Meligethes (Odonthogethes) luteomaculatus Liu & Huang & Cline & Audisio 2018, sp. n.
Creators: name: Liu, Meike
name: Huang, Min
name: Cline, Andrew Richard
name: Audisio, Paolo
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Nitidulidae
Meligethes
Meligethes luteomaculatus

description: Meligethes (Odonthogethes) luteomaculatus sp. n.
(FIgS. 1g, 2E, f, J, 6A)
Diagnosis. NARROWLY ELONgATE, mODERATELY TRANSvERSELY CONvEX AND mEDIUm-SIZED (2.6–3.3 mm) (FIg. 1g), WITH CHARACTERISTIC bROWNISH DORSAL COLORATION COmbINED WITH LARgE YELLOWISH SpOTS ON pRONOTAL SIDES AND ELYTRA. THIS SpECIES IS SImILAR IN EXTERNAL SHApE AND COLOR TO Meligethes (Odonthogethes) simulator AUDISIO, SAbATELLI & JELÍNEK, 2015 fROm SHAANXI, GANSU AND M. (O.) pallidoelytrorum CHEN & KIREJTSHUK, 2013 fROm SICHUAN (bOTH IN THE M. chinensis SpECIES gROUp: LIU et al. 2017). THE SpECIES CAN bE EASILY SEpARATED fROm bOTH Of THE OTHER SpECIES IN THE COmpLEX bY THE DISTINCTLY SHApED mALE gENITALIA, CHARACTERIZED bY A WIDE TEgmEN (FIg. 2E), AND ELONgATED mEDIAN LObE Of THE AEDEAgUS, THE LATTER EXHIbITINg ITS mAXImUm WIDTH NEAR THE DISTAL THIRD, AND A NARROWLY AND ObTUSELY SpATULATE ApEX (FIg. 2f; M. simulator IS CHARACTERIZED bY A mEDIAN LObE Of THE AEDEAgUS STRONgLY NARROWED AND DISTINCTLY INCISED DISTAD, WHILE M. pallidoelytrorum EXHIbITS A mEDIAN LObE SHARpLY pOINTED DISTAD; SEE LIU et al. 2017).
Description. Size (mALE HOLOTYpE): bODY LENgTH 2.9 mm, WIDTH 1.55 mm.
Body color and pubescence: mOSTLY bROWN, RATHER SHINY, pERIpHERAL LATERAL pORTIONS Of pRONOTUm YELLOWISH, WITH LARgE YELLOWISH ROUNDED SpOT OCCUpYINg THE pROXImAL TWO THIRDS Of ELYTRA (FIg. 1g), NO mETALLIC HUES ON DORSAL SURfACE. LEgS AND ANTENNAE YELLOWISH-ORANgE, ANTENNAL CLUb NORmALLY DARKER bROWN. PUbESCENCE gOLDEN, mODERATELY LONg AND SpARSE, NOT CONCEALINg TEgUmENT, EACH INDIvIDUAL SETA USUALLY SLIgHTLY SHORTER THAN ANTENNOmERE 2 (FIg. 1g).
Dorsal habitus: bODY SHApE (FIg. 1g) SImILAR TO THAT Of M. pallidoelytrorum AND M. simulator (FIgS. 21I AND 22A IN AUDISIO et al. 2015). CLYpEUS WITH TRUNCATE ANTERIOR mARgIN. DORSAL pUNCTURES ON pRONOTUm fINE AND mODERATELY DEEp, SEpARATED fROm EACH OTHER bY CA. 1.1–1.4 DIAmETERS; SpACE bETWEEN pUNCTURES SmOOTH AND SHININg. DORSAL pUNCTURES ON ELYTRA SLIgHTLY fINER AND SHALLOWER THAN THOSE ON pRONOTUm, SEpARATED fROm EACH OTHER bY CA. 1.2–1.5 DIAmETERS; SpACE bETWEEN pUNCTURES SLIgHTLY LESS SHININg. RATIO LPR1/LELY = 0.46; RATIO WPR1/LPR1 = 1.86; RATIO WPR2/LPR1 = 1.78; RATIO WPR2/WPR1 = 0.96; RATIO LELY/WELY = 1.07; RATIO WPR1/WPRA = 1.68; RATIO WPR1/WELY = 0.92; RATIO WPR2/WELY = 0.88.
Ventral habitus: COmbINED OUTER EDgES Of THE ANTENNAL gROOvES ALmOST STRAIgHT AND pARALLEL ALONg mOST Of LENgTH. MEDIOLONgITUDINAL RIDgE Of mESOvENTRITE bLUNTLY CARINATE, CARINA NOT REACHINg pOSTERIOR mARgIN Of mESOvENTRITE. METAvENTRITE (mALE) fLATTENED pOSTERIOR TO mIDLENgTH, WITH mODERATELY WIDE AND DEEp mEDIOLONgITUDINAL ImpRESSION, WIDENED pOSTERIAD.
Appendages: ANTENNAE RATHER SHORT (FIg. 1g); RATIO ANLE/HWEA = 0.73; RATIO CLLE/W10J = 1.09; RATIO L03J/ W03J = 2.70; RATIO L03J/L02J = 0.94; RATIO L03J/L04J = 2.00; RATIO WFTA/LFTA = 0.32 (mALE); RATIO LETI/WITI = 3.20.
