Paraphloeostiba penelopeae, 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 : 285-287

Paraphloeostiba penelopeae sp. n.

( Figs 76 , 97–103 )

Type material. Holotype ♂: ‘SOLOMON IS. | Guadalcanal | Mt. Austen [handwritten] | Jan [handwritten] 1966 [the last number “6” is handwritten] | 19993 [handwritten] | P. Greenslade’ <printed>, ‘ HOLOTYPE | Paraphloeostiba | penelopeae sp. n. | Shavrin A. V. des. 2024’ <red, printed> ( BMNH).

Paratypes: 14 ♂♂ (one specimen dissected), 18 ♀♀ (one specimen dissected): ‘SOLOMON IS. | Guadalcanal Mt. | Austen Jan 1966 | 19993 P. | Greenslade’ <printed>, ‘ PARATYPE | Paraphloeostiba | penelopeae sp. n. | Shavrin A. V. des. 2024’ <red, printed> ( BMNH).

Description. Measurements (n=33): HW: 0.40; HL: 0.17–0.22; OL: 0.10–0.12; TL: 0.02; AL (holotype): 0.45; PL: 0.18–0.25; PW: 0.43–0.52; ESL: 0.36–0.45; EW: 0.55–0.60; MTbL (holotype): 0.30; MTrL (holotype): 0.17 (MTrL 1–4: 0.05; MTrL 5: 0.12); AW: 0.58; AedL: 0.32; BL: 1.40–2.00 (holotype: 1.85).

Habitus as in Fig. 76 . Body yellow-brown, with reddish-brown apical portions of elytra (some specimens with slightly darker neck, head (or only clypeus) and apical parts of abdominal tergites III–VI). Head and neck, pronotum and scutellum without punctation; elytra with moderately dense and large punctation, finer and denser around scutellum and finer along suture; abdominal tergites without visible punctation. Pronotum with very dense isodiametric microsculpture, slightly finer than that in middle portion of head; elytra with dense and coarse isodiametric microreticulation, slightly larger than that in pronotum; abdominal tergites with dense transverse or isodiametric microsculpture.

Head transverse, about twice as broad as long, with very short and moderately deep anteocellar foveae as long as diameter of ocellus. Ocelli moderately large, located at level of posterior margins of eyes; distance between ocelli 1.2–1.4 times as long as distance between ocellus and posterior margin of eyes. Antennomeres 6–10 distinctly transverse; antennomere 3 distinctly longer and slightly narrower than 2, 5 slightly broader than 4, 6 about as long as and about wice as broad as 5, 7–8 slightly longer and broader than 6, 9 slightly broader than 8, 10 slightly longer than 9.

Pronotum slightly more than twice as broad as long, broader than head, widest in middle, slightly more narrowed posteriad than anteriad.

Elytra 1.3–1.5 times as broad as long, 1.8 times to twice as long as pronotum, with narrowly impressed lateral margins.

Metatarsi slightly less than twice as long as metatibia.

Male. Posterior margin of abdominal tergite VIII straight ( Fig. 99 ). Posterior margin of abdominal sternite VIII widely concave ( Fig. 100 ). Aedeagus with wide basal portion, gradually narrowed toward wide median lobe, with widely rounded apex; parameres slightly exceeding apex of median lobe, with broadened apical portions, each with two long apical and four preapical setae; internal sac narrow and moderately long, with elongate structure in basal part ( Fig. 97 ). Lateral aspect of the aedeagus as in Fig. 98 .

Female. Posterior margin of abdominal tergite VIII truncate ( Fig. 101 ). Posterior margin of abdominal sternite VIII widely rounded ( Fig. 102 ). Accessory sclerite with wide basal portion, gradually narrowed toward long and narrow apical part with subacute apex ( Fig. 103 ).

Comparative notes. Based on the very broad median lobe and apical portions of the parameres, P. penelopeae sp. n. is similar to P. assimile sp. n., P. celebensis Steel, 1960 , P. papuana , P. rufula sp. n. and P. tonkinesis . It can be distinguished from all these species by the following morphological features:

from P. assimile sp. n. by the shorter parameres;

from P. celebensis by slightly longer parameres with narrower apical portions;

from P. papuana by slightly longer elytra and parameres;

from P. rufula sp. n. by the smaller body, the darker head, pronotum and abdomen, and longer parameres;

from P. tonkinesis by the narrower apical portion of the median lobe.

From all these species P. penelopeae sp. n. differs by the absence of the punctation on the head and the pronotum, the presence of distinct longitudinal impressions of the more transverse pronotum, and details of the external and internal structure of the aedeagus.

Distribution. Paraphloeostiba penelopeae sp. n. is known only from the type locality in Guadalcanal Island, Solomon Islands.

Etymology. Patronymic, the species is named to honour of entomologist and naturalist Penelope Jean Macleod Greenslade, wife of P.J.M. Greenslade, who collected material on the Solomon Islands during 1960-1970.

Bionomics. The detailed bionomical data are unknown.

Figures

FIGURES 75–80. Habitus of Paraphloeostiba: 75–P. okapensis (paratype), 76–P. penelopeae (paratype), 77–P. pilosa (holotype), 78–P. riedeli (paratype), 79–P. rhopalocera, 80–P. rufula (holotype). Scale bars: 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 97–103. Paraphloeostiba penelopeae (paratypes): 97–aedeagus, parameral view, 98–aedeagus, lateral view, 99– male abdominal tergite VIII, 100–male abdominal sternite VIII, 101–female abdominal tergite VIII, 102–female abdominal sternite VIII, 103–female accessory sclerite. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.