Cephennodes (Cephennodes) mustangensis, Jałoszyński, 2017

Jałoszyński, Paweł, 2017, Ant-like stone beetles on the roof of the world. Cephenniini of Nepal and Bhutan (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae), Zootaxa 4349 (1), pp. 1-120 : 64-65

Cephennodes (Cephennodes) mustangensis sp. n.

( Figs 154 , 187–190 , 226 )

Type material. Holotype: NEPAL ( Mustang District ): ♂, one label: " NEPAL Mustang / Distr. Lete / 2550m, 2.X.83 / Smetana & Löbl [white, printed] ( MHNG) . Paratypes (16 exx): 7 ♂♂, 6 ♀♀, same data as for holotype ; 3 ♂♂, " NEPAL Mustang / Distr. 2km N Ka- / lopani 2550m 1.X. / 83 Smetana & Löbl [white, printed] (paratypes in MHNG and cPJ).

Diagnosis. BL 1.24–1.38 mm; abdominal sternite II with posterior margin microserrate; sternite III in ventral view with submedian transverse carina, its posterior margin shallowly bisinuate with short and rounded median expansion, from under median portion of carina a massive projection arises with a 'stalk' and 'head', the latter about as broad as long and sparsely covered with denticles; apex of median lobe of aedeagus subtriangular, blunt; apical projection of aedeagus distant from apex of median lobe, with distal margin recurved and strongly oblique in relation to the long axis of aedeagus, apical portion of apical projection subtriangular and truncate.

Description. Body of male ( Fig. 154 ) slightly reddish brown, moderately stout, with shallow constriction between pronotum and elytra, strongly convex, covered with light brown setae; BL 1.25–1.38 mm (mean 1.29 mm).

Head subtrapezoidal, HL 0.18–0.20 mm (mean 0.18 mm), HW 0.33–0.35 mm (mean 0.33 mm); vertex and frons confluent and weakly, evenly convex, vertex with a pair of tiny but distinct tubercles; supraantennal tubercles small, weakly elevated; eyes moderately large, strongly convex, coarsely faceted. Punctures on vertex and frons small but very distinct, sharply marked, nearly evenly and densely distributed, separated by spaces slightly shorter than diameters of punctures; setae sparse, short, suberect. Antennae moderately long and moderately thickened, AnL 0.63–0.70 mm (mean 0.65 mm), pentamerous club indistinctly delimited; antennomere I about 1.6 × as long as broad; II narrower and slightly longer than I, 1.8 × as long as broad; III–VI similar in shape, each slightly narrower and much shorter than II, each about as long as broad; VII slightly broader but only indistinctly longer than VI, about 1.2 × as long as broad; VIII distinctly broader but distinctly shorter than VII, slightly transverse; IX much larger than VIII, slightly transverse; X larger than IX, slightly transverse; XI slightly broader than X, about as long as IX–X together, slightly less than twice as long as broad.

Pronotum in dorsal view approximately semicircular, broadest near anterior third but indistinctly narrowing posteriorly, PL 0.38–0.43 mm (mean 0.38 mm), PW 0.56–0.60 mm (mean 0.58 mm); anterior margin in strictly dorsal view straight; lateral margins indistinctly microserrate, strongly rounded in anterior third, nearly straight in posterior half; hind corners slightly obtuse-angled; posterior margin shallowly bisinuate; lateral carinae distinct but narrow, fused with lateral margins; antebasal pits small and shallow, each slightly closer to posterior than to lateral pronotal margin. Punctures on disc very small and shallow, inconspicuous; setae moderately long, dense, suberect.

Elytra elongate, oval, broadest near anterior third, EL 0.68–0.75 mm (mean 0.72 mm), EW 0.65–0.70 mm (mean 0.65 mm), EI 1.07–1.17. Humeral calli weakly elevated; subhumeral lines distinct, divergent posteriorly, equal to 0.25 EL, each developed as a relatively rounded stepwise border between more convex humeral region and less convex adsutural area; basal pit on each elytron connected to deep and nearly straight impression extending posteromesally; apices of elytra separately rounded. Punctures slightly more distinct than those on pronotum but superficial and inconspicuous; setae similar to those on pronotum.

