Bolbochromus (Bolbochromus) sunfengyii Gao & Yang 2025, new species
Creators: name: Gao, Hao
name: Geshev, Georgi A.
name: Yang, Qiao-Zhi
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Geotrupidae
Bolbochromus
Bolbochromus sunfengyii

description: Bolbochromus (Bolbochromus) sunfengyii Gao & Yang, new species
(Figs. 1A–D, 4A–B, 5A–C, A *–C*, 6A–E)
Type locality. China, Yunnan Province, Xishuangbanna Prefecture, Gasa Town.
Type material (11♂♂, 20♀♀). Holotype: China: 1♂ (CAU), “ Gasa Town (Ŕ洒Dz), Xishuangbanna Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China, IX.2020, local collector leg.”. Paratypes: China: 8♂♂, 17♀♀ (CFYS), same data as the holotype; 1♂, 1♀ (CQZY), same data as the holotype; 1♀ (CMJU), same data as the holotype; 1♂, (CHG), same data as the holotype; 1♀ (CHG), “ Gasa Town (Ŕ洒Dz), Xishuangbanna Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China, 15–30.VIII.2020, local collector leg.”.
Additional material examined (2♂, 2♀). 1♂, 1♀ (CBHH), Dehong Prefecture, Yunnan Province, V.2020, local collector leg; 1♂, 1♀ (CBHH), Diqing Prefecture, Yunnan Province, by trap, V.2019, local collector leg.
Description of the holotype, male. General (Figs. 1A–B, 4A): Body convex, dorsum glossy, maximum width at pronotum posterior to middle. Color: Head black. Pronotum with black along anterior and posterior margin, with the posterior widening towards middle; middle of disc more testaceous than the rest of pronotum. Scutellum black. Elytra bicolored testaceous and black. Sutural interstria black along entire length; interstriae 2 to 4 partially black; area from interstria 5 to 9 on the lateral edge of the elytron starts black, intensifying from the distal one-third to the two-thirds, and then decreasing towards lateral edge. Striae basal margins black to elytra apex. Head: Dorsal surface covered with coarse punctures, glabrous. Vertex with distinct, transverse tubercle, rounded apically. Frons along inner margins of eyes barely raised. Clypeus broadly arcuate anteriorly; middle of anterior margin with low tubercle; margin of ocular canthus evenly arcuate; ocular canthus completely bisecting eyes. Antenna testaceous; with 11 antennomeres, antennomere 1 longer than any of 2–8, antennomere 2 elongated and thick, antennomeres 3–8 gradually thickening, antennomeres 9–11 elliptically swollen, inner face of antennomere 9 with glabrous plate. Pronotum: Each lateral third with scattered large punctures, central third impunctate except anteriorly; smaller secondary punctures distributed along lateral margins. Disc with distinctly impressed, median longitudinal groove terminating before reaching anterior and posterior margins; entire length with sparse punctures. Anterior triangular flat area with small punctures in front of mid-longitudinal impression. Lateral foveae barely impressed, with several punctures. Anterior angles obtuse. Anterior and lateral margins with border terminating on basal margin at level of humeral umbone of elytra; lateral margins fringed with setae underneath, visible from above. Scutellum: Shiny, with extremely fine nearly invisible punctures along anterior margin. Distinct border on both sides relative to the elytra. Elytra: Each elytron with 13 punctate striae, all evenly punctate along their lengths; with 7 striae between suture and humeral umbone. Sutural stria running parallel to scutellum and terminating at elytral base, interrupting stria 2 before elytral base; stria 5 ending before elytral base; striae 8 and 9 terminating on humeral umbone, not reaching elytral base; stria 10 extending around and below humeral umbone, longer than striae 8 and 9, not reaching elytral base; stria 11 terminating at elytral mid-length, well before elytral base; stria 12 extending to approximately same length as stria 10 not reaching elytral base. Stria 13 with very deep punctures, situated in reflexed lateral margin of elytron, reaching elytral base. Reflexed lateral margin of elytra with setae of two lengths, long and short setae irregularly alternate, sparsely and evenly scattered between punctures of stria 13, long setae largely located at anterior, short setae more numerous than long setae. Elytral interstriae slightly convex; surface smooth, micropunctures almost invisible. Elytral apices acuminate. Ventral face of epipleuron black, with single row of setae. Legs: Protibia with nine teeth along outer margin, gradually increasing in size from base to apex, with distal three teeth much larger than preceding. Apical mesotibial spurs adjacent to each other, unequal in length, with inner spur shorter than outer spur; apical metatibial spurs subequal in length, spaced apart by basal width of a spur. Aedeagus (Figs. 5A–C, A *–C*): Slender, with a pair of distinct, sclerotized, elongate-convex parameres.
Paratypes (females; Figs. 1C–D, 4B). General characters mainly stable, without distinct sexual dimorphism.
Variations. The black marks on the pronotum and elytra vary distinctly. On the pronotum, the anterior black mark varies from barely visible (Fig. 6A) to a triangular area reaching the anterior third (Fig. 6D, E), most commonly covering the anterior fifth (Fig. 6B); the posterior black mark varies from covering the posterior eighth (Fig. 6A) to covering the posterior fourth (Fig. 6C, D, E), most commonly covering the posterior fifth (Fig. 6B). On the elytra, the black marks vary more dramatically, from only covering the sutural interstriae and regions near the basial margins (Fig. 6A), to having a pair of black bands in interstriae 3–4 (Fig. 6B, C), in interstriae 2–4 and 6–10 (Fig. 6D), or across the middle (Fig. 6E).
Measurements. Body length: male 8.0– 9.6 mm (holotype 9.6 mm), female 7.0– 9.3mm; body width: male 5.0– 5.9 mm (holotype 5.6 mm), female 4.4–5.5 mm.
Diagnosis. Bolbochromus sunfengyii Gao & Yang, new species is related to B. sinensis and B. pumilus Krikken & Li, 2013, but can be distinguished by: larger in body size (body length approximately 9.5 mm in B. sinensis and 6.0 mm in B. pumilus); interstriae 2 and 4 less convex than adjacent interstriae (interstriae 2-3 less convex than adjacent interstriae in B. sinensis; similar in B. pumilus); elytron with 8 striae between suture and humeral umbone (7 striae in B. sinensis; 5 striae in B. pumilus); elytral striae 2 and 5 not reaching base (similar in B. sinensis; all striae reaching base in B. pumilus); male genitalia moderately sclerotized (strongly sclerotized, with median lobe aculeate in B. sinensis; elongate-convex, parameres with rounded tip in B. pumilus).
Etymology. This species is named in honor of Mr. Feng-Yi Sun, who kindly provided us most of the specimens of this new species for this research.
Distribution. China: Yunnan.
Remarks. Additional to the series of specimens of this new species from Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, a few clearly conspecific specimens from Dehong and Diqing Prefectures, Yunnan have also been examined. The fauna of the two localities is distinctly different and rarely share common species, especially between Diqing and Xishaungbanna Prefectures. Therefore, the two specimens are not added to the type series; and the distribution in these two localities should be confirmed with additional, reliable specimens.
description: Published as part of Gao, Hao, Geshev, Georgi A. & Yang, Qiao-Zhi, 2025, Contributions to the genus Bolbochromus Boucomont, 1909 (Coleoptera: Geotrupidae: Bolboceratinae) from China, with the description of a new species, pp. 381-390 in Zootaxa 5566 (2) on pages 382-386, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5566.2.8, http://zenodo.org/record/14703075