© Biologiezentrum Linz, download www.zobodat.at Linzer biol. Beitr. 47/1 63-71 31.7.2015 A revision of Amarochara THOMSON of the Holarctic region V. A new species from China, a new combination, the male of A. caeca ASSING, and additional records (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae: Aleocharini) Volker ASSING Abstract: Amarochara daweiana nov.sp. (China: Yunnan) is described and illustrated. Additional records of species of Amarochara THOMSON, 1858 are reported from the Palaearctic region, among them several first records from China and Laos. The previously unknown male sexual characters of A. caeca ASSING, 2002 are described and illustrated. A new combination is established: Ocalea nepalica (PACE, 2013) nov.comb. (ex Amarochara). The genus is now represented in the Holarctic region by 31 species. K ey w ords: Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae, Aleocharini, Amarochara, Holarctic region, Palaearctic region, China, taxonomy, new species, new combination, new records. Introduction According to a recent revision (ASSING 2002a, 2002b, 2007, 2010), the genus Amarochara THOMSON, 1858 was previously represented in the Holarctic region by 30 valid species, three of them of doubtful status and identity. Twelve of these species (two doubtful) are confined to the West Palaearctic, thirteen (one doubtful) to the East Palaearctic, one has a trans-Palaearctic distribution, and four are distributed in the Nearctic region. An updated key to the species of the Holarctic region was provided by ASSING (2010). In the meantime, an additional species from Nepal was described by PACE (2013). Moreover, based on molecular evidence, Amarochara was recently moved from the Oxypodini to the Aleocharini (OSSWALD et al. 2013). Since the latest contribution to the revision (ASSING 2010), more material of Amarochara has been examined from the Palaearctic region, which, aside from several new country records, also included the previously unknown male of A. caeca ASSING, 2002 and an undescribed species from China. © Biologiezentrum Linz, download www.zobodat.at 64 Material, methods, and measurements The material treated in this study is deposited in the following collections: NHMB.............Naturhistorisches Museum Basel (M. Geiser, I. Zürcher) cAss..................author´s private collection cSch..................private collection Michael Schülke, Berlin The morphological studies were conducted using a Stemi SV 11 microscope (Zeiss Ger- many) and a Jenalab compound microscope (Carl Zeiss Jena). The images of the forebody, the antenna, and the abdomen were created using a photographing device constructed by Arved Lompe (Nienburg) and CombineZ software. A digital camera (Nikon Coolpix 995) was used for the remaining photographs. The maps were created using MapCreator 2.0 (primap) software. Body length was measured from the mandibles to the apex of the abdomen, the length of the forebody from the mandibles to the posterior margin of the elytra, the length of the elytra along the suture from the apex of the scutellum to the posterior margin of the elytra, and the length of the median lobe of the aedeagus from the apex of the ventral process to the base of the aedeagal capsule. The "parameral" side (i.e., the side where the sperm duct enters) is referred to as the ventral, the opposite side as the dorsal aspect. Additional records and descriptions Amarochara cribripennis (MULSANT & REY, 1875) Material examined: Italy: 1(cid:2), Sardegna, Nuoro, Montarbu, 39°50'N, 9°22'E, 1020 m, 28.III.2013, leg. Meybohm (cAss). Comment : This species is endemic to Corsica and Sardinia (ASSING 2002a). Amarochara siculifera ASSING, 2002 Material examined: Turkey: 1(cid:3), Adana, Seyhan Dam lake, 18.IV.2013, leg. Rossi (cAss). Co mmen t : The original description is based on few specimens from central southern Anatolia and Lebanon (ASSING 2002a). Amarochara caeca ASSING, 2002 (Figs 1-4) Material examined: Tunisia: 1(cid:3), Tunisia, Béja, mountain pass 11 km WNW Teboursuk, 36°30'N, 9°10'E, 700 m, under stone, 1.III.2012, leg. Hetzel (cAss). Comment : The original description is based on two females from Tunisia, one from Aïn Draham and one from Le Kef (ASSING 