Lathrobium rectaculeatum, Assing, 2014

Assing, Volker, 2014, New species and records of Lathrobium from the Palaearctic region, primarily from Nepal (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 64 (1), pp. 1-28 : 18

Lathrobium rectaculeatum sp. n.

( Figs 89–95 , Map 2 )

Type material: Holotype : “ NEPAL SW Dhaulagiri, NW Dhorpatan 31–3200 m, 28°30'47"N, 83°01'59"E / Holotypus  Lathrobium rectaculeatum sp. n., det. V. Assing 2013” ( NME).

Paratypes: 4 : same data as holotype ( NME, cAss) .

Etymology: The specific epithet is an adjective composed of the Latin adjectives rectus (straight) and aculeatus (with a sting). It alludes to the straight stingshaped apex of the ventral process of the aedeagus (ventral view) and the presumably close relationship to L. flexaculeatum .

Description: Body length 5.4–6.2 mm; length of forebody 2.5–2.6 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 89 . Coloration: forebody reddish; abdomen dark-brown; legs and antennae reddish. Other external characters ( Figs 90–91 ) as in L. flexaculeatum .

: protarsomeres I–IV strongly dilated; metafemur posteriorly with a weakly pronounced long and oblique (more pronounced basally than apically) carina in the middle; sternite VII ( Fig. 92 ) distinctly transverse, in posteromedian portion with an extensive cluster of numerous long and stout black setae, posterior margin with broad, bisinuate, and shallow posterior excision, margin of this excision with a comb of approximately 30 long palisade setae; sternite VIII ( Fig. 93 ) approximately 1.13 times as broad as long, in the antero-median portion extensively without pubescence, posterior excision moderately deep, moderately broad, and anteriorly rounded, lateral margins of this excision with a row of dense short setae; aedeagus ( Figs 94–95 ) 1.05–1.15 mm long and symmetric; ventral process basally broad and apically extending into a straight spine-shaped process in ventral view; dorsal plate broad and very short; internal sac without appreciable structures.

: unknown.

Comparative notes: The similar modifications of the male metafemora, the similarly modified male sternites VII and VIII, and the similar morphology of the aedeagus suggest that L. rectaculeatum i s most closely related to the geographically close L. flexaculeatum , from which it differs by the less pronounced modifications of the male metafemora, the less transverse male sternite VII with a distinctly bisinuate posterior excision, and by the larger aedeagus with an apically straight ventral process and with a differently shaped dorsal plate.

Distribution and natural history: The type locality is situated in the southwestern Dhaulagiri range, Central Nepal ( Map 2 ), at an altitude of 3100–3200 m.

Figures

Map 2:Distributions of Lathrobium species inNepal:L. flexaculeatum (white square),L. rectaculeatum (blackstar),L. curvaculeatum (white star), L. hebes (black square), L. imberbe (black triangle), L. plicatum (black diamond), L. calcaratum (circles; white circles: new records; black circle: type locality), L. fodens (white triangles), L. aculeatum (white diamonds).

Figs 79–96: Lathrobium flexaculeatum sp. n. (79–88), L. rectaculeatum sp. n. (89–95), and L. kemum sp. n. (96): male habitus (79, 89); forebody (80, 90); male metafemur (81); male sternite VII (82, 92); male sternite VIII (83, 93); aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view (84–85, 94–95); dorsal plate of aedeagus in dorsal view (86); female sternite VIII (87, 96); female tergites IX–X (88); metatibia (91). Scale bars: 79–80, 89–90: 1.0 mm; 81–85, 87–88, 91–96: 0.5 mm; 86: 0.2 mm.