Contributions to the Knowledge of the Quediina (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Staphylinini) of China : Part 14. Quelaestrygon puetzi gen. nov., sp. nov. from Sichuan

8 Pages·1999·9.2 MB·English

by  Smetana, A

Elyt,-a,Tolkyo,27(1):241-248,May15,l999
ContributionstotheKnowledgeoftheQuediina
(Coleoptera,Staphylinidae,Staphylinini)ofChina
Part i4. Quelaestrygonpuetzigen nov.,spnov fromSichuan
AleS- SMETANA
AgricultureandAgri-FoodCanada,ResearchBranch,
CentralExperimentalFarm,K.W.NeatbyBldg.,
Ottawa,OntarioKIAOC6,Canada
Abstract Anewgenusandspecies,Qtlelaestrygonpuetz1isdescribedfromspec-
imenstakenontwodifferentmountainrangesinSichuan,China.Important featuresofthe
newtaxonarediscussedanditstaxonomicpositionandrelationshipswithinthesubtribe
Quediinaarebrieflydiscussed.
Introduction
Sometimeago,avery large,conspicuousspecimenofastaphylinid fromthe
GonggaShanmassive,suspectedtobelongtothesubtribeQuediina,wassubmittedfor
study by H. ScHILLHAMMER, Naturhistorisches Museum, Wien, Austria. Somewhat
later,anotherspecimenofthesametaxon,collectedinsouthernSichuanbecameavail-
able forstudy.Closerstudyofthesetwospecimensconfirmedwhatwassuspected
fromthefirstmoment,namelythatthespecimensindeedrepresentedanewspeciesof
aunique,undescribedgenusoftheQuediina.
Inthefollowing,thenewtaxonisdescribedandillustrated,anditstaxonomicpo-
sitionandrelationshipswithin the tribearebrie?ydiscussed. Bothspecimensat hand
arefemales.ItishopedthatfuturecollectinginChinawillalsosoonproducemalesof
thisimpressivememberofthissubtribe,andperhapsalsorevealatleastsomeinforma-
tionabout itshabits.
Quelaestrygo,lgen nov.
(Figs.1-4)
Typespecies:Quelaeslrygonpuetzispnov.
Description. Body formverylarge,elongate,robust, ingeneralrather flat;head
andpronotummostly glabrous,withonlya fewsetiferouspunctures;elytralacking
usualpunctation;appendageslong(Fig.1).
Head(Fig 2)onlygentlyconvex,with fronsslightlyflattened,ingeneralwitha
Microsaurus-type chaetotaxy (for details see specific description); labrum short,

ContributionstotheQuediinaofChina,14 243
slender, elongate, all segmentsbearingonly usual macrosetae, segment 2markedly
curve almosttwiceaslongassegment3,lastsegmentmuchnarrowerthansegment2
atapexand considerably longer,elongate-fusiform. Labiumwith ligulabroadly, ob-
tusely triangularlyemarginateapically;labialpalpusslender, first twosegmentssub-
equal in length, bearingonlymacrosetae (segment 2with threelong,strong setae
medioapica11y),lastsegmentelongatefusiform,almosttwiceaslongassegment2,de-
voidofanysetae;parag1ossaeprominent,verynarrowandelongate.Mentumwithone
moderatelylongandstrongapicalsetaateachside,withslightimpressionateachlat-
eralmargin.Submentummarkedlydeclivous,withapairofverylongsetae,andwith
several muchshortersetae. Gularsuturescontiguous formost of their length.Post-
mandibularridgel) fullydevelopedasafinecarina,extending from behind base of
mandibleposteriadtowardinfraorbitalpunctureandthencurvingdorsadbehindeyeto
temporalpuncture. Infraorbital ridgeweakly developed,apparentasavery fineline,
extendinganteriadtowardpostmandibularridgeandbecomingobsoletebeforereach-
ingit(Fig4).Antennalongandslender,withsegments1-4devoidofdenseappressed
pubescence(Fig 3);segment1strong,aboutaslongastwo followingsegmentscom-
bined,segment2markedlyshorter thansegment3(ratio0.66),segments4-7longer
thanwide,graduallybecomingshorter,segments8-10aboutaslongaswide,lastseg-
mentaboutaslongastwoprecedingsegmentscombined.
