(Proceedings submission caseby-case

DEUVE ET AL.: CARABID BEETLE FAUNA OF THE GAOLIGONG MOUNTAINS 357
DIAGNOSIS.— Adults of this species (Fig. 8a) can be distinguished from those of all other
species in the region by the following combination of character states: size large (BL = 6.5 to 6.7
mm), fully-winged, dorsum piceous to reddish brown and distinctly iridescent; head slender, eyes
markedly projected; clypeus with four or six setae; mentum and submentum incompletely fused,
submentum with six or eight setae; mandibles with four to six small setae along the dorsolateral
margin of the scrobe; pronotum transverse (ratio Pw/PL = 1.30), with lateral explanation broader,
especially basally, basal angles rectangular and sharp with a small apical tooth projected laterally;
elytra broad, with all discal striae evident and finely punctate, striae 1 to 5 moderately impressed,
striae 6 to 8 more faintly impressed, parascutellar striole rather long, recurrent stria continuous
anteriorly with stria 5, intervals only faintly convex, two discal setae (anterior and middle setae)
present, the anterior seta inserted within basal one-sixth of elytra in stria 3, the middle seta near
elytral middle in stria 3; median lobe of aedeagus of male (Fig. 8b) long and slender, with apex
short, recurved dorsally and bluntly pointed, endophallus with a spoon-shaped sclerite.
COMMENTS.— The polymorphism we observed in the number of setae on both the clypeus
(four or six) and submentum (six or eight) among specimens from the Gaoligong Shan populations
was surprising. Belousov & Kabak (2003) described Agonotrechus dubius, based on a single
female from Gansu Province, and noted similarities with A.wuyipeng. we have examined a male
specimen from Shaanxi Province (Ningshan County, Huoditang Township, 1549 m, collected by
Matt Brantley on 9 July 2005) which shares features described for the holotype of A. dubius,
including six setae on the submentum, which Belousov & Kabak (2003) contrasted with the eight
setae reported for A.wuyipeng members (Deuve 1992b). Together with other similarities, the polymorphism
in this feature found among Gaoligong Shan specimens suggests that these two species
may be better treated as conspecific, with A.dubius as a distinct subspecies, members of which
have smaller size, relatively wider pronota, and more coarsely punctate elytral discal striae but are
otherwise similar to members of the nominate form.
HABITAT DISTRIBUTION.— Specimens of this species were collected in daytime from under
stones in shaded roadside and trailside areas with scattered grasses at elevations ranging from 2687
to 2770 m (Fig. 36b). Members of no other Agonotrechus or other trechine species have been found
syntopic with those of A.wuyipeng.
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION WITHIN THE GAOLIGONG SHAN.— Fig. 8c. we examined a total
of 10 specimens (7 males and 3 females) from the following localities: Fugong County:
Shiyueliang Township (1 km above Shibali on Yaping Road, 2687 m, 1 May 2004, H.B. Liang collector
[1 female; MNHN]. Gongshan County: Qiqi Trail at No 12 Bridge, N27.71500°/
E98.50222°, 2770 m, 2 May 2002, H.B. Liang & w.D. Ba collectors [7 males and 2 females; CAS,
IOZ, MNHN].
Specimens of this species were collected only in the northern half of the study area (Core
Areas 2 and 3) and only on the eastern side of the mountain range. This distribution pattern may
be an artifact of inadequate sampling on the western slope of the mountain range in the north, much
of which is in Myanmar. The geographical range of this species overlaps that of A.fugongensis,
but members of the latter species appear to occupy slightly lower elevations in the same general
areas.
OVERALL GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.— Fig. 45. This species currently is known only from
the type locality in northcentral Sichuan and the northern half of the Gaoligong Shan in western
Yunnan, but it probably occurs in the intervening region as well.