Paraphloeostiba subopacoides, Shavrin, 2025

Shavrin, Alexey V., 2025, A new species and records of Paraphloeostiba Steel, 1860 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae), Zootaxa 5728 (3), pp. 571-578 : 575-577

Paraphloeostiba subopacoides sp. nov.

( Figs 3–11 )

Type material. CHINA: YUNNAN: Holotype ♂ (dissected): ‘CHINA – Yunnan 1992 | Lijiang, 23.6. -21.7. | 26°53'N 100°18'E | 1800m, leg. Jendek’ <printed>, ‘ HOLOTYPE | Paraphloeostiba | subopacoides sp.n. | Shavrin A.V. des. 2025’ <red, printed> ( NMW).

CHINA: YUNNAN: Paratypes: 2 ♂♂ (dissected), 3 ♀♀ ( one specimen dissected; one specimen without right antennomeres 8–11): ‘China Yunnan, 1800m | LIJIANG 23.6. -21.7. | 26.53N 100.18E | lgt. S.Becvar 1992’ <printed> ( 1 ♂, 1 ♀: cSh; 1 ♂, 2 ♀♀: NMW); 1 ♂: ‘CHINA, Yunnan | 1800m LIJIANG | 23.6.-27.7.92 | 26.53N 100.18E’ <printed> ( NMW); 1 ♂: ‘CHINA, Yunnan, | Cang Shan at Dali, N | 25°41'07'' E 100°06'58'' | 2714m, V. Grebennikov’ <printed> ( CNC). All paratypes with additional red printed label: ‘ PARATYPE | Paraphloeostiba | subopacoides sp.n. | Shavrin A.V. des. 2025’.

Description. Measurements (n=8): maximum width of head including eyes: 0.37–0.47; length of head (from base of labrum to posterior constriction along head midline): 0.19–0.22; ocular length (longitudinal): 0.10–0.12; length of antenna ( holotype): 0.55; length of pronotum: 0.28–0.34; maximum width of pronotum: 0.48–0.60; sutural length of elytra (length of elytra from apex of scutellum to posterior margin of sutural angle): 0.52–0.60; maximum width of elytra: 0.60–0.74; length of metatibia ( holotype): 0.35; length of metatarsus ( holotype): 0.23 (length of metatarsomeres 1–4: 0.08; length of metatarsomere 5: 0.15); maximum width of abdomen: 0.62–0.74; length of aedeagus (from base of median lobe to apex of parameres): 0.32–0.37; total length of body (from anterior margin of clypeus to apex of abdomen): 1.86–2.32 ( holotype: 2.30).

Habitus as in Fig. 3 . Body reddish-brown, with distinctly paler elytra (mediobasal and apical portions of elytra darker); antennomeres 6–11 brown; mouthparts, antennomeres 1–5 and legs yellowish. Head without punctation or with several fine and indistinct punctures in middle; neck without punctures; punctation of pronotum fine and sparse, median part without punctures; scutellum without punctures; punctation of elytra sparse, but markedly larger and deeper than that on pronotum, sparser and finer in middle, latero-apical and apical portions without distinct punctures. Head with coarse microsculpture, transverse on clypeus and isodiametric in middle part; neck with transverse or isodiametric microreticulation; pronotum with regular and coarse microsculpture somewhat similar to that in head; scutellum with fine transverse meshes; elytra with dense irregular isodiametric microreticulation similar to that in middle of pronotum; abdominal tergites with regular, dense and fine isodiametric sculpture.

Head with slightly elevated middle part, transverse, about twice as broad as long, with wide and deep anteriomedian depressions, reaching level of anterior third of eyes; anteocellar foveae short and moderately deep, each about twice longer than diameter of ocellus, sublinear or slightly confluent anteriad; postocular carina acute, located very close to posterior margin of eyes. Ocelli relatively large, located at level of postocular carina; distance between ocelli about as long as distance between ocellus and posterior margin of eyes. Apical maxillary palpomere distinctly narrower and about twice longer than preapical segment. Antenna reaching basal half of pronotum when reclined, with distinctly transverse antennomeres 6–10; basal antennomere about twice as long as broad, antennomere 2 distinctly shorter and narrower than basal antennomere, 3 slightly longer and narrower than 2, 4 small, about as long as wide and about twice shorter than 3, 5 about as broad as long and distinctly broader than 4, 6 slightly longer and distinctly broader than 5, 7 slightly longer than 6, 8 slightly shorter and broader than 7, 9–10 slightly longer and indistinctly broader than 8, apical antennomere about twice as long as 10, from middle gradually narrowed toward rounded apex.