2002a). The previously unknown male sexual characters are as follows: sternite VIII strongly convex posteriorly, not pointed; median lobe of aedeagus (Figs 1-2) 0.5 mm long, base of ventral process with conspicuous short median lamella, crista proximalis pronounced; paramere (Figs 3-4) with short and apically somewhat truncate apical lobe. © Biologiezentrum Linz, download www.zobodat.at 65 Figs 1-4: Amarochara caeca ASSING: (1-2) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view; (3) paramere; (4) apical lobe of paramere. Scale bars: 1-3: 0.2 mm; 4: 0.1 mm. Amarochara sororcula CAMERON, 1939 Comment : The confirmed distribution of this species is confined to North India. It was recently reported also from China (Shaanxi) based on one female by PACE (2012). However, a reliable identification of A. sororcula is possible only based on the male sexual characters, so that the identity of the female is uncertain. The record most likely refers to A. wrasei. Amarochara heterogaster CAMERON, 1939 Comment : The confirmed distribution of A. heterogaster is confined to the Himalaya (North India, Nepal). It was recently reported also from Taiwan by PACE (2010), but these records require revision. It does not seem unlikely that they in fact refer to A. megalops. Amarochara wrasei ASSING, 2002 (Map 1) Material examined: China: G a n s u : 2(cid:2)(cid:2), mountains 38 km SE Longnan, 33°11'N, 105°14'E, 2030 m, N-slope with scree, moss, fern roots, and litter sifted, 31.VII.2012, leg. Schülke (cSch). Shaanxi: 1(cid:2), Qinling Shan, 52 km SSW Zhouzhi, 33°44'N, 107°58'E, 1900 m, stream valley with mixed forest, litter and soil sifted, 25.VII.2012, leg. Wrase (cAss). Y u n n a n : 1(cid:3), E Kunming, Xiaobailong Forest Park, 24°56'N, 103°05'E, 2110 m, secondary pine forest, pine litter and litter at trail margin sifted, 10.VIII.2014, leg. Schülke (cAss); 1(cid:2), NE © Biologiezentrum Linz, download www.zobodat.at 66 Kunming, 25°09'N, 102°54'E, 2280 m, secondary pine forest with scattered old alder, litter sifted, 11.VIII.2014, leg. Assing (cAss); 2(cid:2)(cid:2), NE Kunming, 25°09'N, 102°54'E, 2320 m, mixed forest with alder, oak, and pine, litter and mushrooms sifted, 13.VIII.2014, leg. Assing & Schülke (cAss, cSch). Laos: 3 exs., Phongsaly province, Phongsaly env., 21°41'N, 102°06'E, ca. 1500 m, 6.- 17.V.2004, leg. Kubáň (NHMB, cAss); 4 exs., same data, but 21°41-42'N, 102°06-08'E, 28.V.- 20.VI.2003 (NHMB, cAss). Comment : Amarochara wrasei was previously known from the Chinese provinces Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Yunnan (ASSING 2002a, 2010), where it is evidently the most common species of the genus. The above specimens from Laos represent a new country record. The currently known distribution is illustrated in Map 1. Map 1: Distribution of Amarochara wrasei (black circles) and A. daweiana (star) in the East Palaearctic region. Amarochara megalops ASSING, 2002 (Map 2) Material examined: China: Y u n n a n : 1 ex., E Kunming, Xiaobailong Forest Park, 24°56'N, 103°05'E, 2110 m, secondary pine forest, pine litter and litter at trail margin sifted, 10.VIII.2014, leg. Schülke (cSch); 1(cid:3), NE Kunming, 25°09'N, 102°54'E, 2280 m, secondary pine forest with scattered old alder, litter sifted, 11.VIII.2014, leg. Schülke (cAss). Laos: 5 exs., Phongsaly province, Phongsaly env., 21°41-42'N, 102°06-08'E, ca. 1500 m, 28.V.-20.VI.2003, leg. Kubáň (NHMB, cAss). Co mmen t : This species was previously known only from Nepal and Taiwan (ASSING 2002a, 2010). The above specimens represent the first records from China and Laos. Some of them were collected together with A. wrasei. The currently known distribution is illustrated in Map 2. © Biologiezentrum Linz, download www.zobodat.at 67 Map 2: Distribution of Amarochara megalops in the East Palaearctic region. Amarochara daweiana nov.sp. (Figs 5-11, Map 1) T y p e material: Holotype (cid:3): "CHINA [22a] - Yunnan, SE Pingbian, primary forest, 22°54'31''N, 103°41'44''E, 2100 m, 28.VIII.2014, V. Assing / Holotypus (cid:3) Amarochara daweiana sp.n. det. V. Assing 2014" (cAss). Paratypes: 3(cid:3)(cid:3): "CHINA: Yunnan, SE Pingbian, 22°54'31''N, 103°41'44''E, 2100 m, primary subtropical broad-leaved