Ashea, Kim, Yoon-Ho & Ahn, Kee-Jeong, 2015

Kim, Yoon-Ho & Ahn, Kee-Jeong, 2015, Asheamegacephala Kim & Ahn (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae), a new gyrophaenine genus and species from Peru, ZooKeys 530, pp. 91-99 : 92-96

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Staphylinidae

Ashea gen. n.

Type species.

Ashea megacephala sp. n.

Diagnosis.

Head (Fig. 2) very large, as wide as and distinctly longer than pronotum; eye large, longer than temple; labrum (Fig. 4) markedly transverse, seven pairs of macrosetae present; right mandible (Fig. 5) with very large median tooth; ligula (Fig. 14) short, entire apically, labial palpus with three indistinct palpomeres; pronotum (Fig. 8) markedly transverse, more than 2.0 times as wide as long; hypomeron not visible in lateral aspect; mesoventrite (Fig. 15) without medial longitudinal carina; tergite X (Fig. 9) with medial setose area arranged in distinct V-shape, composed of two indistinct rows of setae, setae subspatulate; median lobe (Fig. 10) bulbous at base, apical process long and slender.

Description.

Body (Fig. 1) very small, length 1.0-1.4 mm. Body slightly flattened dorso-ventrally, parallel-sided; surface sculpture reticulate throughout, slightly glossy and pubescent; light brown to brown but head, elytra, posterior half of abdominal tergite V and tergites VI–VII dark brown. Head. (Figs 1-2) Very large, slightly trans verse and flattened, as wide as and distinctly longer than pronotum; eye large, longer than temple; infraorbital carina well developed, complete; gular suture moderately separated, subparallel-sided; antenna (Fig. 3) moderate in size, with eleven antennomeres, antennomere 4 transverse, 5-7 slightly transverse, 8-10 transverse, 5-10 slightly increase in relative width from base to apex. Mouthparts. Labrum (Fig. 4) markedly transverse, seven pairs of macrosetae present, sensilla of antero-medial sensory area distinct, α-sensillum with short setose process, β and γ minute and conical, ε with short setose process, almost as long as α, two lateral sensilla present on lateral margin of epipharynx, without transverse row of sensory pores on basal region of epipharynx; mandible (Figs 5-6) asymmetrical, decurved and pointed apically, ventral condylar molar patch moderate in size with densely arranged denticles, prostheca well developed, right mandible with very large median tooth; maxilla (Fig. 7) with four palpomeres, palpomeres 2-3 slightly dilated distally, 3 longer than 2, 4 elongate with a small spine at apex, filamentous sensilla reaching to basal third, lacinia with apex obliquely truncate with well developed "spore brush", teeth of spore brush small and densely arranged, inner margin without spines, with a longitudinal row of setae; labium (Fig. 14) with ligula short, entire apically, labial palpus indistinctly composed of three palpomeres, palpomere 1 almost as long as 3, distinctly longer than 2, one medial seta present on prementum, medial pseudopore field of prementum narrow and without pseudopores, lateral pseudopore field with one setose pore, one real pore and three pseudopores, mentum moderately emarginate in anterior margin. Thorax. Pronotum (Fig. 8) markedly transverse, more than 2.0 times as wide as long, widest in middle, surface slightly pubescent, several macrosetae present; hypomeron not visible in lateral aspect; prosternum transverse, without distinct median knob; elytra (Fig. 12) slightly wider and distinctly longer than pronotum, postero-lateral margin moderately sinuate; hind wing without setose lobe on flabellum; mesoventrite (Fig. 15) without medial longitudinal carina, mesoventral process broad and not fused to metaventral process, apex truncate; apex of metaventral process indistinguishable; isthmus absent; mesocoxal cavities widely separated; metepisternum with single row of setae; tarsal formula 4-4-5, tarsomere 1 of pro– and mesolegs as long as 2, 1 of metaleg slightly longer than 2, with one empodial seta between tarsal claws, shorter than claw. Abdomen. Tergites III–VI transversely impressed; tergite X (Fig. 9) with medial setose area arranged in distinct V-shape, composed of two indistinct rows of setae, setae subspatulate, with six to nine macrosetae on each side of midline. Genitalia. Spermatheca (Fig. 16) simple and round; median lobe (Fig. 10) bulbous at base, apical process long and slender, flagellum long, slender and more or less whip-like; paramere (Fig. 11) with apical lobe of paramerite short and subcylindrical with four setae, paramerite enlarged, slightly longer than apex of condylite. Secondary sexual characteristics. Male: elytron (Fig. 12) with tubercle near suture about 0.2 length of elytron from posterior margin; subapical margin of tergite VII (Fig. 13) with two tooth-like tubercles; posterior-median margin of tergite VIII (Fig. 17) with triangular projection.

Etymology.

Named after the late James S. Ashe in honor of his research on the subtribe Gyrophaenina. He was the first collector of these beetles.

Distribution.

Peru.

Remarks.

Ashea gen. n. can be distinguished from other gyrophaenine genera by the diagnostic characters presented above. Especially, the combination of the large head and indistinctly articulated three labial palpomeres clearly makes this new genus unique among all other Gyrophaenina.

Ashea gen. n. belongs to the " Gyrophaena " lineage (sensu Ashe 1984) based on the following characters: body slightly pubescent; ligula entire apically, prementum with a single medial seta. Among the lineage, this genus is probably the most closely related to Eumicrota Casey. These two genera share a small body size, entire and protruded ligula, markedly transverse pronotum, mesoventrite without medial longitudinal carina, tergite X with medial setose area arranged in distinct V-shape, and median lobe with apical process slender and elongate.

Tergite X provides useful characters in the study of the subtribe Gyrophaenina classification ( Ashe 1984). Loss of setae antero-medially and postero-laterally results in one or a few rows of setae arranged in a distinct “V” shape. This distribution of microsetae is found only in Eumicrota and Ashea gen. n.

On the other hand, the genus Ashea gen. n. differs from Eumicrota by the following diagnostic characters: head very large, as wide as and distinctly longer than pronotum; right mandible with very large median tooth; labial palpus with three indistinctly separated palpomeres.

We have not had the opportunity to study any specimens of the following three gyrophaenine genera ( Brachycantharus Bierig, Microbrachida Bierig, Neobrachychara Bierig) described from Central America by Bierig (1939). Original descriptions of these genera did not include sufficient diagnostic characters and they have not been redescribed since their original description. However, Bierig (1939) provided very clear scientific habitus illustrations and they can be easily distinguished from Ashea gen. n. by the following diagnostic characters: body subparallel-sided in Ashea (body elongated-oval, sides of abdomen convergent to apex in Microbrachida ); pronotum strongly transverse in Ashea (pronotum moderately transverse in Brachycantharus ); tergite X with medial setose area arranged in distinct V-shape in Ashea (tergite X with medial setose area arranged in chevron-shape in Neobrachychara ).