Syndicus phangngaensis, Jałoszyński, Paweł, 2011

Jałoszyński, Paweł, 2011, New species and new records of Syndicus Motschulsky (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae), Zootaxa 2991, pp. 21-28 : 22-23

Syndicus (s. str.) phangngaensis sp. n.

( Figs. 1 , 4, 5 )

Type material. Holotype: THAILAND: 3, two labels: " Thailand, mer., Prov. Phang Nga \ Khao Lak Lam Ru National Park \ 8°37'22.91''N 98°14'62.16''E \ 2.–5.IV.2008, leg. A. Pütz" [white, printed]; " SYNDICUS (s. str.) \ phangngaensis m. \ det. P. Jałoszyński, 2009 \ HOLOTYPUS " [red, printed] ( PCAP).

Diagnosis. Males of this species differ from all other congeners in having extremely long antennae reaching nearly 0.7 length of body, and endophallus with very large distal vesicle and transverse central complex composed of broadly separated halves, each including several transverse and oblique structures. Female diagnostic characters remain unknown.

Description. BL 2.83 mm. Body of male ( Fig. 1 ) strongly convex, reddish-brown, vestiture slightly lighter than cuticle.

Head broadest at large, finely faceted and moderately convex eyes, HL 0.45 mm, HW 0.63 mm; tempora in strictly dorsal view regularly arcuate; vertex strongly transverse, regularly convex, confluent with small, convex frons; supraantennal tubercles prominent, each elongate, distinctly delimited from frons but confluent with vertex; clypeus not modified, with anterior margin slightly concave. Punctures on frons and vertex small but distinct, unevenly distributed, separated by spaces 2– 5 x as long as puncture diameters; setae sparse but very long and strongly erect. Antennae nearly as long as 0.7x BL, slightly thickened toward apices, AnL 1.90 mm, relative lengths of antennomeres: 1.75: 1: 1.5: 1.75: 2: 2.13: 2.2: 2.1: 2: 2.3: 0.8.

Pronotum elongate with regularly convex, trapezoid disc, broadest near anterior fifth; PL 0.88 mm, PWb 0.48 mm, PWm 0.68 mm; anterior margin convex; sides moderately strongly narrowing posteriorly and weakly but distinctly constricted in posterior fifth; posterior collar very short, separated from disc by transverse row of four small but distinct and deep dorsal pits, additionally vertical sides of pronotum anterior to dorsal pits bear two small, shallow and slightly diffused impressions; posterior margin of pronotum nearly straight. Disc very glossy, with very fine punctures barely noticeable at magnification 40x; setae thick, moderately dense, very long and erect.

Elytra in lateral view slightly more convex than pronotum, broadest distinctly anterior to middle and strongly narrowing toward apices; EL 1.50 mm, EW 1.00 mm, EI 1.50; humeral calli distinct; basal impression on each elytron rudimentary; punctures more distinct than those on pronotal disc but very shallow and diffused, separated by spaces 2– 3 x as long as puncture diameters; setae about as dense as those on pronotum but slightly longer, erect.

Legs long and slender; dorsal femoral groove clearly visible on entire length of femoral clava; pro- and metatibiae nearly straight, mesotibiae slightly curved.

Aedeagus ( Figs. 4, 5 ) relatively stout, AeL 0.55 mm; endophallus in ventral view with long and broad proximal projection, small proximal vesicle, very large distal vesicle, and darkly sclerotized central complex composed of broadly separated lateral parts, each including a series of transverse or oblique structures; parameres without apical setae, only slightly exceeding apex of median lobe.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution. S Thailand: Phang Nga Province.

Etymology. Locotypical, after the province Phang Nga in Thailand.

Remarks. Apart from the strikingly long antennae, the external morphology of this species is unremarkable and very similar to most species of Syndicus . The endophallus, however, is unique and not similar to any structures known so far in the nominotypical subgenus; the shape of the central complex is especially conspicuous. Ten species and subspecies of Syndicus , including S. phangngaensis , are currently known to occur in Thailand. Most of them inhabit northern and north-eastern provinces, and only two species have been recorded so far from the southern part of the country ( Jałoszyński 2004). Syndicus phangngaensis is the third species known from S Thailand.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 3. Habitus of males. 1 ― Syndicus (s. str.) phangngaensis sp. n.; 2 ― Syndicus (s. str.) kampucheanus sp. n.; 3 ― Syndicus (Semisyndicus) schuelkei sp. n. Scale bars: 1 mm.

FIGURES 4 – 13. Aedeagus in ventral (4, 6, 8) and lateral (5, 7, 9) views; spermatheca in lateral (10, 12) and axial (11, 13) views. 4, 5 ― Syndicus (s. str.) phangngaensis sp. n.; 6, 7, 10, 11 ― Syndicus (s. str.) kampucheanus sp. n.; 8, 9 ― Syndicus (Semisyndicus) schuelkei sp. n.; 12, 13 ― Syndicus (s. str.) paeninsularis bilobatus Jałoszyński. Abbreviations: cc — central complex of endophallus; dag— duct of accessory gland of spermatheca; ds — ductus spermathecae; dv — distal vesicle of endophallus; pp — proximal projection of endophallus; pv— proximal vesicle of endophallus. Scale bars: 4 – 9 — 0.2 mm; 10 – 13 — 0.05 mm.