Pselaphaulax hornabrooki Owens & Carlton, 2022

Owens, Brittany E. & Carlton, Christopher E., 2022, Revision of the New Zealand species of the Genus Pselaphaulax Reitter (Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae: Pselaphitae: Pselaphini), Zootaxa 5155 (2), pp. 221-244 : 226-227

Pselaphaulax hornabrooki Owens & Carlton , sp. nov.

( Fig. 6a–c )

Type Material. Holotype: (male) Wellington 10-28 1946 R.Hornabrook ( NZAC) . Paratypes: (3 females) holotype locality ( NZAC) .

Etymology. This species is named after the collector of the type series, R. Hornabrook.

Diagnosis. Pselaphaulax hornabrooki can be distinguished from other species in the genus by the combination of a median lobe curved to the right and an associated left lateral process that is narrow and elongate, extending beyond the median lobe.

Description. MALE holotype. Integument: head, pronotum, elytra, abdomen, and appendages light brown, palpi lighter in color. Head: wide, width between eyes greater than ½ length of head from base of vertex to apex of rostrum. Eyes rounded, composed of 19 facets. Frontal margin of rostrum in dorsal view slightly rounded with sparse suberect setae. Gular mound narrowed apically and posteriorly, swelling distinctly longer than wide, glabrous; area of head posterior to gular mound flattened, slightly concave, nude. Maxillary palpomere IV as long as head, widened at base and distal 1/3, apical swelling roughened, v-shaped sensory patches present, margined by carinae. Thorax: pronotum with basal sulcus faint, delimited by lateral antebasal foveae; median antebasal foveae margined by small longitudinal carinae, present in groove alongside basolateral pits. Mesoventrite with median shield bearing patch of spongeose setae in small concavity behind margin of procoxae. Metaventrite afoveate; metacoxae separated by extension of ventrite I. Legs unmodified. Elytra with two basal foveae and single sutural fovea; single discal stria, sutural striae present; apical fringe of setae absent. Abdomen: Tergites of usual form for tribe. Ventrite II with median area slightly flattened at base, apically margined by short, sparse setae. Genitalia: aedeagus asymmetrical. Median lobe distally curved to the right. Ventral process downward curved, distally, shorter than median lobe. Left lateral process elongate narrow, extending beyond median lobe. Parameres present, as long as median lobe.

Females. Integument, Head, Thorax, Abdomen: similar to male except eyes slightly smaller and ventrite II lacking median ovate depression and thickened area at apex.

Distribution. Pselaphaulax hornabrooki is known only from four collecting events in Wellington (WN).

Material examined. Wellington Region: (1 male, 3 females) New Zealand: WN: Otaki Forks, Hector Trig Moss , 6 Sep 1965 JI Townsend, 65/480 ( LSAM); (8 males, 6 females) New Zealand: WN: Hutt Valley, Taita Litter , 1958-1961 K Lee, 61/16 ( LSAM); (1 male, 1 female) Masterton 1410 10/2/1952 R. Hornabrook // Entomology Division D.S.I.R . New Zealand ( NZAC) .

Figures

FIGURE 6. Pselaphaulax hornabrooki, sp. nov. a) localities where specimens have been collected; b) aedeagus, lateral, c) aedeagus, dorsal.