Cephennodes (Cephennodes) suturalis, 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 : 27-28

Cephennodes (Cephennodes) suturalis sp. n.

( Figs 37 , 53–54, 74–75, 90)

Type material. Holotype: NEPAL (Parbat District): ♂, one label: " NEPAL Parbat / Distr. Pun Hill / at Ghoropani Pass / 3050–3100m 8.X.1983 / Smetana & Löbl" [white, printed] ( MHNG). Paratypes (4 exx): 2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, same data as for holotype ( MHNG, cPJ).

Diagnosis. BL 1.34–1.40 mm; elytra long, EI 1.16–1.28; body dark reddish-brown with much darker, dark chocolate head and pronotum; antennae unmodified; protibiae in male not thickened and nearly straight, distinctly broadened mesally in sub-basal region, with long patch of dense spatulate setae; apical projection of median lobe in ventral view nearly parallel-sided, in lateral view very weakly curved; each paramere with two apical setae which are nearly equal in length and only slightly thickened.

Description. Body of male ( Fig. 37 ) dark reddish-brown with slightly to much darker, dark chocolate head, pronotum and antennae, also elytral suture slightly darkened; slender, with shallow constriction between pronotum and elytra, moderately convex, covered with light brown setae; BL 1.3 6– 1.40 mm (mean 1.38 mm).

Head subtrapezoidal, HL 0.19–0.20 mm (mean 0.19 mm), HW 0.30–0.33 mm (mean 0.32 mm); vertex and frons confluent and weakly convex; supraantennal tubercles distinct but weakly elevated; eyes moderately large, strongly convex, coarsely faceted. Punctures on frons and vertex small but deep and with sharp margins, distinct, separated by spaces subequal to diameters of punctures; setae very short, sparse, suberect. Antennae moderately long and moderately thickened, AnL 0.63 mm; antennomeres moderately compactly assembled, pentamerous club so indistinctly delimited that antennae appear gradually thickened; antennomere I about 1.4 × as long as broad; II distinctly narrower than I and subequal in length, about twice as long as broad; III slightly narrower and much shorter than II, indistinctly transverse, IV as broad as III but indistinctly longer, about as long as broad, V indistinctly broader and longer than IV, about as long as broad, VI indistinctly broader than V and subequal in length, about as long as broad, VII slightly broader and slightly longer than VI, about as long as broad, VIII slightly broader but distinctly shorter than VIII, strongly transverse, IX and X each gradually larger than preceding one and distinctly transverse, XI distinctly broader than X, about as long as IX–X together, about 1.7 × as long as broad.

Pronotum in dorsal view nearly semicircular, broadest slightly in front of middle, PL 0.40–0.43 mm (mean 0.41 mm), PW 0.55–0.58 mm (mean 0.56 mm); pronotum strongly convex at middle and strongly flattened near each hind corner but the flattened area very small; anterior margin in strictly dorsal view slightly convex; lateral margins not microserrate, strongly convex in anterior third and weakly so in posterior half; posterior corners slightly obtuse-angled; posterior margin shallowly bisinuate; lateral carinae very narrow, fused with lateral margins; antebasal pits small and shallow, diffuse, each nearly equally distant from posterior and lateral pronotal margin. Punctures on disc smaller than those on frons and vertex but sharply marked, those at middle separated by spaces 1–2 × as wide as diameters of punctures; setae short and moderately dense, suberect.

Elytra elongate, oval, broadest slightly in frons of middle, EL 0.78–0.80 mm (mean 0.78 mm), EW 0.63 mm, EI 1.24–1.28. Humeral calli weakly elevated, elongate; subhumeral lines short, equal to only about 0.2 EL and moderately distinct, developed as moderately sharp stepwise border between more convex humeral region and less convex adsutural area; basal pit on each elytron large and located in very short, deep, round basal impression; apices of elytra separately rounded. Punctures more distinct and larger than those on pronotum but shallow, those in anterior half of elytra separated by spaces subequal to diameters of punctures; setae similar to those on pronotum.

Hind wings present, not shortened.

Metaventrite with indistinct postmesocoxal impressions, median area covered with fine punctures.

Protibiae (Figs. 53–54) not thickened and nearly straight, distinctly expanded mesally in sub-basal region, with large mesal patch of dense spatulate setae.

Abdomen and hind legs unmodified.

Aedeagus ( Figs 74–75 ) in ventral view with slightly asymmetrical median lobe broadest in sub-basal region, slightly curved, AeL 0.50 mm, median lobe in ventral view with nearly straight distal margin but with deeply and narrowly emarginate margin of diaphragm; apical projection in ventral view long and nearly parallel-sided, in lateral view weakly curved, curved portion short; each paramere with two long and only slightly thickened apical setae.

Female. Externally similar to male, protibiae with shorter setae in mesal patch; BL 1.34–1.38 mm; HL 0.18– 0.19 mm, HW 0.30–0.31 mm, AnL 0.58–0.60 mm; PL 0.43 mm, PW 0.58 mm; EL 0.7 3– 0.78 mm, EW 0.63–0.65 mm, EI 1.16–1.19.

Distribution ( Fig. 90 ). Central Nepal.

Etymology. The name suturalis refers to the darkened elytral suture.

Remarks. This middle-sized and slender Cephennodes is remarkable in having sharply marked punctures on the frons, vertex and pronotum; its aedeagus with slightly curved median lobe and a very broad group of apical structures is also unique within this group of species.

Figures

FIGURES 32 – 39. Dorsal habitus of Cephennodes (s. str.) bagmatianus sp. n. (32), C. (s. str.) popeye sp. n. (33), C. (s. str.) clavodentatus sp. n. (34), C. (s. str.) meredaranus sp. n. (35), C. (s. str.) yangrianus sp. n. (36), C. (s. str.) suturalis sp. n. (37), C. (s. str.) karnaliensis sp. n. (38), and C. (s. str.) churtanus sp. n. (39).

FIGURES 72 – 79. Aedeagus in ventral (72, 74, 76, 78) and lateral (73, 75, 77, 79) views. Cephennodes (s. str.) yangrianus sp. n. (72 – 73), C. (s. str.) suturalis sp. n. (74 – 75), C. (s. str.) karnaliensis sp. n. (76 – 77), C. (s. str.) churtanus sp. n. (78 – 79). Abbreviations: ap, apical projection.

FIGURES 90 – 91. Distribution of Cephennodes (s. str.) suturalis sp. n. (90, circle), C. (s. str.) karnaliensis sp. n. (90, triangle), C. (s. str.) churtanus sp. n. (91, circle), C. (s. str.) sermathangensis sp. n. (91, triangle).