Morphostenophanes luoxiaoshanus Zhou, new species
Creators: name: Zhou, De-Yao
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Tenebrionidae
Morphostenophanes
Morphostenophanes luoxiaoshanus

description: Morphostenophanes luoxiaoshanus Zhou, new species ḌĀƜẎȐAEƤ
(Figs. 9 A–D; 16E, J, U; 17D, I; 18E, X–Z; 19T; 20E, P)
Type materials. CHINA: Hunan: ♂ (Holotype, SNUC), Yueyang City, Pingjiang County, Mount Fushou, 28°28’N, 113°46’E, 800–1079 m, 2016.ix.10–17, Ri-Xin Jiang & De-Yao Zhou. Paratypes (81♂♂, 30♀♀): CHINA: Hunan: 1♀ (SNUC), 61♂♂, 15♀♀ (CZDY, one male was decomposed, a male and a female were preserved in 99.7% etha- nol at –18 °C), 5♂♂, 5♀♀ (MHBU), 2♂♂, 2♀♀ (CJRX), 1♂, 1♀ (CZX), Yueyang City, Pingjiang County, Mount Fushou, 28°28’N, 113°46’E, 800–1079 m, 2016.ix.10–17, Ri-Xin Jiang & De-Yao Zhou; 1♂, (CJRX) Liuyang City, Mount Dawei, 2016.vi.4, Ri-Xin Jiang; 1♂ (CZJZ) Liuyang City, Mount Dawei, 1300 m, 2019.v.23, Jia-Zhi Zhang; 1♀ (MYNU), Liuyang City, Mount Dawei, 1400 m, 2018.viii.8–9, Hao Xu & Jian-Yue Qiu; 1♂, 1♀ (CZDY), Pingji- ang County, Mount Mufushan, 1300 m, 2016.viii, Jiang Zhu leg.; 1♀ (MYNU), Pingjiang County, Mount Mufu, 2013.late vii, Cong-Chao Dai leg; 2♂♂, 2♀♀ (CZDY, a sample of muscle tissue was preserved in 99.7% ethanol at –18 °C), Yanlin Country, Taoyuandong Nature Reserve, Nanfengmian, 26°17’59.29’’N, 113°59’21.85’’E, 1665 m, 2016.vi., De-Yao Zhou & Yi-Xiao Liu. Hubei: 5♂♂ (CZDY), Xianning City, Tongshan County, Mount Jiugong, 29°24’13’’N, 114°40’10’’E, 1200–1250 m, 30.vii.2016, Yi-Xiao Liu; 1♂, 1♀ (MYNU), Mount Jiugong, 2010.viii, Wei-Cheng Huang. Jiangxi: 1♂ (CZDY), Mount Jinggang, Huangyangjie, 26°37’21.82’’N, 114°7’2.11’’E, 1253 m, 2017.vii.23, Kang Shuang.
Diagnosis. Medium sized, elongate, strongly convex species, color slightly coppery greenish, with metallic luster. Elytra widest slightly behind middle, with densely and irregularly scattered round or oval segments of striae, each encircled area moderately convex. Male pro- and mesotibiae curved in apical fourth, metatibiae straight.
Description. Male (Fig. 9A, C). Color copper, slightly greenish, with metallic luster, all legs dark green, somewhat purplish, antennae and mouthparts dark brown. Body elongate, length 17.5–22.5 mm, width 6.2–7.6 mm, moderately convex, distinctly constricted between pronotum and elytra.
