Nepalota prominula, Assing, 2015

Assing, Volker, 2015, On the Nepalota fauna of China (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae: Athetini), Linzer biologische Beiträge 47 (1), pp. 207-248 : 239-242

Nepalota prominula nov.sp.

( Figs 117-127 , Map 6 )

Type material: Holotype ♂: " CHINA: N-Yunnan [C2005-12], Nujiang Lisu Aut. Pref., Gongshan Co., Gaoligong Shan , 2500 m, 27°45.404'N, 98°35.749'E, litter & debries [sic] at snowfield sifted during rain, 19.VI.2005, M. Schülke / Holotypus ♂ Nepalota prominula sp.n. det. V. Assing 2015" ( cAss) . Paratypes: 2♂♂, 1♀: same data as holotype (cSch, cAss).

Etymology: The specific epithet (Latin, adjective: prominent) alludes to the pronounced median granule of the male tergite III.

Description: Abdomen completely blackish; antennomere I blackish-brown, as dark as antennomeres II-XI or nearly so. Other external characters ( Figs 117-118 ) as in N. tuberifera .

♂: tergite III with pronounced median protuberance ( Fig. 119 ); tergite VII with weakly pronounced median elevation, this elevation with denser punctation and more distinct microreticulation; tergite VIII ( Figs 120-121 ) with truncate and weakly crenulate posterior margin; sternite VIII ( Fig. 122 ) longer than tergite VIII and strongly projecting posteriorly, middle of posterior margin truncate; median lobe of aedeagus ( Figs 123-124 ) 0.53 mm long; ventral process and internal structures of distinctive shapes; paramere longer than median lobe and with moderately slender apical lobe.

♀: tergite VIII ( Fig. 125 ) with strongly convex posterior margin; sternite VIII ( Fig. 126 ) broadly convex posteriorly; spermatheca ( Fig. 127 ) approximately 0.3 mm long.

Comparative notes: As can be inferred from the highly similar modifications of the male tergites III and VII, as well as from the similar morphology of the aedeagus and the practically identical shape of the spermatheca, N. prominula is most closely allied to N. tuberifera , from which it is distinguished by the darker coloration of antennomere I, the nearly uniformly blackish abdomen, the differently shaped male tergite and sternite VIII, the shape of the ventral process of the aedeagus (less strongly excavate at base in lateral view), the shapes of the internal structures of the aedeagus, and the more strongly convex posterior margin of the female tergite VIII.

Distribution and natural history: Thetypelocalityissituatedin the northern Gaoligong Shan in northwestern Yunnan ( Map 6 ). The specimens were sifted from litter and debris near a snowfield at an altitude of 2500 m.

Figures

Map 6: Distributions of Nepalota globifera PACE (filled circles: examined records; open circle: literature record), N. tuberifera nov.sp. (open stars), N. prominula nov.sp. (open diamond), and N. daweiana nov.sp. (filled triangle) in China.

Figs 117-127: Nepalota prominula nov.sp.: (117) forebody; (118) antenna; (119) anterior portion of male abdomen; (120) male tergite VIII; (121) posterior margin of male tergite VIII; (122) male sternite VIII; (123-124) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view; (125) female tergite VIII; (126) female sternite VIII; (127) spermatheca. Scale bars: 117: 1.0 mm; 119-120, 122, 125- 126: 0.5 mm; 123-124, 127: 0.2 mm; 121: 0.1 mm.