Soronia expansa Chen & Huang 2021, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Chen, Xiaoxiao
name: Huang, Min
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Nitidulidae
Soronia
Soronia expansa

description: Soronia expansa Chen & Huang, sp. nov.
(Figs. 1–4, 13–14, 23–24, 27–28)
Specimens examined. Holotype, ³ China: Hubei Province, Shennongjia Forestry District, Muyu Town, Shennongding Scenic Area, 200 m downstream of Shennong Valley, 31-07-2019, Xiaoxiao Chen, NWAFU. Paratypes. 4³ 6♀, same data as holotype; China: Hubei Province, Shennongjia Forestry District, Muyu Town, Shennongding Scenic Area, Jinhouling, 28-07-2019, 3³ 3♀, 2210 m a.s.l., 31°28'43"N, 110°18'16"E, 1³, 2370 m, 31°28'34"N, 110°18'31"E, 1³ 1♀, 2380 m, 31°28'33"N, 110°18'31"E, Xiaoxiao Chen, NWAFU; 1³, Yunnan Province, Qujing City, Shizong Country, Xiaofakuai Village, Junzishan, 16-07-2017, Xiaoxiao Chen & Ziyan Hui, NWAFU.
Description (male). Length 4.9 mm, width 2.6 mm. Body oblong, moderately convex dorsally and ventrally. Dorsal surface brownish yellow with head reddish brown, elytra darker where black setae inserted, scutellar shield reddish brown, ventral surface blackish with epipleura light brown, antennae and legs brown. Pronotum with irregular reddish brown stripes, lateral margins of pronotum with black spots medially; elytra with humeral angles, apical 1/3 of elytra suture and explanate margins with symmetrical black spots, posterior margins with irregular transverse line of dark brown spots. Dorsal surface with short, fine white and black setae and sparse bristles, ventral surface with short, fine white and black setae (Figs. 1–2).
Head and pronotal surface densely punctate, punctures larger than eye facet, less than one diameter apart, interspaces smooth. Elytral surface diffused with irregular small punctures, interspaces smooth to microreticular. Prosternum and mesoventrite with sparse, shallow and small punctures, interspaces microreticulate. Metaventrite with sparse and moderately large punctures, 1.0–2.1 diameters apart, interspaces smooth to microreticulate. Abdominal ventrites with moderately large punctures, 0.5–1.1 diameters apart, interspaces microreticulate.
Head disc and orbital part distinctly depressed. Labrum deeply notched medially. Mandibles prominent and projecting from under labrum. Eyes strongly projected, with short setae. Antenna slightly shorter than head width (including eyes); scape somewhat swollen and broadest medially; antennomere 3 longer than pedicel and distinctly shorter than antennomeres 4–5 combined; antennomere 6 equal to 7 and longer than 8; antennal club compact, with length 0.3× total antennal length, terminal antennomere symmetrical, distinctly shorter than previous two antennomeres combined (Fig. 24). Pronotum widest basally, surface with marked depressions; lateral margins strongly explanate and gradually arched, 1.4× antennal club width, anterior margin deeply emarginate, posterior margin nearly straight; anterior angles strongly projected and posterior angles broadly obtuse with distinct apices. Scutellar shield small, broadly triangular. Elytra with lateral margins nearly parallel and less explanate than pronotum; apical angles broadly rounded. Pygidium broadly rounded apically and covered completely by elytra.
Last segment of maxillary palpomere slender, cylindrical with constricted apex. Last segment of labial palpomere subulate with rounded apex. Mentum subtriangular. Antennal grooves deep, posterior margins distinctly convergent. Prosternum slightly raised medially, prosternal process widest behind procoxae and bent to mesoventral surface, apex strongly truncate. Mesoventrite strongly carinate medially. Metaventrite moderately depressed medially. Distance between metacoxae 2× width of mesocoxae and 1.5× width of procoxae. First abdominal ventrite along midline 3× longer than hypopygidium and 1.1× longer than ventrites 2–4 combined, sinuate apically. Epipleuron wide, at base about twice as wide as antennal club.
Protibia quite narrow in proximal half and strongly expanded at distal half, outer apical angle broadly rounded (Fig. 27); mesotibia triangular and inner margin distinctly arched, metatibia slender and inner margins strongly curved; all tarsi simple, weakly expanded, claws simple.
Male genitalia well-sclerotized. Tegmen oblong with length 1.8× width, lateral margins parallel with truncate apex (Fig. 13); median lobe slender, equal to length of tegmen, apex truncate with a notch, laterally slightly sinuate (Fig. 14).
Female. Body lighter; dorsal surface with more prominent black markings; elytra with short black and white setae (Figs. 3–4); protibia simple (Fig. 28); ovipositor well-sclerotized, length 3.5× width, apex rounded with welldeveloped oblique gonostyli apically (Fig. 23).
Diagnosis. This species can be easily distinguished from other species by: protibia of male strongly expanded in distal half; pronotum with sparse pubscence and lateral margin with horizontal dark brown band medially; pronotum and elytra dispersed with small and dense punctures; elytra parallel laterally; tegmen truncate apically, median lobe with a notch apically. It is similar to Soronia minima Grouvelle, 1903, which is known from India, but differs from the latter by its larger body size and pronotum with distinct punctures.
Biology and distribution. All specimens were collected during July from south-central (Hubei Province) and southwestern China (Yunnan Province). In Hubei Province, specimens were on a flowers of a variety of plant families, such as Lamiaceae, Asteraceae and Caprifoliaceae; in Yunnan Province, specimens were collected by light trap.
Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from the Latin participle “ expansa ”, referring to the protibiae of male specimens being obviously expanded.
description: Published as part of Chen, Xiaoxiao & Huang, Min, 2021, New species in the sap beetle genus Soronia Erichson (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae Nitidulinae) from China, pp. 417-425 in Zootaxa 4908 (3) on pages 418-419, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4908.3.6, http://zenodo.org/record/4442150