Paraphloeostiba brancuccii, Shavrin, 2020

Shavrin, Alexey V., 2020, New species and records of Paraphloeostiba Steel, 1960 from China and Laos and descriptions of four new species of related genera (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae Omaliinae: Omaliini), Zootaxa 4890 (3), pp. 301-329 : 305-308

Paraphloeostiba brancuccii sp.n.

( Figs. 14–22 )

Type material examined: Holotype Ƌ: ‘LAOS—Xieng Khouang, | 30 km NE Phonsavan , | Phou Sane Mt. , 19°38.2’N, | 103°20.2’E, 1420 m, 10– | 30.V.2009, leg. Hauck’ <printed>, ‘ HOLOTYPE | Paraphloeostiba | brancuccii sp. n. | Shavrin A. V. des. 2020’ <printed> ( NHMB).

Paratypes (79 specimens): 6 ƋƋ (three specimen dissected), 7 ♀♀ (three specimen dissected): same data as the holotype (2 ƋƋ, 2 ♀♀: CS; 4 ƋƋ, 5 ♀♀: CA); 10 ƋƋ, 7 ♀♀: ‘LAOS—Xieng Khouang, | 30 km NE Phonsavan, | Phou Sane Mt., 19°38.2’N, | 103°20.2’E, 1420 m, 10– | 30. V.2009, leg. Brancucci’ <printed> (1 ƋƋ, 2 ♀: CS; 9 ƋƋ, 5 ♀♀: CA); 2 ƋƋ, 2 ♀♀: ‘LAOS—Xieng Khouang | prov., 30 km NE Phonsavan, | Phou Sane Mt., 19°38.2’N, | 103°20.2’E, 1420 m, 10–30. V. | 2009, leg. Brancucci’ ( CA); 1 ♀ (dissected): ‘LAOS—Bokeo prov., 5 | km W Ban Toup, Bokeo | Nat. Res., 20°27–28’N, | 100°45’E, 500–700 m, 4– | 18. V.2011, Brancucci & al.’ <printed> ( CA); 1 Ƌ (dissected): ‘LAOS—Bolikhamsay | prov. Pakkading, ban | Phone Kam env., 18°19’N, | 100°08’E, 200–300 m, 23– | 29. V.2011, Brancucci & al’ <printed> ( CA); 22 ƋƋ, 21 ♀♀: ‘LAOS—Houa Phan prov., | Phu Phan Mt., 20°12’N, | 104°01’E, ca. 1750 m, | 17. V.–3. VI.2007, | leg. Vit Kuban’ ( CA). All paratypes with red rectangular printed label: ‘ PARATYPE | Paraphloeostiba | brancuccii sp.n. | Shavrin A. V. des. 2020’.

Description. Measurements (n=50): HW: 0.27–0.33; HL: 0.16–0.19; AL (holotype): 0.43; OL: 0.08–0.11; PL: 0.21–0.26;PW:0.34–0.39;ESL:0.33–0.38;EW:0.38–0.44;AW:0.36–0.44;MTbL(holotype):0.21;MTrL(holotype): 0.08 (MTrL 1–4: 0.03; MTrL 5: 0.05); AedL: 0.22–0.23; TL: 1.50–1.82 (holotype: 1.70).

Body and antennomeres 2–11 brown (elytra of some paratypes paler); maxillary palpomeres, basal antennomere, lateral and sometimes basal portions of pronotum, and intersegmental membranes between tergites of abdomen yellow-brown; mouthparts, apical portion of apical maxillary palpomere, and legs yellow. Head with regular, dense and coarse oval microsculpture; microsculpure of pronotum similar to that on head, with indistinct, fine punctation in middle; scutellum with coarse isodiametric microsculpture, without punctation; punctation of elytra very dense and moderately deep, punctures in middle about as broad as nearest punctures, punctures finer in prescutellar area, microsculpture between punctures dense, isodiametric and well visible; abdomen with dense and fine punctation, and with shallow isodiametric microreticulation.

Head slightly convex in middle and in posterior portions between ocelli and eyes, 1.6–1.7 times as broad as long, with distinct and deep anteocellar foveae reaching level of posterior third or mid-length of eyes; postocular carina acute. Apical palpomere of maxillary palpi slightly less than twice as long as penultimate palpomere. Antennae very short, reaching humeral angles of elytra when reclined, antennomeres 3–10 transverse, progressively widened; antennomere 2 suboval, slightly narrower than basal antennomere, 4 small, slightly broader than long, 5 distinctly broader than 4, 6 twice as broad as long, 7–10 slightly more than twice as broad as long, apical antennomere slightly more than twice as long as 10.

Pronotum slightly flattened, 1.5–1.6 times as broad as long, 1.1–1.2 times as broad as head, widest in middle, gradually narrowing toward rounded anterior and sharply narrowing toward acute posterior angles; anterior margin straight or slightly concave; paramedian longitudinal impressions distinct, moderately deep and long, stretching from medioapical to mediobasal third, distinctly widened basally; lateral impressions very wide, deeper laterobasally.

Elytra 1.1 times as broad as long, 1.4–1.5 times as long as pronotum.

Abdomen of similar width as elytra or slightly narrower, with two small, oval wing-folding patches in middle of abdominal tergite IV.

Male. Posterior margin of abdominal tergite VIII rounded ( Fig. 18 ). Posterior margin of abdominal sternite VIII deeply concave ( Fig. 19 ). Aedeagus with wide basal bulb, significantly narrowing towards the moderately narrow apex ( Figs. 15, 17 ); parameres narrow, moderately short, not reaching apex of median lobe, slightly widened apically, with two moderately short apical, one preapical, and five setae located on inner edges in middle of each paramere; internal sac narrow, long, with three elongate sclerotized structures in basal portion. Aedeagus laterally as in Fig. 16 .

Female. Posterior margin of abdominal tergite VIII rounded ( Fig. 20 ). Posterior margin of abdominal sternite VIII deeply concave ( Fig. 21 ). Female accessory sclerite suboval, with wide basal part, gradually narrowed towards the rounded apex; laterobasal portion with field of spines ( Fig. 22 ). Spermatheca not found.

Comparative notes. Based on the general shapes of the forebody and aedeagus, P. brancuccii sp.n. is somewhat similar to P. solomonensis Steel, 1960 , a species described from Solomon islands ( Steel 1960), but differs by a larger and paler body, the presence of distinct paramedian impressions on the pronotum, a wider and shorter median lobe of the aedeagus, and the presence of setae on inner the edges of the parameres.

Distribution. The new species is known from several localities in northern Laos ( Fig. 14 ).

Bionomics. Specimens were collected on the wing, most likely with a Malaise trap, at elevations of 200 to 1420 m a.s.l.

Etymology. Patronymic, the species is named to honour the late M. Brancucci (Basel, Switzerland), one of the collectors of the type specimens.

Figures

FIGURE 14. Distribution of Paraphloeostiba in south-eastern Asia: P. ampliata (black circle), P. brancuccii (white circles), P. cooteri (black triangle).

FIGURES 15–17. Aedeagus of Paraphloeostiba brancuccii (15, 17: parameral view, 16: lateral view): 15–16—paratype, Xieng Khouang, 17—paratype, Bolikhamsay. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 18–22. Abdominal segments of Paraphloeostiba brancuccii: 18—male tergite VIII (dorsal view), 19—male sternite VIII (ventral view), 20—female tergite VIII (dorsal view), 21—female sternite VIII (ventral view), 22—female accessory sclerite. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.