Head (Fig. 16E, J) quadrate, finely microsculptured, densely and coarsely punctate; with outer margin deeply notched between genae and clypeus; clypeus transversely hexagonal, gently bent downwards in front, anterior margin nearly straight, emarginate in middle, clypeal transverse impression marked to absent, frontoclypeal suture grooved, widely U-shaped; genae strongly raised, depressed before eyes, roundly produced anterolaterally; frons broad, anterior part gradually sloping forwards, frontal impressions and vertexal lateral impressions marked, vertexal median impression vague; eyes transversely reniform, strongly convex laterally; inner ocular sulci grooved along inner margins; tempora weakly convex, coarsely punctate. OI = 47.9–51.7. Antennae (Fig. 18E) slender, reaching basal 2/7 of elytra, with antennomeres weakly thickened to apices; relative lengths of antennomeres: 0.70: 0.27: 1.19: 1.14: 1.19: 1.22: 1.16: 1.12: 1.05: 0.94: 1.07. Mentum (Fig. 8J) inversely trapezoidal, lateral margins roundly curved; medial surface finely punctate, somewhat rough, with several large pores with long setae, gradually rising anteriorly, depressed along both sides.
Pronotum (Fig. 17D) barrel-shaped, PW/PL = 1.03–1.07, widest near the middle, anterior margin bisinuate, anterior marginal border marked; lateral margins rounded, lateral marginal borders thin, visible in dorsal view along anterior half; posterior margin nearly straight, emarginate, posterior marginal border marked; anterior angles rounded, slightly projecting anteriorly; posterior angles obtuse; disc strongly convex, a pair of rounded impressions vague to absent in middle, shagreened, with densely scattered marked punctures. Scutellum triangular, smooth.
Elytra oblong, widest slightly behind middle, EL/EW = 1.76–1.97; strongly convex, highest near middle; with densely and irregularly scattered round or oval segments of striae, each encircled area moderately convex; intervals glossy, sparsely and finely punctate.
Prosternum (Fig. 17I) shagreened, finely and sparsely punctate; prosternal process weakly declivous, apex truncate; hypomeron rugulose, shagreened. Metasternum weakly wrinkled. Abdomen (Fig. 19T) depressed, surface smooth, somewhat wrinkled along anterior margin and sides of each sternite, densely and markedly punctate; sternites III and IV each depressed in posterior middle, with central portion of each impressions weakly convex.
Legs slender. Protibiae (Fig. 18X) curved in apical fourth, apical 3/5 of inner margins pubescent; mesotibiae (Fig. 18Y) curved in apical fourth, apical 3/5 of inner margins pubescent; metatibiae (Fig. 18Z) straight, apical 3/5 of inner margins weakly pubescent, outer margins depressed in apical fifth.
Aedeagus (Fig. 20E) elongate, weakly curved in lateral view; parameres slender, 0.22 as long as total length, with flabellate apex. Sternite VIII (Fig. 20P) with apical lobes each produced posteriorly, superior margin bent to exterior margin, roundly bent to the inferior margin.
Female (Fig. 9B, D). Stouter than male, length 16.9–23.8 mm. Space between eyes wider than on male, OI = 57.3–59.0; PW/PL = 1.07–1.10; elytra extremely convex, dorsum slightly rounded, highest in middle, EL/EW = 1.56–1.64; abdomen straight in lateral view; without impressions on sternites. Ovipositor shortened, abruptly narrowing terminally from apical third.
Comparative notes. Morphostenophanes luoxiaoshanus resembles M. curvitibialis, and can be distinguished by having pronotal lateral margins roundly curved (almost straight in the latter), male pro- and mesotibiae curved in apical fourth (evenly curved in the latter), and posterior margins of lateral portions of mesosternum straight (rounded in the latter).
Comments. Morphostenophanes luoxiaoshanus is the easternmost known species. All specimens of the type series are from Luoxiaoshan Mountains, a north-south mountain range located along the boundary between Hunan and Jiangxi, which consists of a series of mountains over 1000 meters, and separated by lower altitudes. However, there is little difference between the populations from each mountain.
Distribution. (Map 1) CHINA: Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi.
Etymology. The new species is named after the Luoxiaoshan Mountains, where the type series came from.
description: Published as part of Zhou, De-Yao, 2020, A revision of the genus Morphostenophanes Pic, 1925 (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae, Stenochiinae, Cnodalonini), pp. 1-81 in Zootaxa 4769 (1) on pages 19-20, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4769.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/3797078