Scaphobaeocera montana, Löbl, 2020

Löbl, Ivan, 2020, Four new Taiwanese species of Scaphobaeocera CSIKI (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scaphidiinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 52 (1), pp. 327-335 : 330

Scaphobaeocera montana nov.sp. ( Figs 8-10 )

Type material: Holotype ♂: TAIWAN Hualien Hsien, Taroko N. P. Nanhushi Hut 2220 m 12.V.1990 A. Smetana [T55] ( MHNG) . Paratype ♂: TAIWAN Taichung Hsien, Anmachan 2230 m 4.V.1990 A. Smetana [T43] ( MHNG).

Description: Length 1.44-1.46 mm, width 0.80-0.83 mm, dorsoventral diameter 0.86-0.94 mm. Frons, pronotum and elytra, elytral apices excepted, blackish. Elytral with narrowly lighter apices. Ventral side of thorax, most of exposed tergites and ventrites somewhat lighter than pronotum and elytra. Femora and tibiae dark reddish-brown, apical abdominal segments, tarsi and antennae lighter than tibiae, yellowish. Length/width ratios of antennomeres as: III 16/7: IV 22/7: V 28/7: VI 20/8: VII 35/15: VIII 24/12: IX 35/15: X 34/18: XI 55/18. Pronotum extremely finely punctate, punctured hardly visible at 100 times magnification, not microsculptured. Minute point of scutellum exposed. Elytra weakly iridescent, with distinct parasutural striae, sutural striae deep, curved at base, discal punctation about as fine as pronotal punctation, microsculpture appearing absent. Hypomeron not microsculptured, smooth, with longitudinal stria separating upper oblique part from lower vertical part. Middle area of metaventrite convex, with large centre smooth, densely, distinctly punctate around impunctate centre and with punctures to part about as large as puncture intervals; pubescence short; median stria and median impression absent. Lateral parts of metaventrite very finely and sparsely punctate, not microsculptured. Submesocoxal areas about 0.02 mm, submesocoxal lines appearing impunctate. Tibiae straight. Ventrite 1 not microsculptured, very finely punctate, basal punctures distinct, not elongate. Following sternites with strigulate microsculpture.

Male characters: Protarsomeres slightly widened, much narrower than apices of tibiae. Aedeagus ( Figs 8-10.46 - 0.48 mm long. Median lobe with narrow basal bulb, apical process asymmetrical, weakly inflexed, almost long much shorter than basal bulb, ventral side weakly concave, tip blunt and not bent in lateral view, blunt in dorsal view. Articular process not prominent. Parameres symmetrical, almost in axis with the median lobe, reaching posterior level of tip of median lobe, almost evenly broad in dorsal view, strongly widened apically in lateral view. Internal sac with large basal sclerite joined with narrow, bent flagellum not forming loops.

Differential diagnosis: The aedeagal characters of this species suggest relationships with the Japanese S. smetanai LÖBL, 1981 . The latter may be distinguished by the well visible elytral and abdominal microsculpture, the distinctly iridescent elytra, and the length/width ratios of the antennomeres, notably by the antennomeres VIII about as narrow as the antennomeres VI and the antennomeres XI about 2.5 times as long as wide. The aedeagi of these two species differ by apical process of the median lobe narrower (lateral view), the margin of the basal sclerite of the internal sac broadly convex, and the proximal section of the flagellum much narrower in S. montana .

Etymology: The species epithet is a Latin adjective meaning mountain.

Figures

Figs 8-14: Scaphobaeocera, aedeagi; (8, 9) S. montana nov.sp., in dorsal and lateral views, scale = 0.1 mm; (10) Ditto, flagellum and proximal sclerite of internal sac, dorsal view, scle = 0.05 mm; (11, 12) S. tengchinensis nov.sp., in dorsal and lateral views, scale = 0.1 mm; (13, 14) Ditto, flagellum in dorsal and lateral views, scale = 0.05 mm.