Cephennodes (Cephennodes) ghorepanianus, 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 : 71-73

Cephennodes (Cephennodes) ghorepanianus sp. n.

( Figs 159 , 207–210 , 228 )

Type material. Holotype: NEPAL (Parbat District): ♂, one label: " NEPAL - Goropani For. / Goropani face nord / 2750m 5.X.83 / Löbl - Smetana" [white, printed] ( MHNG).

Diagnosis. BL 1.25 mm; abdominal sternite II with posterior microserrate marginal carina slightly expanded posteriorly at middle, sternite III with very broad and long basal lamina with bisinuate posterior margin strongly expanded posteriorly at middle, where it forms a subtriangular rounded lobe, from under which arises a massive projection on a short 'stalk', projection in ventral view strongly transverse, with indistinctly concave posterior margin, its ventral surface covered with tiny denticles; apex of median lobe of aedeagus subtriangular, blunt; apical projection of aedeagus distant from apex of median lobe, with distal margin strongly recurved and strongly oblique in relation to the long axis of aedeagus, apical portion of apical projection broadly subtriangular and truncate.

Description. Body of male ( Fig. 159 ) light brown, elongate, with shallow constriction between pronotum and elytra, strongly convex, covered with yellowish setae; BL 1.25 mm.

Head subtrapezoidal, HL 0.18 mm, HW 0.35 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 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 moderately thickened, AnL 0.70 mm, pentamerous club indistinctly delimited; antennomere I about 1.5 × as long as broad; II narrower but not shorter than I, 1.8 × as long as broad; III and IV slightly narrower and much shorter than II, about as long as broad, V and VI each as broad as IV and indistinctly longer, about 1.1 × as long as broad; VII slightly broader and indistinctly longer than VI, about 1.2 × as long as broad; VIII distinctly broader and shorter than VII, slightly transverse; IX and X each distinctly larger than preceding ones, each about as long as broad; XI distinctly broader than X, as long as IX–X together, about 1.7 × as long as broad.

Pronotum in dorsal view approximately semicircular, broadest near anterior third, PL 0.38 mm, PW 0.58 mm; anterior margin in strictly dorsal view arcuate; lateral margins indistinctly microserrate, strongly rounded in anterior half, weakly so in posterior third and very weakly convergent toward nearly right-angled hind corners; posterior margin shallowly bisinuate; lateral carinae distinct but narrow, fused with lateral margins; antebasal pits small and shallow, each much closer to posterior than to lateral pronotal margin. Punctures on disc fine and inconspicuous; setae moderately long, dense, suberect.

Elytra elongate, oval, broadest slightly anterior to middle, EL 0.70 mm, EW 0.65 mm, EI 1.08. Humeral calli weakly elevated; subhumeral lines distinct, divergent posteriorly, equal to about 0.3 EL, each developed as a sharp stepwise border between more convex humeral region and less convex adsutural area; basal pit on each elytron connected to shallow and diffuse arcuate impression extending posteromesally; apices of elytra separately rounded. Punctures slightly more distinct than those on pronotum but 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 207–208 ) strongly modified; abdominal sternite II with posterior microserrate marginal carina slightly expanded posteriorly at middle, sternite III with very broad and long basal lamina with bisinuate posterior margin strongly expanded posteriorly at middle, where it forms a subtriangular rounded lobe, from under which arises massive projection on a short 'stalk', projection in ventral view transverse, with indistinctly concave posterior margin, its ventral surface covered with tiny denticles.

Legs unmodified.

Aedeagus ( Figs 209–210 ) slender, AeL 0.18 mm, apex of median lobe subtriangular and blunt; apical projection distant from apex of median lobe, its distal margin strongly recurved and so strongly oblique in relation to the long axis of aedeagus that it becomes lateral margin; apex of apical projection broadly subtriangular and truncate; parameres very slender, nearly equal in length, both reaching apex of median lobe, each with one subapical seta.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution ( Fig. 228 ). Central Nepal.

Etymology. Locotypical, after Ghorepani village in Nepal.

Remarks. Abdominal modifications and the aedeagus of C. ghorepanianus are most similar to those of C. cordilaminatus . Both species have similar bisinuate proximal carina on the sternite III and a massive median projection on the same sternite, arising from under the carina and consisting of a short 'stalk' and a transverse 'head' covered with denticles. In C. ghorepanianus the 'head' of projection is nearly rectangular, with indistinctly concave posterior margin, and the apex of apical projection of aedeagus in ventral view is broad, whereas in C. cordilaminatus the 'head' of projection is heart-shaped, with deeply concave posterior margin, and the apex of apical projection of aedeagus is distinctly narrower and the projection is longer. See also remarks for C. mustangensis .

The locality written in label as Goropani is more frequently spelled as Ghorepani.

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).