Caccothryptus yunnanensis
Caccothryptus yunnanensis is a species of minute marsh-loving beetle in the subfamily Limnichinae.
Taxonomy
The Limnichidae (minute marsh-loving beetle) genus Caccothryptus was first described by David Sharp in 1902.[1] In 2014, the genus was divided into five species groups by Carles Hernando and Ignacio Ribera. Reclassification and reanalysis of Caccothryptus specimens under the new system brought the total number of species to 23, up from a previous total of seven. This classification scheme also divided the genus into a number of subgenera.[1][2]
A distinct form of the C. testudo species group was identified by entomologist Hiroyuki Yoshitomi from specimens collected in southwestern China which displayed novel genital characteristics. This species was named Caccothryptus yunnanensis, after Yunnan, the province where many of the specimens were found. The holotype of the species is a male specimen collected in Xima, Yunnan in 2014 by entomologist Yu-Tang Wang. This is joined by large numbers of paratypes collected by Wang in Xima and other areas of Yunnan, including Ruili, Mengla, Daweishan. Three specimens were also collected in Leishan County, Guizhou.[3]
Description
C. yunnanensis has an oblong body, with a total length ranging from 3.90–6.05 mm, averaging at 5.04. Its elytral width ranges from 2.00–3.13 mm, with lengths of 3.10–4.85. Its body is shiny and is densely covered with silvery setae of varying lengths. It has short antennae, only about one-eighth the length of the elytra. It is almost uniformly black except for its brown antennae and legs, with two antenna segments and its tarsis a light brown. It exhibits very minor sexual dimorphism.[3]
It is distinguished from the other species of the C. testudo group through genital characteristics; its parameres project straight out, unlike the curves seen in C. thai and C. chayuensis. Additionally, the notches along the underside of the parameres are V-shaped, unlike the deep U-shaped notches of C. thai.[3]
References
- ^ a b Yoshitomi 2018, p. 138.
- ^ Hernando & Ribera 2014, p. 281.
- ^ a b c Yoshitomi 2018, pp. 138–140.
Bibliography
- Hernando, Carles; Ribera, Ignacio (2014). "Taxonomic revision of the genus Caccothryptus Sharp (Coleoptera: Limnichidae)". Koleopterologische Rundschau. 84. ISSN 0075-6547.
- Yoshitomi, Hiroyuki (2018). "A New Species of the Genus Caccothryptus (Coleoptera: Limnichidae) from China" (PDF). Japanese Journal of Systematic Entomology. 24 (1): 138–140. ISSN 1341-1160.