Pterostichus (Phonias) batdaiensis Fedorenko 2023, sp.n.
Creators: name: Fedorenko, D. N.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Carabidae
Pterostichus
Pterostichus batdaiensis

description: Pterostichus (Phonias) batdaiensis Fedorenko, sp.n.
Figs 5, 50–51, 62, 71–79, 90–91, 101.
MATERIAL. Holotype (ZMMU) and paratypes (SIEE), 7 ♂♂, 15 ♀♀ (SIEE), labelled: Vietnam, Ha Giang Prov [ince]./ Bat Dai Son Nat [io]n[al]. Park,/ ~ 6 km NW of Thanh Van,/ 23°07´59´´N 104°56´03´´E / h~ 1200 m, picked field, 14-/ leg. D. Fedorenko 22.IV.2022 ’; ♀, same data except for ‘…/ Thanh Van env., h~ 950 m / 23°06´01´´N 104°58´25´´E / 14–22.IV.2022 / D. Fedorenko’; ♂ with label: ‘N-Vietnam, Lao Cai Prov [ince]./ env. Sa Pa / near Cat Cat river / 22.33399°N 103.82281°E / h = 1320 m 20–23.IV./ A. Prosvirov leg. 2013’.
DIAGNOSIS. Within the subgenus, this species is distinctive in having (1) tarsomere 5 glabrous ventrally, (2) elytron with at least posterior two discal setae, (3) pronotal basal angles distinctly toothed, (4) elytra rather long, and (5) body by comparison larger-sized. The combination of the characters (1) and (5) differentiates the new species from P. perisi Novoa, 1979; P. ripensis; P. ussuriensis; and P. setipes (Tschitschérine, 1898). The character (2) serves good to distinguish it from the consubgeners sharing either single elytral discal seta (P. longinquus; P. sasajii Morita, 2007; P. lutschniki Jedlička, 1962; P. monostigma (Tschitschérine, 1898); P. stricticollis) or complete discal setation (P. liodactylus (Tschitschérine, 1898); P. ovoideus (Sturm, 1824); P. taksonyis Csiki, 1930)). Finally, character (3) separates P. batdaiensis sp.n. from P. defossus Bates, 1883; P. arrowi Jedlička, 1936; and P. arrowianus Jedlička, 1938. Besides, the latter three species have the elytra either shorter (P. defossus and P. arrowianus) or with microsculpture consisting of dense transverse lines (P. arrowi).
DESCRIPTION. BL 7.7–9.3 mm. Body (Fig. 5) shiny black, elytra with slight to indistinct aeneous lustre; tarsi reddish brown, antennomere 1 and bases of antennomeres 2 and 3 red (most specimens of the type series are somewhat teneral and thence slightly paler in colour, with pronotal lateral bead, sides toward base, and elytra toward apices reddish, ventral side reddish brown, femora dark brown, tibiae and tarsi more or less red). Dorsal microsculpture very superficial, hardly traceable on head and pronotum, slightly more distinct on elytra, consisting of isodiametric, moderately transverse, or moderately to very transverse meshes, respectively. Lateral groove of elytron and ventral side, except for both thorax and abdominal sternites II–IV along middle, dull from coarse and generally isodiametric microsculpture.
Head convex, without neck constriction. Eyes convex, genae short. Frontal sulci shallow, parallel to each other, then diverging and almost reaching anterior supra-ocular setae, anteriorly extended onto clypeus. Frons and vertex finely and densely punctate, with slightly larger punctures inside frontal sulci; clypeus microscopically and densely punctate.
Pronotum subquadrate, broadest just in front of middle; sides evenly rounded, very finely beaded all along, without or with an indistinct trace of sublateral line in basal half. Base truncate, almost a fourth wider than apex, basal angles obtuse, each with a minute rectangular or acute tooth. Basolateral sulci deep, inner straight, running parallel to each other in basal two fifths, obliterated toward basal margin; outer ones half as long, extended into lateral sections of basal bead; these traceable in lateral thirds. Basolateral fovea more or less densely, in part confluently, punctate in and between sulci of one side, with punctate area reaching midway between inner sulcus and median line in some specimens. Apex truncate to evenly concave between apical angles; these sharp, projecting, slightly acute. Median line very fine, superficial, mostly not quite reaching base and apex. Basal and apical transverse impressions vague.
