Earota koreana Lee & Ahn 2014, comb. nov.

Earota koreana (Paśnik, 2001), comb. nov.

(Figs. 2, 12–20)

Aloconota koreana Paśnik, 2001: 196; Smetana, 2004: 368 (as valid species).

Redescription. Body length about 5.5 mm. Body (Fig. 2) subparallel-sided; surface slightly glossy and densely pubescent, with coarse punctures. Head, antennae, pronotum and abdomen almost black; elytra reddish brown; legs paler than other parts. Head. Subquadrate, approximately 1.1 times as long as wide, widest across eyes, narrower than pronotum; eyes large and prominent, about 1.3 times longer than tempora; cervical carina complete; gular sutures moderately separated, slightly diverged basally. Antennae (Fig. 12) long and slender; antennomeres 1–3 elongate, 1 longer than 2, 2 about as long as 3, 4 slightly elongate, 5 about as long as wide, 6–10 subquadrate to slightly transverse to apex, 11 longest, slightly shorter than preceding three combined. Mouthparts. Labrum transverse, emarginate in anterior margin; 3 lateral sensillae, about 8 macrosetae present on each side of midline; epipharynx with α -sensillum shorter than ε -sensillum, β - and γ -sensilla very short (α–ε; see Ashe, 1984). Mandibles slightly asymmetrical, pointed at apex, about 1.6 times as long as basal width; right mandible with small internal tooth, internal margin serrulate; prostheca developed. Lacinia of maxilla with nine spines in distal comb; maxillary palpus elongate, with pubescence and long setae; palpomere 1 smallest, 2 about 3.6 times longer than wide, 3 slightly longer than 2, about 3.3–3.4 times as long as wide, 4 digitiform, filamentous sensillae not reaching to basal half of palpomere 4. Labium with ligula narrowed apically; two medial setae very widely separated; two basal pores very widely separated; lateral pseudopores absent, some medial pseudopores present, 1 setal pore and 3 real pores present on each side of prementum; labial palpus elongate, with many setulae; palpomere 1 largest, about 2.2–2.5 times longer than wide, with γ -setulae located between α and b -setulae, slightly closer to b than to α -setula; palpomere 2 shortest, about twice longer than wide; palpomere 3 parallel-sided, about as long as 1, about 3.5–4.0 times longer than wide. Mentum trapezoidal, with numerous pores, anterior margin emarginate; v -seta very short. Thorax. Pronotum (Fig. 13) subquadrate and granular, approximately 1.1–1.2 times as wide as long, wider at apical third; macrosetae relatively short, some assembled in postero-lateral margin. Metanotal scutum with 1 long seta and about 6–7 moderately long setae on each side of midline; mesocoxae moderately separated, mesoventral process slightly pointed at apex, as long as or slightly longer than metaventral process; isthmus shorter than metaventral process (Fig. 14). Elytra transverse, wider than pronotum, each elytron 1.6 times as long as wide, pubescence directed posteriorly and postero-laterally; postero-lateral margin almost straight; hind wings fully developed; flabellum composed of about 14–18 setose lobes. Legs. Slender and long, with dense pubescence; length ratio of tarsomeres 48:60:60:120 (protarsus); 70:97:80:67:113 (mesotarsus); 130:120:99:85:140 (metatarsus); empodial seta slightly shorter than claws (protarsus) or about as long as claws (meso- and metatarsi). Abdomen. Subparallel-sided, slightly wider at middle; surface glossy and densely pubescent, with transversely striate microsculpture; macrochaetal arrangement of tergites II–III 01–12 (see Yosii & Sawada 1976); tergites III– V impressed basally; male tergite VII (Fig. 15) with elongate tubercle in median region; male tergite VIII (Fig. 16) with 4 macrosetae on each side of midline, posterior margin serrulate, with two small processes at middle; male sternite VII with many small pores in basal region; male sternite VIII with 7 macrosetae on each side of midline, posterior margin round, slightly sclerotized and translucent, with marginal setae; posterior margin of female tergite VIII slightly emarginate at middle, posterior margin of female sternite VIII subtruncate, with conspicuous marginal setae, minute setae present in median region. Tergite X with medial setose patch chevron-shaped; setae in three or four oblique rows; rows convergent proximally. Aedeagus. Median lobe (Figs. 17, 18) oval, apical process relatively elongate and in ventral aspect convergent apically. Apical lobe of paramerite (Fig. 19) with four setae; a - seta longest, b -seta slightly longer than d -seta, c - and d -setae placed close to each other (a–d; see Sawada, 1972). Spermatheca. Bursa relatively large, with triangular umbilicus; duct broader apically (Fig. 20).

Type material examined. Holotype, ♂, pinned, with genitalia on a small plate. Original label: “ Corea septentr. Hamgjong-pukdo, 2–6 X 1991 ISEZ ”. Paratypes, 2♂: same data as holotype.

Additional material examined. KOREA: Gangwon Prov.: ♂, ♀, Mt. Odaesan, 14 IX 1997, YB Cho; ♀, Pyeongchang-gun, Jinbu-myeon, Dongsan-ri, Mt. Odaesan, Sangwonsa, 30 IV–4 2001, KJ Ahn, SJ Park, MS Kim, MJ Jeon, FIT; 2♀, same data as former except for ‘ 4 VI 2001, SJ Park, sifting’; ♂, same data as former except for ‘N37˚47.074’ E128˚33.735’, 15 V 2006, TK Kim, HW Kim, sifting, leaf litter’; 3♂, same data as former except for ‘ Duro-ryeong, N 37˚48.713’ E128˚34.422’, 16 V 2006, DH Lee, YH Kim, sifting, leaf litter’; ♂, Pyeongchang-gun, Jinbu-myeon, Mt. Odaesan, Sangwonsa, 18 V 2002, SJ Park, CW Shin, sifting; ♂, same data as former except for ‘ 18 VI–22VII 2004, SJ Park, KM Yang, DH Lee, FIT’; ♀, Pyeongchang-gun, Mt. Odaesan, 25 V 2004, SJ Park, JS Park, sifting; ♀, same data as former except for ‘ Jeongmyeolbogung, 7–9 VII 1998; KL You, HJ Lim, FIT’.

Distribution. Korea.

Remarks. This species is transferred from Aloconota Thomson, 1858 to Earota based on Gusarov’s diagnosis of the latter genus (2002). It corresponds to Earota and differs from Aloconota in the following characters: large and broad body (small and narrow body in Aloconota); antennomere 11 distinctly longer than preceding two combined (antennomere 11 about as long as preceding two combined in Aloconota); infraorbital carina complete (infraorbital carina incomplete in Aloconota); mesocoxae moderately separated (mesocoxae narrowly separated in Aloconota); mesoventral process slightly pointed at apex (mesoventral process distinctly pointed at apex in Aloconota); metatarsomere 1 about as long as 2 (metatarsomere 1 longer than 2 in Aloconota); empodial seta shorter than claw (empodial seta longer than claw in Aloconota).