Paraphloeostiba latissima, Shavrin, 2024

Shavrin, Alexey V., 2024, Twenty-one new species of Omaliini from the Papuan Region (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae), with diagnostic and faunistic notes on some species of the genus Paraphloeostiba Steel, 1960, Zootaxa 5424 (3), pp. 251-307 : 277-280

Paraphloeostiba latissima sp. n.

( Figs 41 , 68–74 )

Type material. Holotype ♂ (dissected): ‘ NEW GUINEA | Okapa, 16. VI. 1965 | flying in daylight’ <printed>, ‘ R. Hornabrook | BM 1970-232.’ <printed>, ‘ HOLOTYPE | Paraphloeostiba | latissima sp. n. | Shavrin A. V. des. 2024’ <red, printed> ( BMNH).

Paratypes: 1 ♂ (underside of the card with handwritten ‘Okapo 1164’), 2 ♀♀ (one specimen without right antennomeres 3–11 dissected; one specimen with underside of the card with handwritten ‘Okapo 1164’): same data as the holotype ( BMNH); 1 ♂ (dissected), 1 ♀ (underside of the card with handwritten ‘90H’): ‘ NEW GUINEA | Okapa, 25. IX. 1965, | refuse’ <printed>, ‘ R. Hornabrook | BM 1970-232.’ <printed> ( BMNH). All paratypes with additional red printed label: ‘ PARATYPE | Paraphloeostiba | latissima sp. n. | Shavrin A. V. des. 2024’.

Description. Measurements (n=6): HW: 0.37–0.43; HL: 0.25–0.26;OL: 0.12–0.14; TL: 0.02; AL (holotype): 0.60; PL: 0.30–0.36; PWmax: 0.46–0.53; PWmin: 0.42–0.48; ESL: 0.47–0.53; EW: 0.60–0.62; MTbL (holotype): 0.30; MTrL (holotype): 0.16 (MTrL 1–4: 0.05; MTrL 5: 0.11); AW: 0.57–0.60; AedL: 0.30; BL: 1.67–2.10 (holotype: 1.82).

Habitus as in Fig. 41 . Body reddish brown, with yellowish to yellow-brown elytra, with darker medioapical, laterobasal and basal portions (laterobasal portions of pronotum of holotype and two paratypes yellowish; abdomen slightly paler in three paratypes); antennomeres 6–11 brown; mouthparts, antennomeres 1–5 and legs yellow. Head with fine punctation, denser in middle and sparser on infraorbital portions (one paratype with very indistinct punctation); neck without visible punctures; pronotum with fine and moderately dense punctation, similar to that in middle portion of head, finer and sparser in middle; elytra with fine punctation, slightly denser and deeper than that in pronotum, finer around scutellum and along suture; abdominal tergites with very fine and moderately dense punctation, indistinct in abdominal tergites IV– V in three paratypes. Head with dense and coarse microsculpture, transverse on vertex, coarser and distinctly isodiametric in middle, isodiametric and elongate on infraorbital portions; microsculpture of elytra very dense, about as that in pronotum, but slightly coarser .

Head with slightly elevated middle and infraorbital portions, with deep and moderately wide anteriomedian depressions, 1.4–1.5 times as broad as head, with narrow nad deep linear anteocellar foveae, almost reaching level of middle length of eyes; postocular carina absent. Ocelli moderately large, located at level of posterior margins of eyes; distance between ocelli about as long as distance between ocellus and posterior margin of eyes. Apical maxillary palpomere about 1.4 times as long as preceding segment. Antennomere 6 slightly longer and significantly broader than 5, 7–9 slightly longer and broader than 6, 10 slightly longer than 9.

Pronotum 1.4–1.5 times as broad as long, 1.2 times as broad as head, widest in or slightly above middle, strongly narrowed posteriad toward subacute hing angle.

Elytra 1.1–1.2 times as broad as long, 1.4–1.5 times as long as pronotum.

Abdomen slightly narrower than elytra.

Male. Posterior margin of abdominal tergite VIII truncate ( Fig. 70 ). Posterior margin of abdominal sternite VIII widely and deeply concave ( Fig. 71 ). Aedeagus with wide median lobe, indistinctly narrowed to widely rounded apex; parameres moderately short, significantly not reaching apex of median lobe, with narrow apical portion, with two long apical and two to three preapical setae, and two small setae in middle part of inner margin of each paramere; internal sac wide and moderately short, with two narrow and moderately long sclerotized structures in preapical portion ( Fig. 68 ). Lateral aspect of the aedeagus as in Fig. 69 .

Female. Posterior margin of abdominal tergite VIII ( Fig. 72 ) and sternite VIII ( Fig. 73 ) truncate. Accessory sclerite as in Fig. 74 . Spermatheca not recognized.

Comparative notes. Based on the presence of longitudinal impressions on the pronotum and the general shape of the aedeagus with narrow and short parameres, P. latissima sp. n. is somewhat similar to P. cooteri Shavrin, 2020 , recently described from Zhejiang, China (Shavrin 2020). The new species can be distinguished from it by the less transverse pronotum, finer punctation of the head and the pronotum, broader apical portion of the median lobe, narrower and shorter parameres and different structure of the internal sac.

Distribution. Paraphloeostiba latissima sp. n. is known only from the type locality in central part of Papua New Guinea.

Etymology. The specific epithet is the Latin latissimus, - a, -um (broadest). It alludes to the wide median lobe of the aedeagus.

Bionomics. Specimens were collected flying in daylight or were found in refuse.

Figures

FIGURES 39–44. Habitus of Paraphloeostiba: 39–P. coriacea (Western New Guinea), 40–P. iriana (paratype), 41–P. latissima (paratype), 42–P. guadalcanalensis (paratype), 43–P. margineguttata (holotype), 44–P. steeli (holotype). Scale bars: 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 68–74. Paraphloeostiba latissima (paratypes): 68–aedeagus, parameral view, 69–aedeagus, lateral view, 70–male abdominal tergite VIII, 71–male abdominal sternite VIII, 72–female abdominal tergite VIII, 73–female abdominal sternite VIII, 74–female accessory sclerite. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.