Bledius (Hesperophylus) telnovi, Blinstein, 2024

Blinstein, Semen, 2024, New Species, Records And Synonym Of The Genus Bledius Leach, 1819 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Oxytelini) From India, Acta Biologica Universitatis Daugavpiliensis 24 (2), pp. 177-182 : 178-179

Bledius (Hesperophylus) telnovi sp. nov.

(Figs. 1–4)

https://zoobank. org/703ed00f-2fd1-45d3-8b88-a6600fb148bc

Type material designated. Holotype ♀ BMNH: NE India, Assam, 27°02’ N 92°35 E, 150 m, L. Dembický leg., 26.v. - 3.vi.2006, 2006–48 . Paratype 1♀ BMNH, same label as holotype .

Description. Female, total body length 3.9 mm, anterior part 2.5 mm. Colour of head castaneous

178 brown, prothorax paler chestnut-brown, elytra, pronotum, maxillae, antennae, apices of supra-antennal ‘horns’ and legs testaceous, sutural area of elytra dully blackish, abdomen testaceous, its apex darkened. Dorsum of head (Fig. 2) moderately shining and slightly convex dorsally. Head transverse, head width including eyes 0.8 mm, between eyes 0.5 mm, head length 0.52 mm. Head dorsum microgranulate, microsculpture finer on clypeus. Head disc with sparse deep punctures, clypeus with scattered shallow punctures. Labrum broadly rounded at anterior margin with very weak median notch and distinct longitudinal slit. Clypeus with truncate anterior margin, bearing large tubercles near anterolateral angles, separated from forehead by a thin, slightly concave transverse suture. Head pubescence moderately long, directed towards middle, sticking out on labrum. Mandibles broadly rounded externally, strongly expanded in basal half, bidentate; median denticle located at midlength. Visible part of mandible equal in length to its basal width. Supra-antennal rings moderately projecting. First antennal segment (Fig. 3) elongated, as long as combined length of five following segments. Antennal segments two to five elongated, gradually shortened. Segment sixth as long as wide. Poorly defined club starts from transverse segment seven. Terminal antennal segment elongate ovoid apically. All segments of club with tactile setae. Pronotum transverse (length/width = 0.87/0.72),moderately strongly convex dorsally. Lateral margin with anterior two-thirds nearly straight to slightly curved, broadly rounded towards base in basal fifth. Pronotal surface shining, only on anterior margin with shallow isodiametric microgranular sculpture; deep and large punctures separated by one to two their diameters. Median longitudinal groove fully developed. Pronotal pubescence moderately long. Pterosternal suture parallel to protergosternal suture, procoxal fissure closed, prosternal pit small and with few setae. Elytra elongated (length/width = 1.05/ 0.9 mm), parallel-sided, longer than pronotum, dull shiny,

New species, records and synonym of the genus Bledius Leach, 1819 ( Coleoptera : Staphylinidae : Oxytelini ) from India not shagreened, punctures similar as those on pronotum. Elytra with membranous lobes along posterior margin. Abdominal tergal and sternal pubescence moderately long, moderately dense, directed medio-posteriorly; background sculpture microgranulate, smoothed, scarce punctures present on apical half of tergites. Tergite seven with wide triangular lateral projections at apical margin (Fig. 4), truncate at middle, without membrane.

Sexual dimorphism. Male is unknown.

Variability. The mid-longitudinal groove of pronotum in the paratype is less prominent, barely noticeable. This type of morphological variability is known for many other species of