Fi s eco d o he jacobsoniid bee le genus De ola h us Sha p
(Coleop e a, Jacobsoniidae) om China wi h he desc ip ion
o a new species
Ri-Xin Jiang1,2,3, Xiang-Sheng Chen1,2,3, Lin Yang1,2,3
1 Guizhou Key Labo a o y o Ag icul u al Biosecu i y, Guizhou Uni e si y, Guiyang 550025, Guizhou, China
2 Ins i u e o En omology, Guizhou Uni e si y, Guiyang, 550025, Guizhou, China
3 The P o incial Special Key Labo a o y o De elopmen and U iliza ion o Insec Resou ces, Guizhou Uni e si y, Guiyang 550025, Guizhou, China
h ps://zoobank.o g/6C83BB75-1B69-430E-9670-2A69D63F9D76
Co esponding au ho : Lin Yang ([email p o ec ed])
Academic edi o : Ma hias Seidel ♦
Recei ed
23 May 2025 ♦
Accep ed
8 Sep embe 2025 ♦
Published
7 Oc obe 2025
Abs ac
The jacobsoniid bee le genus De ola h us Sha p in Sha p & Sco , 1908 is eco ded om China o he i s ime. A new species,
De ola h us hainanensis sp. no ., is desc ibed; he specimen was collec ed benea h he ba k o a decaying b oadlea ee. A checklis
and an upda ed key o he known species o De ola h us a e p o ided.
Key Wo ds
Coleop e a, S aphylinoidea, De ola h us, Hainan Island, axonomy
In oduc ion
The small-sized bee le amily Jacobsoniidae comp ises
only h ee ex an gene a: De ola h us Sha p in Sha p &
Sco , 1908, Saphophagus Sha p, 1886 and Sa o h ias
G ou elle, 1918. This amily cu en ly includes 30 de-
sc ibed species (26 ex an and ou ossil species), dis-
ibu ed spo adically ac oss he Aus alian, O ien al and
Neo opical Regions (Cai e al. 2015, 2017; Yamamo o
e al. 2017; Yin and Bi 2018; Há a 2021; Tihelka e al.
2022; Pe is e al. 2023; Thé y 2023a, 2023b).
Membe s o he amily Jacobsoniidae a e small o min-
u e in size, wi h body leng hs anging om 0.65 o 2.50
mm (≤ 1 mm o De ola h us species) (F anz 1969; Peck
2010; Bi e al. 2015; Cai e al. 2015; Thé y 2023a). The
biology o his amily emains poo ly unde s ood. Spec-
imens a e ypically collec ed om lea li e o decaying
wood (Law ence and Leschen 2010; Yin and Bi 2018;
Pe is e al. 2023). De ola h us species ha e addi ionally
been eco ded om ungal ui ing bodies and ba guano
(Law ence and Leschen 2010; Yin and Bi 2018; Pe is e
al. 2023), while Sa o h ias species a e suspec ed o be
associa ed wi h an s (Yin and Bi 2018; Pe is e al. 2023).
The genus De ola h us comp ises 13 known species
(10 ex an and h ee ossil species; Há a (2021); Pe is e
al. (2023); Thé y (2023a, 2023b)). Membe s o his ge-
nus can be dis inguished om o he jacobsoniid bee les
by hei 3-3-3 a sal o mula and a dis inc an ennal club
composed o wo used a icles (excep D. capdoliensis)
(Bu ckha d and Löbl 1990; Law ence and Leschen 2010;
Peck 2010; Bi e al. 2015; Thé y 2023a).
In China, Bi e al. (2015) i s documen ed he p es-
ence o he amily Jacobsoniidae in his egion, de-
sc ibing Sa o h ias sinicus Bi & Chen, 2015 om Xi-
zang P o ince, China. Subsequen ly, Yin and Bi (2018)
desc ibed Sa o h ias songi Yin & Bi, 2018 om Hain-
an P o ince. P io o he cu en s udy, no eco ds o
he genus De ola h us exis ed in China.
