Pseudophanias spinicornis, Inoue & Nomura, 2021

Inoue, Shota & Nomura, Shûhei, 2021, Two new species of Pseudophanias Raffray from Myanmar (Coleoptera Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae), Zootaxa 4996 (3), pp. 591-599 : 592-595

Pseudophanias spinicornis sp. nov.

( Figs 1–3 )

Type material. HOLOTYPE: ♂, “ Tanintharyi Nature Reserve / (by sifting leaf litter, D4, ca. / 100m), Tanintharyi Region / [S MYANMAR] / N14°44′22″ E98°11′42″ / 16.xi.2018, S. Nomura leg. // FAUNA MYANMARICA / Staphylinidae , Pselaphinae / Pseudophanias sp. 1 / S. Nomura det., 2019 // HOLOTYPE (red) / ♂, Pseudophanias spinicornis / des. Inoue & Nomura, 2021 ”

PARATYPES: 2♀♀, same data as holotype. Each paratype is pinned with the following label: “ PARATYPE (yellow) / ♀, Pseudophanias spinicornis / des. Inoue & Nomura, 2021 ” .

Diagnosis. The new species is readily distinguished from the other members of Pseudophanias by a combination of the following characteristics: antennomeres 7 and 10 ventrally spinose in male; pronotum densely and coarsely punctate, with small conical spine anterior to median fovea; mesotibiae and metatibiae modified in male; tergite IV with pair of short discal carinae; aedeagus asymmetrical; median lobe strongly curved in lateral view, membranous laterally, narrowed posteriorly, then broadened apically.

Description. Male ( Figs 1A and 2A, B ). Body length 2.42 mm. Dorsal surface densely covered with moderately long setae.

Head (HL/HW 0.94) slightly wider than long, densely and coarsely punctate; frons moderately short, with frontal rostrum about 3/4 as wide as HW, with longitudinal, shallow sulcus at middle including a glabrous fovea; vertex with pair of fovea; eyes prominent, moderately large; occipital margin in lateral view weakly concave, with dense tufts of setae; U-shaped setose sulci moderately broad, weakly connecting to eyes. Antennae elongate ( Fig. 2C ), length 1.31 mm; antennomeres 1 about as long as 2–3 combined; antennomeres 2–5 moniliform, successively widened towards apices; antennomeres 6–11 modified to form weak clasping in lateral view; antennomeres 6 enlarged, about as long as 1, spinose ventrally at apico-lateral; antennomeres 7–11 successively widened towards apices; antennomeres 7–10 each transverse, flattened on ventral surface; antennomeres 10 spinose ventrally at apico-lateral; antennomeres 11 largest, sub-oval. Maxillary palpi symmetrical; palpomeres 1 minute; palpomeres 2 elongate, narrowed in basal halves; palpomeres 3 small, widest at apices; palpomeres 4 fusiform.

Pronotum (PL/PW 1.16) longer than wide, widest at anterior one-third, densely and coarsely punctate, with a median and pair of lateral foveae, with a small conical spine just anterior to median fovea.

Elytra (EL/EW 0.69) much wider than long, nearly trapezoidal; each elytron with two basal foveae; discal stria distinct, extending to posterior third. Mesoventrite ( Fig. 2D ) with median setose area wide; setose area about 1/3 as wide as mesoventral width; lateral mesoventral foveae setose; metaventrite finely punctate, convex, but area just above metaventral apex impressed; that impression nearly trapezoidal, half as long as metaventral length, occupying 1/3 metaventral width; anterior margin of that impression demarcated from other part of metaventrite. Legs with each femora broadest near middle; protibiae straight; mesotibiae ( Fig. 2E ) arcuate at apical 1/4, widened apically; apical part flattened posteriorly, with tufts of thick setae at apices; metatibiae ( Fig. 2F ) slightly arcuate at apical 1/3, broadly covered with thin, long setae; each tarsi ( Fig. 2G ) with tarsomeres 2 two-thirds as long as tarsomeres 3; tarsal claws each asymmetrical in size; posterior claws thin, short.

Abdomen (AL/AW 0.80) wider than long; tergite IV longest, twice as long as tergite V, with pair of short longitudinal discal carina; tergite VIII and sternite VIII as in Fig. 3F, G .

Aedeagus ( Fig. 3A–E ) 0.50 mm in length, well-sclerotized, asymmetrical; median lobe nearly tubular, strongly curved in lateral view, membranous laterally, strongly narrowed posteriorly, then broadened apically, curved laterally; parameres moderately short, asymmetrical, with four setae at apices; endophallus indistinct.

Female ( Fig. 1B ). General appearance similar to male; antennae unmodified, successively widened towards apices, length 1.18–1.20 mm; antennomeres 6 quadrate, slightly longer than 5 and 7; mesotibiae arcuate at apical 1/4; its width throughout equal; apical part simple; metatibiae simple, covered with slightly shorter and sparser setae than that of male; metaventrite simple, lacking impression.

Measurements. Male (N = 1). BL 2.42 mm; HL 0.50 mm; HW 0.53 mm; PL 0.51 mm; PW 0.44 mm; EL 0.66 mm; EW 0.95 mm; AL 0.75 mm; AW 0.94 mm. Female (N = 2). BL 2.24–2.26 mm; HL 0.46–0.48 mm; HW 0.48– 0.49 mm (HL/HW 0.95–0.97); PL 0.48–0.51 mm; PW 0.50–0.52 mm (PL/PW 0.96–0.98); EL 0.60–0.63 mm; EW 0.95–0.96 mm (EL/EW 0.625–0.66); AL 0.65–0.96 mm; AW 0.96–0.98 mm (AL/AW 0.66–0.72).

Distribution. Myanmar (Tanintharyi Region).

Etymology. The new specific epithet spinicornis is a Latin adjective, composed of spina (= spine) and cornu (= horn), referring to the spinose antenna of the male.

Remarks. The new species can be distinguished from Pseudophanias tanintharyiensi s sp. nov. by the following characteristics: U-shaped setose sulci connecting to eyes (separate from eyes in P. tanintharyiensis ); antennomeres 7 and 10 ventrally spinose in male; pronotum densely and coarsely punctate, with a small conical spine; mesoventrite with lateral mesoventral fovea setose (glabrous in P. tanintharyiensis ); mesotibiae with apical part flattened posteriorly in male; metatibiae broadly covered with thin, long setae in male (each metatibiae with slight laminate plate in the male of P. tanintharyiensis ); tergite IV with discal carinae present (lacking in P. tanintharyiensis ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Dorsal habitus of Pseudophanias spinicornis sp. nov. A. Male. B. Female. Scale bar: 1.0 mm.

FIGURE 2. Morphological details of Pseudophanias spinicornis sp. nov., male. A. Ventral habitus. B. Head and pronotum in lateral view. C. SEM image of antenna in ventral view. D. SEM image of metaventrite in ventral view. E. Mesotibia. F. Metatibia. G. SEM image of protarsus. Arrows indicate ventral spines of male antenna. Scale bars: 1.0 mm in A, B; 0.5 mm in C–F; 0.2 mm in G.

FIGURE 3. Male genitalia of Pseudophanias spinicornis sp. nov. A, B. Ventral view. C. Dorsal view. D. Lateral view. E. Another lateral view. F. Tergite VIII. G. Sternite VIII. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.