forest, litter sifted, 27.VIII.2014, leg. M. Schülke [CH14-22]" (cSch, cAss). E t y mol ogy : The specific epithet is derived from Dawei Shan, the name of the mountain where the type locality is situated. Descr i pt i on: Body length 3.7-4.3 mm; length of forebody 1.6-1.8 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 5. Coloration: body blackish-brown; legs dark-reddish; antennae blackish- brown, with antennomeres I-III dark reddish-brown. Head (Fig. 6) posteriorly without distinct neck, approximately as wide as long and of subquadrate shape, lateral contours subparallel in dorsal view; punctation very fine; interstices with very weak traces of microsculpture; eyes moderately long, shorter than the distance from posterior margin of eye to posterior constriction of head; genal carina fine, in lateral view visible only posteriorly. Maxillary palpus moderately slender, preapical palpomere approximately 2.5 times as long as wide. Antennae massive, approximately 1.1 mm long; antennomere I less than twice as long as wide and with pronounced dorso-apical furrow; II shorter and more slender than I, little more than 1.5 times as long as broad; III shorter than II, distinctly coniform, and approximately 1.5 times as long as wide; IV disc-shaped, approximately 3 times as wide as long; V-X slightly wider than IV, of subequal width, of gradually increasing length, and decreasingly transverse, X less than twice as wide as long; XI of ovoid shape and almost as long as the combined length of VIII-X (Fig. 7). © Biologiezentrum Linz, download www.zobodat.at 68 Figs 5-11: Amarochara daweiana nov.sp.: (5) habitus; (6) forebody; (7) antenna; (8) abdomen; (9) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; (10) apical portion of median lobe of aedeagus in ventral view; (11) paramere. Scale bars: 5, 8: 1.0 mm; 6-7: 0.5 mm; 9-11: 0.1 mm. Pronotum (Fig. 6) relatively large, approximately 1.15 times as wide as long and 1.5 times as wide as head, posterior angles weakly marked; lateral margins weakly convex, maximal width approximately in the middle; punctation moderately dense and very fine; interstices with very indistinct traces of microsculpture; pubescence depressed. © Biologiezentrum Linz, download www.zobodat.at 69 Fig. 12: Type locality of Amarochara daweiana nov.sp. Elytra (Fig. 6) approximately 1.15 times as wide and at suture approximately 0.7 times as long as pronotum; posterior margin distinctly sinuate near posterior angles; punctation moderately dense, moderately fine, as fine as, or slightly more distinct than that of pronotum, and defined; interstices without microsculpture and on average broader than © Biologiezentrum Linz, download www.zobodat.at 70 diameter of punctures; pubescence depressed. Metatarsus approximately 0.75 times as long as metatibia; metatarsomere I elongated, slightly longer than the combined length of II-IV. Abdominal tergites III-V with moderately deep, densely and coarsely punctate, but not carinate anterior impressions; tergites VI-VII anteriorly with conspicuous coarse and striate punctation; remainder of tergal surfaces with very sparse and fine punctation; all tergites without microsculpture and glossy (Fig. 8). (cid:3): tergite VIII posteriorly convex; posterior margin of sternite VIII broadly convex and with dense long marginal setae; median lobe of aedeagus (Figs 9-10) slender, 0.39 mm long; ventral process much longer than basal capsule and curved in lateral view; paramere 0.38 mm long, not distinctly modified, apical lobe small, slender, and with four thin setae (Fig. 11). (cid:2): unknown. Co mp ar at i v e n o t es: Based on the similar external characters and particularly on the similar morphology of the male sexual characters, A. daweiana is most closely related to A. schuelkei ASSING, 2010 and A. effeminata ASSING, 2010, both known only from Yunnan. Using the key in ASSING (2010), A. daweiana would key out at couplet 21, together with A. schuelkei, from which it is distinguished by larger body size, the less transverse pronotum (A. schuelkei: approximately 1.2 times as broad as long), the smaller eyes (A. schuelkei: approximately as long as distance from posterior margin of eye to posterior constriction