Cephennodes (Cephennodes) phulchokianus, 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 : 92-94

Cephennodes (Cephennodes) phulchokianus sp. n.

( Figs 250 , 261–262 , 272 )

Type material. Holotype: NEPAL ( Kathmandu District ): ♂, one label: " NEPAL: distr. / Kathmandu: Phulcoki / 2400–2600 m, 28–30. / Löbl - Smetana IV.84 " [white, printed] ( MHNG) . Paratypes (5 exx): 1 ♂, " NEPAL: distr. / Kathmandu: Phulcoki / 2550 m, 29.IV.84 / Löbl - Smetana " [white, printed] ; 2 ♂♂, " NEPAL Lalitpur / Distr. Phulcoki / 2650 m, 13.X.83 / Smetana & Löbl" [white, printed] ; 1 ♂, " NEPAL Lalitpur / Distr. Phulcoki / 2600 m, 13.X.83 / Smetana & Löbl" [white, printed] ; 1 ♂, " NEPAL Lalitpur / Distr. Phulcoki / 2600–2700m, 15.X. / 83 Smetana & Löbl" [white, printed] (paratypes in MHNG and cPJ).

Diagnosis. BL 1.70–1.74 mm; pronotum about as broad as elytra; elytra broadest far in front of middle; antennomeres V slightly longer than VI; subhumeral line on each elytron sharply marked; median lobe of aedeagus in ventral view with its rod-like apical portion unusually slender, weakly constricted in subapical region, apex rounded, lacking lateroapical corners; apical margin of apical projection weakly oblique in relation to the long axis of aedeagus and distinctly concave, in ventral view its left lateroapical corner forming long rounded projection, and its right corner forming long, strongly curved and pointed triangular projection.

Description. Body of male ( Fig. 250 ) light brown, stout, with relatively deep constriction between pronotum and elytra, strongly convex, covered with yellowish setae; BL 1.70–1.74 mm (mean 1.71 mm).

Head subtrapezoidal, HL 0.23–0.24 mm (mean 0.23 mm), HW 0.40 mm; vertex and frons confluent, evenly and relatively strongly convex, supraantennal tubercles small and weakly elevated; eyes moderately large, strongly convex and coarsely faceted. Punctures on vertex and frons small but distinct, sharply marked and densely, evenly distributed, separated by spaces comparable to diameters of punctures; setae short, sparse, suberect. Antennae relatively long and with loosely assembled antennomeres, AnL 0.90–0.98 mm (mean 0.95 mm), club appears trimerous, indistinctly delimited and moderately strongly thickened; antennomere I 1.3 × as long as broad; II slightly narrower but about as long as I, 1.5 × as long as broad; III–IV similar in shape, each narrower than II and about 1.2 × as long as broad, V slightly broader and longer than IV, about 1.3 × as long as broad, VI distinctly smaller than V, about 1.1–1.2 × as long as broad, VII distinctly larger than VI, about 1.1 × as long as broad, VIII indistinctly narrower but much shorter than VII, about as long as broad, IX and X each distinctly larger than preceding one, slightly transverse; XI distinctly broader than X, about as long as IX–X together, about 1.6 × as long as broad.

Pronotum in dorsal view nearly semicircular, broadest near posterior third, PL 0.50–0.53 mm (mean 0.51 mm), PW 0.78–0.83 mm (mean 0.79 mm); anterior margin arcuate; lateral margins not microserrate, strongly rounded in anterior half and less so in posterior third, slightly convergent toward indistinctly sharp-angled posterior corners; posterior margin shallowly bisinuate; lateral carinae very narrow, fused with lateral edges; antebasal pits small, shallow and diffuse, each located slightly closer to posterior than to lateral pronotal margin. Punctures on disc slightly larger and deeper than those on frons and vertex, in median area separated by spaces 0.5–1 × as wide as diameters of punctures, punctures become gradually smaller and shallower toward posterior and lateral pronotal margins, less so toward anterior margin; setae relatively long, moderately dense, suberect.

Elytra stout, oval, broadest near anterior third, EL 0.95–1.00 mm (mean 0.98 mm), EW 0.83–0.88 mm (mean 0.86 mm), EI 1.09–1.21. Humeral calli small and weakly elevated; subhumeral lines equal to only about 0.2 EL but distinct, each developed as a relatively sharply marked stepwise border between more convex humeral region and less convex adsutural area; basal pit on each elytron large, located in small, relatively shallow and nearly circular basal impression; apices of elytra separately rounded. Punctures slightly smaller and sparser than those on pronotum but distinct; setae similar to those on pronotum but more erect.

Hind wings present, long.

Metaventrite with short postmesocoxal impressions, not exceeding anterior 1/3 of ventrite length, median portion finely punctate.

Abdomen and legs unmodified.

Aedeagus ( Figs 261–262 ) elongate, AeL 0.30 mm, median lobe in ventral view with long, very narrow and weakly constricted apical portion with rounded apex; apical projection broadly T-shaped, with apical margin weakly oblique in relation to the long axis of aedeagus and distinctly concave; parameres slender, unequal in length, each with three setae.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution ( Fig. 272 ). Central-eastern Nepal.

Etymology. Locotypical, after Phulchoki (= Phulchowki) Hill.

Remarks. This is the largest member of the C. oblongopunctatus group, easily distinguishable from all remaining species also on the basis of its remarkably stout body; its aedeagus has an extremely slender apical portion of median lobe, developed as a slightly constricted rod with rounded apex, it is distinctly more slender than in any other species of this group.

Figures

FIGURES 247 – 254. Dorsal habitus of Cephennodes (s. str.) gopala sp. n. (247), C. (s. str.) paniporuanus sp. n. (248), C. (s. str.) brachyclavatus sp. n. (249), C. (s. str.) phulchokianus sp. n. (250), C. (s. str.) pokharensis sp. n. (251), C. (s. str.) newar sp. n. (252), C. (s. str.) kusunda sp. n. (253), and C. (s. str.) sindhupalchowk sp. n. (254).

FIGURES 255 – 262. Aedeagus in ventral (255, 257, 259, 261) and lateral (256, 258, 260, 262) views. Cephennodes (s. str.) gopala sp. n. (255 – 256), C. (s. str.) paniporuanus sp. n. (257 – 258), C. (s. str.) brachyclavatus sp. n. (259 – 260), and C. (s. str.) phulchokianus sp. n. (261 – 262). Abbreviations: aml, apex of median lobe; ap, apical projection.

FIGURES 271 – 272. Distribution of Cephennodes (s. str.) gopala sp. n. (271, circle), C. (s. str.) paniporuanus sp. n. (271, triangle), C. (s. str.) brachyclavatus sp. n. (272, circle), and C. (s. str.) phulchokianus sp. n. (272, triangle).