Baeocera sedata Löbl, 2021

Löbl, Ivan & Smetana, Aleš, 2021, On the Baeocera Erichson (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Scaphidiinae) of Sabah, Malaysia, and a tale on mystified biodiversity, J. Insect Biodiversity 23 (2), pp. 23-42 : 37-38

Baeocera sedata Löbl , sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:7A27DD63-D656-46D8-A1AB-A7F8C918AD3D

( Figs 24–27 )

Material examined. Holotype ♂, BORNEO Sabah Kinabalu Nat. Pk. Poring Hot Spgs. 475m 23.VIII.88 A. Smetana [B141] ( CNC). Paratypes: 2 ♂, 1 ♀, with the same data as the holotype but 485 m, 29.VIII. [B160] ( CNC, MHNG) ; 1 ♂, with the same data but 480 m, 19.VIII. [B126] ( CNC) ; 1 ♀, Poring Hot Springs , 500 m, 10.V.87, Smetana ( CNC) .

Description. Length 1.04–1.13 mm, width 0.68–0.74 mm. Body ochraceous or reddish-brown with lighter apex of elytra, apical abdominal segments yellowish. Femora and tibiae ochraceous, tarsi and antennae yellowish. Head with interocular distance about as 1.5 x eye dorsoventral diameter.Lateral contours of pronotum and elytra nearly continuously arcuate. Pronotum not microsculptured, with punctation very fine, hardly visible at 40 times magnification, lateral margin carinae not visible in dorsal view. Scutellum with exposed minute acute tip. Elytra not microsculptured, with lateral margins oblique, lateral margin carinae visible in dorsal view only near bases; sutural striae entire, parallel with suture, curved along bases to form basal striae extended about to elytral mid-length; adsutural areas raised, appearing impunctate. Discal punctation irregular, very fine, with punctures hardly visible along base and on apical halves, coarse on transverse area in between. Hind wings fully developed. Hypomera impunctate. Mesoventrite without mesal ridge, with punctate intercoxal process. Mesepimera about three times as long as wide and four times as long as intervals to coxae. Centre of metaventrite flat, coarsely and densely punctate. Lateral areas of metaventrite with punctures coarse and dense, to part elongate, larger than puncture intervals. Submesocoxal areas 0.02 mm long, margined by punctures smaller than those on lateral areas of metaventrite. Metanepisterna concealed. Tibiae straight. Ventrite I lacking striae, with punctures margining base not elongate, smaller than those on sides of metaventrite, not interrupted at middle. Remaining abdominal punctation very fine and sparse, hardly visible at 80x magnification.

Male characters. Protarsomeres I to III hardly widened. Aedeagus ( Figs 24–27 ) 0.30–0.34 mm long. Median lobe in dorsal view abruptly narrowed apically, with tip acute and bent; apical process strongly inflexed, about as long as third of basal bulb, ventral contour of apical process in lateral view arcuate. Articular process not prominent. Parameres fairly wide in basal halves, notched at level of tip of median lobe, posterior notch narrowed, about as long as half section anterior notch; weakly bent in dorsal and lateral views. Internal sac with short, apically widened flagellaguide sclerite overlapping acute apophysis; with large membranous vesicle bearing squamous structures.

Differential diagnosis. The species is distinguished from other members of the B. ceylonensis group by the following characters in combination: the section of parameres posterior notch is elongate and narrowed, the flagellar guide-sclerite is slightly widened apically and overlapping a spine like apophysis, and the internal sac has a large vesicle covered by scale-like structures situated apicad of basal sclerotized parts. The species is similar in external characters to B. semiglobosa (Achard) from Taiwan, in particular by its elytral punctation.

Distribution. East Malaysia: Sabah.

Etymology. The species epithet is a Latin adjective meaning gentle, shy.

Figures

Figures 24–27. Baeocera sedata sp. nov., aedeagus; (24, 25) in dorsal and lateral views, scale = 0.1 mm; (26) paramere in ventral view, scale = 0.05 mm; (27) internal sac in dorsal view, scale = 0.05 mm.