Medon acutapicalis, Assing, 2018

Assing, Volker, 2018, A revision of Medon. XI. Five new species, additional records, and the first confirmed records from the Oriental region (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology (Beitr. Entomol.) 68 (1), pp. 69-81 : 74

Medon acutapicalis spec. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:78914E12-DB20-4D30-AA87-E81646700BC5

( Figs 7–12 )

Type material: Holotype ♂: “ NEPAL, E, Therathum distr. , Basantapur, 2650–2700 m, 28.–29.V.2016, leg. J. Schmidt, 27°10'21"N, 87°25'14"E / collection Naturkundemuseum Erfurt / Holotypus ♂ Medon acutapicalis sp. n., det. V. Assing 2016 ” ( NME). Paratypes: 18 exs.: same data as holotype ( NME, cAss) .

Etymology: The specific epithet (adjective) alludes to the acute apex of the ventral process in lateral view.

Description: Body length 3.3–5.2 mm; length of forebody 1.9–2.3 mm. Coloration: body dark-brown to blackishbrown, with the pronotum and elytra usually slightly paler; legs yellowish-brown to pale-brown; antennae reddish with antennomere I usually slightly darker and the apical antennomeres more or less extensively paler.

Elytra approximately 0.65 times as long as pronotum ( Fig. 7 ). Other external characters as in M. arunicus .

♂: sternite VII ( Figs 8–9 ) moderately transverse, approximately 1.2 times as broad as long, posterior margin with small and very shallow median excision in the middle, on either side of this excision with a row of 7–9 long and moderately stout black setae; sternite VIII shaped as in Fig. 10 ; aedeagus approximately 0.5 mm long and shaped as in Figs 11–12 .

Comparative notes: Like the geographically close M. arunicus , M. acutapicalis belongs to the M. apicalis group and is closely allied to M. manasluensis and related species. It is distinguished from all the species allied to M. manasluensis by the shape of the aedeagus and by the shape and chaetotaxy of the posterior margin of the male sternite VII. It additionally differs from M. arunicus by slightly paler coloration (particularly of the legs and antennae) and slightly shorter elytra.

Distribution and natural history: The type locality is situated in Therathum district, East Nepal, at an altitude of 2650–2700 m. As can be inferred from the reduced hind wings and the pronounced local endemism of other species allied to M. manasluensis , M. acutapicalis probably has a restricted distribution.

Figures

Figs 1–12: Medon arunicus spec. nov. (1–6) and M. acutapicalis spec. nov. (7–12): forebody (1, 7); male sternite VII (2, 8); posteromedian portion of male sternite VII (3, 9); male sternite VIII (4, 10); median lobe of aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view (5–6, 11–12). Scale bars: 1, 7: 1.0 mm; 2, 4, 8, 10: 0.5 mm; 5–6, 11–12: 0.2 mm; 3, 9: 0.1 mm.