Anthobium lakshmanai, Shavrin, 2025

Shavrin, Alexey V., 2025, A revision of eastern Palaearctic Anthobium Leach, 1819 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae: Anthophagini). IX. Thirteen new species and records from China and the Himalayan Region, Zootaxa 5728 (1), pp. 47-78 : 71-72

Anthobium lakshmanai sp. nov.

( Figs 19 , 37–39 )

Type material. Holotype ♂ ( Fig. 19 ; dissected): NEPAL: ‘NEPAL Rasuwa Dis[trict]. | north slope abo- | ve Syabru 3600m | 18.IV.85 A. Smetana’ <printed>, ‘ HOLOTYPE | Anthobium | lakshmanai sp. nov. | Shavrin A.V. des. 2025’ <red, printed> ( CNC).

Description. Measurements: HL: 0.52; HW: 0.82; AL: 1.55; OL: 0.25; LT: 0.12; PL: 0.62; PW: 1.27; ESL: 1.56; EW: 1.65; AW: 1.57; MTbL: 0.62; MTrL: 0.43 (MTrL 1–4: 0.26; MTrL 5: 0.17); AedL: 0.86; BL: 3.90.

Habitus as in Fig. 19 . Body reddish-brown, with distinctly paler lateral and basal portions of pronotum and lateral parts of elytra; antennomeres 3–11 brown; mouthparts, antennomeres 1–2 and legs yellowish. Forebody without microsculpture, except of mediobasal part of head between ocelli with transverse meshes. Head with irregular, dense and moderately large punctation, coarser and deeper on infraorbital portions, elevated part in front of ocelli without punctures; neck with dense and relatively fine punctation; punctation of pronotum about as that on infraorbital portions of head, dense, larger and deeper in medioapical and finer and sparser in mediobasal portions; scutellum with fine punctation; punctation of elytra denser, larger and deeper than that on pronoutm, finer and coarser around scutellum, and finer and sparser along suture; abdominal terites with fine and dense punctation.

Head with distinctly elevated middle and infraorbital portions, with semicircular depression in mediobasal third in front of ocelli, with wide and deep anteriomedian depressions, reaching level of anterior margins of eyes; anteocellar foveae moderately wide and deep, diagonally convergent anteriad toward level of posterior third of eyes; narrow portion behind mediobasal depression distinctly elevated; postocular ridges obtuse. Ocelli small, located distinctly below level of postocular ridges. Apical maxillary palpomere about three times as long as preceding segment. Antennomere 3 distinctly longer and slightly narrower than 2, 4–6 shorter than 3, 7–8 slightly broader than 6, 9–10 distinctly broader than 8, apical antennomere twice as long as 10, from apical third strongly narrowed toward acute apex.

Pronotum twice as broad as long; posterior angles obtuse, with not concaved laterobasal margins; apical angles widely rounded, strongly protruded anteriad; mediobasal part with two oval deep depression, with narrow elevated part in middle; medioapical portion with transverse and moderately deep depression; lateral portions widely impressed and reflexed, each with deep oval depression in middle; each lateral edge with regular fine crenulation.

Elytra slightly broader than long, reaching apical margin of abdominal tergite IV; surface of each elytron with distinct elevations between punctures: transverse in mediobasal part, longitudinal in middle and subdiagonal in apical portions, median part of each elytron forming indistinct three longitudinal elevations; lateral margins relatively widely impressed, explanate; lateral edges with acute crenulation, flattened and reduced in middle.

Metatarsi 1.4 times as long as metatibia.

Abdomen with a pair of small oval indistinct tomentose spots in middle of abdominal tergite V.

Male. Posterior margins of abdominal tergite VIII and sternite VIII slightly sinuate. Aedeagus with broadened median lobe, widely rounded apically; parameres curved apically, reaching apex of median lobe, with significantly broadened apical lobes, each with one short apical seta; internal sac relatively wide and long ( Fig. 38 ). Lateral aspect of the aedeagus as in Fig. 39 .

Female unknown.

Comparative notes. Based on the general shape of the body, the sculpture of the surface of the pronotum and the elytra, and the lateral edges of the pronotum without projections, A. lakshmanai sp. nov. is more similar to A. portentum sp. nov. (see below), from which it can be distinguished by the larger body, slightly more flattened pronotum and elytra, the apical angles of the pronotum stronger protruded anteriad, slightly broader elytra, the shape of significantly broader aedeagus, with shorter and significantly broader apical portions of the parameres, and other details of the morphology of the aedeagus.

Distribution. Anthobium lakshmanai sp. nov. is known only from the type locality in Bagmati, Nepal ( Fig. 37 ).

Bionomics. The specimen was collected at an elevation 3600 m a.s.l. The detailed bionomical data are unknown. It was collected together with A. portentum sp. nov.

Etymology. The name of a new species is devoted to Lakshmana (लक्ष्मण), the younger brother of Rama in Hindu epic Ramayana.

Figures

FIGURE 37. Distribution of Anthobium kleebergi (circles), A. lakshmanai (square) and A. curtulum (triangle) in Nepal.

FIGURES 38–43. Aedeagus of Anthobium (Figs 38–39—A. lakshmanai (holotype), Figs 40–41—A. portentum (holotype), 42– 43—A. curtulum (holotype)): 38, 40, 42—aedeagus, parameral view, 39, 41, 43—aedeagus, lateral view. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 15–20. Habitus of Anthobium: 15—A. ampliatum (holotype), 16—A. anishchenkoi (Sichuan), 17—A. aterrimum (paratype), 18—A. flavofasciatum (holotype), 19—A. lakshmanai (holotype), 20—A. portentum (holotype). Scale bar: 1.0 mm.