Parena (Parena) ruficornis Shi & Liang 2023, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Shi, Hongliang
name: Liang, Hongbin
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Carabidae
Parena
Parena ruficornis

description: [43] Parena (Parena) ruficornis sp. nov.
Habitus: Fig. 76F. Gonocoxites of ovipositor: Fig. 11W.
Type locality. the Central African Republic, Lobaye province, La Maboke.
Type material. Holotype (MNHN, Fig. 76F): female, body length= 9.2 mm, board mounted, "LAMABOKE / 2.v. 19 67 ", "MUSEUM PARIS / CENTRAFRIQUE / P. Teocchi" [blue label], " HOLOTYPE / Parena (Parena) / ruficornis sp. nov. / des. Shi H.L. 2022" [red label]. Paratypes (a total of 3 females): 1 female (MNHN), "Muséum Paris / LA MABOKE / Rep. Centrafric.", " 13.IX.1966 / R. Pujol". 1 female (MNHN)," Boukoko / 23-IV-70 ", " Piege / Lumineur " <Fig. 5B>. 1 female (MNHN)," Boukoko / 25-IV-70 " <Fig. 11W>.
Diagnostic characters. Dorsum reddish brown, elytra largely black, suture and apex reddish brown; antennae uniformly reddish brown; tarsi yellow; elytra without microsculpture; elytral apices evidently truncate, outer apical angles well rounded, sutural angles slightly pointed, forming small denticles; gonocoxite II of ovipositor nearly quadrate, apex shallowly emarginate, with very long ensiform setae.
Comparisons. This new species is very similar to other two African species, P. plagiata and P. africana, in elytra pattern (elytra largely dark with narrow red apices). However, the new species is quite different from them in: (1) elytra without microsculpture (with shallow isodiametric microsculpture in the other two species); (2) elytral apices distinctly truncate, apical margin straight near suture, and sutural angles slightly denticulate (Fig. 5B) (apical margin evenly rounded, sutural angles not pointed in the latter two species, Fig. 5A); and (3) antennomere 1 with the ventroapical seta only slightly shorter than the dorsoapical seta (Fig. 1D) (the ventroapical seta less than half length of the dorsoapical seta in the other two species, Fig. 1C). These three characters are considered to be important and support placing these three species in different species groups. (see discussions for P. scutata species group). The new species is sympatric with P. africana in the Central African Republic. In addition to the differences mentioned above, these two species are also different in having (1) first elytral interval completely reddish brown in P. ruficornis sp. n., but largely black in P. africana; (2) pronotum with lateral margins hardly sinuate before posterior angles in P. ruficornis sp. n., but more evidently sinuate in P. africana; and (3) in P. ruficornis sp. n., gonocoxite II of ovipositor nearly quadrate with very long ensiform setae (much longer than half of the basal width), but in P. africana, gonocoxite II of ovipositor nearly subulate (strongly pointed near inner angle) with relatively short ensiform setae (less than half of the basal width).
Despite the different elytra pattern, P. ruficornis sp. n. is considered to be close to P. scutata and P. valeriae based on similarities in the shape of the elytral apices, elytra microsculpture, and setae on antennomere 1. The new species is different from P. scutata in: (1) P. scutata has seven apical antennomeres nearly black and basal ones reddish brown, but in the new species the antennae are entirely reddish brown; (2) in P. scutata, the elytral disc has a large red central patch which occupies the inner four or five intervals, but in the new species the elytra have no such red patch, instead just a narrow red stripe occupying the full length of interval 1; (3) in P. ruficornis sp. n., the elytral apices are more distinctly truncate and the sutural angles are more strongly pointed. The new species differs from P. valeriae in having slightly shallower elytra striae, smaller elytral sutural denticles, and a quite different elytra pattern. The above differences, especially for the color of antennomeres and shape of the elytral apices, are consistently useful for distinguishing different species in other groups of the genus. Therefore, we are confident that the new species is different from all related species, although the males of P. scutata and P. ruficornis sp. n. are both unknown at present.
Description. Body length 9.2–9.7 mm, median-sized for the genus, subconvex. Color. Dorsum reddish brown; elytra disc largely black, the apical eighth, entire length of first interval, lateral margins, and basal area near scutellum reddish brown; scutellum reddish brown; antennae entirely reddish brown; venter reddish brown; all legs uniformly reddish brown. Head with sparse fine punctures on vertex; frons with shallow V-shaped depression; eyes large and strongly prominent; tempora very short, abruptly narrowed behind eyes, length of tempora plus neck-constriction approximately one-third of diameter of eye; postgenae without suborbital setae. Antennae extended beyond pronotal base by length of one antennomere; antennomere 1 with two apical setae close to each other, the ventral one slightly shorter than the dorsal one, longer than antennomere 2. Labrum quadrate, apex weakly convex; mandibles short and wide; mentum with a pair of long median setae, lateral lobes short and wide, inner margins strongly oblique, outer margins completely rounded, epilobes wide. Pronotum nearly quadrate, PW/PL = 1.43–1.47, slightly wider than head, PW/HW = 1.02–1.06, widest at anterior fourth, lateral explanations slightly wide; lateral margins rounded at anterior half and then gradually narrowed to base, slightly sinuate before posterior angles; posterior angles rounded obtuse; anterior margin nearly straight at middle; posterior margin weakly oblique at sides; disc convex, with fine punctures, without transverse wrinkles. Elytra weakly convex, slightly dilated to apex, surface without microsculpture. Striae very shallowly incised, with rows of fine punctures; intervals faintly convex, with very sparse fine punctures. Discal depressions shallow and large, nearly triangular, occupying intervals 3 to 6, greatest length near to one-third of elytra length; lateral weakly depressed near anterior third. Elytral basal pore present on base of stria 1; interval 3 usually with three discal setigerous pores: first one slightly behind level of scutellar apex, adjacent to stria 3; second one slightly before middle, adjacent to stria 3 or isolated; third one on apical eighth, adjacent to stria 2; on left elytron of one paratype, an additional pore present between the second and third pores; interval 9 with 24–26 umbilicular pores. Apical truncation evident, outer apical angles well rounded, apical margin gradually straighten to sutural angles, sutural angles slightly pointed, forming small denticles. Venter. Apex of abdominal sternite VII straight, with two setae on each side in females. Female genitalia. Gonocoxite II of ovipositor nearly quadrate, length subequal to basal width, apex shallowly emarginate, inner apical angle not pointed; apical margin with six to eight long ensiform setae, all longer than half of basal width, two or three of them grouped on inner and outer apical angles respectively, the remainder arranged near middle of apical margin.
Distribution (Map 13, magenta). Only known form the Lobaye Province, the Central African Republic.
Etymology. The scientific name is derived from two Latin roots: " ruf- " meaning red and " corn -" referring to the antennae. It refers to the uniformly reddish brown antennae, which distinguish the new species from related species.
description: Published as part of Shi, Hongliang & Liang, Hongbin, 2023, Taxonomic revision of the genus Parena Motschulsky, 1860 (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Lebiini, Metallicina), pp. 1-144 in Zootaxa 5286 (1) on pages 132-133, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5286.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/7958937