Lathrobium latius, Assing, 2018

Assing, Volker, 2018, Five new species of Lathrobium from Nepal and China (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology (Beitr. Entomol.) 68 (2), pp. 361-369 : 365

Lathrobium latius spec. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:5F4EB33C-87CB-4BCD-A529-7DBD1904E33A ( Figs 17–20 )

Type material: Holotype : “ NEPAL, Karnali Zone, Jaljala Chaur to Bhadali, 29°21'N 82°06'E – 29°20'N 82°09'E, alt. 3050–3350 m, lgt. Fouquè René, 3.X.2015 / Holotypus  Lathrobium latius sp. n., det. V. Assing 2018” (cAss).

Etymology: The specific epithet is the comparative of the Latin adjective latum (broad). It alludes to characters distinguishing this species from the similar L. planissi- mum ASSING, 2012: the broader male sternite VIII and the broader aedeagus (ventral view). Description: Small species, body length 4.0 mm; length of forebody 1.8 mm. Coloration: body uniformly yellowish-red. Head approximately as broad as long; punctation rather coarse and sparse; interstices broader than diameter of punctures and with shallow microreticulation. Eyes not projecting from lateral contours of head, very small, composed of approximately five ommatidia.

Pronotum rather broad, 1.2 times as long as broad and 0.97 times as broad as head; posterior margin truncate; punctation fine and sparse; midline broadly impunctate; interstices without microsculpture.

Elytra short, 0.55 times as long as pronotum; humeral angles weakly marked; punctation shallow, fine, and sparse; interstices without microsculpture. Hind wings completely reduced. Metatibia slightly compressed. Abdomen slightly broader than elytra; punctation fine and dense; interstices with transverse microsculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII without palisade fringe; posterior margin of tergite VIII weakly convex.

: protarsomeres I–IV strongly dilated; sternite VII ( Fig. 17 ) strongly transverse, with broadly concave posterior margin and with sparse, unmodified pubescence; sternite VIII ( Fig. 18 ) approximately as long as broad, with moderately deep posterior excision and with unmodified pubescence; aedeagus ( Figs 19–20 ) 0.53 mm long, with conspicuously broad, short (ventral view), flat and curved (lateral view) ventral process; apex of ventral process with small tooth-shaped process in ventral view; internal sac with a pair of weakly sclerotized membranous structures, without sclerotized spines.

: unknown. Comparative notes: Based on external and the male sexual characters, L. latius belongs to the L. jumlense group, which previously included four species distrib- uted in West Nepal. The highly similar male primary and secondary sexual characters, in particular the simi- larly modified aedeagus, suggest that, among the species of this group, L. latius is most closely allied to L. plan- issimum from the southern slopes of Byasrikh Himal, Mahakali province, in the very northwest of Nepal. It is distinguished from this species by a distinctly broader and more transverse male sternite VII with a more strongly concave posterior margin, by a differently shaped poste- rior excision of the male sternite VIII, and particularly by a broader, shorter ( L. planissimum : 0.6 mm), and in lateral view more strongly curved aedeagus. For illustrations of L. planissimum and other species of the L. jumlense group see ASSING (2012, 2013b). Distribution: The type locality is situated in the Karnali Zone, Northwest Nepal, at an altitude between 3050 and 3350 m. Lathrobium egens spec. nov. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:B8C92E76-A107-443F-8E85-06ED222098A5 ( Figs 21–27 )

Figures

Figs 15–20: Lathrobium guransicum (15–16) and L. latius (17–20): male sternite VII (15, 17); male sternite VIII (16, 18); aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view (19–20). Scale bars: 15–16: 0.5 mm; 17–20: 0.2 mm.

Figs 21–34: Lathrobium egens (21–27) and L. bitaleatum (28–34): forebody (21, 29); male sternite VII (22); male sternite VIII (23); aedeagus in lateral (24, 30, 33), ventral (25, 31), and dorsal view (32, 34); female sternite VIII (26); female tergites IX–X (27); habitus (28). Scale bars: 28: 5.0 mm; 21, 29: 1.0 mm; 22–27, 30–34: 0.5 mm.