Cypha persica, Assing, 2014

Assing, V., 2014, Three new species, redescriptions, a new synonymy, and additional records of Cypha from the West Palaearctic region (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 46 (2), pp. 1167-1178 : 1176

Cypha persica nov.sp. ( Figs 19-21 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype: " Iran, Razavi Khorasan Prov., 20 km NW Torbat-e Heydariyeh: Senobar, 1730 m ( Sorkh Mts ), N 35°26'04'' E 059°05'48'', 28.05.2006, lg. Frisch & Serri / Holotypus Cypha persica sp. n. det. V. Assing 2014" ( MNHUB).

E t y m o l o g y: The specific epithet (adjective) is derived from the ancient name of Iran.

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 2.0 mm; length of forebody 1.45 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 19 . Coloration: head dark-brown; pronotum brown with broadly yellowish semitransparent lateral margins; elytra reddish; abdomen brown with dark-yellowish apex; legs, antennae, and maxillary palpi brown.

Head strongly transverse; punctation extremely fine and sparse; interstices with very shallow microreticulation, glossy. Antenna conspicously long, 1 mm long; without club; antennomeres I and II large; III-IX elongated, at least twice as long as broad; VII-IX almost three times as long as broad; X noticeably longer than the combined length of VIII and IX.

Pronotum 1.9 times as broad as long and 1.5 times as broad as head; punctation and microsculpture similar to those of head.

Elytra approximately 1.1 times as long as pronotum; punctation and microsculpture slightly more distinct than those of pronotum. Protarsomere I long, but not distinctly modified.

Abdomen broadest at segment IV, tapering from segment V to segment VIII, with moderately sparse and rather fine punctation, and with shallow microreticulation.

: median lobe of aedeagus ( Figs 20-21 ) approximately 0.45 mm long and of distinctive morphology; base of aedeagal capsule acutely angled in lateral view; crista apicalis of distinctive shape; internal sac apically with several sclerotized spines.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: Based on the similarly derived external characters, particularly the morphology of the antennae (very long and slender, with very slender, elongated antennomeres IV-IX, and with conspicuously long antennomere X), and the similarly derived shape of the aedeagus (shape of crista apicalis; basally angled aedeagal capsule), C. persica is closely related to C. rubicunda and C. takhtajani , from which it differs by the different coloration ( C. takhtajani : legs and antennae yellowish) and by the morphology of the aedeagus. For illustrations of C. rubicunda and C. takhtajani see Figs 16-18 and ASSING (2005), respectively.

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d n a t u r a l h i s t o r y: The type locality is situated in Razavi Khorasan Province in northeastern Iran at an altitude of 1730 m.

Figures

Figs 15-21: Cypha rubicunda, holotype (15-18) and C. persica, holotype (19-21): (15) antenna; (16, 20) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; (17) median lobe of aedeagus in ventral view; (18, 21) apex of ventral process of median lobe in ventral view; (19) habitus. Scale bars: 19: 1.0 mm; 15: 0.5 mm; 16-18, 20-21: 0.1 mm.