Paraphloeostiba margineguttata, Shavrin, 2024

Shavrin, Alexey V., 2024, Twenty-one new species of Omaliini from the Papuan Region (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae), with diagnostic and faunistic notes on some species of the genus Paraphloeostiba Steel, 1960, Zootaxa 5424 (3), pp. 251-307 : 280-281

Paraphloeostiba margineguttata sp. n.

( Figs 43 , 81–84 )

Type material. Holotype ♂ ( Fig. 43 ; dissected): ‘ IRIAN JAYA: Paniai Prov. | Sinak, trail to Ilaga | 2100-2500m, 15. 12. 1995 | leg. A. Riedel’ <printed>, ‘ HOLOTYPE | Paraphloeostiba | margineguttata sp. n. | Shavrin A. V. des. 2024’ <red, printed> ( NMW).

Paratype ♂: same data as the holotype, with additional red printed label: ‘ PARATYPE | Paraphloeostiba | margineguttata sp. n. | Shavrin A. V. des. 2024’ <red, printed> ( NMW).

Description. Measurements (n=2): HW: 0.55–0.56; HL: 0.32; OL: 0.17; TL: 0.02; AL (holotype): 0.82; PL: 0.42; PWmax: 0.66; PWmin: 0.62; ESL: 0.80–0.82; EW: 0.90; MTbL (holotype): 0.40; MTrL (holotype): 0.17 (MTrL 1–4: 0.07; MTrL 5: 0.10); AW: 0.80; AedL: 0.45; BL: 2.57 (holotype)–2.77.

Habitus as in Fig. 43 . Head and pronotum reddish-brown; elytra yellowish-brown, with brown apical portion; abdominal tergites bicoloured: abdominal tergites IV–V yelllowish and VI–VIII brownish; antennomeres 6–11 brown; mouthparts, antennomeres 1–5 and legs yellow. Head with very fine and dense punctation, finer and invisible on infraorbital portions; pronotum with moderately dense and fine punctation, slightly larger and sparser than that in middle portion of head, finer and invisible in midline; elytra with fine and moderately dense punctation, slightly deeper than that on pronotum, finer and sparser around scutellum and along suture; abdominal tergites with distinct fine and dense punctation. Head with dense microsculpture, finer and transverse on vertex and isodiametric and slightly coarser in middle; pronotum with dense isodiametric microreticulation, distinctly coarser and larger than that in middle portion of head, slightly finer in middle; microsculpture of elytra very dense, isodiametric, distinctly coarser than that in pronotum; abdominal tergites with fine transverse meshes.

Head with short narrow and moderately deep anteocellar foveae, slightly divergent posteriad toward about level of posterior third of eyes; postocular carina absent. Ocelli large, located slightly below level of posterior margins of eyes; distance between ocelli slightly longer than distance between ocellus and posterior margin of eyes. Antenna reaching apical margin of elytra when reclined, with antennomeres 6–7 about as broad as long; antennomere 3 disitnctly narrower and longer than 2, 4 about twice shorter than 3, 5 distinctly longer than 4, 6 slightly shorter and broader than 5, 7–9 slightly longer and broader than 6, 10 slightly shorter than 9, about as long as wide, apical antennomere about 1.4 times as long as 10, from middle strongly narrowed toward subacute apex.

Pronotum 1.5 times as broad as long and 1.2 times as broad as head, widest slightly above middle, more narrowed posteriad than anteriad; laterobasal impressions shallow.

Elytra 1.9 times as long as pronotum, distinctly broadened posteriad, with rounded posterior margins.

Metatarsi slightly less than twice shorter than metatibia.

Abdomen distinctly narrower than elytra.

Male. Posterior margin of abdominal tergite VIII truncate ( Fig. 83 ). Posterior margin of abdominal sternite VIII widely and deeply concave ( Fig. 84 ). Aedeagus with moderately wide basal portion, gradually narrowed toward relatively wide median lobe with rounded apex; parameres relatively narrow, indistinctly broadened apicad, slightly not exceeding apex of median lobe, with three long apical setae; internal sac narrow, short, with three long and narrow sclerotized structures in basal portion ( Fig. 81 ). Lateral aspect of the aedeagus as in Fig. 82 .

Female unknown.

Comparative notes. Based on the glossy body with moderately fine sculpture of the forebody and the general shape of the aedeagus, P. margineguttata sp. n. is similar to P. solomonensis Steel, 1960 ( Solomon Islands: Guadalcanal) and P. ullrichi Shavrin, 2023 , recently described from Papua New Guinea ( Shavrin 2023b). From P. solomonensis it differs by the paler and significantly larger body, with the absence of traces of longitudinal impressions in the middle of the pronotum, and distinctly broader apical portion of the median lobe. From P. ullrichi it differs by the paler and slightly larger body, broader median lobe and longer parameres. From all species of the genus it can be distinguished by the shape of the antennomeres 6–7 about as broad as long, and different structure of the internal sac.

Distribution. Paraphloeostiba margineguttata sp. n. is known only from the type locality in Paniai Province of Western New Guinea, Indonesia.

Etymology. The specific epithet is the Latin margineguttatus, - a, -um (with spots at margins). It alludes to the wide darkened spots in apical portions of each elytron.

Bionomics. Specimens were collected at elevations from 2100 to 2500 m a.s.l. The detailed bionomical data are unknown.

Figures

FIGURES 39–44. Habitus of Paraphloeostiba: 39–P. coriacea (Western New Guinea), 40–P. iriana (paratype), 41–P. latissima (paratype), 42–P. guadalcanalensis (paratype), 43–P. margineguttata (holotype), 44–P. steeli (holotype). Scale bars: 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 81–84. Paraphloeostiba margineguttata (holotype): 81–aedeagus, parameral view, 82–aedeagus, lateral view, 83– male abdominal tergite VIII, 84–male abdominal sternite VIII. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.