (eye: tempora = 0.45: 0.50 mm), distinctly protruding laterad; one large and one small puncture next to dorsal margin of eye. Epistoma narrow, subrectangular. Distance between antennal insertions equal to distance from antenna to eye (0.37 mm). Ventral side shiny, with scattered, larger punctures (than punctures on dorsal side) on each central surface, distance between punctures shorter than a puncture’s diameter, and also with smaller, denser punctures on sub-basal surface. Gular plate narrow; gular sutures separated.
Antennae. Scape quite stout, distinctly widened apically, much longer than three subsequent antennomeres combined, 0.48 mm; antennomere II subglobular, 0.13 mm; III distinctly elongate, observably longer than II, 0.18 mm; IV and V subequal in length, 0.08 mm; last antennomere 0.23 mm, shorter than two preceding antennomeres combined.
Mouthparts (Figure 2B–E). Labrum transverse, with a pair of median teeth, and a lateral tooth at each side (Figure 1B), which distinctly protrude. Mandibles falciform, right one with a broad tooth on inner edge (Figure 2C). Maxillary palpus elongate, second segment longest, last segment slender, fusiform, and longer than the penultimate (Figure 2D). Labial palpus elongate, last segment longest, slightly dilated subapically (Figure 2E).
Neck. Wide (0.53 mm), slightly narrower than half the width of head.
Pronotum. Subrectangular, distinctly elongate (PL to PW ratio 1.4), subequal to head length, but narrower. Widened anteriad, anterior angles well defined, lateral margins sinuate, posterior angles broadly rounded. Dorsal integument of pronotum extensively covered with micropunctures, with two large punctures on each anterolateral corner, and one large puncture on each posterolateral corner, also with irregular and small punctures located near anterior and lateral margins.
Mesoscutellum. Slightly shiny, rugose on basal surface; with two rows of scattered punctures.
Elytra. Subrectangular, distinctly elongate (EL to EW ratio 1.3), longer, wider than pronotum. Humeri well-developed, lateral margins divergent posteriorly, hind margin rounded. Integument shiny, flattened, without microsculpture; with two or three rows of small, dense punctures along median suture, a row of dense punctures along midwidth, and also with three or four rows of denser punctures on deflexed portion of each elytron.
Legs. First four segments of protarsi heart-shaped, dilated, but slender in those of mesotarsi and metatarsi. Last segment shorter than the II–IV combined, respectively.
Abdomen. Cylindrical, broadest at segment VI. Tergites III–VII shiny, each segment covered with dense, transverse microstriae, and scattered with large punctures, distance between punctures being a puncture’s diameter. Each tergite with a punctate basal impression near anterior margin, which also bears transverse microstriae. All abdominal sternites shiny, with microstriae and punctures as those on tergites.
Male (Figure 2F–K). Abdominal segment VIII entirely covered with punctures, posterior margin of tergite very slightly rounded medially, posterior margin of sternite distinctly rounded (Figure 2F, G). Tergite IX symmetrical, connected mediobasally. Sternite IX asymmetrical, widest near middle, with bluntly pointed base and straight lateral margins (Figure 2I). Tergite X symmetrical, with relatively sharp pointed base, distinctly angulate at lateral margins (Figure 2H). Aedeagus pear-shaped, small in size (Figure 2J, K), basal bulb 0.77 mm long; anterior portion short, 0.16 mm, with a pair of black sclerites near apex in dorsal view. Parameres symmetrical, relatively strong, slightly shorter than half of basal bulb length. Internal sac thin, brown in colour, without spines, coiled several times within the base of median lobe (Figure 2J).
Female. Unknown.
Distribution. China (Sichuan).
Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from the Latin words rectus (straight) and ceps (head, the short form of caput) and refers to the parallel lateral margins of the head.
Remarks. This new species is similar in body size, elytral coloration and long frontal furrows to L. punctiventris (Sharp, 1889), but it can be distinguished from the latter by slightly substraight tempora, larger eyes, subrectangular epistoma, arcuate posterior margin of sternite VIII and the unique inner sac.
description: Published as part of Zhou, Yu-Lingzi & Zhou, Hong-Zhang, 2013, Taxonomy and phylogeny of the genus Liotesba Scheerpeltz (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae: Xantholinini) with descriptions of four new species, pp. 2869-2904 in Journal of Natural History 47 (45 - 46) on pages 2879-2882, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2013.791936, http://zenodo.org/record/5198102