In he p esen pape , we epo he genus De ola h-
us om China o he i s ime, ep esen ed by he new
species De ola h us hainanensis sp. no . desc ibed and
illus a ed he ein. Specimens o he new species we e
D sch. En omol. Z. 72 (2) 2025, 217–223|DOI 10.3897/dez.72.159951
Copy igh Ri-Xin Jiang e al. This is an open access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License (CC BY 4.0), which pe mi s un es ic ed use,
dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal au ho and sou ce a e c edi ed.
dez.penso .ne
Ri-Xin Jiang e al.: Fi s eco d o he genus De ola h us om China wi h desc ibe a new species218
collec ed unde he ba k o a dead b oadlea ee. We p o-
ide a comp ehensi e species lis , an upda ed iden i ica-
ion key o known species and no el biological in o ma-
ion o he genus De ola h us.
Ma e ial and me hods
Ma e ial examined is deposi ed in he Ins i u e o En omol-
ogy, Guizhou Uni e si y, Guiyang, China (GUGC) and he
Na ional Animal Collec ion Resou ce Cen e , he Ins i ue
o Zoology, Chinese Academy o Sciences (IZAS).
Label da a is quo ed e ba im. The Chinese ansla-
ion o each locali y below he p o incial le el is includ-
ed in pa en heses a i s i s appea ance in he ex . Each
ype specimen bea s he ollowing label: ‘HOLOTYPE
( ed) (o PARATYPE (yellow)), m# (o #), De ola h us
hainanensis sp. no ., Jiang, Chen & Yang, 2025’.
Images o habi us we e aken using a Canon 5D Ma k
IV digi al came a wi h a Mi u oyo Plan NIR 10 lens, a
Godox MF12 lash being used as he ligh sou ce. Images
o mo phological de ails we e aken by a Nikon SMZ25
s e eoscopic mic oscope wi h a Nikon DS-Ri2 came a.
Ze ene S acke ( e sion 1.04) was used o image s ack-
ing. Adobe Illus a o CS5 was used in he line-d awings.
All images we e modi ied and g ouped in o pla es in Ado-
be Pho oshop CS5 Ex ended.
The ollowing abb e ia ions a e applied: HL — leng h
o head om he an e io clypeal ma gin o he occipi al
cons ic ion; HW — wid h o head ac oss eyes; PL —
leng h o p ono um along he mid-line; PW — maximum
wid h o p ono um; EL — leng h o ely a along he su-
u e; EW — maximum wid h o ely a; BL — Leng h o
he body is a sum o HL + PL + EL.
Resul s
Genus De ola h us Sha p in Sha p & Sco , 1908:
430. (宽颈短跗甲属)
Type species. De ola h us a omus Sha p in Sha p &
Sco (1908: 431).
De ola h us hainanensis Jiang, Chen & Yang, sp. no .
h ps://zoobank.o g/8E1CC286-9B79-4DAA-A241-43C5F0676D78
Figs 1–3
Chinese name. 海南宽颈短跗甲.
Type ma e ial. Holo ype: CHINA • ♂, ‘China: Hainan,
Ledong Li Au onomous Coun y (乐东黎族自治县), Jian-
engling A ea o Na ional Pa k o Hainan T opical Rain-
o es (海南热带雨林国家公园尖峰岭片区), Ming-
engGu (鸣凤谷), unde ba k o a dead b oadlea ee,
18°44'28"N, 108°50'38"E, H: ~ 940 m al ., 2025.III.28.,
Jiang Ri-Xin leg.’ (GUGC). Pa a ypes: CHINA • 7 ♂♂,
8 ♀♀, wi h he same label da a as he holo ype (5 ♂♂, 6
♀♀, GUGC; 2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, IZAS).
