Horniella khasiensis Zhang & Yin, 2021

Zhang, Wen-Xuan, Hu, Fang-Shuo & Yin, Zi-Wei, 2021, Six new species of Horniella Raffray from the Oriental region (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Pselaphinae), ZooKeys 1042, pp. 1-22 : 1

Horniella khasiensis Zhang & Yin sp. nov. Figures 4A , 5

Type material.

Holotype: India: ♂, 'INDIA, Meghalaya State (7+9), E Khasi Hills, 11km SW Cherrapunjee, Laitkynsew, 25.iv.2008, 25°12'48"N, 91°39'48"E, 735 m, Fikáček, Podskalská, Šípek lgt. / secondary tropical rainforest with young trees + bamboo, below village, thin layer of leaf litter (sifting).' (MHNG).

Diagnosis.

Male. Head wider than long, with distinct anterolateral genal projection, anterior margin of projection roundly emarginate; with markedly long ocular canthus; scape angularly expanded at middle of lateral margin, antennomeres 9-11 enlarged. Pronotum rounded at anterolateral margins. Protrochanter and profemur each with long ventral spine; mesotrochanter with short, small ventral tubercle. Tergite 1 (IV) with median carina extending posteriorly for approximately 1/4 of tergal length, lacking discal carinae, tergite VIII with large medioapical process. Aedeagus with slightly asymmetric median lobe, apex broadly truncate in dorso-ventral view; endophallus composed of three sclerites.

Description.

Male. Body reddish-brown, length 2.84 mm. Head (Fig. 5A ) wider than long, HL 0.56 mm, HW 0.63 mm; anterolateral genal projection distinct, anterior margin of projection roundly emarginate; antenna 1.85 mm long, scape angularly expanded at middle of lateral margin, antennomeres 2-8 slightly elongate or moniliform, club loosely formed by apical three moderately enlarged antennomeres, antennomere 11 largest, slightly shorter than antennomeres 9 and 10 combined; indistinct lateral postantennal pits present; eyes prominent, each composed of approximately 40 large facets, with markedly long and curved ocular canthi (Fig. 5B ).

Pronotum as long as wide, PL and PW 0.64 mm, widest anterior to middle; lateral margins rounded; disc moderately convex, finely punctate, with distinct median antebasal and lateral antebasal foveae connected by complete transverse antebasal sulcus.

Elytra much wider than long, EL 0.75 mm, EW 1.2 mm; each elytron with two large, setose basal foveae; discal striae extending from outer basal foveae to near posterior margin of elytra.

Legs elongate; protrochanter (Fig. 5C ) with elongate ventral spine, profemur (Fig. 5C ) with conspicuously long ventral spine near base, protibia (Fig. 5D ) simple; mesotrochanter (Fig. 5E ) with short and small ventral tubercle, mesofemur (Fig. 5E ) and mesotibia (Fig. 5F ) simple.

Abdomen broader than long, broadest at lateral margins of tergite 1 (IV), AL 0.89 mm, AW 1.21 mm; tergite 1 (IV) largest, as long as tergites 2 and 3 (V and VI) combined, with short median carina extending to near basal 1/4 of tergal length, lacking discal carinae, tergite 2 (V) lacking carina, tergites 2-4 (V-VII) each with small basolateral foveae, tergite 5 (VIII) with large medioapical process. Sternite 2 (IV) with broad basal sulcus, lacking mediobasal foveae, basolateral foveae developed as large cuticular pockets, with two pairs of antebasal nodules, sternites 3-5 (V-VII) with basolateral foveae, one median and two lateral nodules, sternite 7 (IX) nearly oval, with well-sclerotized apical half and less sclerotized basal half.

Aedeagus (Fig. 5G-I ) 0.59 mm long, median lobe nearly symmetric, apex broadly truncate; endophallus composed of three sclerites: one elongate, plate-like sclerite with curved lobe at apex; one curved sclerite at base, and one much narrower sclerite at left.

Female. Unknown.

Comparative notes.

This species is placed as a member of the H. burckhardti group, and is most similar to H. hongkongensis Yin & Li in having similar spination of the legs and a general aedeagal form. They can be clearly separated by the more distinctly expanded basolateral margin of the scape, tergite VIII with a large medioapical process, and the different structure of the aedeagal endophallus.

Distribution.

India: Meghalaya.

Etymology.

The new species is named after its type locality, the East Khasi Hills.

Figures

Figure 4. Dorsal habitus of Horniella species A H. khasiensis sp. nov. B H. nantouensis sp. nov. Scale bars: 1 mm.

Figure 5. Diagnostic characters of Horniella khasiensis sp. nov. A left half of head, in dorsal view B head, in lateral view C protrochanter and profemur D protibia E mesotrochanter and mesofemur F mesotibia G-I aedeagus, in dorsal (G), lateral (H) and ventral (I) view. Scale bars: 0.2 mm (A-I).