of head), the longer and more massive antennae with less transverse antennomeres IV-X, the more distinct punctation of the head, the relatively shorter elytra, the more distinctly convex posterior margin of tergite VIII, the smaller (despite larger body size) median lobe of the aedeagus (A. schuelkei: 0.45 mm), the different shape of the ventral process particularly in lateral view (A. schuelkei: practically straight and with more slender apex), and by the smaller paramere (A. schuelkei: 0.42 mm) with a more slender apical lobe. For illustrations of A. schuelkei, A. effeminata, and other species previously recorded from Yunnan see ASSING (2010). D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d n a t u r a l h i s t o r y : The type locality is situated in the Dawei Shan Virgin Forest Park, to the southeast of Pingbian, southern Yunnan (Map 1). The specimens were sifted from leaf litter in a primary subtropical broad-leaved forest (Fig. 12) at an altitude of 2100 m, together with several other undescribed species of Staphylinidae. Species excluded from Amarochara Ocalea nepalica (PACE, 2013), nov.comb. Amarochara nepalica PACE, 2013: 358 f. Comment : In the original description of Amarochara nepalica, PACE (2013) states that the species "è comparabile con A. umbrosa (ERICHSON, 1839)" (recte: ERICHSON, 1837) and that it is distinguished from this species by the different shape of the aedeagus. However, as can be inferred from the illustrations provided with the description (habitus, shape of the spermatheca, median lobe of the aedeagus; figures 18, 63-65), this species clearly does not belong to Amarochara, but most likely to Ocalea ERICHSON, 1837. © Biologiezentrum Linz, download www.zobodat.at 71 Acknowledgements I am indebted to Benedikt Feldmann (Münster) for the generous gift of the male of Amarochara caeca and for proof-reading the manuscript. Zusammenfassung Amarochara daweiana nov.sp. (China: Yunnan) wird beschrieben und abgebildet. Weitere Nachweise von Arten der Gattung Amarochara THOMSON, 1858 werden aus der Paläarktis gemeldet, darunter drei Erstnachweise aus China and Laos. Die bisher unbekannten männlichen Geschlechtsmerkmale von A. caeca ASSING, 2002 werden beschrieben und abgebildet. Amarochara nepalica PACE, 2013 wird in die Gattung Ocalea ERICHSON, 1837 transferiert. Amarochara ist damit in der Holarktis derzeit mit 31 Arten vertreten. References ASSING V. (2002a): A taxonomic and phylogenetic revision of Amarochara THOMSON. I. The species of the Holarctic region (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae, Oxypodini). — Beiträge zur Entomologie, Keltern 52 (1): 111-204. ASSING V. (2002b): A new species of Amarochara THOMSON from the Himalayas (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae, Oxypodini). — Linzer Biologische Beiträge 34 (1): 297-298. ASSING V. (2007): A revision of Amarochara of the Holarctic region. III. A new species, a new synonym, and additional records (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae, Oxypodini). — Zootaxa 1411: 25-32. ASSING V. (2010): A revision of Amarochara of the Holarctic region. IV. Three new species from China, a new synonymy, additional records, and an updated key to species (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae: Oxypodini). — Linzer Biologische Beiträge 42 (2): 1139-1154. OSSWALD J., BACHMANN L. & V.I. GUSAROV (2013): Molecular phylogeny of the beetle tribe Oxypodini (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae). — Systematic Entomology 38: 507-522. PACE R. (2010): Thamiaraeini, Lomechusini, Oxypodini, Hoplandriini e Aleocharini di Taiwan (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae). — Bollettino del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Verona 34: 19-54. PACE R. (2012): Biodiversità delle Aleocharinae della Cina: Hygronomini e Oxypodini (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae). — Beiträge zur Entomologie, Keltern 62 (1): 125-163. PACE R. (2013): Nuovo contributo alla conoscenza delle Aleocharinae del Nepal (Insecta: Coleoptera: Staphylinidae). — Vernate 32: 347-370. Author´s address: Dr. Volker ASSING Gabelsbergerstr. 2 D-30163 Hannover, Germany E-mail: [email protected]