Male genitalia: DISTINCTLY SHApED (FIgS. 2E, f). TEgmEN (FIg. 2E) RATHER WIDE, WIDEST AT mIDDLE, mEDIAL DISTAL EXCISION DEEp, V-SHApED (RATIO DTIN/LETE = 0.32–0.33), INNER mARgINS WITHOUT ANY pROJECTION; RATIO LETE/WITE = 1.19–1.20. RATIO THLE/LETE = 0.21. MEDIAN LObE Of AEDEAgUS mODERATELY ELONgATE, RATIO LEAE/WIAE = 1.90– 1.95, EXHIbITINg mAXImUm WIDTH NEARLY AT DISTAL THIRD, WITH NARROWLY AND ObTUSELY SpATULATE ApEX (FIg. 2f). MAIN SCLERITES Of INTERNAL SAC (ENDOpHALLUS) LONg AND ROD-SHApED IN bOTH DORSAL AND LATERAL vIEW.
Female: pROTARSI SLIgHTLY NARROWER THAN IN mALE (RATIO WFTA/LFTA = 0.26); mETAvENTRITE ALmOST fLAT, WITH bARELY DISTINCT LONgITUDINAL ImpRESSION. OvIpOSITOR (FIg. 2J) WITH ApEX ACUTE, mODERATELY SCLEROTIZED; RATIO STLE/ DSIA = 0.25; RATIO STLE/CGOW = 0.08; RATIO GONL/CGOW = 1.60. BASAL pORTIONS Of gONOCOXITES TRANSvERSE, LATERALLY DIRECTED ApICES NARROWLY ROUNDED AND SLIgHTLY DIRECTED pROXImAD. RATIO OVPL/GONL = 2.35.
Variation: bODY SIZES 2.6–3.3 mm (LENgTH) AND 1.48–1.70 mm (WIDTH). BASIC bODY COLOR fROm NUT bROWN TO DARK bROWN; ANTENNAL CLUb bROWN TO YELLOWISH.
Examined material. HOLOTYpE, ♂: China: HUbEI, SHENNONgJIA NATIONAL FOREST PARK, SHENNONg pEAK SCENIC AREA, 2850–2900 m A.S.L., 31.441944° 110.2925°, 16.vI.2017, P. AUDISIO, M. LIU & M. HUANg LgT, SpARSELY fORESTED AND bUSHY AREA, bEATINg fLOWERINg Rhododendron Sp. (ERICACEAE), (NWAU). PARATYpES: SAmE DATA AS HOLOTYpE, 12 ♂, 16 ♀ (NWAU, CAR-MZUR).
Distribution. Central China (HUbEI) (FIg. 6A).
Host-plants. ALL TYpE SpECImENS Of THE NEW SpECIES WERE COLLECTED ON Rhododendron Sp. (ERICACEAE), HOWEvER SEvERAL SmALL bUSHES Of Rubus Spp., INCLUDINg Rubus rosifolius (FIg. 4A), WERE pRESENT IN THE AREA ALTHOUgH THEY WERE NOT IN fLOWER AT THE TImE.
Habitat. LOCALITY DATA INDICATES THAT THIS SpECIES AppEARS TO pREfER THE EDgES Of HIgH ALTITUDE SpARSELY fORESTED AND bUSHY AREAS. AS REpORTED AbOvE, mOST SpECImENS Of THE TYpE SERIES WERE COLLECTED bY SWEEpINg fLOWERINg SHRUbS Of Rhododendron Sp. (ERICACEAE), fREqUENTLY USED bY SEvERAL ADULT Meligethes Spp. AS OCCASIONAL fOOD-pLANTS bEfORE OR AfTER THE fLOWERINg SEASON Of THEIR LARvAL HOSTS. THE SpECIES WERE COLLECTED IN CONJUNCTION WITH SEvERAL SpECImENS Of M. auropilosus, M. macrofemoratus, M. semenovi, M. hammondi, M. trapezithorax Sp. N., AND M. tricuspidatus Sp. N.
Phenology. THE fEW AvAILAbLE SpECImENS WERE COLLECTED IN mIDDLE JUNE, WHICH LIKELY INDICATES ADULT ACTIvITY AT LEAST fROm LATE MAY TO JULY.
Etymology. THE SpECIfIC EpITHET Of THE NEW SpECIES IS DERIvED fROm THE LATIN luteus (= YELLOWISH) AND maculatus (= SpOTTED), DUE TO ITS DORSAL bODY COLOR, bROWNISH WITH pRONOTAL SIDES AND ANTERIOR pORTION Of ELYTRA WIDELY YELLOWISH-COLORED (FIg. 1g).
Taxonomic remarks. AS REpORTED AbOvE, THIS NEW SpECIES IS SImILAR IN EXTERNAL SHApE TO THE RELATED M. simulator fROm SHAANXI, GANSU AND M. pallidoelytrorum fROm SICHUAN (bOTH IN THE M. chinensis SpECIES gROUp: AUDISIO et al. 2015; LIU et al. 2017). HOWEvER, bOTH mALE AND fEmALE gENITALIA Of THE NEW SpECIES STRONgLY DIffER fROm THOSE Of THE TWO RELATED TAXA (FIgS. 2E, f, J, K HEREIN AND FIgS. 2A–D, 3g IN LIU et al. 2017).
description: Published as part of Liu, Meike, Huang, Min, Cline, Andrew Richard & Audisio, Paolo, 2018, New and poorly known Meligethes Stephens from China, with bionomical data on some species (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae: Meligethinae), pp. 546-566 in Zootaxa 4392 (3) on pages 557-558, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4392.3.6, http://zenodo.org/record/1196235