Pronotumdistinctly,narrowlygroovedlaterally, lateralgroovegraduallybecom-
ing narrower posteriad, tomatch quitenarrowbasal groove; lateral margins each
slightlysinuatebeforeposteriormargin;dorsalrowsofpuncturesmissing,largelateral
puncturesituateddirectly inlateralgroove;pronota1hypomeronofatypicalquediine
type,i.e.strongly in exedin frontofanterior anglesofpronotum, thereforemeeting
prosternum at a sharp angle, with both sclerites separatedby notopleura1suture;
pronota1epimeronlarge,sclerotized,triangular.
Prosternum large, withmedial longitudinal keel weakly deve1ope withapex
sharply protrudingbetweenbases of front coxae; furcasternumshort, strongly de-
clivous. Mesosternum rather short, fiat, with long, sharply triangular intercoxa1
process,middlecoxaeonlynarrowlyseparated.Metasternumlarge,ratherconvex,ap-
preciablyprotrudingbetweenhindcoxae.
Legslong,slender.Frontcoxaelarge,elongate-oval,eachwithtwodistinctcari-
naeseparating thepunctateandsetoseventral face from theglabrous ventrolateral
face.Medioapica1spurofalltibiaestrongandlong,outer facesofalltibiaedistinctly
spinose, lessdistinctlysoonhindtibiae; lastsegmentofhindtarsusrelativelyshort,
somewhatshorter than two followingsegmentscombined;empodia1setaebetween
clawsofalltarsipresent,butveryfineandshort.
1) Thisstructurewasdiscussedunder the name(cid:1)mandibular ridge(cid:2) inone ofmypreviouspapers
(SMETANA,1977, l80).Thetermpostmandibularridgeismoreproper;itisdiscussedindetailinanupcom-
ingpaperdealingwiththenorth-temperatetaxaassociatedwiththegenusSlaphylinus(sensulate),and
withthesubtribesofthetribeStaphylinini.

ContributionstotheQuediinaofChina,14 245
onthepronotum;andthesurfacesculptureoftheelytra,lackingtheusualpunctation
andpubescence.
Quelaestrygon is theonly genus within theQuediinathat displays acomplete
postmandibularridge,developedinawaythatistypical formostmembersofthesub-
tribeXanthopygina,combinedwiththepresenceofaweaklydeve1ope linear infraor-
bital ridge.Thesimultaneouspresenceofpostmandibularandinfraorbital ridgeswas
so far knownonly insomemembersofthesubtribeXanthopygina(thosediffersub-
Figs. 6-7. gtlelaestrlgonptle(cid:1)t1:6,tergite10offemalegenitalsegment;7,secondgonocoxiteof female
genitalsegment.
246 AleS'SMETANA
stantialiybythedifferentdevelopmentofthepronota1hypomeron, includingtheab-
sence,inXanthopygina,ofthenotopleura1suture).A postmandibularridgeoccurs in
membersofsomeAfrotropica1genera,suchasGlyphesthusKRAATz,1858orMoeo-
cerusFAUvEL,1899thatareatpresentassignedtoQuediina.However,basedonsev-
eralcharacters,thesegeneradonotbelongtoQuediina;theybotharehighlydifferenti-
atedmembersofPhi1onthina.ThefrontcoxaeofQuelaestrygonpuetziaredeveloped
inasimilar wayas thoseof themembersof thegeneraStrouhaliumScHEERPELTz,
1962,HetnziaKoRGE,1971andBeeriaHATCH,1957(thefirsttwogeneraarepartially
sympatricwithQ1lelaestrygon, thethirdgenusoccursonthePacificCoastofNorth
America,seeSMETANA,1977,1993);however, thismaybeattributedtothenotable
lengthofthelegsofallmembersofthesetaxa,andthereforeamatterofconvergence,
sincethethreeabovegeneradiffer fromQuelaestrygoninmanyothercharacters(on
themandiblesandantennae,theabsenceofthepostmandibularridge, thechaetotaxy
ofthepronotum,thesurfacesculptureoftheelytra,etc.)andareclearlynotrelatedto
lt.Quelaestrygonisatpresenttheonlymemberofthesubtribewithfirst fourantennal
segmentslacking thedenseappressedpubescence, theusual number isthree, only
membersofthegenusBo(cid:1)ogyrusCHEvRoLAT,1842lackthispubescenceonfirstfive
antennalsegments.
Etymo1o1gy. Thegenericepithet isacombinationof theexistinggenericname
Quediusandthatofthesingular formof(cid:2)Laeslrygones'',whowerethesavagecanni-
balisticgiantsofHOMER,residingina(cid:2)remotewesterncountry(cid:3). The namedenotes
theassignmentofthisgenustothesubtribeQuediina,andreferstothelargesizeand
(cid:2)intimidating(cid:3)habitusofthesinglespeciesofthegenus.