Elytra oblong-oval, broadest slightly behind middle, with apices more or less blunt and rounded combined. Sides almost parallel in male, less so in female, more rounded toward humeri and toward apices than in between; preapical sinuation slight, preapical internal plica narrow yet distinct in lateral view. Base rather narrow, much wider than base of pronotum; humeri mostly marked with a minute tooth. Basal ridge straight and transverse inside stria 4, outwardly curved to humerus, humeral angle right. Striae deep, very finely punctate to impunctate; stria 7 in basal two thirds very fine, much more shallow than others, obliterate toward humeral angle; parascutellar striole long, almost reaching or adjoining stria 1. Intervals nearly flat, convex in front of apex, intervals 7, 5 and 3 confluent apically in succession. Parascutellar setigerous pore adjoining or almost adjoining stria 2 at distance of about one pore diameter from basal ridge. Mostly two discal setae, d2 and d3, present (14 specimens); variations include seta d1 additionally present on one or both elytra (six specimens), or one seta, d2 or d3, either doubled or missing unilaterally, so that either 2+3 or 1+2 setae present (one specimen per pattern described, totally four). USS: mostly 13 (5–1–7) or 14 (6–1–7, in one specimen), with patterns 5–1–7 or 6–7, or, more seldom, 5–8 being formed as a result of the seta US 6 varying in position.
Underside. Prosternal process apically rounded or truncate, with widely rounded angles, in lateral view slightly obtuse and blunt; declivity flat, wide and beaded except ventrally. Punctation very shallow so that only mesepisterna are moderately and distinctly punctate, underside otherwise impunctate or very finely and almost indistinctly punctate.
Legs: ti 2 and ti 3 deeply outwardly sulcate except at bases, ti 2 in apical half with 2–3 spiniform lateral setae, ti 3 asetose laterally; mesotarsomeres 1–3 with deep anterior and finer posterior dorsolateral sulcus above lateral carina, metatarsomeres 1–4 similar, except for posterior sulcus absent from tarsomere 4. Tarsomere 5 glabrous ventrally.
Aedeagus (Figs 71–79): apex of median lobe very short and widely rounded. Left paramere rounded, with both dorsobasal process and dorsobasal fissure nearly indistinct (rudimentary?). Right paramere moderately long and narrow. Everted and inflated internal sac dorsal and more or less tubiform (Figs 50–51).
Female reproductive tract (Fig. 101): bursa copulatrix (when folded) trapezoidal, moderate in length. Spermatheca medium-sized, with one diverticulum at base and two long diverticula, additional spermathecae, beginning on gland duct-spermathecal junction about 1/3 spermatheca length distant from its base; the additional spermathecae ranging from a fifth to half as long as spermatheca proper.
DISTRIBUTION. Known to date from two very close localities in Ha Giang Province and another one in Lao Cai Province, northern Vietnam.
HABITATS AND HABITS. All the specimens from the environs of the Bat Dai Son National Park were hand collected in agrocenoses, either a cornfield (one specimen) or a small picked field near small forest stream.
NAME. Refers to the Bat Dai Son National Park as the type locality of the new species.
COMMENTS. The new species is most likely to be closely related to P. stricticollis with which it shares very similar spermatheca and rather similar, tubiform, internal sac of aedeagus. The latter species otherwise is very different in having the pronotum distinctive, with its outer basolateral sulcus almost adjoining basal angle, apical bead missing, apical angles right and sharp yet strongly bent venrad and thence non-projecting.
description: Published as part of Fedorenko, D. N., 2023, New taxa of Pterostichus (Coleoptera: Carabidae) from Vietnam, pp. 16-39 in Russian Entomological Journal 32 (1) on pages 34-36, DOI: 10.15298/rusentj.32.1.03, http://zenodo.org/record/10949096