Miobdelus motuoensis He and Zhou 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: He, Liang
name: Zhou, Hong-Zhang
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Staphylinidae
Miobdelus
Miobdelus motuoensis

description: Miobdelus motuoensis He and Zhou, sp. nov.
(Figs. 1–1, 1–2)
Type locality: CHINA: Xizang: Motuo County.
Type material. Holotype male, CHINA: Xizang: Motuo County, Beibeng Town, 17 km in the road of Gelin Village, 29.2337°N, 95.1771°E, 1408.01m, light trap, 2021.VI.11 N1, IOZ (E)2562097, coll. Hong Liu & Man Qin (IZ-CAS).
Measurements. Body length: 20.6 mm. CL: 1.10; EL: 3.67; ELS: 2.01; EW: 3.83; HL: 2.93; HW: 3.31; PO: 0.99; PL: 3.58; PW: 3.15.
Description. Relatively large sized species among members of Miobdelus. Body elongate, almost totally black; head, pronotum and elytra totally black; visible abdominal tergites black; apical half of visible abdomen tergites 2 and 3 each with one inconspicuous black tomentose patch; middle portion of visible abdominal tergite 4 covered with a large black tomentose patch, with two golden-yellowish tomentose patches on lateral sides; almost entire surface of visible abdominal tergite 5 covered with pale black pubescence; maxillary and labial palpi black to dark brunneous; antennae with segments 1 to 3 dark brown; segments 4–7 reddish-brown, with basal and apical portion distinctly paler, gradually becoming darker towards apex; segments 8 to 11 yellowish-white; legs black, with tarsus distinctly paler, tending to be reddish-brown.
Head of rounded quadrangular shape, with obtusely rounded posterior angles, slightly wider than long (ratio 1.12); eyes relatively larger and more protruding than most Miobdelus, slightly longer than tempora (ratio 1.11) in dorsal view; punctation and pubescence on dorsal surface of head dense, punctation robust, gradually becoming sparser toward clypeus, with shiny interspaces; interspaces without microsculpture. Y-shaped epicranial line almost totally disappeared on head disc. Antennae long and slender, segment 3 longer than segment 2 (ratio 1.35), segments 4 to 7 distinctly longer than wide, segments 8 to 10 about as long as wide to vaguely wider than long, last segment distinctly wider than segment 10. Pronotum longer than wide (ratio 1.13), lateral sides almost parallel, slightly curved, gradually narrowed towards widely rounded posterior angles; narrow marginal groove disappearing downwards at posterior fourth of pronotal length; impunctate midline almost totally disappeared, only vaguely present on posterior fifth of pronotal disc; punctation and pubescence on disc finer and denser than that on dorsal surface of head, interspace without microsculpture. Scutellum finely punctate and setose on entire surface, appearing very dull. Elytra moderately long, elytral length distinctly shorter (ratio 0.56) along suture but vaguely longer (ratio 1.02) along sides than pronotum along midline, slightly dilated posteriad; elytral punctation fine and dense, granulose. Wings fully developed. Abdomen elongate, with almost parallel lateral sides, gradually narrowed posteriorly; all visible abdominal tergites finely and densely punctate and pubescent; posterior margin of visible tergite 5 without narrow seam of palisade setae.
Male. Abdominal sternite 8 narrow, with narrow and deep, obtuse medioapical emargination (Fig. 1–2 F).
Sternite 9 narrow and elongate, with markedly shallow apical emargination; tapered basal portion wide, markedly elongate; apical half very densely setose (Figs. 1–1 D, 1–2 A). Tergite 10 elongate, shovel-like, sparsely setose (Figs. 1–1 E, 1–2 E). Aedeagus elongate, apical portion with a pair of vertical lip like protrusion (Figs. 1–1 B, C, 1–2 B–D); apical portion of paramere elongate and simple, without sensory peg setae, shaped as in Fig. 1–2 G.
Female. Unknown.
Distribution. Miobdelus motuoensis He and Zhou, sp. nov. is at present known only from the type locality.
Notes. Miobdelus motuoensis He and Zhou, sp. nov. can be easily distinguished from other congeners by the uniquely shaped aedeagus, and by the white apical segments of antennae. Miobdelus motuoensis He and Zhou, sp. nov. is most similar to Miobdelus chrysochromatus He and Zhou 2018; both species have pale apical segments of antennae, and they both have elongate apical portion of paramere, lacking sensory peg setae. However, they can be easily distinguished from each other: Miobdelus motuoensis He and Zhou, sp. nov. is much duller, and not decorated with any bright pubescence on elytra and abdominal tergites like M. chrysochromatus (except on visible abdominal tergite 4); the apical antennae segments of M. chrysochromatus are gradually becoming paler towards apex, while in M. motuoensis He and Zhou, sp. nov. antennal segments 8 to 11 are distinctly paler than other segments; and the median lobe of the aedeagus is completely differently shaped in these two species.
Etymology. The species epithet is derived from the Chinese name of the type locality in China, Xizang, Motuo.
description: Published as part of He, Liang & Zhou, Hong-Zhang, 2024, A new species of Miobdelus Sharp and two new records of Eucibdelus Kraatz (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Staphylininae) from China, pp. 91-100 in Zootaxa 5514 (1) on pages 92-95, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5514.1.6, http://zenodo.org/record/13849492