Diagnosis. Winged species; in egumen o head and
p ono um wi h polygonal e icula ion, he polygons mo e
o less squa ed; su ace o head and p ono um co e ed wi h
spa se la ge punc u es; disc o head wi h a shallow and la
longi udinal dep ession; eyes de eloped and la ge; p ono-
al disc wi h dis inc longi udinal imp ession ex ending ap-
p oxima ely hal he p ono al leng h; each ely on wi h an
en i e su u al s ia and one educed second s ia, which is
connec ed a base a a shallow pi , he second ely al s ia
e y sho , less han 1/10 o he ely al leng h; me a en i e
e y long, abou as long as combined leng h o en i es
I–V; aedeagus slende , symme ical, wi h pa ame es dis-
inc ly medially cu ed and apically ounded.
Desc ip ion. Male. Body (Fig. 1A) shape subcylind i-
cal, na owly elonga e, eddish-b own, su ace sligh ly
shiny. Winged species. BL: 0.93–0.98 mm.
Head (Fig. 2A), nea ly squa ed, wide han long, wid-
es ac oss eyes, HL: 0.15–0.16 mm, HW: 0.20–0.21 mm.
Do sal su ace co e ed wi h mic o-polygonal ne ing and
spa se la ge punc u es, each punc u e bea ing a sho se a,
he diame e o he punc u e la ge han ha o omma-
idia. Disc o head wi h a shallow and la longi udinal
dep ession, less han hal he leng h o head, abou wice
as wide as he diame e o punc u es on he head su -
ace. F ons sligh ly conca e be ween an ennal ube cles.
An ennae (Fig. 2D) wi h 11 an ennome es; longe han
leng h o p ono um, su ace co e ed wi h spa se long se-
ae; an ennome e I pa ially hidden by he la e al ma gin
o head; an ennome e II expanded, longe han wide; an-
ennome es III–IX monili o m, sho and ans e se; an-
ennome es X–XI used and o ming a club, expanded;
an ennome e XI sligh ly longe and na owe han an en-
nome e X, wi h apex ounded.
P ono um (Fig. 2B), nea ly apezoid, abou as long
as wide and as wide as head, wides a an e io 1/4, PL:
0.20–0.22 mm, PW: 0.20–0.21 mm. P ono al su ace
wi h mic o-polygonal ne ing, he polygons mo e o less
squa ed and co e ed wi h spa se la ge punc u es, each
punc u e bea ing a sho se a. Disc o p ono um wi h a
dis inc longi udinal dep ession, abou as long as 1/2 p o-
no al leng h; wid h o he longi udinal dep ession abou
as wide as wice he diame e o punc u es on he p ono-
um su ace. An e io ma gin weakly cu ed, an e io an-
gles ounded; la e al ma gins inely cu ed a an e io 3/4
and dis inc ly na owed a pos e io 1/4; pos e io ma -
gin cu ed, pos e io angles ob use. P os e nal p ocess
(Fig. 2C) wi h wide and ound apex.
Ely a. Abou wice as long as wide (Fig. 3A), wides
be o e mid-poin , EL: 0.57–0.60 mm, EW: 0.25–0.27 mm.
Ely al su u al s ia I is dis inc and long, ex ending om he
ely al base, bu no ex ending o he apex; s ia II s ongly
educed, less han 1/10 o he ely al leng h. Ely al su ace
co e ed wi h i egula mic o-polygonal ne ing and ows o
iny and spa se punc u es; punc u es o ely a smalle han
ha o head and p ono um. Scu ellum no isible.
D sch. En omol. Z. 72 (2) 2025, 217–223
dez.penso .ne
219
Me a en i e (Fig. 3B), e y long, abou as long as o
he combined leng h o abdominal en i es 1–5, su ace
co e ed wi h spa se small punc u es, la e al po ions wi h
longi udinal mic o polygonal ne ing.
Abdomen (Fig. 3B) wi h i e en i es, en i e 6
some imes pa ially isible. Ven i e 1 abou as long as
en i e 5, wi h la e al po ions bea ing polygonal ne ing
and pos e io ma gin nea ly s aigh ; en i es 2–4 abou
he same in leng h, wi h su aces bea ing polygonal ne -
ing and spa se sho se ae, he pos e io ma gin o en-
i e II weakly cu ed and dis inc ly cu ed in en i es
3–4. Ven i es 3–5, each wi h a ow o ound dep essions
a nea an e io ma gins; pos e io pa o en i e 5 wi h
se e al long se ae.