Quelaestrygonpuetzisp
nov.
(Figs5-7)
Description. Piceous,lateralmarginofpronotumnarrowlyrufo-brunneous,ab-
domenfromthirdvisibletergitebecominggraduallypalertowardapex,apexincluding
genitalsegmentrufotestaceous; abdomenmarkedlyiridescent.Mouthpartstestaceo-
brunneous,antennaepiceous,legsdarkbrownishtopartiallypiceous(especiallymid-
dleandhindfemora).Headofroundedquadrangularshape,aboutaslongaswide,not
appreciably widenedbehindeyes, withposterioranglesbroadly rounded; eyesvery
small and flat, not protruding from lateral contoursofhead, tempera considerably
longer thaneyesseen fromabove(ratio2.33);noadditionalsetiferouspuncturesbe-
tweenanterior frontalpunctures;posterior frontalpuncturesituatedclosetoposterio-
media1marginofeye,separatedfromitbydistanceaboutequaltotwotothreediame-
tersofpuncture,oneminutepuncture(doubledunilaterallyinonespecimen)between
itandposteriormarginofeye,onecoarsepuncturelateradofposterior frontalpunc-
ture; temporal puncturesituateddistinctly closer toposteriormarginofhead than to
posteriormarginofeye;onepunctureatposteriormarginofheadoneachside; tem-
peraimpunctate;surfaceofheadwith very fineandonlymoderatelydensemicro-
ContributionstotheQuediinaofChina,14 247
sculptureofsuperficial,(cid:1)scratch-like(cid:2)short lines,directedmostlyobliquelyanterio-
mediadandwithintermixedverysparsemicropunctulation.Pronotumslightlysinuate
posteriorly in frontofbasalmargin,atwidestpointindistinctlywider thanlong(ratio
1.1),moderately transverselyconvexanteriorly;sublatera1rowseachwithtwopunc-
tures,posteriorpuncturesituatedslightlyin front, orat level of largelateralpuncture;
surfacewithmicrosculpturesimilartothatonhea butstillsomewhatfiner,withshort
linesdirectedmostlyanterio-laterad.Scutellum impunctate,butwitha fewrudimen-
tary transverserugaemedic-basally,withexcessivelyfineanddensemicrosculptureof
mostlytransversestriae.Elytra(Fig 5)relativelylong,atbasesomewhatnarrowerthan
pronotumatwidestpoint,notappreciablydilatedposteriad,atsutureindistinctly(ratio
1.1), atsidesappreciably longer (ratio 128) thanpronotumat midline; eachelytron
withsmalloblongimpressionjustmediadofposterio-latera1angle;medialportionof
eachelytron(except fornarrowstripealongsuture)finely,leather-likerugu1ose,with
severalnarrow,deeper rugaenearsidesofscutellum,directedobliquelyposterio-lat-
erad; entire surface of each elytron with complex microsculpture, consisting of
(cid:1)scratch-like(cid:2)shortlinessimilar tothoseonheadandpronotum,directedmoreorless
straightposteriad, an inaddition, withpuncture-likeimpressionsmost noticeable
(anddense)on leather-likerugu1oseportionofsurfaceof elytron; eachelytronwith
twolargepuncturesatsamelevelat aboutposterior thirdof lengthofelytron,each
bearingvery longseta,andwithsomesmallerpunctures(bearingshortsetae)atlevel
ofapex ofscutellum, alongsuture,aroundthetwolargepunctures,andnear apical
margin.Wings fullydeveloped.Abdomenwith tergite7(fifthvisible)bearingdistinct
whitishapicalseamofpalisadefringe;tergiteswithfine,moderatelydense,evenlydis-
persedpunctationbecominggraduallysomewhatsparsertowardapexofabdomen;sur-
facebetweenpunctureswithexcessively fineanddensemicrosculptureoftransverse
striae.
Female. First foursegmentsoffronttarsusmarkedlydilated,sub-bi1obe each
denselycoveredwithmodifiedpalesetaeventrally;segmenttwoaboutaswideasapex
of tibia; segment four narrower than preceding two segments. Sternite 8 with one
strongandverylongsetaoneachside;tergite8inconspicuously,arcuatelyemarginate
medic-apically.Genitalsegmentwithstylioftergite9moderatelylong,copiouslyse-
tose;secondgonocoxitesmoderatelylong,slightlynarrowedapicad,eachwithminute
stylusbearingonelong,strongseta(Fig 7); tergite10wide,withsubacuteapex,api-
calportionsomewhatpigmented,withnumeroussetae(Fig 6).
