Cephennodes (Cephennodes) bahrabisensis, Jałoszyński, 2017

Jałoszyński, Paweł, 2017, Ant-like stone beetles on the roof of the world. Cephenniini of Nepal and Bhutan (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae), Zootaxa 4349 (1), pp. 1-120 : 69-70

Cephennodes (Cephennodes) bahrabisensis sp. n.

( Figs 157 , 199–202 , 227 )

Type material. Holotype: NEPAL (Sindhupalchowk District): ♂, one label: " NEPAL (Prov. Bagmati) / Dobate Ridge NE Barah- / bise, 2800 m, 2.V.81 / Löbl & Smetana" [white, printed] ( MHNG).

Diagnosis. BL 1.08 mm; abdominal sternite II unmodified, sternite III in ventral view with broad submedian carina with microserrate posterior margin and subtrapezoidal in shape, posterior margin of sternite III slightly expanded posteriorly and broadly rounded; apex of median lobe of aedeagus subtriangular, blunt and slightly asymmetrical; apical projection of aedeagus partly hidden behind apex of median lobe, with distal margin rounded proximally and nearly straight distally, its median portion oblique in relation to the long axis of aedeagus, apical portion of apical projection narrowly subtriangular.

Description. Body of male ( Fig. 157 ) dark brown, moderately stout, with shallow constriction between pronotum and elytra, strongly convex, covered with light brown setae; BL 1.08 mm.

Head subtrapezoidal, HL 0.13 mm, HW 0.26 mm; vertex and frons confluent and weakly, evenly convex, vertex with a pair of tiny but distinct tubercles; supraantennal tubercles small, weakly elevated; eyes moderately large, strongly convex, coarsely faceted. Punctures on vertex and frons small and very shallow but distinct, moderately sharply marked, nearly evenly and densely distributed, separated by spaces slightly shorter than diameters of punctures; setae sparse, short, suberect. Antennae moderately long and slender, moderately thickened, AnL 0.55 mm, pentamerous club indistinctly delimited; antennomere I about 1.5 × as long as broad; II narrower and about equally long as I, 1.6 × as long as broad; III slightly narrower and much shorter than II, about as long as broad, IV–VI similar in shape, each as broad as III and slightly longer, slightly elongate; VII slightly broader and indistinctly longer than VI, indistinctly elongate; VIII distinctly broader and indistinctly shorter than VII, slightly transverse; IX and X each distinctly larger than preceding ones, each about as long as broad; XI slightly broader than X, about as long as IX–X together, about 1.7 × as long as broad.

Pronotum in dorsal view approximately semicircular, broadest slightly anterior to middle, PL 0.33 mm, PW 0.48 mm; anterior margin in strictly dorsal view arcuate; lateral margins indistinctly microserrate, strongly rounded in anterior third, nearly straight in posterior half, weakly narrowing toward slightly obtuse-angled hind corners; posterior margin shallowly bisinuate; lateral carinae distinct but narrow, fused with lateral margins; antebasal pits small and shallow, each slightly closer to posterior than to lateral pronotal margin. Punctures on disc very fine, inconspicuous; setae moderately long, dense, suberect.

Elytra elongate, oval, broadest between near middle, EL 0.63 mm, EW 0.55 mm, EI 1.14. Humeral calli weakly elevated; subhumeral lines distinct, divergent posteriorly, equal to about 0.3 EL, each developed as a moderately sharp stepwise border between more convex humeral region and less convex adsutural area; basal pit on each elytron connected to distinct, broad and straight groove extending posteromesally; apices of elytra separately rounded. Punctures more distinct than those on pronotum but fine, superficial and inconspicuous; setae similar to those on pronotum.

Hind wings not studied.

Metaventrite with moderately large, sharply delimited postmesocoxal impressions, with median area covered with fine, dense punctures.

Abdomen ( Figs 199–200 ) with sternite II unmodified, sternite III in ventral view with broad submedian carina with microserrate posterior margin and subtrapezoidal in shape, posterior margin of sternite III slightly expanded posteriorly and broadly rounded.

Legs unmodified.

Aedeagus ( Figs 201–202 ) slender, AeL 0.15 mm, apex of median lobe subtriangular and blunt, slightly asymmetrical; apical projection partly hidden behind median lobe, its distal margin rounded proximally and nearly straight distally, its median region oblique in relation to the long axis of aedeagus; apex of apical projection subtriangular; parameres very slender, unequal in length, not reaching apex of median lobe, each with one subapical seta.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution ( Fig. 227 ). Central Nepal.

Etymology. Locotypical, after Bahrabise village in Nepal.

Remarks. This species and C. bilobatus described below have the smallest adults among all members of the C. simplicipes group, with BL merely 1.08 mm. They clearly differ in abdominal modification; in C. bahrabisensis sternite II is unmodified and sternite III bears a broad submedian transverse carina with a strongly convex posterior margin, and the posterior margin of sternite III is slightly, broadly expanded posteriorly; in C. bilobatus sternite II is modified, with a transverse carina distinctly expanded posteriorly and forming a short rounded lobe along posterior margin of sternite, sternite III bears a large subtriangular and rounded median projection strongly projecting posteriorly.

The locality written in label as Barahbise is more frequently spelled Bahrabise.

Figures

FIGURES 156 – 162. Dorsal habitus of Cephennodes (s. str.) paralalitpuranus sp. n. (156), C. (s. str.) bahrabisensis sp. n. (157), C. (s. str.) bilaminatus sp. n. (158), C. (s. str.) ghorepanianus sp. n. (159), C. (s. str.) cordilaminatus sp. n. (160), C. (s. str.) mangmayanus sp. n. (161), and C. (s. str.) bilobatus sp. n. (162).

FIGURES 195 – 210. Abdomen of male in right lateral (195, 199, 203, 207) and ventral (196, 200, 204, 208) views and aedeagus in ventral (197, 201, 205, 209) and lateral (198, 202, 206, 210) views. Cephennodes (s. str.) paralalitpuranus sp. n. (195 – 198), C. (s. str.) bahrabisensis sp. n. (199 – 202), C. (s. str.) bilaminatus sp. n. (203 – 206), and C. (s. str.) ghorepanianus sp. n. (207 – 210).

FIGURES 227 – 228. Distribution of Cephennodes (s. str.) paralalitpuranus sp. n. (227, circle), C. (s. str.) bahrabisensis sp. n. (227, triangle), C. (s. str.) bilaminatus sp. n. (228, circle), C. (s. str.) ghorepanianus sp. n. (228, triangle).