Lucanus qizhihaoi Lin, Su, Xin & Song 2024, new species
Creators: name: Lin, Xin
name: Su, Rong-Xiang
name: Xin, Fei-Yi
name: Liao, Zhi-Yu
name: Lu, Huang-Hui
name: Liu, Xian-Zhou
name: Song, Hai-Tian
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Lucanidae
Lucanus
Lucanus qizhihaoi

description: Lucanus qizhihaoi Lin, Su, Xin & Song, new species
Chinese common name: ẤƂḴƜṁş
Figs. 1A–D; 2A; 3A–E; 4A–D; 5A; 6A–C; 10A–D
Type locality. China, Fujian Province, Wuyishan National Park, Xianglushan.
Type material. Holotype: ♂ (NACRC: IOZ (E) 211513), CHINA, Fujian Province, Border between Guangze County and Wuyishan City, Wuyishan National Park [Ḱ夷Ɯ国ẍȓ园], Xianglushan [AEṖƜ], 27°47'39''N, 117°40'17''E, alt. 1900 m, 14.VII.2024, Zhi-Hao Qi leg. Paratype: 1♂ (almost complete head, CZHQ), same data as holotype but 2.X.2023, Xin Lin leg.
Description of the holotype. ♂ (Fig. 1A–B), body length 38.5 mm. Length of particular body parts: head (5.8 mm), mandible (10.2 mm), pronotum (6.3 mm), elytra (17.3 mm); width: head (10.1 mm), pronotum (9.9 mm), elytra (12.1 mm).
Habitus (Fig. 1A–B). Body color black to brown, with slightly glossy and covered with visible yellowish-white pubescence; all femora and tibiae appear orange on the dorsal and ventral sides.
Head transverse. Anterior ridge obsolete, not raised at middle. Lateral ridges narrowed inwards in the front half and slightly protruded in posterior half, forming rounded angles at lateral posterior corners. Canthus (Fig. 3A) thin, dividing about 1/3 of the eye. Clypeolabrum (Fig. 3B) trapezoidal, as wide as long, fused with frons, indistinct defined by a transverse suture; apex truncate. Mandible about 1.7 times longer than head, apical 1/3 incurved; inner margin with three independent teeth (excluding apical fork) ever-smaller from base to apex, apical fork with upper tooth slightly longer and wider than lower one; major inner tooth (basal tooth of this species) slender, tip sharp without bifurcate horizontally, placed at basal 1/3 of the mandible; major inner tooth preceded by two smaller teeth. Antennal club with 4 antennomeres; antennomere 7 slender and sharply pointed apically; antennomeres 8–10 lamellate.
Pronotum transverse, about 1.6 times wider than long, widest behind the middle. Anterior margin bisinuate, anterior angles developed with rounded apices; lateral angles weakly produced and obtuse; posterior margin slightly bisinuate, posterior angles obtuse.
Scutellum semicircular, punctuated, 1.7 times wider than long.
Legs. Protibia with 3–4 independent teeth (excluding apex bifurcate) along outer margin, apex bifurcate with sharp branches at tip, base of the branches not extend. Mesotibia with three distinct lateral spines ever-greater from base to apex along outer margin. Metatibia with three small lateral spines.
Elytra elongate, 1.4 times longer than wide, widest at basal 1/3.
Abdomen and aedeagus. Abdominal tergite VIII (Fig. 4A) with poorly-defined lateral angles, a crack from the base along the midline to more than half of tergite. Abdominal ventrite VIII (Fig. 4B) without membranous area and weakly protruded at middle of posterior margin, the sides of ventrite dark. Ventral plate of the abdominal segment IX (Fig. 4D) with an obvious membranous stripe from near apex to apical 1/3 along the midline, moderately widened behind apex and constricted towards the base. Aedeagus (Figs. 5A; 6A–C) in dorsal view about 2.2 times longer than wide. Basal piece constricted in basal part, about 1.8 times longer than parameres, without pair of distinct sclerotized dorsal plates; ventral plate (Fig. 6A) with relatively sclerotized bifurcate at apex of distal end. Paramere with basal process obsolete, apex of paramere upcurved. Penis (Fig. 6A–B) short and wide, shorter and wider than paramere significantly in ventral view. Flagellum (Fig. 5A) rather long, about 7.1 times as long as aedeagus, apex of the flagellum not enlarged. Strut (Fig. 6C) long, with an enlarged part distinctly behind the distal end.
Male paratype. Only an almost complete head (Fig. 1C–D). Length of particular body parts: head (8.9 mm), mandible (16.4 mm); width: head (14.0 mm).
Variation (n=1). In the large sized male, anterior ridge of head (Fig. 2A) slightly raised at middle. Canthus (Fig. 3D) thinner than the holotype. Clypeolabrum (Fig. 3E) ligulate, about 1.1 times longer than wide, apex rounded. The number of inner teeth of the mandible 3–5, some independent and some continuous, basal tooth more developed; apical fork more robust and open. Due to the lack of sufficient specimens, other external morphological and genital changes of this new species are unknown.
