Neosclerus smetanai, Assing, 2011

Assing, Volker, 2011, A revision of the genus Neosclerus C (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 6 (1), pp. 89-148 : 121-122

Neosclerus smetanai sp. n. ( Figs 101-108)

Type material:

Holotype : " Taiwan, Ilan Hsien , Taipingshan, 1950 m, 13.VII.93, A. Smetana [T150] / Holotypus  Neosclerus smetanaismetanai sp. n. det. V. Assing 2010 " (cAss) . Paratypes: 2 : same data as holotype (cSme); 1 : " Taiwan, Ilan Hsien , Taipingshan, 1895 m, 13.VII.93, A. Smetana [T149]" (Sme) .

Description:

Body length 3.2-3.8 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 101. External morphology as in N .. configens ( Fig. 102), distinguished only by the male sexual characters:

: posterior margin of sternite VII very indistinctly concave in the middle, near this concavity with cluster of approximately 20 short modified setae, on either side of this cluster with longer setae directed diagonally medio-caudad ( Fig. 103); sternite VIII anteriorly with narrow carina posteriorly extending into a long, acute, and apically distinctly bifid process, posterior excision broad and deep, its depth approximately 1/4 the length of sternite ( Figs 104-106); aedeagus with ventral process of similar morphology as in N .. configens , but more slender apically ( Figs 107-108).

Etymology:

The species is dedicated to Aleš Smetana, Ottawa, who contributed a considerable proportion of the material treated in the present study and who collected the type material of this species.

Comparative notes:

Based on the synapomorphically derived morphology of the male sternites VII-VIII and of the aedeagus, as well as on the similar external morphology, this species is undoubtedly closely allied to N .. hlavacihlavaci and N .. configens , from which it is best distinguished by the deeper posterior excision and the shape of the anterior carina of the male sternite VIII, as well as by the shape of the apex of the ventral process of the aedeagus.

Distribution and bionomics:

The type locality is situated in Yilan province, northeastern Taiwan. The specimens were sifted from leaf litter and other debris among rhododendron and from moss in a coniferous forest (mainly Chamaecyparis )) with the forest floor full of decaying wood covered with lush moss at altitudes of approximately 1900 and 1950 m in July (SMETANASMETANA pers. comm.) .