Euconnus fukiensis Franz, 1985

Jałoszyński, Paweł, 2022, Taxonomy of ' Euconnus complex'. Part XXIV. Intermediate forms between Psomophus, Eupentarius and Euconnus s. str. in the East Palaearctic fauna unify problematic subgenera (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae), Zootaxa 5194 (3), pp. 343-391 : 366-368

Euconnus fukiensis Franz

Euconnus fukiensis Franz, 1985a: 115 .

( Figs 81–85 )

Type material studied. Holotype ( China: Fujian): ♂, three labels: “KUATUN, FUKIEN / China 26.3.46 / (TSCHUNG SEN.)” [white, printed and handwritten], “ Euconnus / fukiensis m. / det. H.Franz ” [white, handwritten and printed], “ Holotypus ” [red, handwritten] ( NHMW) .

Diagnosis. Antennal club trimerous with antennomere 9 distinctly narrower than 10; males with strongly and conspicuously modified elytra: apical region rapidly and steeply sloping down, flattened, at middle covered with extremely short, barely discernible setae, flattened area surrounded by setae much shorter and much denser than those in anterior half of elytra; aedeagus with deeply bifurcate apex, short median projection with rounded apex, and darkly sclerotized, oval subapical elongate median endophallic component.

Description. Body of male ( Fig. 81 ) elongate, strongly convex; pigmentation moderately dark brown with reddish hue, appendages indistinctly lighter except for clearly lighter tarsi and maxillary palps; body covered with setae distinctly lighter than cuticle; BL 1.75 mm.

Head much narrower than pronotum, broadest at eyes, HL 0.38 mm, HW 0.33 mm; tempora in dorsal view about 2.5 times as long as eyes, behind eyes strongly and evenly convergent posterad, posterior margin of vertex strongly rounded and short, slightly bulging posterodorsad. Frons and vertex with unremarkable, fine punctures, glossy; setae sparse and suberect, tempora and posterior margin of vertex with dense thick bristles. Antennae short and compact, AnL 0.60 mm, scape and pedicel each distinctly elongate, antennomeres 3‒7 each slightly transverse (7 indistinctly so), 8 about as long as broad, 9‒11 gradually increasing in width and length, 9 as long as broad, 10 slightly transverse, 11 as long as 9 and 10 combined, about 1.3 × as long as broad.

Pronotum subconical but strongly narrowing posterad and appears round, broadest at middle; PL 0.45 mm, PW 0.45 mm. Base with two pairs of pits, outer pits indistinctly smaller than inner ones, sublateral carinae indistinct. Punctures and setae on disc similar to those on frons and vertex; sides of pronotum with dense thick bristles.

Elytra together oval, broadest slightly in front of middle; EL 0.93 mm, EW 0.73 mm, EI 1.28; humeral calli small, elongate, each mesally demarcated by elongate impression; elytral apices modified: apical region rapidly and steeply sloping down, flattened, at middle covered with extremely short, barely discernible setae, flattened area surrounded by setae much shorter and much denser than those in anterior half of elytra. Punctures indistinct, superficial and unremarkable; setae on anterior half of each elytron sparse and distinctly longer than those on pronotal disc, suberect.

Legs slender, protibiae unmodified, weakly and evenly curved, with mesal margins slightly sinuate.

Aedeagus ( Figs 82–85 ) moderately elongate, moderately strongly sclerotized, AeL 0.33 mm; median lobe in ventral view broadest in sub-basal region, dorsal apical plate in ventral view bifurcate, composed of elongate lateral projections, ventral apical plate with narrow median apical projection rounded at apex, endophallic structures symmetrical, with darkly sclerotized median elongate component in apical region. Parameres slender and relatively long, nearly reaching apex of median lobe, each with 4‒5 long apical setae. Parameral base with strongly sclerotized and massive transverse bar.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution. China: Fujian.

Remarks. This species can be easily identified by a unique male secondary sexual character: the apical region of elytra is rapidly and steeply sloping posterad, flattened and at middle covered with extremely short, barely discernible setae, the flattened area is surrounded by setae much shorter and much denser than those in anterior half of elytra. Moreover, the deeply bifurcate apex of the aedeagus is also found only in E. fukiensis among members of the E. taiwanus group.

Figures

FIGURES 81‒85. Euconnus fukiensis Franz, holotype male. Dorsal habitus (81); aedeagus in ventral (82, 84) and lateral (83, 85) views.