Taxonomic study on Sathytes Westwood (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae) from China. Part I

Abstract

This is the first part of a series dealing with the taxonomy of the genus Sathytes Westwood from China. Fifteen Chinese species are recognized and all described here as new: Sathytes cristatus sp.nov., Sathytes excertus sp.nov., Sathytes perpusillus sp.nov., Sathytes rarus sp.nov., Sathytes tangliangi sp.nov., Sathytes tibialis sp.nov., Sathytes usitatus sp.nov. and Sathytes yunanicus sp.nov. from Yunnan; Sathytes larinus sp.nov. and Sathytes wuyishanus sp.nov. from Fujian; Sathytes longitrabis sp.nov. from Shaanxi; Sathytes longwangshanus sp.nov. and Sathytes paulus sp.nov. from Zhejiang; Sathytes magnus sp.nov. from Xizang; and Sathytes sichuanicus sp.nov. from Sichuan. Illustrations of major diagnostic characters of the new species are given. A total of 33 species worldwide are placed into seven newly defined groups. A checklist of Sathytes is also provided.

Keywords:

• Staphylinidae
• Pselaphinae
• Sathytes
• new species
• taxonomy
• key
• checklist
• China

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr Guilio Cuccodoro (Geneva, Switzerland) for arranging the types or identified specimens of several Sathytes species on loan. Thanks also go to Drs Ivan Löbl (Geneva, Switzerland) and Shûhei Nomura (Tokyo, Japan) for sending reprints of related papers. All the collectors mentioned in the text are warmly acknowledged for the field work. Valuable comments from the two anonymous reviewers also greatly improved the paper. The present study is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31172134; No. 31101659).