Orphnebius (Deroleptus) vates, Assing, 2016

Assing, Volker, 2016, On some Lomechusini of the Palaearctic and Oriental regions (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 66 (1), pp. 13-111 : 70-71

Orphnebius (Deroleptus) vates spec. nov.

( Figs 61 , 89, 97 , 340–344 )

Type material: Holotype ♂: “ Lao, Phongsaly prov ., 21°41'N 102°6'E, Phongsaly env. , 6.–17.v.2004, ~ 1500 m, Vít Kubáň leg. / Holotypus ♂ Orphnebius vates sp. n., det. V. Assing 2015” ( NHMB).

Etymology: The specific epithet (Latin, noun: seer) alludes to the conspicuously large eyes.

Description: Body length 3.8 mm; length of forebody 1.6 mm. Coloration: head black with pale-brown mouthparts; pronotum and elytra dark-brown, with the humeral and sutural portions of the elytra indistinctly and diffusely paler; abdomen dark-yellowish with brown tergite VII; legs with brown femora and pale-brown tibiae and tarsi; antennae dark-brown with antennomeres I–III reddish.

Head ( Fig. 89 ) strongly transverse and with marked posterior angles; dorsal surface with fine and moderately sparse punctation and with depressed pubescence; interstices without microsculpture. Eyes extremely large, extending along whole lateral margins of head nearly to posterior margin. Antenna ( Fig. 61 ) 1.2 mm long and very weakly incrassate; antennomere IV approximately as long as broad; antennomeres V–X weakly and gradually increasing in width and increasingly transverse; X weakly transverse, distinctly less than 1.5 times as broad as long; XI slightly longer than the combined length of IX and X. Pronotum ( Fig. 89 ) small and strongly transverse, 1.46 times as broad as long and 0.95 times as broad as head, moderately convex in cross-section; lateral margins weakly convex in dorsal view; punctation very fine and rather sparse; pubescence sub-erect, long, and pale; lateral margins each with two long black setae anteriorly.

Elytra ( Fig. 89 ) 1.15 times as long as pronotum; at postero-sutural angle with a small smooth elevation; punctation moderately sparse, somewhat granulose in posterior portion; pubescence pale, long, and depressed. Hind wings present. Legs long and slender; metatibia 0.7 mm long; metatarsus 0.9 times as long as metatibia; metatarsomere I slightly longer than the combined length of II and III.

Abdomen ( Fig. 97 ): sternites III and IV with short and broad lateral extensions; sternite V with pronounced postero-lateral processes; tergites III–IV with very fine punctures at posterior margin, otherwise impunctate; tergites V–VI with a lateral puncture on either side and with very fine punctures at posterior margin; tergite VII with very dense non-setiferous punctation in posterior two-thirds, posterior margin with palisade fringe; tergite VIII ( Fig. 343 ) with two transverse series of setiferous punctures bearing black setae, in posterior portion with a median pair of setiferous granules, posterior margin of distinctive shape, with a rather long lateral process and with two short sub-lateral teeth on either side; sternite VIII ( Fig. 344 ) with strongly convex posterior margin.

♂: median lobe of aedeagus ( Figs 340–341 ) 0.4 mm long and of simple shape; ventral process straight in lateral view and apically strongly convex in ventral view; paramere ( Fig. 342 ) 0.5 mm long, without conspicuous modifications.

Comparative notes: Orphnebius vates is distinguished from other geographically close Deroleptus species by numerous characters, particularly its small body size, conspicuously large eyes, the morphology of the antennae, a small and strongly transverse pronotum, the punctation of the elytra, the modifications of the abdominal sternites III–V, the shape of tergite VIII, and the morphology of the aedeagus.

Distribution and natural history: The type locality is situated near Phongsaly in North Laos. The holotype was collected at an altitude of approximately 1500 m, together with O. grandicollis , O. serratus , O. reductus , O. baccillatus , and two unnamed species.

Figures

Figs 54–83. Antenna (54–69), forebody (70–73), abdomen (74–76), abdominal segments III–V (77, 81), lateral portion of abdominal segments III–V (78, 82), tergites VI–VII (79, 83), and hind leg (80) of Orphnebius spp. of the subgenus Deroleptus: discrepans (54, 73, 75), triapicalis (55, 71, 76), gracilior (56, 72, 77–80), sexcarinatus (57, 81–83), spoliatus (58), cultellatus (59), septemcuspis (60), vates (61), tortus (62), baccillatus (63), carinatus (64), dispar (65), laticeps (66), biimpressus (67), ulcerosus (68), falagrioides (69), siamensis (70, 74). Scale bars: 70–83: 1.0 mm; 54–69: 0.5 mm.

Figs 84–101. Forebody (84–90), abdomen (91–94, 97–98), lateral portion of abdominal segments III–V/VI (95, 99, 101), and tergite VII (96, 100) of Orphnebius spp. of the subgenus Deroleptus: sexcarinatus (84), spoliatus (85, 91), cultellatus (86, 92–94), septemcuspis (87, 95–96), tortus (88, 98–100), vates (89, 97), baccillatus (90, 101). Scale bars: 84–95, 97–99, 101: 1.0 mm; 96, 100: 0.5 mm.

Figs 340–358. Orphnebius vates (340–344), O. tortus (345–347), O. baccillatus (348–350), O. carinatus (351–353), and O. dispar (354–358): median lobe of aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view (340–341, 354–355); paramere (342, 356); tergite VIII (343, 345, 348, 351, 357); male sternite VIII (344); female sternite VIII (346, 349, 352); spermatheca (347, 350, 353, 358). Scale bars: 0.2 mm.