Female. Unknown.
Differential diagnosis. The new species is most closely to Lucanus boileaui Planet, 1897, but the following set of external and genital characters will help to recognize this new species precisely from L. boileaui: 1) whole mandible relatively straight (Fig. 1A, C), instead of relatively curve (Fig. 1E, G, I); 2) in medium and large sized males, basal tooth of mandible not tilted upward significantly, without apex bifurcate horizontally (Fig. 2A), rather than basal tooth tilted upward and with apex bifurcate horizontally significantly (Fig. 2B–C); 3) clypeolabrum with apex truncate or rounded (Fig. 3B, E), instead of with apex sharp (Fig. 3G, J); 4) in medium and large sized males, anterior ridge of head slightly raised at middle (Fig. 2A), rather than anterior ridge not raised at middle in most individuals (Fig. 2B–C); 5) the inside of all tibiae orange-yellow (Figs. 1B; 10D), instead of the inside black (Fig. 1F, H, J); 6) base of apex branches of protibia not extend (Fig. 3C), instead of the base strongly extend (Fig. 3H, K); 7) ventral plate of the abdominal segment IX with membranous stripe shorter and narrower, from near apex to apical 1/3 (Fig. 4D), rather than with membranous stripe longer and wider, from apex to about half length of the plate (Fig. 4H, L); 8) penis obviously shorter than paramere (Fig. 6A), instead of slightly shorter than paramere or as long as the paramere (Fig. 6D, G); 9) flagellum about 7 times as long as aedeagus (Fig. 5A), rather than usually about 8–10 times as long as aedeagus (Fig. 5B–C); 10) strut of aedeagus longer, with an enlarged part distinctly behind the distal end (Fig. 6C), rather than strut shorter, without enlarged part (Fig. 6F, I). Due to the lack of sufficient specimens, there may be some variation in these distinguishing features of the new species, which needs to be verified by subsequent more specimens.
Moreover, this new species is somewhat similar to L. dybowski dybowski (belonging to the L. maculifemoratus group), but there are significant differences between the two in abdominal ventrite IX and aedeagus. Abdominal ventrite IX of L. dybowski dybowski without a membranous stripe along the midline; flagellum short, about as long as aedeagus, apex enlarged. These features are also the main basis for distinguishing the males of the L. boileaui group and the L. maculifemoratus group (Huang & Chen 2010; Qi et al. 2023).
Etymology. The new species is named after Mr. Zhi-Hao Qi (Ấâă), a young entomologist from Wuyishan City, Fujian Province, China, who collected and provided the holotype specimen of the new species for our study.
Distribution. China (Fujian).
Remarks. This new species should be assigned to the Lucanus boileaui group based on the external and genital characters (sensu Huang & Chen 2010).
The new species was first discovered on October 2nd, 2023, when Xin Lin and Huang-Hui Lu, hiking with other hikers, accidentally picked up a large sized mutilated body of this species on the top of the Mt. Xianglushan at an altitude of 1900 m. Xin Lin took photos at the scene (Fig. 10C–D) and brought the head back. At that time, we speculated that this species is closest to L. boileaui, perhaps a new subspecies of L. boileaui or a separate new species.
At 8 a.m. on July 13th, 2024, we formed a team of four people with hiking bags carrying dry food, water, gasoline generators and tents from the foot of the Mt. Xianglushan at 1080 m, and reached the camping position at an altitude of 1700 m at around 4 p. m. At night, we set up a light tent trap, using a 250W high-pressure mercury lamp to lure. At the same time, five simple light traps using 11W purple lights were set up at an altitude of 1695 m to 1780 m. After a night of light trapping, we collected L. wuyishanensis and L. fortunei, but did not found any of this new species. At about 11 a.m. on July 14th, we climbed to the top of the Mt. Xianglushan and began collecting insect specimens and taking photos (Figs. 9B–D; 11A–B). During this time, we witnessed a male Lucanus species flying to the top, but failed to collect it. Before returning, we decided to search the location nearby, where the carcass of the new species was found last year. Fortunately and surprisingly, Zhi-Hao Qi found a small male individual of the new species dying in the sun on a large rock (Figs. 9D; 10A–B). A female was subsequently collected, but later identified as L. parryi parryi.
In summary, we believe that L. qizhihaoi Lin, Su, Xin & Song, new species, as most other Lucanus species, has a habit of flying to the top of the mountain. In addition, since only one night of light trapping was performed, the phototaxis of this new species is unclear.
description: Published as part of Lin, Xin, Su, Rong-Xiang, Xin, Fei-Yi, Liao, Zhi-Yu, Lu, Huang-Hui, Liu, Xian-Zhou & Song, Hai-Tian, 2024, Lucanus qizhihaoi, a new stag beetle from Wuyishan National Park of Fujian, China (Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Lucaninae), pp. 185-199 in Zootaxa 5541 (2) on pages 187-192, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5541.2.4, http://zenodo.org/record/14241000