Orphnebius (Deroleptus) poncei, Shavrin & Medina, 2024

Shavrin, Alexey V. & Medina, Milton Norman D., 2024, Two new species of the genus Orphnebius Motschulsky, 1858 from Mindanao, Philippines (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae: Lomechusini), Zootaxa 5424 (4), pp. 483-489 : 486-488

Orphnebius (Deroleptus) poncei sp. n.

( Figs 9–17 )

Type material. Holotype ♂ ( Fig. 10 ; dissected): ‘ Philippines, Mindanao, Davao | Oriental, Tibanga River Pool, | Cawa-Cawa R. 6.744185N, | 126.179798E. 11.05.2023, | Shavrin A. V. leg.’ <printed>, ‘Sifting of wet leaf litter and deb- | ris on slope near the river’ <printed>, ‘ HOLOTYPE | Orphnebius (Deroleptus) | barsevskisi sp. n. | Shavrin A. V. des. 2024’ <red, printed> ( DUBC).

Description. Measurements: HW: 0.40; HL: 0.23; OL: 0.15; TL: 0.05; AL: 0.47; PL: 0.18; PW: 0.32; ESL: 0.17; EW: 0.42; MTbL: 0.37; MTrL: 0.35; AW: 0.42; AedL: 0.27; BL: 4.30.

Body reddish-brown, with distinctly darker head and latero-posterior portions of elytra;mouthparts, antennomeres and legs yellowish (basal portions of tibiae slightly darker, apical antennomere and tarsi slightly paler).

Head strongly transverse, 1.7 times as broad as long, with rounded postocular portions and posterior margin widely truncate in middle.Punctation indistinct, fine and very sparse; middle and posterior portions without punctures. Microsculpture absent except of fine, indistinct and transverse meshes in mediolateral portions. Clypeus distinctly sclerotized. Eyes large and convex. Temples about three times shorter than longitudinal length of eyes. Antenna almost reaching basal margin of pronotum when reclined; antennomeres 4–10 slightly transverse; antennomere 4 distinctly broader than 3, 5–6 slightly shorter than 4, 7–10 slightrly longer and indistinctly broader than 6, apical antennomere moderately long, slightly shorter than three preceding segments, from widest middle portion gradually narrowed toward acute apex.

Pronotum distinctly transverse, 1.7 times as broad as long, broader at level of anterior angles. Disc with indistinct, very fine and sparse punctation; middle portion without punctures. Microsculpture absent.

Elytra indistinctly shorter than pronotum, transverse, about two and a half times as broad as long. Punctation fine and very sparse, indistinct along suture. Microsculpture absent. Hind wings fully developed.

Legs very long and slender; metatarsus slightly shorter than metatibia.

Abdomen as broad as elytra, with very fine punctation and without microsculpture; abdominal tergite IV distinctly longer than III, V slightly longer than IV, VI indistinctly longer than V.

Male. Abdominal tergite VII ( Fig. 11 ) and tergite VIII Fig. 13 ) with distinctly serrate latero-apical margins. Abdominal sternite VII with dense and large punctation in middle ( Fig. 12 ). Abdominal sternite VIII as in Fig. 14 . Aedeagus elongate, from widest basal portion gradually narrowed toward apex ( Fig. 15 ). Lateral aspect of the aedeagus as in Fig. 16 . Paramere as in Fig. 17 .

Female unknown.

Comparative notes. Based on the general shape of the head with wide posterior portions and the shape of the aedeagus, O. (D.) poncei sp. n. is similar to O. (D.) tuberculifer Assing, 2021 and O. (D.) tuberosus Assing, 2021 , both recently described from Malaysia, North Borneo ( Assing 2021). It can be distinguished from O. (D.) tuberculifer by the broader apical portion of the pronotum, and from O. (D.) tuberosus by the distinctly narrower median lobe of the aedeagus. From both species it differs by the paler coloration of the larger body, distinctly longer eyes, the absence of tubercles on the dorsal surface of the abdominal tergite VIII, narrower median lobe of the aedeagus and different structure of the internal sac. Based on the general shape of the forebody and the aedeagus, the presence of widely rounded posterior portions of head and the absence of tubercles on the dorsal surface of all apical abdominal tergites, O. (D.) poncei sp. n. is also similar to O. (D.) barsevskisi sp. n., from which it can be distinguished by the narrower body, less broader posterior portions of head, absence of microsculpture on the darker elytra, slightly narrower median lobe and details of the structure of the internal sac. Besides that, it can be distinguished from O. (D.) bulbosus Assing, 2021 , recently described from Mindanao ( Assing 2021) by the paler coloration, distinctly longer and broader postocular portions of the head, broader apical portion of the pronotum, and distinctly shorter preapical antennomere.

Distribution. The new species is known only from the type locality in Davao Oriental ( Fig. 9 ).

Etymology. The new species is named after our colleague Roy G. Ponce, the president of Davao Oriental State College of Science and Technology (DOrSU).

Bionomics. The specimen was sifted from wet litter and debris on a slope near the river.

Figures

FIGURE 9. Distribution of Orphnebius in Mindanao: O. barsevskisi (circle), O. bulbosus (square), O. poncei (triangle).

FIGURES 10–17. Habitus of Orphnebius (s.str.) poncei (holotype): 10—habitus, 11—male abdominal tergite VII, 12—male abdominal sternite VII, 13—male abdominal tergite VIII, 14—male abdominal sternite VIII, 15—aedeagus, ventral view, 16— aedeagus, lateral view, 17—paramere. Scale bars: 1.0 mm (Fig. 1), 0.1 mm (Figs. 2–8).