Bembidion (Plataphodes) kmecoi Toledano & Nakládal, 2011, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Toledano, Luca
name: Nakládal, Oto
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2011
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Carabidae
Bembidion
Bembidion kmecoi

description: Bembidion (Plataphodes) kmecoi sp. nov.
(Figs. 2, 4)
Diagnosis. A Plataphodes from Sichuan with very large eyes and three discal pores on each elytron.
Type locality. Pass 15 Km S of Liziping, Sichuan, China.
Type series. Holotype, ♂, "C. CHINA Sichuan Prov., Pass 15 km S of Liziping, 20– 21.6.2005, Oto Nakládal leg." (deposited in NMPC); Paratypes: 3♂♂, 3♀♀, same collecting data as the holotype (deposited in CKMC, CONC, CTVR, CRNS).
Etymology. The name of this species is given in honour of our friend Rudolf Kmeco (Litovel, Czech Republic) who kindly gave us in study the type series.
Description. Length 4.86 to 5.24 mm, body dark bronze, metallic, with or without greenish reflections, legs and appendages metallic black, except for the last segment of palps, light brown.
Head with large, extremely convex eyes, frontal furrows parallel, rather short and superficial, mandibles and antennae (Tl/Al = 2.16 to 2.22) rather short.
Pronotum (Pw/Pl = 1.44 to 1.53; El/Pl = 3.13 to 3.28; Ew/Pw = 1.48 to 1.55) transverse, depressed, gently rounded at sides in the anterior three-quarters, then sinuate at sides before the long (about one-quarter of the whole pronotal length) obtuse hind angles. Basal margin slightly wider than the anterior. Anterior angles markedly rounded, not protruding from anterior margin, basal margin very slightly arcuate at middle and gently oblique laterally, anterior transverse impression evident, median line superficial, basal transverse impression rather deep, rugose, with square, relatively deep, rugose basal foveae. Laterobasal carina present.
Elytra (El/Ew = 1.42 to 1.47) depressed, with square shoulders and gently rounded sides and apex. Basal elytral margin reaching the basal beginning of stria 5, then extending with the straight portion to the basal beginning of stria 4 typical for the subg. Plataphodes. In few specimens the straight portion is irregular. Elytral striae 1 to 7 complete and deeply sulcate, reaching apex. Scutellar stria long, apical stria connected with stria 5. Three discal elytral pores on each elytron. Anterior and middle ones in the fourth interval, in a fovea interesting intervals 3 and 4 and the median part of the 5; posterior discal pore in the interval 3, in a fovea extending from lateral portion of interval 2 to the median portion of interval 4.
Legs rather short.
Metaventral process unbordered.
Microsculpture. Head and pronotum covered by dense microsculpture in convex, isodiametric sculpticells. Markedly transverse, flat, narrow, irregular and rather superficial sculpticells on the whole elytra, giving a faint iridescence.
Male genitalia (Fig. 4). Median lobe shorter and with apex more stout than in B. farkaci. Endophallus similar to that of B. farkaci.
Distribution. China, Sichuan Province, known only from the type locality, where it lives at altitude of about 3400 meters.
Biology. The specimens were collected on the wet bottom of a sandy stream which at the collecting time was without water. The depth of the stream was from about 2 to 5 metres and its width from about 2 to 10 metres. Around this small valley, showing very steep sandy slopes, was present a relatively intact deciduous forest with natural tree species composition. All big trees were cut down, but the tree species composition was relatively rich.
Affinities. Sister species of B. farkaci (Figs. 1, 3) with which it forms a group of species characterized by the extreme development of the eyes, a peculiar character shown only by these two species in the whole subgenus. In the other characters, e.g. foveate discal elytral pores, elytral striae sulcate and complete, and, of course, basal margin reaching stria 4 with a straight portion, they are similar to most species of the subgenus.
description: Published as part of Toledano, Luca & Nakládal, Oto, 2011, Bembidion (Plataphodes) kmecoi sp. nov. from China, Sichuan (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Bembidiina), pp. 64-68 in Zootaxa 2882 on pages 66-68, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.277588