Trichotichnus (Parairidessus) saluki, Kataev, 2020

Kataev, B. M., 2020, Description of a new subgenus of Trichotichnus (Coleoptera: Carabidae), with two new species from the Western Ghats (India), and remarks on other subgenera, Zoosystematica Rossica (China) 29 (2), pp. 172-194 : 175-179

Trichotichnus (Parairidessus) saluki sp. nov.

( Figs 1–8, 16 a)

Holotype. Male , “ INDIA: W Karnataka, / W Ghats Mts, Jog Falls, / 530 m, at light, / 14°13.240ʹN 74°48.471ʹE, / 2–5.XI.2013 S. Saluk leg.” ( ZIN).

Paratype. 1 female, same data as for holotype ( ZIN) .

Description. Habitus as in Fig. 1. Body length in male 7.7 mm, in female 10.0 mm, width 3.3 and 4.0 mm, respectively.

B.M. Kataev. Description of new subgenus of Trichotichnus from Western Ghats

Colour. Body piceous, shiny on dorsum, very slightly iridescent on elytra; mandibles except for their apices and narrow margins, labrum and very narrow lateral margins of pronotum reddish brown; palpi, antennae and legs light brownish yellow; femora not infuscate in holotype and slightly infuscate in paratype; ventral side with more or less distinct reddish tinge.

Head ( Fig. 2). Moderately sized (HWmax/ PWmax 0.67, HWmin/PWmax 0.51–0.52). Eyes large, almost hemispherical (HWmax/HWmin 1.29–1.30), in lateral view very wide oval, almost touching buccal fissure ventrally. Tempora very short, slightly convex, abruptly sloped to neck, glabrous. Frons and vertex convex, with dense fine micropunctures. Fronto-clypeal suture superficial, almost straight. Frontal foveae deepened, wide. Fronto-ocular furrow deep at clypeus, becoming shallow posteriorly, reaching supraorbital furrow. Supraorbital furrow very narrow, touching upper margin of eye. Supraorbital setigerous pore small, located markedly before level of posterior margin of eye, separated from supraorbital furrow by distance approximately equal to two diameters of pore. Labrum very shallowly concave anteriorly. Clypeus somewhat flat, very shallowly arcuate at anterior margin, with a pair of setigerous pores located in anterior third of clypeus just at its lateral margins. Mentum ( Fig. 4) with angulate median tooth, completely fused with submentum; epilobes narrow, slightly widened anteriorly; submentum with one pair of long setae. Ligular sclerite markedly narrowed anteriorly, truncate at apex, with one pair of ventroapical setae. Paraglossa moderately wide, rounded apically, markedly longer than ligular sclerite and separated from it by narrow notch. Two apical maxillary palpomeres and one apical labial palpomere densely covered with rath- er long setae. Labial penultimate palpomere about as long as ultimate palpomere. Apex of left mandible acute. Dorsal microsculpture highly obliterate, recognisable only on clypeus and laterally in narrow area under and behind eyes, consisting of transverse meshes. Antennae slender, surpassing pronotal basal edge by three apical antennomeres, with antennomeres 4–8 about 2.5 times as long as wide. Basal antennomere about as long as antennomere 3.

Pronotum. Transverse (PWmax/PL 1.47– 1.49), widest at the end of anterior third, slightly narrowed posteriorly (PWmax/PWmin 1.07– 1.12), with one lateral seta inserted just before widest point. Sides rounded in apical two thirds, slightly sinuate in basal third. Apical margin moderately emarginate, very narrowly but distinctly bordered along entire length; apical edge setose. Apical angles widely rounded, protruded ahead, with a few (four or five) short and fine setae ( Fig. 2). Basal margin almost straight in middle portion, oblique laterally, bordered along entire length, markedly longer than apical margin and slightly shorter than base of elytra between humeral angles; basal edge glabrous. Basal angles nearly right, not blunted at tip. Pronotal disc moderately convex, strongly sloped to apical angles and moderately sloped to sides in basal portion, clearly flattened at basal angles. Lateral groove narrow apically, widened in basal half, reaching basal pronotal edge. Basal foveae narrow, shallow, isolated from lateral grooves by convexities, reaching pronotal edge. Median line very fine, reaching apical and basal pronotal edges. Surface densely punctate, more coarsely along base and more finely on other areas, with finest punctures in central portion. Microsculpture strongly obliterate, visible mainly only latero-basally, consisting of transverse meshes, in female more distinct than in male.

