Himalagria utriculata, Assing, 2012

Assing, V., 2012, The second species of Himalagria (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae: Falagriini), Linzer biologische Beiträge 44 (2), pp. 1001-1004 : 1003-1004

Himalagria utriculata nov.sp. ( Figs 1-11 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype: " Nepal, Kali Gandaki Tal, Ufer des Sirkung Khola an Mndg. [=Mündung] in K[ali]. Gand., 2520 m, N28°40'20'' E83°35'36'', 27.V.2002, leg. O. Jäger / Holotypus Himalagria utriculata sp.n. det. V. Assing 2012" (SNSD). Paratypes: 2, 1: same data as holotype (SNSD, cAss).

E t y m o l o g y: The specific epithet is an adjective derived from the diminutive (utriculus) of the Latin noun uter (hose) and refers to the thin proximal portion of the spermathecal capsule, one of the characters separating this species from H. hetzeli .

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 3.0- 3.5 mm; length of forebody 1.5-1.6 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 1 . Coloration: body brown to dark-brown, with the elytra sometimes indistinctly paler; legs and antennae pale-reddish to reddish-yellow.

Head ( Figs 2-4 ) transverse; neck little more than 0.25 times as broad as head; punctation very fine and sparse; pubescence pale and suberect; interstices without microreticulation and glossy. Eyes weakly convex and small, shorter than postocular region in dorsal view. Antenna approximately 1.2 mm long, shaped as in Fig. 5 .

Pronotum ( Figs 2, 6 ) approximately 1.25 times as broad as long and 1.05 times as broad as head, widest anteriorly; midline with furrow, this furrow deep and clear-cut in posterior 2/3, but not reaching posterior margin of pronotum, and very fine anteriorly; punctation fine but distinct and rather dense; interstices without microreticulation.

Elytra ( Figs 2, 7 ) approximately 0.8 times as long as pronotum, of trapezoid shape, distinctly widened posteriad; punctation fine, but distinct; interstices without microreticulation. Hind wings present and apparently fully developed. Legs slender; tibiae somewhat flattened; metatarsus almost as long as metatibia; metatarsomere I approximately as long as the combined length of II-IV.

Abdomen ( Figs 1, 8 ) widest at segment V, as broad as, or slightly broader than elytra at posterior margin; punctation fine but distinct, dense on anterior and somewhat sparser on posterior tergites; interstices without microsculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe; posterior margin of tergite VIII convex and with fringe of modified, short and yellowish marginal setae.

: posterior margin of sternite VIII strongly convex; median lobe of aedeagus 0.5 mm long and shaped as in Figs 9-10 .

: posterior margin of sternite VIII weakly concave; spermatheca as in Fig. 11.

I n t r a s p e c i f i c v a r i a t i o n: The punctation of the forebody and the abdomen is subject to some intraspecific variation.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: The new species is distinguished from H. hetzeli by the noticeably more distinct and denser punctation of the whole body, by the absence of an impression on the elytra ( H. hetzeli : elytra shallowly impressed near postero-lateral angles), by the absence of microsculpture on the abdomen, as well as by the differently shaped median lobe of the aedeagus and spermatheca. For illustrations of H. hetzeli see ASSING (2005).

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d n a t u r a l h i s t o r y: Thetypelocalityissituatedin the Kali Gandaki valley, which separates the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges. As can

be inferred from the labels, the specimens were collected on a river bank at an altitude of 2520 m.

C o m m e n t: Himalagria species appear to have restricted distributions. At least one more undescribed species, which was erroneously reported as H. hetzeli by ASSING (2006), is present in the Annapurna range. The spermatheca ( Fig. 12 ) clearly differs from those of H. hetzeli and H. utriculata . The species will be described as soon as males are available.

Figures

Figs 1-12: Himalagria utriculata nov.sp. (1-11) and H. sp. from the Annapurna range (12): (1) habitus; (2) forebody; (3) median portion of male head; (4) median portion of female head; (5) antenna; (6) median portion of male pronotum; (7) disc of right elytron; (8) median portion of tergite V; (9-10) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view; (11-12) spermatheca. Scale bars: 1: 1.0 mm; 2: 0.5 mm; 3: 0.2 mm; 4-12: 0.1 mm.