Cephennodes (Cephennodes) paralalitpuranus, 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 : 68-69

Cephennodes (Cephennodes) paralalitpuranus sp. n.

( Figs 156 , 195–198 , 227 )

Type material. Holotype: NEPAL ( Lalitpur District ): ♂, one label: " NEPAL Lalitpur / Distr. Phulcoki / 2700m 16.X.83 / Smetana & Löbl" [white, printed] ( MHNG) . Paratypes (6 exx): 2 ♂♂, " NEPAL Lalitpur Distr. / Phulcoki N slope / 2600 m 16.X.83 / Smetana & Löbl" [white, printed] ; 4 ♂♂, " NEPAL Lalitpur / Distr. Phulcoki / 2600–2700m, 15.X. / 83 Smetana & Löbl" [white, printed] (paratypes in MHNG and cPJ).

Diagnosis. BL 1.49–1.60 mm; abdominal sternite II with long, distinctly microserrate and emarginate at middle submedian carina; sternite III in ventral view with posterior margin expanded posteriorly and broadly rounded; apex of median lobe of aedeagus subtriangular, blunt; apical projection of aedeagus distant from apex of median lobe, with distal margin deeply sinuate and its median portion nearly transverse in relation to the long axis of aedeagus, apical portion of apical projection subtriangular, parallel to apex of median lobe and located very far from it.

Description. Body of male ( Fig. 156 ) dark brown, stout, with shallow constriction between pronotum and elytra, strongly convex, covered with yellowish setae; BL 1.49–1.60 mm (mean 1.52 mm).

Head subtrapezoidal, HL 0.21–0.23 mm (mean 0.22 mm), HW 0.38–0.39 mm (mean 0.38 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 and shallow but distinct, relatively sharply marked, nearly evenly and densely distributed, separated by spaces slightly shorter than diameters of punctures; setae sparse, short, suberect. Antennae moderately long and slender, moderately thickened, AnL 0.80–0.85 mm (mean 0.83 mm), pentamerous club indistinctly delimited; antennomere I about 1.5 × as long as broad; II narrower and about equally long as I, 1.6 × as long as broad; III–VI similar in shape, each slightly narrower and much shorter than II, each slightly elongate; VII slightly broader and much longer than VI, about 1.8 × as long as broad; VIII distinctly broader and indistinctly shorter than VII, about as long as broad; IX and X each distinctly larger than preceding ones, each about as long as broad; XI slightly broader than X, about as long as IX–X together, about 1.5 × as long as broad.

Pronotum in dorsal view subtrapezoidal, broadest near anterior third, PL 0.45–0.50 mm (mean 0.46 mm), PW 0.73–0.75 mm (mean 0.74 mm); anterior margin in strictly dorsal view arcuate; lateral margins indistinctly microserrate, strongly rounded in anterior third, weakly so in posterior half, weakly but distinctly narrowing toward slightly obtuse-angled hind corners; 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 but sharply marked and densely distributed, those on median area separated by spaces subequal to diameters of punctures and slightly shorter; setae moderately long, dense, suberect.

Elytra elongate, oval, broadest between middle and anterior third, EL 0.80–0.88 mm (mean 0.84 mm), EW 0.80–0.85 mm (mean 0.82 mm), EI 1.00–1.03. Humeral calli weakly elevated; subhumeral lines distinct, divergent posteriorly, equal to about 0.4 EL, each developed as a sharp stepwise border between more convex humeral region and less convex adsutural area; basal pit on each elytron located in large and shallow, round basal impression; apices of elytra separately rounded. Punctures slightly smaller than those on pronotum and similarly dense and distinct; setae similar to those on pronotum.

Hind wings not studied.

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

Abdomen ( Figs 195–196 ) with sternites II and III modified; in ventral view sternite II with long, distinctly microserrate and emarginate at middle submedian carina; sternite III in ventral view with posterior margin expanded posteriorly and broadly rounded.

Legs unmodified.

Aedeagus ( Figs 197–198 ) moderately slender, AeL 0.23 mm, apex of median lobe subtriangular and blunt; apical projection distant from median lobe, its distal margin recurved, largely emarginate, its median region nearly transverse in relation to the long axis of aedeagus; apex of apical projection subtriangular, located far from apex of median lobe and directed parallel to it; parameres very slender, unequal in length, one reaching and one exceeding apex of median lobe, each with one apical seta.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution ( Fig. 227 ). Central Nepal.

Etymology. The name paralalitpuranus was chosen to emphasize similarity between this species and C. lalitpuranus .

Remarks. This large, stout and densely punctate Cephennodes is most similar to C. lalitpuranus ; differences were discussed in remarks for the latter species.

Figures

FIGURES 156 – 162. Dorsal habitus of Cephennodes (s. str.) paralalitpuranus sp. n. (156), C. (s. str.) bahrabisensis sp. n. (157), C. (s. str.) bilaminatus sp. n. (158), C. (s. str.) ghorepanianus sp. n. (159), C. (s. str.) cordilaminatus sp. n. (160), C. (s. str.) mangmayanus sp. n. (161), and C. (s. str.) bilobatus sp. n. (162).

FIGURES 195 – 210. Abdomen of male in right lateral (195, 199, 203, 207) and ventral (196, 200, 204, 208) views and aedeagus in ventral (197, 201, 205, 209) and lateral (198, 202, 206, 210) views. Cephennodes (s. str.) paralalitpuranus sp. n. (195 – 198), C. (s. str.) bahrabisensis sp. n. (199 – 202), C. (s. str.) bilaminatus sp. n. (203 – 206), and C. (s. str.) ghorepanianus sp. n. (207 – 210).

FIGURES 227 – 228. Distribution of Cephennodes (s. str.) paralalitpuranus sp. n. (227, circle), C. (s. str.) bahrabisensis sp. n. (227, triangle), C. (s. str.) bilaminatus sp. n. (228, circle), C. (s. str.) ghorepanianus sp. n. (228, triangle).