Pseudolathra cordiformis, Assing, 2012

Assing, V., 2012, The Pseudolathra species of the East Palaearctic and the Oriental regions (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 62, pp. 299-330 : 314

Pseudolathra cordiformis sp. n. ( Figs 29-32 , Map 1 )

Type material:

Holotype ♂ [slightly damaged: most of left antenna, right protarsi, mesotarsi, and most of right hind leg missing]: “ India / Tamil Nadu, Mettukuppam by Neyveli (Cudalore), 5.I.-1.III.2008, leg. F. Burger Lux / Holotypus ♂ Pseudolathra cordiformis sp. n., det. V. Assing 2012” ( NME).

Etymology:

The specific epithet (Latin, adjective: heart-shaped) alludes to the shape of the dorsal plate of the aedeagus.

Description:

Body length 5 mm; length of forebody 2.7 mm. Coloration: head blackish-brown; pronotum and elytra reddish; abdomen reddish, with segments III-VI slightly darker; legs and antennae reddish-yellow.

Head approximately as long as broad, tapering behind eyes; posterior angles weakly marked; punctation coarse and sparse. Eyes bulging, slighly longer than postocular region in dorsal view. Antennae 1.8 mm long.

Pronotum 1.15 times as long as broad and 1.1 times as broad as head; dorsal series composed of approximately 15 punctures and some additional punctures; lateral portions with sparse punctation.

Elytra nearly as long as pronotum; punctation arranged in straight series. Hind wings fully developed.

Abdomen narrower than elytra; punctation dense and fine; interstices with microsculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe.

♂: protarsomeres I-IV strongly dilated; sternite VII with weakly concave posterior margin, pubescence unmodified ( Fig. 29 ); sternite VIII oblong, posterior excision narrow and deep, its depth nearly 2/5 the length of sternite ( Fig. 30 ); aedeagus 1.0 mm long, similar to that of P. villiersi , but apex of dorsal plate somewhat heart-shaped in ventral view ( Figs 31-32 ).

Comparative notes:

The similarly derived morphology of the aedeagus suggests that P. cordiformis is closely allied to P. villiersi . Both species are reliably distinguished only by the shape of the aedeagus, particularly that of the apex of the dorsal plate.

Distribution and natural history:

The type locality is situated in Tamil Nadu, near Cuddalore, in southeastern India ( Map 1 ). The holotype was collected with a light trap.

Figures

Map 1: Distributions of Pseudolathra unicolor (triangles; open triangles: female-based records), P. tichomirovae (open squares), P. lineata (filled squares), P. cordiformis (filled diamond), and P. brevincisa (open circle), based on revised records.

Figs 29-37: Pseudolathra cordiformis (29-30), P. pulchella from Malaysia (33-34), and P. caffra from Kenya (35-37): male sternite VII (29); male sternite VIII (30); aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view (31-36); ventral process of aedeagus in ventral view (37). Scale bars: 0.5 mm.