Legs. Femo a (Fig. 2E–G) cla a e, na owed a he
base, and g adually wide o apex; ibiae (Fig. 2E–G)
na owe han emo a, cons ic ed a basal po ions,
apex wi h a small oo h; su ace o emo a and ibi-
ae wi h spa se sho se ae; all a si (Fig. 2E–G) wi h
h ee a some es, he i s and second a some es sho
and minu e, he hi d elonga e, sligh ly cu ed in la -
e al iew, much longe han combined leng h o wo
emaining a some es.
Aedeagus (Fig. 3C) slende , symme ical; pa ame es
dis inc ly longe han median lobe, dis inc ly cu ed a
middle, apex o pa ame es ounded.
Female. Mo phologically simila o male, wi hou
dis inc sexual cha ac e in habi us. Measu emen s o
emale: BL: 0.93–0.97 mm; HL: 0.16–0.18 mm; HW:
0.19–0.20 mm; PL: 0.20–0.21 mm, PW: 0.21–0.22 mm;
EL: 0.55–0.59 mm, EW: 0.26–0.28 mm.
Dis ibu ion. Only known om he ype locali y:
Jian engling A ea o Na ional Pa k o Hainan T opical
Rain o es , Hainan P o ince, China.
Figu e 1. Habi us o De ola h us hainanensis sp. no ., male. A. Do sal iew; B. Ven al iew. Scale ba : 0.5 mm (A, B).
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Ri-Xin Jiang e al.: Fi s eco d o he genus De ola h us om China wi h desc ibe a new species220
Biology. All adul s we e ound unde he ba k o a
dead b oadlea ee. The dead ee had no o ed away
ye ; adul s o his species cong ega e in he damp sec ions
unde he ba k, accompanied by adjacen ungal hyphae
colonisa ion (Fig. 4).
E ymology. The speci ic epi he e e s o he ype
locali y: Hainan P o ince, China; he name is ea ed
as an adjec i e.
Compa a i e no es. This species is mo phologically
e y close o D. o eiceps Thé y, 2023, bo h species pos-
sessing a longi udinal dep ession a he disc o he head
and p ono um. The new species can be sepa a ed om
he la e species by he su ace o he p ono um wi hou
ows o se i e ous dep ession a each side o he median
dep ession, while he p ono um has a leas 4 ows o se-
i e ous dep essions a each side o he median dep ession
in D. o eiceps.
Lis o known De ola h us species (†: ossil
species)
D. abyssus Yamamo o & Pa ke in Yamamo o e al. 2016 †
D. anoph halmus (F anz, 1969)
D. a omus Sha p in Sha p e Sco (1908)
D. capdoliensis Tihelka, Pe is, Cai & Pe icho , 2022 †
Figu e 2. Diagnos ic ea u es o De ola h us hainanensis sp. no ., male. A. Head, do sal iew; B. P ono um, do sal iew;
C. P os e nal p ocess; D. An enna; E. P o emu and p o ibia; F. Meso emu and meso ibia; G. Me a emu and me a ibia. Scale ba s:
0.05 mm (C, D, F, G); 0.1 mm (A, B, E).
