Scaphisoma aspectum, Lobl, 2015

Löbl, Ivan, 2015, On the Scaphidiinae (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) of the Lesser Sunda Islands, Revue suisse de Zoologie 122 (1), pp. 75-120 : 108-109

Scaphisoma aspectum sp. nov.

Figs 95-98

Holotype: SMNS; ♂; Indonesia, Bali Danau Buyan , 1300 19.- 21.2. 1994 Bolm lgt.

Paratypes: SMNS, MHNG; 17 ♂, 9 ♀; with the same data as the holotype. – SMNS, MHNG; 14 ♂, 14 ♀; Bali 12m km NW of Bedugul ( Buyan Lake ) 29 Apr.-2. May 2001 Bolm lgt., 950 m.

Etymology: The species epithet is a Latin adjective, meaning aspect.

Description: Length 1.95-2.15 mm, width 1.35- 1.48 mm. Colour of head, pronotum and abdomen: see under male and female characters. Elytra dark brown to black, each with light, yellowish-brown or reddish subhumeral spot and subapical band, latter usually not clearly delimited. Venter of thorax, hypomera and mesoventrite excepted, and sternite 1 dark brown to black, mesoventrite somewhat lighter, exposed tergites and appendages light, yellowish-brown. Pronotum and elytra of lacking microsculpture. Antennae long, length/ width ratio of antennomeres as follows: III 26/6: IV 37/7: V 65/7: VI 63/9: VII 65/15: VIII 57/8: IX 72/12: X 62/12: XI 77/13. Antennomere III conspicuously elongate, subcylindrical. Pronotum finely and densely punctate, with lateral margins evenly rounded, lateral margin carinae usually visible in dorsal view. Apex of scutellum exposed. Elytra with lateral margin carinae entirely exposed in dorsal view, apical margins truncate, inner apical angle situated posterior level of outer angles, sutural margin slightly raised in posterior two thirds of sutural length, sutural striae deep, not curved at base and not extending laterad pronotal lobe, conspicuously converging apically, adsutural areas flat, each about 0.20 mm wide at level of scutellum and about 0.10 mm wide at mid-length. Elytral punctation fairly coarse, dense, punctures well delimited, puncture intervals mostly about as large to twice as large as puncture diameters. Hypomera smooth. Mesepimera about 3 to 4 times as long as wide, shorter than interval to mesocoxa. Metaventrite with striate microsculpture. Median area of metaventrite slightly convex, without impressions or grooves, with fairly coarse puncture rows parallel to metacoxae, punctation very fine and sparse elsewhere. Submesocoxal areas 0.04 mm, about as fifth of intervals to metacoxae, submesocoxal lines subparallel, with fairly coarse marginal punctures. Metanepisternum convex, weakly narrowed anteriad, with inner margin deeply impressed and almost straight. Mesotibiae and metatibiae slightly curved. Abdomen with microsculpture consisting of transverse striae. Sternite 1 all over very finely punctate. Submetacoxal areas 0.04 mm, submetacoxal lines convex, with fairly coarse margin punctures.

Male: Head narrowly dark brown to black on vertex, light reddish-brown to yellowish-brown on remaining surface. Pronotum laterally and hypomera entirely light reddish-brown to yellowish-brown. Mesal part of pronotum dark brown to black. Sternite 1 dark, about as mesoventrite, following ventrites lighter. Protarsal and mesotarsal segments 1 to 3 distinctly widened. Inner apical angle of elytra not prominent. Aedeagus (Figs 95-98) 1.15-1.28 mm long. Median lobe and parameres asymmetrical. Median lobe with large, moderately sclerotized basal bulb, apical process strongly sclerotized, irregularly curved and inflexed, in lateral view wider than in dorsal view. Parameres each with large ventral lobe. Internal sac with two sclerites, left sclerite long and abruptly truncate at apex, right sclerite strongly widened in apical half; membranes bearing scale-like structures.

Female: Head, pronotum and hypomera uniformly or almost uniformly dark reddish-brown to black, or head somewhat lighter than pronotum. Sternites, apical excepted, about as dark as metaventrite.

Distribution: Indonesia: Bali.

Comments: This species is closely related with and similar to S. testaceomaculatum ( Pic, 1915) from Java. The males may be easily distinguished by the pronotal colour pattern. While the dark area in S. testaceomaculatum is limited to a narrow band along the basal margin of the pronotum and is just moderately extended mesally, it covers the entire mesal area in S. aspectum . The shape of the apical process of the median lobe and of the structures of the internal sac differ drastically in these two species.

Achard (1920) downgraded Pseudoscaphosoma subelongatum Pic, 1915 to variety of P. testaceomaculatum Pic, 1915 . The study of the respective type material confirms the synonymy of these names. The “thorace posticis breve nigro notato” given by Pic for P. testaceomaculatum is a male character, absent in the description of P. subelongatum . Both names are here fixed: P. testaceomaculatum Pic , lectotype MNHN; ♂; by present designation, labelled: Java occident. Pengalengan 4000’ 1893 H.Fruhstorfer / Type (handwritten)/ TYPE (red, printed) Pseudoscaphosoma testaceomaculatum Pic (handwritten by Pic) / Scaphisoma testaceomaculatum (Pic) der Löbl 1974 / / Lectotype Scaphisoma testaceomaculatum (Pic) det. Löbl, 2014.

P. subelongatum Pic , lectotype MNHN; ♀; by present designation, labelled: Java occident. Pengalengan 4000’ 1893 H.Fruhstorfer / Type (handwritten) / TYPE (red, printed) /? Toxidium Lec (handwritten by Pic)/ Pseudoscaphosoma subelongatum Pic (handwritten by Pic) / Scaphisoma testaceomaculatum (Pic) der Löbl 1974 / / Lectotype Scaphisoma subelongatum (Pic) det. Löbl, 2014.