Pseudolathra brevincisa, Assing, 2012

Assing, V., 2012, The Pseudolathra species of the East Palaearctic and the Oriental regions (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 62, pp. 299-330 : 311-312

Pseudolathra brevincisa sp. n. ( Figs 20-24 , Map 1 )

Type material:

Holotype ♂: “151 / Bangkok / inconnue / Lathrobium n.s. Bangkok / Sharp Coll 1905-313 / Holotypus ♂ Pseudolathra brevincisa sp. n., det. V. Assing 2012” ( BMNH).

Etymology:

The specific epithet is composed of the Latin adjectives brevis (short) and incisa (incised), and refers to the shape of the posterior incision of the male sternite VIII, one of the characters distinguishing this species from the similar P. unicolor .

Description:

Body length 4.7 mm; length of forebody 2.7 mm. Coloration: head dark-brown; remainder of body reddish; legs yellowish; antennae reddish yellow.

In external characters highly similar to P. unicolor ( Fig. 20 ) reliably distinguished only by the male primary and secondary sexual characters:

♂: sternite VII not distinctly modified; sternite VIII oblong, posterior incision moderately deep, its depth little more than one third of length of sternite ( Fig. 21 ); aedeagus small, 0.75 mm long and of very distinctive shape ( Figs 22-23 ), ventral process apically bifid ( Fig. 24 ).

Comparative notes:

This species is reliably distinguished from L. unicolor , L. himalayana , and other similar species only by the morphology of the aedeagus and the relatively short posterior excision of the male sternite VIII.

Distribution:

Pseudolathra brevincisa is currently known only from the type locality in Thailand ( Map 1 ).

Figures

Map 1: Distributions of Pseudolathra unicolor (triangles; open triangles: female-based records), P. tichomirovae (open squares), P. lineata (filled squares), P. cordiformis (filled diamond), and P. brevincisa (open circle), based on revised records.

Figs 20-28: Pseudolathra brevincisa (20-24) and P. villiersi from Pakistan (25-28): forebody (20); male sternite VIII (21, 26); aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view (22-23, 27-28); ventral process of aedeagus in ventral view (24); male sternite VII (25). Scale bars: 20: 1.0 mm; 21-28: 0.5 mm.