D sch. En omol. Z. 72 (2) 2025, 217–223
dez.penso .ne
221
Upda ed key o known De ola h us species (based on Thé y (2023b))
1 An ennome es o an ennal club no used ............................................................................................ D. capdoliensis †
– An ennome es o an ennal club used ........................................................................................................................ 2
2 Eyes absen o s ongly educed (< 5 omma idia) ...................................................................................................... 3
– Eyes de eloped ......................................................................................................................................................... 4
3 Femo a and ibiae swollen, emples ounded .......................................................................................D. anoph halmus
– Femo a and ibiae slende ; emples angula e .......................................................................................... D. oglophilus
4 Me a en i e sho e han all abdominal segmen s combined ..................................................................... D. abyssus †
– Me a en i e as long as o longe han all abdominal segmen s combined .................................................................. 5
5 Head wi h longi udinal ows o punc u es .................................................................................................................. 6
– Head wi hou longi udinal ows o punc u es ............................................................................................................. 7
Figu e 3. Diagnos ic ea u es o De ola h us hainanensis sp. no ., male. A. Righ ely on, do sal iew; B. Me a en i e and
abdominal en i es; C. Aedeagus. Scale ba s: 0.1 mm (A, B); 0.05 mm (C).
D. ca e nicolus Peck, 2010
D. ceylonicus (Sen Gup a, 1979)
D. o eiceps Thé y, 2023
D. g oehni Cai, Leschen, Liu & Huang, 2016 †
D. hainanensis Jiang & Chen, sp. no .
D. insula is (Dajoz, 1973)
D. pa ulus (Rücke , 1983)
D. sha pi G ou elle in G ou elle and Ra ay (1912)
D. sub ilis Thé y, 2023
D. oglophilus (Sen Gup a, 1979)
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Ri-Xin Jiang e al.: Fi s eco d o he genus De ola h us om China wi h desc ibe a new species222
6 P ono um wi h do sola e al idges ...................................................................................................................D. sha pi
– P ono um wi hou do sola e al idges ......................................................................................................... D. g oehni †
7 Head and p ono um do sally wi h la ge, shallow and la dep essions; se ae inse ed inside small punc u es localised in
la dep essions ......................................................................................................................................................... 8
– P ono um do sally wi h la ge and deep punc u es, i egula ly placed, localised in polygons o he in egumen al ne ing;
se ae inse ed be ween polygons ............................................................................................................................... 9
8 Diame e o eye g ea e han he dis ance om i s an e io ma gin o base o an enna .......................... D. ca e nicolus
– Diame e o eye less han he dis ance om i s an e io ma gin o base o an enna ..................................... D. pa ulus
9 Ely a a base wi h no basal pi ; p ono um wi h no discal dep ession .............................................................D. a omus
– Ely a wi h a basal pi , discal dep ession o p ono um isible ................................................................................... 10
10 Discal p ono al dep ession deep and well-de ined ........................................................................................ D. insula is
– Discal p ono al dep ession shallow and ill-de ined ................................................................................................... 11
11 Meso emo a swollen ................................................................................................................................. D. ceylonicus
– Meso emo a no swollen .......................................................................................................................................... 12
12 Head wi h longi udinal dep ession a disc ................................................................................................................ 13
– Head wi hou longi udinal dep ession ............................................................................................................ D. sub ilis
13 P ono um wi h a leas 4 ows o se i e ous dep essions a each side o he median dep ession .................. D. o eiceps
– Su ace o p ono um no as abo e, co e ed wi h spa se la ge punc u es, punc u es a e i egula ly a anged .................
.................................................................................................................................................. D. hainanensis sp. no .
Figu e 4. Habi a o De ola h us hainanensis sp. no . A. Dead ee whe e he new species was collec ed; B. De ail wi h adul s.
D sch. En omol. Z. 72 (2) 2025, 217–223
dez.penso .ne
223
Acknowledgemen s
The au ho s exp ess hei since e g a i ude o D . Thomas
Thé y (Mon eal, Canada) o p o iding us wi h indispens-
able e e ences and p o iding cons uc i e sugges ions.
D . Adam Ślipiński (Aus alian Na ional Insec Collec ion,
Canbe a, Aus alia) kindly e ised he English o his
wo k. App ecia ion is also gi en o he edi o and an anon-
ymous e iewe o p o iding cons uc i e sugges ions. Fi-
nancial suppo was p o ided by he P og am o Excellen
Inno a ion Talen s, Guizhou P o ince (No. 20154021).
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