Baeocera punctigera, Löbl, 2022

Löbl, Ivan, 2022, Supplement to the knowledge of the Scaphidiinae (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) of the Moluccas, Revue suisse de Zoologie 129 (1), pp. 103-118 : 108-110

Baeocera punctigera sp. nov.

Figs 14-16

Materiel examined: Holotype; male; MHNG; MALUC: Tanimbar Isl. , Kai Besar , G. Dab , 400 m, 5.IX.81, D. Agosti F911046 .

Etymology: The species epithet is a Latin adjective meaning bearing punctures.

Diagnosis: The species is defined by the following characters in combination: Body-length about 1.2 mm long, body dark brown; pronotum coarsely and densely punctate, with many punctures larger than puncture intervals; lateral margins of pronotum and elytra separately arcuate; entire elytron coarsely punctate, sutural stria shortened, basal stria absent; mesepimeron with puncture row along anterior margin; hypomeron, mesanepisternum, metaventrite and ventrite I conspicuously punctate; ventrite I without basal striae or wrinkles; aedeagus symmetrical, with apical process narrowed apically, bent near tip (lateral view), parameres straight and evenly narrow in dorsal view, sinuate and widened toward apical third in lateral view, internal sac with complex sclerites as in Fig. 16 , lacking membranous scale or denticle-like structures.

Description: Length 1.17 mm, width 0.80 mm. Head and body dark brown, femora and tibiae lighter, reddish-brown, tarsi and antennae yellowish. Head with interocular distance slightly larger than dorsoventral eye diameter. Antennomere II slightly longer than antennomere III. Length/width ratios of antennomeres as: III 28/7: IV 27/6: V 32/6: VI 28/6: VII 33/10: VIII 28/8: IX 35/13: X 35/14: XI 42/15. Pronotum and elytra separately arcuate. Pronotum not microsculptured, pronotal punctation conspicuously coarse and dense, distinct at 15 times magnification, consisting of sharply delimited punctures smaller than puncture intervals; lateral carinae of pronotum hardly visible in dorsal view, with punctures very dense, larger than puncture intervals. Point of scutellum exposed. Elytra covering abdomen, weakly narrowed apically, with lateral margins evenly, weakly rounded; adsutural area flat and narrow; sutural stria punctate, shortened, starting about 0.20 mm posterior of tip of scutellum; basal stria absent; lateral stria punctate. Elytral disc not microsculptured; punctation entirely coarse and dense, punctures larger than those on pronotum and nearly as well delimited, puncture intervals mostly larger than puncture diameters. Hind wings fully developed. Hypomeron not microsculptured, conspicuously punctate except on smooth areas along upper margin and near mesocoxa, with some punctures about as large as puncture intervals and as pronotal punctures. Mesoventrite punctate, without median ridge, fused with metaventral process. Mesanepisternum conspicuously punctate, punctures similar to those on hypomeron. Mesepimeron with row of coarse punctures along anterior margin, about three times as long as wide and three times as long as interval to coxa. Metaventrite flattened in middle, all over coarsely and densely punctate, narrow apical band excepted; punctures on lateral part of metaventrite well delimited, mostly larger than puncture intervals. Submesocoxal lines parallel, with marginal punctures smaller than punctures on lateral area of metaventrite and somewhat extended laterally along margin of metaventrite. Submesocoxal areas about 0.02 mm long, as fifth of shortest distance to metacoxae. Metanepisternum flat, fused with metaventrite, its margin indicated by outer puncture row of metaventrite. Tibiae straight. Abdomen not microsculptured. Ventrite I densely and coarsely punctate, punctures smaller than those on lateral area of metaventrite, basal punctures not enlarged and not elongate, basal striae or wrinkles absent. Following ventrites finely punctate.

Male characters: Protarsomeres I to III slightly widened. Aedeagus ( Figs 14-16 ) 0.29 mm long, weakly sclerotized, symmetrical.Apical process gradually narrowed apically, with tip bent and blunt in lateral view. Parameres straight and evenly narrow in dorsal view, sinuate and gradually widened toward apical third in lateral view. Internal sac with complex sclerites, as in Fig. 16 with flagellar guidesclerite widened apically, broad, nearly membranous accessory lateral sclerite, lacking membranous scale- or denticle-like structures.

Habitat: South slope of G. Dab, secondary forest on limestone, soil and very humid leaf litter.

Distribution: Indonesia: Moluccas, Tanimbar Islands.

Remarks: This is another species of the B. lenta group, in external characters very similar to B. notata . It may be easily distinguished from the latter by the mesepimeron bearing a row of coarse punctures along its anterior margin and by the aedeagal characters, in particular by the parameres straight and narrow in dorsal view. In addition, the body-size of B. punctigera is smaller, the antennae are shorter, with the antennomere XI less than 3 times as long as wide. While the aedeagus of B. punctigera is similar to that of the New Guinean B. flagrans Löbl, 2002 , the species differs strongly from the latter by its external characters.

Figures

Figs 10-18. Baeocera notata sp. nov. (10) Aedeagus in lateral view, scale bar = 0.1 mm. Figs 11-13. Baeocera paucivestis sp. nov. (11, 12) Aedeagus in dorsal and lateral views, scale bar = 0.1 mm. (13) Internal sac, scale bar = 0.05 mm. Figs 14-16. Baeocera punctigera sp. nov. (14, 15) Aedeagus in dorsal and lateral views, scale bar = 0.1 mm. (16) Internal sac, scale bar = 0.05 mm. Figs 17, 18. Baeocera punctiventris sp. nov. (17) Aedeagus in dorsal view, internal sac extruded, scale bar = 0.1 mm. (18) Paramere in dorsal view, scale bar = 0.05 mm.