Ochthephilus championi

Ochthephilus championi (Bernhauer, 1926) Figs 394, 398-402, 553, 587

Ancyrophorus (Misancyrus) championi Bernhauer, 1926: 21. – Cameron, 1930: 177. – Scheerpeltz, 1976: 19.

[Coiffait, 1982: 43. is a misidentification of O. nepalensis]

Ochthephilus championi (Bernhauer). – Herman, 1970: 384.

TYPE MATERIAL EXAMINED: Ancyrophorus championi – LECTOTYPE (here designated): “[West-Almora] Ranikhet; Kumaon [*29.35/+79.42*]; H.G.C.[hampion] \ Championi; Bernh.; Typus \ Chicago NHMus; M. Bernhauer; Collection \ Lectotypus; Ancyrophorus; championi Bernhauer; [on the back] des. Makranczy, 1999 \ Ochthephilus; championi Bernhauer; det. Makranczy, 1999” (FMNH).

OTHER MATERIAL: INDIA: W. Almora, Kumaon *29.35/+79.42*, leg. H.G. Champion, coll. Champion, BMNH (1). – W. Almora Division, Upper Gumti Valley *+29.78/+79.15*, IV.1919, leg. H.G. Champion, coll. Champion, BMNH (2). — NEPAL: [Western region, Dhawalagiri,] Himalaya, Dhawalagiri, Region Parbat, near Chitre, Ghar Khola valley, ~ 2400m [28°27'36"N, 83°38'06"E], 24.V.2004, leg. A. Kleeberg [sifted organic material at bank of a tributary to Ghar Khola], coll. Kleeberg (2), MHNG (13), HNHM (1♀). — CHINA: YUNNAN: Qüjing prefecture, Liangwang Shan (= King Liang Mountains), ca. 100km (on road)[80km] NNE Kunming, 25°33’14”N, 103°05’52”E, ca. 2300m, 3.XI.1999, leg. M.A. Jäch & H. Schönmann (CWBS 350), stream ca. 1-2m wide, [unshaded, shrubs] (NHMW, 13).

DESCRIPTION: Forebody as in Fig. 553. Measurements (n=5): HW = 0.67 (0.65- 0.69); TW = 0.61 (0.59-0.62); PW = 0.74 (0.73-0.76); SW = 1.04 (1.02-1.07); AW = 1.06 (0.98-1.17); HL = 0.53 (0.50-0.54); EL = 0.235 (0.23-0.24); TL = 0.11 (0.10- 0.12); PL = 0.60 (0.57-0.61); SL = 1.16 (1.13-1.20); SC = 1.06 (1.03-1.12); FB = 2.38 (2.34-2.44); BL = 4.57 (4.37-4.94) mm. Whole body dark brown with occasional slight reddish tint, antennae and mouthparts dark brown. Legs mostly dark brown; if lighter, tibiae (except both ends) and apices of femora darker. Body with moderate lustre due to very dense elytral setation and fine, dense punctation all over. Pubescence on elytra short but strong and rather dense (and irregularly spaced), in contrast with much less conspicuous setation of head and pronotum: with rather fine and moderately dense setae. Abdominal tergites with setae just as thick as elytral ones but much longer, especially at apices of tergites and adjacent to laterosternites. Head anteriad eyes and near inner posterior margin of eye with stronger and much longer bristles, as well as pronotal margin; around middle of tibiae with 2-3 darker bristles. Elytral apex with an occasional, slightly longer seta near sutural corner. Last tarsomere with a few setae only.

Forebody. Antenna as in Fig. 587. Clypeus sparsely and shallowly punctate (colliculate microsculptured), trapezoid, corners rounded, anterior edge gently arched; separated by impressed transversal line (frontoclypeal suture) across a shinier area. Supraantennal prominences well developed, feebly separated from clypeus/vertex by impressions. Vertex with oblique impressions in middle almost joining in V-shape. Temples barely bulging, evenly curved, little shorter than half of eye length. Neck separated by an impressed transversal groove, microsculpture much stronger than on head, with transverse cells, no setation. Pronotum with a narrow marginal bead, visible to anterior pronotal corners. Posterior pronotal angles well-formed, just slightly obtuse-angled, sides in posterior 1/3 very gently concave. 'Anchor' fully formed, longitudinal midline as a slightly elevated, impunctate, weakly microsculptured line, parallel to this line two gentle, semi-longitudinal elongate elevations in anterior half of disc. In corners of anchor feeble, oblique impressions directed outwards, in middle at sides of midline two smaller impressions. Elytra slightly broadening posteriorly, sutural corners narrowly rounded; apical sides slightly oblique and in inner halves more or less straight. Elytral surface rather even with two shallow, very elongate impressions behind scutellum. Head with fine coriaceous/colliculate microsculpture, fading on elevated parts, stronger in impressions, on pronotum microsculpture slightly stronger and more even. Punctation on head moderately dense, more so on posterior part and sides, on pronotum more evenly spaced, average interspaces much larger than puncture diameters; elytral punctation more even and regularly spaced, average interspaces (with indistinct coriaceous microsculpture) about as puncture diameters, punctures discrete.

Abdomen. Compared to forebody, abdomen with much more sparse, finer, less distinct punctation, microsculpture on tergal apices fine coriaceous with moderately transverse cells. Tergite VII posterior margin with palisade fringe broadened in middle with more coarse spiniform processes. Tergite VIII (Fig. 394) basal edge evenly arched, with small concavity in middle of basal sclerotized band; apical edge with sinuate (protruding) corners, and broad, moderately deep emargination in between. Sternite VIII with rounded apical corners, apex in males shallowly concave laterally, gently sinuate in middle; in females slightly more sinuate (convex) in middle. Tergite X unmodified, apex very slightly wider in males than in females. Aedeagus as in Fig. 398, apex of paramere (Yunnan specimen) as in Fig. 399, base of paramere (Yunnan specimen) as in Fig. 400, base of paramere (Nepal specimen) as in Fig. 401. Female ringstructure as in Fig. 402.

NOTE: The only type specimen is most likely a female (was not dissected at the time of study, 15 years ago, because its sibling species was not discovered at that point), and the females of O. championi and O. nigerrimus cannot be distinguished. The interpretation of this name, therefore, has to be taken with caution. The available material at the moment is much too small (only one very old series for O. nigerrimus and a few scattered specimens for the taxon interpreted here as O. championi), and even more species can be involved, so this problem may require re-examination at a later point.

COMPARATIVE NOTES: From other members of the O. vulgaris group O. championi can be separated by the body setation shared with O. nigerrimus, but the latter species has very different, much wider parameres. Confusion could occur with O. vulgaris (especially if setation is worn off or covered), but it has almost unpunctured clypeus, with only stronger microsculpture than on vertex.

DISTRIBUTION: Currently only known from N-India, Nepal and the Chinese province of Sichuan.

BIONOMICS: The species was collected from sifted organic material on a streambank. A specimen was collected by the China Water Beetle Survey (more details in their publications), apparently at a smaller stream (gravelbank) on open landscape.