Hind wings present, long.

Metaventrite with moderately large, sharply delimited postmesocoxal impressions, with median area covered with fine, dense punctures.

Abdomen ( Figs 187–188 ) with sternites II and III modified; in ventral view sternite II with posterior margin microserrate; sternite III with submedian transverse carina, its posterior margin shallowly bisinuate with short and rounded median expansion, from under median portion of carina a massive projection arises with a 'stalk' and 'head', the latter about as broad as long and sparsely covered with denticles.

Legs unmodified.

Aedeagus ( Figs 185–186 ) slender, AeL 0.18 mm, apex of median lobe subtriangular and blunt; apical projection distant from median lobe, its distal margin recurved and so strongly oblique in relation to the long axis of aedeagus that it becomes lateral margin; apex of apical projection subtriangular and truncate; parameres very slender, slightly unequal in length, one slightly exceeding apex of median lobe, each with one apical seta.

Female. Very similar to male but with unmodified abdomen; BL 1.28–1.35 mm (mean 1.33 mm); HL 0.19– 0.20 mm (mean 0.20 mm); HW 0.31–0.33 mm (mean 0.32 mm), AnL 0.65–0.68 mm (mean 0.66 mm); PL 0.38– 0.43 mm (mean 0.41 mm), PW 0.58–0.65 mm (mean 0.60 mm); EL 0.70–0.75 mm (mean 0.72 mm), EW 0.63– 0.70 mm (mean 0.64 mm), EI 1.08–1.16.

Distribution ( Fig. 226 ). Central Nepal.

Etymology. Locotypical, after Mustang District.

Remarks. Among species of the C. simplicipes group, C. mustangensis , C. ghorepanianus and C. cordilaminatus share similar abdominal modifications, clearly different from those in all remaining congeners. In these three species the posterior margin of sternite II is microserrate, and sternite III has a sub-basal or submedian lamina and a posterior projection. The sub-basal lamina is broad and short, and from under its median portion arises a massive projection with microdenticulate surface. The shape of the carina and projection differ in these three externally similar species and are most important diagnostic characters. Cephennodes mustangensis differs from C. ghorepanianus and C. cordilaminatus in much narrower sub-basal lamina with only indistinctly bisinuate posterior margin (deeply bisinuate in C. ghorepanianus and C. cordilaminatus ), and the posterior projection has its 'head' about as long as broad (strongly transverse in C. ghorepanianus and C. cordilaminatus ).

Figures

FIGURES 148 – 155. Dorsal habitus of Cephennodes (s. str.) letheanus sp. n. (148), C. (s. str.) myagdiensis sp. n. (149), C. (s. str.) malla sp. n. (150), C. (s. str.) gorkha sp. n. (151), C. (s. str.) tharepatianus sp. n. (152), C. (s. str.) minisulcatus sp. n. (153), C. (s. str.) mustangensis sp. n. (154), and C. (s. str.) lalitpuranus sp. n. (155).

FIGURES 179 – 194. Abdomen of male in right lateral (179, 183, 187, 191) and ventral (180, 184, 188, 192) views and aedeagus in ventral (181, 185, 189, 193) and lateral (182, 186, 190, 194) views. Cephennodes (s. str.) tharepatianus sp. n. (179 – 182), C. (s. str.) minisulcatus sp. n. (183 – 186), C. (s. str.) mustangensis sp. n. (187 – 190), and C. (s. str.) lalitpuranus sp. n. (191 – 194).

FIGURES 225 – 226. Distribution of Cephennodes (s. str.) tharepatianus sp. n. (225, circle), C. (s. str.) minisulcatus sp. n. (225, triangle), C. (s. str.) mustangensis sp. n. (226, circle), C. (s. str.) lalitpuranus sp. n. (226, triangle).