Length:20.0mm(abdomenslightlyextended).
T),pcmaterial. Holotype(female):(cid:1)CHINASichuan,DaxueShanGonggaShan
Mt., Hailuogou Glacier Park way from Camp II to Camp I, 2620m-1940m,
31.V.l997,leg.A.PUTz(cid:2).IntheSMETANAcollection,Ottawa,Canada.
Paratype(female): China: [Sichuan]:SSichuan, 15kmNWMull (Bowa),mixed
forest, cca3100m, 27.55N 101.19E, 30.VI 98, J. TURNA. In the collection of the
NaturhistorischesMuseum,Wien,Austria.
Ceog''ap/l!catdfsfrlOilflo ilefaesfl)'gon llefz1isatpresent ewn from two
.
248 AleS~SMETANA
ratherdistantlocalitiesintheprovinceofSichuan,oneintheGonggaShanmassivein
westernSichuan,andanotherinsouthernSichuaninJinpingShan.
Bionomics. Nothing isknownabout thehabitat requirementsof thisspecies.
Theholotype fromGonggaShanwastakenwhenitcameflyingand landedonthe
clothingofthecollector.
Etymology. Patronymic,thisspectacularspecieswasnamedinhonorofitsfirst
collector, Mr.AndreasPuTz,Eisenhiittenstadt,Germany, in recognitionofhisout-
standingcontributiontotheknowledgeoftheChinesebeetlefaunathroughhisnumer-
ousexplorationsinthatcountry.
Acknowledgments
Theoriginal draft of thispaperwasreviewedby twoofmy colleagues,Dr.Y.
BoUsQUETandMr.A.DAVIES.Theircommentseventually ledtotheimprovementof
thepaper.Dr.H.GouLETkindlyprovidedthephotographs;theywerecomputergener-
ate usingaSonyDXC-950videocamera,digitizedwithSnappy(cid:66),andenhancedand
modifiedbyPhotoshop3.0software.Mr.GoSATocarefullyfinishedthelinedrawings
andmountedthephotographs.Mr.A.PUTzkindlyallowedmetokeeptheholotypein
mycollection.Theirhelpisgratefullyacknowledged
(cid:28) (cid:26)
A.SMETANA : (cid:2)(cid:9)(cid:20)(cid:60)(cid:64)(cid:63)(cid:61)(cid:62)(cid:61)(cid:56)(cid:57)(cid:58) (cid:19)(cid:48)(cid:33)(cid:41)(cid:53)(cid:23)(cid:29). 14. (cid:8)(cid:14)(cid:22)(cid:20)(cid:60)(cid:64)(cid:63)(cid:61)(cid:62)(cid:61)(cid:56)(cid:57)
(cid:58)(cid:49)(cid:18)(cid:12)(cid:18)(cid:25)Quelaestrygonpuetz,. - (cid:2)(cid:9)(cid:8)(cid:14)(cid:22)(cid:49)2(cid:56)(cid:17)(cid:49)(cid:13)(cid:10)(cid:45)(cid:21)(cid:29)(cid:39)(cid:54)(cid:42)(cid:15)(cid:11)(cid:47)(cid:59)(cid:64)(cid:63)(cid:61)
(cid:62)(cid:61)(cid:56)(cid:57)(cid:58)(cid:49)(cid:1)(cid:25)(cid:55)(cid:18)(cid:12)(cid:18)(cid:25)(cid:46)(cid:31)(cid:52), Q,,elaestrygonpuetz,(cid:46)(cid:7)(cid:6)(cid:30)(cid:16), (cid:40)(cid:42). (cid:51)(cid:42), (cid:60)(cid:64)(cid:63)(cid:61)(cid:62)
(cid:61)(cid:56)(cid:57)(cid:58)(cid:3)(cid:19)(cid:48)(cid:36)(cid:37)(cid:53)(cid:38)(cid:49)(cid:18)(cid:12)(cid:49)(cid:34)(cid:27)(cid:33)(cid:4)(cid:48)(cid:43)(cid:35)(cid:44)(cid:24)(cid:29)(cid:55)(cid:32)(cid:50)(cid:42).
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