Pronotum slightly convex, 1.7 times as broad as long, 1.2 times as broad as head, widest in middle, slightly narrowed posteriad than anteriad; hind angles widely rounded, not protruded anteriad; posterior angles obtuse; laterobasal margins not or slightly concaved ( two paratypes); anterior margin straight or indistinctly concave in middle, slighlty shorter than rounded posterior margin; middle portion without or with two shallow, long and wide logitudinal depressions ( holotype and one paratype); laterobasal moderately depressions wide and deep.

Elytra slightly broader than long, 1.7–1.8 times as long as pronotum, slightly broadened posteriad, with narrowly impressed lateral margins; posterior margin straight. Hind wings fully developed.

Metatarsi 1.5 times as long as metatibia.

Abdomen about as broad as elytra, with two small oval tomentose spots in middle of abdominal tergite IV; apical margin of abdominal tergite VII with narrow palisade fringe.

Male. Posterior margin of abdominal tergite VIII straight ( Fig. 6 ). Posterior margin of abdominal sternite VIII rounded ( Fig. 7 ). Aedeagus with wide basal part, gradually narrowed toward truncate apex; parameres distinctly longer than apex of median lobe, with significantly broadened apical lobes, each with two long apical, two short preapical and five relatively short setae along inner margin; internal sac narrow and short, with sclerotized elongate structures in basal portion ( Fig. 4 ). Lateral aspect of the aedeagus as in Fig. 5 .

Female. Posterior margin of abdominal tergite VIII truncate ( Fig. 8 ). Posterior margin of abdominal sternite VIII deeply concaved ( Fig. 9 ). Accessory sclerite with wide basal part, strongly narrowed toward narrow elongate apical part ( Fig. 10 ). Spermatheca as in Fig. 11 .

Comparative notes. Based on the general shape of the body and the aedeagus, and the presence of strong microsculpture of the forebody, P. subopacoides sp. nov. is similar to P. subopaca ( Cameron, 1924) , described from Simla Hills, southern India ( Cameron 1924; Steel 1960). Paraphloeostiba subopacoides sp. nov. can be distinguished from it by the paler body, missing or indistinct punctation of the head, missing or finer longitudinal impressions in middle of the pronotum, broader apical part of the median lobe, shorter parameres with broader apical lobes, and different shape of the female accessory sclerite. Besides that, based on the general shape of the aedeagus, P. subopacoides sp. nov. is similar to P. moluccensis Shavrin, 2022 , recently decribed from Indonesia ( Shavrin 2022). The new species can be distinguished from it by the larger and darker body, broader apical part of the median lobe, longer parameres with broader apical lobes, and other details of the morphology of the aedeagus.

Distribution. Paraphloeostiba subopacoides sp. nov. is known from two localities in Yunnan, China.

Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the similarity of a new species with Indian P. subopaca .

Bionomics. Specimens were collected at elevations from 1800 to 2714 m a.s.l. Detailed ecological data are unknown.

Figures

FIGURES 1–3. Habitus of Paraphloeostiba: 1—P. formosana (India: Kerala), 2—P. similis (Malaysia: Perak), 3—P. subopacoides (paratype). Scale bar: 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 4–11. Paraphloeostiba subopacoides: 4–aedeagus, parameral view (holotype), 5–aedeagus, lateral view (holotype), 6–male abdominal tergite VIII, 7–male abdominal sternite VIII, 8–female abdominal tergite VIII, 9–female abdominal sternite VIII, 10–female accessory sclerite, 11–spermatheca. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.