Elytra. Moderately convex, oval (in male, EL/ EW 1.53, EL/PL 2.81, EW/PWmax 1.24; in female, these indices 1.49, 2.90, and 1.31, respectively), widened posteriorly (in female more markedly than in male), with somewhat acute apex. Humeri angularly rounded at tip, with a tiny denticle visible in caudal view. Subapical sinuation distinct but not deep. Sutural angle in both sexes acute, blunted at tip. Basal edge arched, forming an obtuse (in male almost right) angle with lateral margin. Lateral groove narrow and flat throughout, without elongate convexity along groove apically. Striae impunctate, narrow, moderately deep along entire length, anteriorly reaching basal edge. Intervals moderately convex, strongly narrowed apically, finely punctate. Parascutellar striole long, about 0.15 times as long as elytra, with small setigerous pore basally. Interval 3 with a small discal setigerous pore at stria 2 slightly behind middle. Marginal umbilicate series without gap at middle, consisting of 27–34 setigerous pores. Microsculpture on intervals visible throughout, consisting of transverse meshes; lateral groove and bottom of striae with isodiametric microsculpture.

Hindwings fully developed.

Ventral surface of thorax. Prosternum, pro-, meso- and metepisterna as well as lateral portions of metasternum finely punctate. Prosternum finely setose; apex of prosternal process with several moderately long setae. Metepisternum markedly longer than wide, strongly narrowed posteriorly.

Legs. Metacoxae without additional setae medially. Profemur with several (six to eight) setae on anterio-ventral margin, in male slightly wider than in female. Protibia on upper surface without longitudinal sulcus, on outer margin in both sexes with one stouter and two very thin preapical spines. Metafemur ventrally with three setae at posterior margin and without setae at anteri- or margin. Tarsi densely pubescent dorsally; tarsomere 5 with three or four pairs of ventro-lateral setae ( Fig. 3). Metatarsus approximately as long as HWmax, with tarsomeres moderately widened distally; metatarsomere 1 slightly shorter than metatarsomeres 2 and 3 combined; metatarsomeres 1–4 densely setose ventrally. In male, pro- and mesotarsomeres 1–4 very moderately widened, with adhesive scales ventrally. In female, mesotarsomere 1 elongate, slightly shorter than mesotarsomeres 2 and 3 combined.

Abdomen. Sternites glabrous; apex of last visible (VII) sternite bordered, in both sexes widely rounded and with two pairs of marginal setae.

Female genitalia ( Figs 5, 6). Laterotergite symmetrical, longer than wide, apically membranous, with five thick setae. Gonosubcoxite shorter than laterotergite, markedly widened posteriorly, with three preapical spines at outer margin. Gonocoxite elongate, about 0.66 times as long as gonosubcoxite, moderately curved, with relatively narrow base and with a tiny, hardly recognisable spine on ventral outer edge.

Male genitalia. Median lobe of aedeagus ( Figs 7, 8; slightly deformed basally in holotype) slender, in lateral view rather strongly bent ventrally just after basal bulb, convex along ventral margin medially and slightly curved ventrally at apex, in dorsal view somewhat parallel-sided. Apical orifice in dorsal position, prolonged to basal bulb. Terminal lamella in dorsal view ( Fig. 7) almost parallel-sid- ed, twice as long as wide basally, narrowly round- ed at apex, in lateral view thin, with sharp ventral flange at apex. Internal sac with several groups of narrow moderately sized spines mostly in middle and apical portions of median lobe.

Comparison. This new species is markedly distinguished from the congeners by having densely punctate dorsum, pronotal apical angles with several short setae, metafemur ventrally with three setae at posterior margin and tarsi densely setose dorsally.

Etymology. The species is named after its collector, my friend and colleague Sergey V. Saluk (Minsk, Belarus).

Distribution. Known from the Western Ghats near Jog Falls, Western Karnataka, India ( Fig. 16 a).