Scaphidium yeti, Ivan Löbl & Ryo Ogawa, 2016

Ivan Löbl & Ryo Ogawa, 2016, Contribution to the knowledge of Himalayan and North Indian species of Scaphidium (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae), Revue suisse de Zoologie 123 (1), pp. 159-163 : 161-162

Scaphidium yeti sp. n.

Figs 2 , 6, 7

Holotype: NMEC; Ƌ; NEPAL Rolwaling Himal upp. Simigau vill. 2600 m 2.6.2000 leg. Schmidt.

Etymology: The species epithet is the name of the mysterious Yeti reputed to occur in the Rolwaling Valley.

Description: Length 5.4 mm (with head and abdomen about 6.5 mm), width 3.7 mm. Body black, elytra each with subbasal and subapical transverse, irregular and well delimited reddish fasciae, both not or slightly narrowed in middle and reaching to lateral margin striae. Subbasal fascia barely extended onto inner half of elytra, much larger than subapical fascia ( Fig. 2 ). Mouthparts brown. Antennomeres I to VII dark brown, VIII to XI black. Femora and tibiae black, tarsi dark brown. Frons wide, at narrowest point 0.42 mm, punctures irregular, mostly much smaller than puncture intervals, becoming dense posterior level of eyes. Pronotum not elevated above level of elytra, gradually inflexed anteriad; lateral margins distinctly sinuate, entirely visible in dorsal view. Prevailing pronotal punctation fine, with most puncture intervals about as large to twice as large as puncture diameters on middle part of disc, punctures very fine at base, antebasal puncture row slightly impressed, not interrupted in middle. Anterior margin stria impunctate, lateral margin striae irregularly punctate. Scutellum almost flat. Elytra moderately convex, adsutural areas flat in basal third, raised in apical two thirds, without impressions or protuberances; discal punctation finer than and about as dense as pronotal punctation; discal puncture rows absent; sutural striae with punctures about as small as discal punctures. Hypomera and mesanepisterna shiny, not microsculptured, very finely punctate. Prosternal margin punctures not elongate.

Middle part of metaventrite impressed posterior midlength, with discrimen fine, uninterrupted. Metacoxal process of metaventrite truncate, not notched. Legs fairly long. Abdomen finely punctate, with punctulate microsculpture.

Male characters: Metasternum with shallow mesal impression. Setal patch dense, covering posterior half of median part of metaventrite, extending apicolaterally to level of trochanters, setae recumbent and short in middle, long, raised and curled anterior of and inbetween metacoxae, forming mesal comb. Setiferous punctures dense and coarse, puncture diameters mostly larger than puncture intervals. Anterior side of profemora angulate. Protibiae slightly sinuate, thickened posterior basal third, about 0.20 mm at widest point, near base about 0.12 mm wide. Mesotibiae slightly curved, gradually thickened toward apices, each with distinct setal comb on inner side. Metatibiae slightly curved and thickened apically. Aedeagus 1.57 mm long ( Figs 6-7 ).

Female characters: Unknown.

Type locality: Nepal, Dolakha District, Rolwaling Himal, upper Simigau village, 2600 m.

Comments: This species is very similar to S. nepalense . It differs by the colour pattern of the elytra and the male sexual characters. Notable are in the new species the thicker tibiae, the metaventrite with long curled setae forming a ridge-like mesal comb, the apical part of the parameres barely widened in lateral view, and the distinctive shape of the sclerites of the internal sac.

Figures

Figs 1 - 2. Scaphidium solukhumbu sp. n., female paratype, in dorsal and lateral views (1), Scaphidium yeti sp. n., holotype (2), in dorsal and lateral views. Scale bar = 1 mm, valid for both species.

Figs 3 - 7. Scaphidium solukhumbu sp. n., holotype, aedeagus in dorsal (3) and lateral (4) views. Scaphidium nepalense Löbl, aedeagus in lateral view (5). Scaphidium yeti sp. n., holotype, aedeagus in dorsal (6) and lateral (7) views. Aedeagi without proximal part of basal bulb. Scale bar = 0.3 mm, valid for both species.