Nogunius kerri, Jałoszyński, 2020

Jałoszyński, Paweł, 2020, Himaloconnus Franz and Nogunius gen. n. of Japan (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae Scydmaeninae), Zootaxa 4822 (3), pp. 334-360 : 356-357

Nogunius kerri sp. n.

( Figs 49–50 , 77–80 )

Type material. Holotype: JAPAN (Okinawa Pref.): ♂, two labels: “Mt. OMOTO-DAKE / Ishigaki Is. / Okinawa Pref. / 3-VI-1999 / H. Mizushima leg” [white, handwritten], “ NOGUNIUS / kerri m. / HOLOTYPUS, P. JAŁOSZYŃSKI, 2020” [red, printed] ( EUMJ).

Diagnosis. Eyes in male small, in dorsal view only half as long as tempora; aedeagus in ventral view about three times as long as broad, with apical margin bearing an elongate median subtrapezoidal projection.

Description. Body of male ( Fig. 49 ) strongly convex, uniformly light brown, covered with setae slightly lighter than cuticle; BL 0.83 mm.

Head ( Fig. 50 ) broadest at eyes, HL 0.15 mm, HW 0.16 mm; tempora in dorsal view about twice as long as eyes; vertex and frons confluent, together weakly convex; each eye small, strongly convex, bean-shaped, with distinct posteromedian emargination, composed of 13 facets of equal diameters. Punctures on vertex fine, inconspicuous; setae short, sparse and suberect; tempora and posterior margin of vertex densely covered with thick bristles; additionally posterior margin of vertex with a pair of long lateral setae. Antennae slender, AnL 0.35 mm, antennomeres I and II each strongly elongate, III–VIII each about as long as broad or indistinctly transverse, IX distinctly larger than VIII, slightly transverse, X much larger than IX, strongly transverse, XI indistinctly narrower and slightly longer than X, about as long as broad.

Pronotum subconical with strongly rounded sides, broadest shortly in front of base; PL 0.23 mm, PW 0.20 mm. Anterior and posterior margins weakly convex, base with two pairs of small, distinct pits. Punctures on pronotal disc fine, inconspicuous; setae sparse, short, suberect; sides, especially posteriorly, with sparse, thick bristles.

Elytra together oval, broadest indistinctly in front of middle; EL 0.45 mm, EW 0.33 mm, EI 1.38; humeral calli weakly elevated, basal impressions large, deep, nearly circular; apices separately rounded. Punctures inconspicuous; setae slightly longer and denser than those on pronotum, suberect.

Legs moderately long and slender, unmodified.

Aedeagus ( Figs 77–80 ) elongate, in ventral view about three times as long as broad; AeL 0.13 mm; median lobe in ventral view nearly parallel-sided in proximal 2/3, then slightly narrowing toward truncate apex, apex at middle with large, elongate subtrapezoidal projection; parameres slender, each with one long apical and one long subapical seta.

Female unknown.

Distribution. Ishigaki-jima island of the Yaeyama group of the Ryukyus ( Fig. 85 ).

Etymology. This species is dedicated to George H. Kerr, author of “ Okinawa: The History of an Island People”, a book that introduced me into the fascinating history and rich culture of the Ryukyu Islands.

Remarks. Nogunius kerri is the only species of this genus known to occur in the Yaeyama Islands. The body of male is stouter than that of all remaining species, and the eyes are conspicuously small, similar only to those of N. fukuuzanus . The latter species occurs on Okinawa-jima, ∼ 470 km NE of Ishigaki-jima, and males of the latter species are distinctly slenderer, including a narrower head, and have conspicuously elongate aedeagus, which is over five times as long as broad (only three times as long as broad in N. kerri ).

Figures

FIGURE 85. Distribution of Nogunius.

FIGURES 45–52. Dorsal habitus of males (45, 47, 49, 51) and head of male in dorsal view (46, 48, 50, 52). Nogunius sokani sp. n. (45–46); N. aogashimanus sp. n. (47–48); N. kerri sp. n. (49–50); and N. fukuuzanus sp. n. (51–52).

FIGURES 77–84. Aedeagus in ventral (77, 79, 81, 83) and lateral (78, 80, 82, 84) views. Nogunius kerri sp. n. (77–80); and N. fukuuzanus sp. n. (81–84).